Children's Arts Festival is good opportunity for students, community

The community will have its first opportunity to see the creative work of area students this week during the First Friday Art Walk when the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri hosts its 23rd annual Children's Arts Festival.

Visual and literary art pieces from more than 20 area schools will be featured at the exhibit. Winners of the competition will have their work displayed in the state Capitol in the offices of Sens. Holly Thompson Rehder and Jason Bean on Wednesday, March 22, as part of Fines Arts Education Day. Some of the pieces will also be displayed in Cape Girardeau's City Hall, Saint Francis Medical Center and other locations.

Your first opportunity to see the work will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 3, but the pieces will be on display through the month. A digital representation of the pieces will also be available online at www.capearts.org.

This area does an excellent job of celebrating the arts, and the Children's Arts Festival is another example. It's a wonderful opportunity for young artists to work toward a goal and have an opportunity for their work to be displayed and judged. We hope you'll take time to stop by the exhibit and appreciate their work.