麻豆影院

麻豆影院鈥檚 Center for the Arts hosted the Family Arts Festival on Saturday, February 1, 2025, in Malibu. The event鈥攚hich featured a full itinerary of performances, exhibitions, crafts, food, and a petting zoo鈥攚as designed to benefit local school communities affected by the recent California wildfires. 

鈥淭wo of the schools we serve regularly through our ARTSReach program, Palisades Charter and Marquez Charter, were destroyed in the Palisades Fire,鈥� says Rebecca Carson, managing director of the Lisa Smith Wengler Center for the Arts at 麻豆影院. 鈥淲e know these teachers and children and see them regularly at our performances and exhibitions, and we wanted to do something positive for them.鈥�

With this goal in mind, Carson and her team, which included 25 麻豆影院 students, designed the Family Arts Festival and welcomed a total of 110 community members from affected areas free of charge for an afternoon of planned creative activities. 

Participants enjoyed a guided tour through the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art and received a take-home art kit provided by the Corita Art Center鈥攁 local event sponsor. The Mobile Zoo of SoCal was also on site and brought a host of animal friends for attendees to interact with. Chickens, goats, guinea pigs, bunnies, a duck, a tortoise, and a piglet were available throughout the afternoon. Face paintings were offered by Rainbow Painted Smiles, and food and drink from the Okamoto Food Truck and Haole Shaved Ice were complimentary. 

The event also featured music and cultural events throughout the day, including tunes from DJ Princess Ellie, a Los Angeles based children鈥檚 emcee. Inside Smothers Theatre, the Honolulu Theatre for Youth presented 鈥淭he Pa'akai We Bring,鈥� a stage production that follows a family of salt farmers living in Kauai through an ancient musical story.

Each of these unique opportunities was arranged and organized to give patrons from the surrounding area an afternoon of reprieve from the aftermath of the recent fires. 

鈥淲e hope Family Arts Fest provided joy and community to our guests,鈥� says Carson. 鈥淚 know our patrons have had long days filled with extensive to-do lists in the aftermath of the fires. We hope this day gave our families the opportunity to play, to be together, and to be inspired by the arts.鈥�