Kid Stuff

Flexing Creative Muscles

Eau Claire YMCA to host seven day arts-a-palooza

Mike Paulus, photos by Andrea Paulseth |

The Y in downtown Eau Claire is dedicating a whole week to the arts. Running Oct. 7-13, children, teens, and their families are invited to explore a wide range of artistic activities – free of charge – covering seven different mediums. This will be the first year the Eau Claire YMCA is participating in the Y Arts Week initiative (created in conjunction with National Arts and Humanities Month) and Youth Development Director Jen Zwicky says they are excited to connect with the community through art. She adds, “We recognize that the arts offer an incredible opportunity to create and develop a deeper sense of community amongst our members and neighbors, regardless of age ... because the arts and humanities are an essential creative and expressive outlet that are key to a child’s development.” For Arts Week, each day of the week is dedicated to a different arts discipline. Monday will cover visual arts activities such as pottery and chalk art. Tuesday is for theater, with improvisational games run by the Chippewa Valley Theater Guild’s Bob Carr. Wednesday is for music. Thursday is devoted to “odd arts,” meaning stations for things like duct tape crafts, butter sculpting and more. Friday is for film, with activities involving the movie Hotel Transylvania. Saturday is designed around literary arts with writing workshops and parties. And finally, Sunday is all about dance. Taken as a whole, this looks to be a unique opportunity for kids looking to flex their creative muscles in any number of ways.

Y Arts Week • Oct. 7–13 • Eau Claire YMCA, 700 Graham Ave. • call for times •  FREE • all ages • 836-8460