By: Mark Marano, After School Operations Director
“This was the best day ever!”, exclaimed seven year-old Akemi Nakachi. On Saturday, May 19th, she and
over 200 other families from the various programs of the Community Development branch
participated in our first YMCA Family Art Day at the Museum of Latin American
Art (MOLAA). Through our collaboration with MOLAA, Community Development
planned a free, fun-filled morning of art exploration for the community. The
event consisted of ten staff and volunteer-led arts-related workshops
including: artistic science, perspective and depth, printmaking, crafts,
origami, jewelry making, mask making, rain-stick making, and book making. In
addition, families were treated to guitar demonstrations and instruction as
well as high-energy Zumba classes. The event also included of a film festival
showcasing films created by our Youth Institute participants and a Get
Connected! Technology Fair, complete with an interactive, self-contained
technology bus equipped with all the bells and whistles to provide computer
literacy classes for families. Lastly, families were invited to join the
museum’s membership program at a discounted rate and were offered complimentary
bilingual gallery tours, exploring current exhibits. We’d like to take this
opportunity to thank Fresh & Easy and Albertsons (both located in
downtown’s CityPlace for their generous supply donations. Through community
collaboration, we were able to provide an engaging arts-filled morning for the
families we serve to connect, learn, and have fun!
