Art-Lit Will Hold Celebration For First Anniversary Of Pompano Beach Library And Cultural Center

Mark your calendars in vivid color for Saturday, January 19th from Noon to 10PM as Broward County Library and the City of Pompano Beach present ArtLit 2019: A Day of Heroes. This unique, free community event for all ages will take place at the Pompano Beach Library and Cultural Center, 50 W Atlantic Boulevard, Pompano Beach, FL 33060, 954-357-7595.

ArtLit is a community celebration of art and literature with a playful explosion of live chalk art, canvas art, music, virtual reality demonstrations, interactive experiences, food trucks, and fun for all ages. Free live art creation and entertainment will be offered day and night for a total of ten hours. Everyone is invited to join in a day of artful literary entertainment--a perfect way to celebrate Pompano Beach Library & Cultural Center's first anniversary.

In 2018, Broward County Library held its first ChalkLit festival and saw record-breaking crowds at the Main Library. Pompano Beach Cultural Center held an incredibly successful ArtPop celebration this year as well. In January 2019, both celebrations will be combined and expanded to present ArtLit: A Day of Heroes. Everyone who loved ChalkLit or ArtPop will not want to miss this new collaborative effort that will be even bigger.

"We are excited to follow our successful 2018 ChalkLit festival and partner with the City of Pompano Beach to produce ArtLit," said Broward County Libraries Director Kelvin Watson. "What a great way to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Pompano Beach Library & Cultural Center! I'm sure the heroes theme will be a fun and inspirational subject for the artists participating as well as everyone who attends. We all need and appreciate heroes."

Six prolific local artists will be selected to paint live in a battle-style paint-off where the audience will vote to crown one artist the winner. Artists will be selected based on merit, art supplies and a stipend will be provided. Featured Artists will have 2 hours to paint a "Hero' themed work of art. We will sell raffle tickets at $10 each, the audience can then use their raffle ticket to vote on their favorite artwork. The votes will be tallied and the winner will receive a solo show at the Pompano Beach Cultural Center in 2020. Artists participating include Liz Wisewood, Marcos Conde, Rolby Perez, Serafima, TeePop and Sona. In addition, CHNK, will be a featured live artist creating a large-scale graffiti work.

"We are thrilled that our combined venues will co-host this all-day celebration of artistic expression, learning and fun," said Phyllis Korab, Director of the Pompano Beach Cultural Affairs Department. "This event is a wonderful way for our community to learn more about the exciting programs that both the library and cultural center offer, and we encourage everyone to join us!"

Carpooling and ride sharing are highly encouraged! If you use Uber or Lyft, Spanx the Hog BBQ restaurant has volunteered to be a drop-off/pick-up point: 147 S Cypress Road, Pompano Beach, FL.

ArtLit is a signature event for Broward County Library Reads. The month-long program celebrates the power of the written word and features events for all ages. The theme for the 2019 Broward County Library Reads is heroes and features the books of bestselling local author Brad Meltzer. Recommended books include: The Escape Artist (for adults), Heroes for My Son and Heroes for My Daughter (for youth), and the I am... Ordinary People Change the World picture book series (for children).

ArtLit is sponsored by Broward County Library and the City of Pompano Beach. Broward County Library Reads is sponsored by the Broward Public Library Foundation.

Visit Read.Broward.org or ccpompano.org for more information.