Van Wezel Partners With Newtown Farmer's Market For Arts Education Initiatives Promoting Mindfulness

The Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall's Education and Community Engagement department is teaming up with the Newtown Farmer's Market to present Mr. Stevey & Friends: a free, family-friendly series introducing children, teens and parents to mindfulness using games, exercises and art activities. The first event will be held on Saturday, March 27 from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Newtown Farmer's Market, located at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park.

The three-hour mindfulness-themed events will feature live demonstrations, meditation tutorials, art activities, mindful games, raffle prizes and special guests through a collaboration between the Newtown Nation, the Newtown Farmer's Market and the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall's Artworks Anywhere program. Upcoming dates for the Mr. Stevey & Friends outdoor series featuring Van Wezel Teaching Artist Stevey Jones include April 24, May 29 and June 12.

To learn more or pre-register, visit www.ArtworksAnywhere.org, though you may attend without registration.

Newtown Nation President Valerie Buchand welcomed the partnership and hopes to continue collaborating to help the community. "The children need to feel that they are important," she said. "It doesn't matter what background they have, it's important the child feels important."

Offered as part of the Van Wezel's Artworks Anywhere initiative, which aims to provide meaningful arts education activities in accessible formats (online or in person), Mr. Stevey and Friends will serve a vital need in the community. "It is important to offer a healthy alternative to children having a difficulty regulating their emotions, trying to focus, or dealing with impulse control issues," said Danette Williams, director of The Newtown Farmer's Market. "I'm just praying this event helps our children be able to say, 'It's OK for me to feel how I feel, now let me understand my feelings better, let me understand myself better,'" she added.

This collaboration and the corresponding community events are made possible thanks to the generous donors of the Van Wezel Foundation.