Creativity Fills The Air At Art In Action

Creativity Fills The Air At Art In Action
Story by Megan Wirts
​Photos by Faune Benson Schuitema and Megan Wirts

Art was in action all over the place in Fremont on Saturday, June 10th. The Newaygo County Council for the Arts - Artsplace held their annual Art in Action on Saturday from 10am-1pm. For the past 5 years they have been holding this free art event at the Fremont Market Place Pavilion and it gets better every year.

I have had the pleasure of volunteering my skills as a face painter since it’s inauguration. I always look forward to it and love seeing the look on a child’s face when they take that first glance in the mirror to see their face transformed into a butterfly, tiger, or whatever their little heart’s desire. It causes instantaneous smiles and the happiest of giggles. It’s pure joy!

Art in Action isn’t just about the face painting, they offer so many fun activities! People are free to move about the pavilion from station to station creating masterpieces that they can take home or work on community art projects. This year there were stations to make bubble wands, wooden sculptures, or you could try your hand at watercolor painting.

The beautiful community mural project was a hit with artists of all ages. There was also an opportunity to decorate shoes for the Kindness-Newaygo County Project, a collaborative project between NCCA-Artsplace, NC-RESA and Spectrum Health Gerber Memorial. Every station was bustling with activity and creativity.

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​If you needed a break from the art making, you could even take in a show! Dee Jay the Clown and Mat Emerick entertained the masses throughout the day. From my spot at the face painting table I could hear uproarious laughter and cheering from happy people watching the antics of Mat Emerick. He wowed them with his charming and delightful show, that is part storytelling, part mime, part circus act and 100% entertaining! Dee Jay the Clown also captivated the crowd with his amazing balloon animal creating abilities! They both put on fantastic shows!
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Once you worked up an appetite from all the fun you could stop by the Two Hot Tamales table and purchase some delicious food! NCCA-Artsplace always gets Two Hot Tamales to bring their tamale making talents to the event and I look forward to devouring a tamale or two (or four) every year. They make some of the finest food in the county!

So much creativity filled the air in the Fremont Market Place Pavilion on Saturday. Many happy families left with handmade treasures and wonderful memories. I would say that this year’s Art in Action was a great success!
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To learn more about NCCA-Artsplace and the fantastic classes that they offer go to www.ncca-artsplace.org