Wednesday night live has been amazing this summer. As the summer intern for River Arts I have taken on the running of the art tent at Wednesday Night Live and it has easily been one of the highlights of the summer. Each week, a teen volunteer and I would trek down the hill with art supplies in tow and set up the week’s activities while the bands were warming up. By the time we finished setting up, we would have multiple kids questioning what activities we would be doing. The River arts Tent serves as a place where kids can not only keep busy while their parents enjoy the music, it also allows them to try new creative mediums and lets them freely try art without any worry of cost or materials, particularly during the summer when they don’t have access to in-school programs. It is also just a ton of fun! Having grown up in this community, I know what it is like to be a kid at these community events. It is often difficult to make new friends if you arent comfortable talking to new people, but through activities like this, kids can meet others through a shared interest in art. Getting to share River Arts with our community is an important aspect of our tent at River Arts, but seeing the excitement and joy that art can bring is the best part of our art tent every week. Even though the end of Wednesday Night Live on August 18th marks the end of the art tent for the year, I hope that the memories and projects created during those Wednesday nights in the field will live on.

-Annamay, Summer Intern