Kids Love Coming to the BC Arts Festival! Come explore the various arts at Boston College…painting, ceramics, dance, music, theater, reading…Children can listen to music, watch a dance performance, and enjoy a special performance of theater for kids. They can paint, color, glue, dig their hands in clay, listen to stories, and have their faces painted. They will also have the opportunity to participate in a parade with the BC Marching Band. Come join the fun! WHAT PARENTS NEED TO KNOW
Arts 'n' Crafts Kids love these hands on activities facilitated by BC volunteers from the School of Education. Activities vary each year, but have included making tambourines, decorating masks, make bookmarks, face painting, cookie decorating, and a coloring contest.
	Art Demonstrations - Ceramics, Scene Painting, and a Sidewalk Mural Kids love these hands on activities guided by BC art professors and students. Includes jewerly making for older students.
Story Hour BC volunteers from the School of Education will read age appropriate stories to pre-school and elementary children. This year, we will also have a Pre-Teen Story Hour. A Volunteer will read from a popular pre-teen series. This is most appropriate for 4th - 6th graders.
	Children's Theater  BC's Creative Dramatics class presented a live performance of The Midway Princess a play written by Boston College theatre students. This play is most appropriate for children ages 7 and older.
Instrument Petting Zoo BC band students will give children an opportunity to touch, feel, and play the brass instruments - trumpet, trombone, French horn, and tuba.

WHAT PARENTS NEED TO KNOW

Will I have to spend a lot of money? Most activities (and there are plenty) are free. T-shirt decorating is $7.50. Basic lunch foods and snacks will be for sale and the BC Bookstore will be selling arts festival T-shirts and other art-related items.

What if the weather is bad? In the event of inclement weather, all outdoor activities will still take place, moving into Gasson Hall. In April 2003, it rained ALL day, and many parents told us that their kids still had a blast - it was something fun to do on a lousy day!

Will there be a lot of walking to do? Once you get to the festival site, everything is very close and "stroller-accessible". Depending on where you park, there may be 5-10 minutes of walking. With small children, we recommend parking in the Commonwealth Avenue garage and taking the elevator to the 7th floor. From there, the walk is about three minutes.  Directions

Are there bathroom facilities? Yes, in Gasson Hall, Devlin Hall, and the O'Neill Library - three buildings surrounding O'Neill Plaza where many of the arts festival activities take place.

How long should we plan to spend at the festival? The craft and participative art activities can take up to two hours, depending upon your child's attention span, interest level, and willingness to try everything. Each activity is set up separately however, so you can choose to do some and not others - depending on the amount of time you want to spend. The children's theater program is one hour and the story hour can last up to one hour but children can feel free to move in and out. This year, the BC Marching Band will lead children on a parade, so be sure to stick around. There are continuing performances from noon to 4:00 PM in the main tent and the art exhibitions can be explored all day. Spend as long as you can with us!