News
Kids of All Ages Will Transform a MetroBus Into Art
Children love to paint and will have the time of their lives as they transform a really big metal canvas – a MetroBus – into a colorful mural. Children and adults who are blind, visually impaired and sighted, will enjoy several hours of bus painting activity. They will also experience live music, magic, sports, games, food and educational activities at a festival that is free and open to the public.
What:
Family Festival in Celebration of the 100th Anniversary of The St. Louis Society for the Blind and Visually Impaired and 60th Anniversary of The Delta Gamma Center for Children
Where:
Shaw Park in Clayton, parking lot near Parkside & Topton Way
When:
Saturday, Sept. 17, 2011 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Bus Painting Activity is from 9:30 a.m to 11:30 a.m.
The MetroBus painting fun is from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Children and other participants will receive paint brushes, aprons, and cups of colorful paint. Since this MetroBus painting event involves some children and adults who have limited vision or cannot see, masking tape will be used to create the outline of the murals on each side of the MetroBus. That way the budding artists can feel the lines of the mural and will know where to paint.
This vehicle will join the Art Bus Fleet which is part of Metro’s Arts in Transit Program. The Art Bus Fleet Program partners Metro with non-profit organizations in the community like The St. Louis Society for the Blind and Visually Impaired to raise awareness for their organizations.
“This is the first festival of its kind in St. Louis. We are grateful to Metro for the agency’s involvement and commitment to this event, and we are excited that the painted MetroBus will be on the roads in greater St. Louis for a full year after the festival,” said Sheila Sweeney, Chairperson of the Family Festival and Vice Chair of the Board of The St. Louis Society for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
The Society’s mission is to enhance independence for individuals who are blind and visually impaired, while empowering and enriching their lives. The words “Enhance,” “Empower”, and “Enrich” are also included in the mural design.
Local designer and illustrator Steve Edwards created the mural that will be painted on the MetroBus. “I’ve designed this banner by combining graphics from the Society’s logo—gold rays of light, blue rolling river—with Braille and a giant ‘100’ to mark a century of service to the community,” Edwards said. “Every mural has its own giant quiet presence; it’s a thrill to feel it come together and take shape.”
The St. Louis Cardinals and the Cardinals Care organization are helping the Society and The Delta Gamma present the Family Festival. This year, The St. Louis Society for the Blind and Visually Impaired and The Delta Gamma Center for Children are celebrating a combined 160 years of serving children and adults who are blind or visually impaired in the greater St. Louis and southwestern Illinois region.
Co-sponsors of the Family Festival include: Metro Transit, Emerson, Lighthouse for the Blind, Genentech, St. Louis Cardinals, City of Clayton, St. Louis Kids Magazine, Whole Foods, HEC-TV, MindsEye, St. Louis Beacon and the Webster Groves Lions Club.
For more information about the Family Festival, please visit www.slsbvi.org.
On the day of the event, members of the media can reach Jeff Dunlap, Media Relations for the Society at 314-409-5203, or Patti Beck from Metro Transit at 314-486-9091.