Housing and Development Newsletter
Chan, Hefferman and Schwartz collaborated last year on a 48-foot-by-12-foot depiction of Thomas Hart Benton’s “Achelous and Hercules.” The street painting image is featured on this year’s I Madonnari Festival poster.
Festival aficionados can enjoy a hint of I Madonnari at home with a poster, set of note cards, coloring book, or tote bag sold on the festival’s shop. A new festival t-shirt and 2021 poster also will be available. Each item features images from street paintings, and the funds raised support the Children’s Creative Project (CCP).
CCP is a nonprofit arts education organization administered by the Santa Barbara County Education Office. CCP serves some 50,000 students in more than 100 public schools in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. Its mission is to engage all students in the creative process through visual and performing arts education and cultural experiences.
For I Madonnari Sponsors, Street Painting Festival Fills in the Blanks for Local Arts Education
Children’s Creative Project backers believe in mission to help partner scores of artists with schools throughout Santa Barbara County and beyond
The I Madonnari Street Painting Festival is the major annual fundraiser for the Children’s Creative Project, which provides arts education in local schools. This year’s festival will not be held at the Santa Barbara Mission, but instead will take its squares and creativity to streets and sidewalks throughout the area. (Fritz Olenberger file photo) By Jennifer Best, Noozhawk Contributing Writer | @NoozhawkNews
For Children’s Creative Project, I Madonnari and the Arts Must Go On
Organizers don’t let COVID-19 challenges deter them from bringing vital arts programs to Santa Barbara County students
Although COVID-19 public health rules forced the Children’s Creative Project to take its popular I Madonnari Italian Street Painting Festival “offline” last year, it still went on . creatively. Featured artists like Sharyn Chan, Ann Hefferman and Jay Schwartz did their best work in the restricted environment of the Santa Barbara Bowl. The festival is again virtual this year, but its importance as a fundraiser for local school arts programs is key to their success. (Brooke Holland / Noozhawk file photo)
Housing and Development Newsletter
“We actually start working on the festival a good six months in advance, and things are still too unpredictable to go forward this year,” said Terry Ball, executive director of Center Stage Theater. “The festival is very expensive to put on, and with no assurance that we will be able to have a large event or what the parameters would be, we just can’t risk it.”
» The Santa Maria Fairpark is hosting the Strawberry Cruzin’ drive-through experience of the annual Strawberry Festival this year. The event will take place from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. April 28 and 29, as well as from noon to 8 p.m. April 30 and May 1. Click here for more information.