Love was in the air this Sat- urday as yellow, orange and white butterflies cascaded above hundreds of Farmville residents at the Longwood Center for the Visual Arts (LCVA) annual Valentine’s Day workshop, “Art to your Heart's Content.”
Grace Pilk, assistant educator, said, “I think it’s important for all the members of the community and the kids to be exposed to the arts as much as possible, and I think these events ... have the capacity to [allow them] do so and do many other things that they normally wouldn’t be able to do.”
The event was located in the lower level of the LCVA from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. with 300 to 500 members of the community participating in the family workshop, as well as close to 50 student volunteers assisting in the merriment.
Commenting on why she believes involving arts in the community is important, Pilk said, “I think it inspires children, and it gives them a creative side that sometimes maybe they don’t get to express in other areas of their academic life.”
The event featured eight differ- ent activities, ranging from creating valentines and envelopes, cutting and folding felt to make flowers, a reading corner for younger children and more.
This year’s annual workshop featured two new activities. One was a photo op booth with scenes from the Disney film, “Alice in Wonderland,” where guests could place their face through a hole to appear as the Queen of Hearts, the White Rabbit or the Cheshire Cat. The other activity, titled, “Loving Hands,” involved cutting paper tracings of one’s hand to be held together to make a heart.
Zack Jackson, brother of Gamma Psi, commented that he has been volunteering for the LCVA for a number of years now, assisting not only with the day of the workshop, itself, but also with the making of it. “It’s nice to come and see the finished product and help with the main event,” he said.
Jackson said he was interested in volunteering with this year’s workshop, saying, “It’s in the community. You get to see a lot of people, and it’s just nice to be able to help out and see faces and work with kids.”
When asked if he would recommend future workshops to members of the Farmville community, Jackson said, “Of course, it’s a blast.”
Cassandra LaFonte, a sister of Delta Zeta, commented on why she was interested in participating in the workshop. “This sounded really interesting and fun,” she said, further stating, “This is more interaction with people, so it’s nice.”
On volunteering, LaFonte stated, “It feels really good, and I like helping people.”
With an event like “Art to Your Heart’s Content,” LaFonte stated, “It brings the whole community together.”
Pilk said, “We couldn’t do anything we do without our volunteers, and I am thrilled to have the volunteers and for the community members to come out and experience our workshops every year.”
The Longwood Center for the Visual Arts is located on 129 N. Main Street and is open Monday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, go online to www.longwood.edu/ lcva or call (434) 395-2206.
Children enjoyed making their own handcrafted valentines with volunteers at the LCVA event.
