[StBernard] Art in April Festival to be April 16th-17th in Torres Park

[Westley Annis]

Art in April Festival to be April 16th-17th in Torres Park 

Patron Party and Public Concert on April 16; Festival to include arts,
crafters, music and children's activities on April 17 

 

The 14th Annual Art in April Festival will be Friday, April 16th and
Saturday, April 17th at Torres Park in Chalmette with a private patron party
followed by a PUBLIC concert on Friday night and a fun-filled FREE festival
on Saturday.  

 

This year's themed poster, "St. Bernard Parish - History, Heritage, Home,"
will be unveiled on Friday night at a private Patron Party from 6 to 7 p.m.
Patrons will have an opportunity to preview the Fine Art Show and the St.
Bernard Parish Schools art exhibits in the Grand Ball Room of the Frederick
J. Sigur Civic Auditorium.  After the Patron Party from 7 until 9 p.m.,
there will be an outdoor PUBLIC concert on the Main Stage in Torres Park,
featuring sounds from the Swingaroux Band.  This concert is open to the
general public. Attendees are invited to bring their own blankets or lawn
chairs.

 

On Saturday, the festival in Torres Park will be from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and
will feature live music, local food, crafts, a fine arts show and local
student art show.  The Children's Pavilion will provide hands on arts and
crafts, face painting, puppet show, storytelling and much more. The festival
awards scholarships each year to four high school seniors from St. Bernard
Parish continuing their education in the Arts. 

 

The St. Bernard Art Guild's signature poster will be on sale at the festival
which will feature the beautiful mural from the lobby of the St. Bernard
Parish Government Complex. Artists Donna Lind, Ed Estopinal and Claire
Pescay of the St. Bernard Art Guild spent hours restoring the mural they
painted along with the late Carol Smith in January of 1996. The mural, which
was made of a high quality acrylic paint stood strong against Hurricane
Katrina's flood waters but had to be restored in some areas. While the
official poster for the festival is usually selected from several entries
from St. Bernard Art Guild members, this year the official poster was the
mural so the Art Guild members chose the theme for this year's festival and
the title for the signature poster: "St. Bernard Parish - History, Heritage,
Home."

 

The 30-foot-wide by 20-foot-tall mural in the complex lobby depicts many
historical and cultural features of St. Bernard, including the Ducros and
Isleno Museums, the Beauregard House, the De La Ronde ruins, tomato farming,
fishing and local wildlife. New to the mural is Sebastopol Plantation that
is painted on an office door that had to be replaced after Hurricane
Katrina.

 

The mural was photographed and prepared for print by Ryan Fink of St.
Bernard Parish Government and will be on sale at the festival. There will be
250 signed and numbered, collectible posters available for $20.

 

14th Annual Art in April Festival Patron to enjoy private event

 

On Friday, April 16 from 6 to 7 p.m., the ballroom of the Civic Center, 8245
W. Judge Perez Drive in Chalmette will be the setting for art patrons to
enjoy wine and hors d'oeuvres while bidding silently on uniquely offered
collectible works of art.  Patrons also will be allowed a sneak peek at the
art exhibits of school children and Art Guild members displayed in the
ballroom. Tickets at a price of $30 will be available the door on a
first-come, first-served basis. 

 

On Friday from 7 to 9:30 p.m. in Torres Park on the Art in April main stage,
Swingaroux will entertain patrons and general public guests with sounds from
the swing band era. 

 

The festival will include over 35 crafters who will offer children's wear,
Saints memorabilia, Parisian & hand made jewelry, handcrafted wooden
furniture and fine art prints.

 

FREE children's activities include - pillow case painting, marble art,
butterfly wings, visor decorating and face painting.

 

The exhibitors include the 4 o'clock Flowers Cancer Foundation, Acadian
Ambulance, American Red Cross, Aquarium of the Americas Aqua Van, Animal
Shelter, Brushes N Bottles, Chalmette Battlefield, Fire Safety House, Green
Project, Home Depot, Interact and Key Clubs, N'Awlins Klownettes, Nunez
Community College - Art Department, Operation Southern Comfort (Slate/Art),
Parks and Parkway Commission, Sebastopol Plantation, St. Bernard Volunteers
for Family and Community, St. Bernard Wetlands and U.S. Census Bureau. 

 

These vendors will offer the following menu items:

*	Charlie's Restaurant: Seafood Pasta/Brownie Sundae
*	St. Bernard 4-H: Soft Drinks
*	1st Pentecostal Church: Stuffed Bread/Egg Rolls
*	Chamber of Commerce/Tourism: Water
*	Riverbend Bistro: Grilled Oysters, Alligator Sausage and Jambalaya
*	Screamin Meanies: Snowballs
*	Grammy's Pralines: Pralines and Pies
*	First Baptist Church of Verrett: Red beans, rice and fried chicken
*	Rotary Club: Pizza

 

This event is sponsored by St. Bernard Parish Government, Office of Tourism,
St. Bernard Parish Art Guild and St. Bernard Parish Schools and is made
possible through grant funding from the Louisiana Division of the Arts,
Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation and
Tourism in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council and the St.
Tammany Commission on Cultural Affairs.

 

For more information contact the St. Bernard Parish Office of Tourism
(504)278-4242 or e-mail emcdougal at sbpg.net <mailto:emcdougal at sbpg.net.>  or
visit our website at www.VisitStBernard.com <http://www.visitstbernard.com/>
. For more information about Recovery and Growth in St. Bernard Parish,
visit our website at www.sbpg.net
<https://mail.sbpg.net/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.sbpg.net/> .

 

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

FRIDAY, APRIL 16TH

6:00 - 7:00 p.m.:         Private Patron Party in the Civic Center Grand
Ballroom

7:00 - 9:30 pm:           Live PUBLIC Concert "Swingaroux Big Band" in
Torres Park

 

SATURDAY, APRIL 17TH

Main Stage 

11:00 a.m.:                  Opening Ceremonies

11:15 - 11:45 a.m.:     N.O. After School Ballet

12:00 - 2:00 p.m.:       Vieux Carre Band

2:30 - 3:30 p.m.:         Chalmette High School Jazz Band

3:30- 4:00 p.m.:           Awards Ceremony

4:00 -5:00 p.m.:           First Pentecostal Church Gospel Choir

 

Children's Stage

12:00 p.m.:                  Magic Mike

1:00 p.m.:                    Metro Pelican Opera

2:00 p.m.:                    Frank Levy-Stories in Motion

3:00 p.m.:                    Uncle Wayne-Porta Puppet

4:00 p.m.:                    Magic Mike

 

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