Festival of Arts Launched in Belize City
The much anticipated Festival of Arts was launched this morning. It kicked off at the Bliss Center for the Performing Arts for pre-schoolers of the Belize District. The show will travel to the other districts to expose the budding talent in performing and visual arts. The event also provides an opportunity to motivate the artistic expression of the youngsters. News Five’s Isani Cayetano reports.
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
Preschoolers from across Belize District, along with teachers and parents, were all part of a captive audience at the Bliss this morning. Fellow kindergarteners sung, danced and recited poetry during the launch of this year’s Preschool Festival of Arts. It’s a feature of the expressive arts that ties in with Child Stimulation Month.
Leroy Green
Leroy Green, Curriculum Development Officer
“What you saw here this morning was the 2016 official opening ceremony for the Belize District Preschool Festival of Arts. And why I say Belize District is because this festival will be going on all throughout the country. Our national theme is: Little Stars Shining Bright, Our Hearts’ Delight. This year the festival has a change in it in that up until last year the festival was just commented on. Because of the quality of the items we’ve seen over the years we have decided this year to adjudicate the Festival of Arts. So the young ones will be getting certificates in gold, silver and bronze.”
Despite a panel of judges presiding over each district showcase, Green emphasizes that it is not a competition.
Leroy Green
“We’re not saying the best, we refer to them as the most outstanding because we want to make it perfectly clear that the festival is not a competition. The gold, the silver and the bronze certificates have comments on them that the teachers are supposed to use as feedback to improve their teaching of the arts in the preschools. The festival features the stage shows, drama, dance and music. Upstairs at the Bliss right now you can go up there and there’s the art exhibit going on which will also be adjudicated.”
As previously mentioned, the weeklong festival also coincides with Child Stimulation month.
Leroy Green
“It is a big part of the child stimulation month because you saw the march opening the month and each and every district like sporting activities, parents day, field trips. But also a big part of a child’s holistic development is his aesthetic qualities and this is what the Preschool Festival of Arts provides for in order for the child to develop his sensibilities, his appreciation of the arts, his appreciation of life because art actually comes from life. Starting from next week Monday at nine o’clock, nearly all the other districts will be having their preschool festival of arts at nine o’clock in the morning and the festival starts on Monday and if I can remember rightly, the last one ends on Friday and we have a team of adjudicators who are trained and we’ll be going to each and every one of these festivals so that we can select the six or eight items which will come into the Bliss to be showcased.”
Reporting for News Five, I am Isani Cayetano.
