Free Children's Arts Festival Comes To Imagination Stage On October 21

Imagination Stage, the metro DC region's largest professional theatre for young audiences and leader in positive youth development through the arts, is hosting the Arts for All! Children's Fest on October 21 from 10:00-1:00 at Imagination Stage in Bethesda. The festival is a FREE, fun, hands-on celebration of performing and visual arts especially for children ages 1-8. Four DMV arts organizations are partnering and leading lively workshops. 

The event features both indoor and outdoor activities and will be held rain or shine.  Indoor activities and workshops include:

• Scenes from Imagination Stage's hit production The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show in both English and Spanish;

• Intro to salsa dance, promising a whirlwind of rhythm, laughter, and learning, by Salsa with Silvia;

• Poetry fun for families, including writing an acrostic poem based on their name,  by DC Scores;

• Interactive activities and games using ASL, body language, and gestures by Visionaries of the Creative Arts;

• Painting and decorating a frog puppet with teaching artists from VisArts;

• Dance party with DJ Nick Hernandez.

Access and Inclusion supports include a sensory-friendly room, for those who may want a quiet space and time with calming fidgets, coloring pages, and allergy-free play-dough; and all workshops and The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show excerpts will be translated into ASL, making the event accessible to Deaf and hearing impaired children.

Outdoors, Auburn Avenue in front of Imagination Stage will be closed to traffic and filled with merriment. Outdoor activities include: 

• The Face Paint Lady with free face painting for children;

• Food trucks from Sweetly Wired, Smoke Datt BBQ, and Bun'd Up, with snack and lunch items for sale;

• Chalk art on Imagination Stage's outdoor terrace.

More information is at imaginationstage.org. Advance registration for workshops is recommended and starts on October 10 on our website.

Corporate sponsorships for the festival support Imagination Stage's non-fee-based programming in the DMV. Currently 22% of Imagination Stage's students access our programs for free, and the goal is for that percentage to increase to 50% by 2027. 

These non-fee-based programs include:

• In-school pre-K and elementary residencies to elevate curricular goals;

• After-school pre-K and elementary classes to provide meaningful prosocial enrichment;

• “Learning Through Theatre” field trip experiences for Title I schools;

• “Theatre for Change” workshops and touring productions to bridge cultural divides and lift up underrepresented voices;

• Individualized access and inclusion support for all students.

Sponsors include exclusive print media sponsor, Washingtonian Magazine, as well as  Pepco, Truist, and a variety of small business sponsors. Sponsorships, starting at $250 for small businesses and $2500 for large corporations, are still available. For more information, contact Emma Cummings, Development Manager, at ecummings@imaginationstage.org or 301-280-1626.  

Imagination Stage, the DMV's leader in youth development through the arts, is driven to build a generation of compassionate, collaborative young people who are capable of changing the world. Starting as an arts academy in Bethesda in the late 1970s, it has responded to the evolving “needs of now” over the last 43 years by expanding its reach throughout Montgomery County and  Washington, DC. Since the pandemic, we see more than ever how the arts play an essential role in positive youth development. Children from every socio-economic group need experiences that teach empathy, demonstrate resilience, and inspire hope. Theatre does just that. Beyond the classes, camps, and shows at our Bethesda location, Imagination Stage brings programming to locations throughout Montgomery County and DC through partnerships with Montgomery County Public Schools, DC Public Schools and others. One example is our Theatre for Change programs. They serve teenagers, using theatre productions and educational workshops to bridge cultural divides, lift up underrepresented voices, and explore complex social justice issues.

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