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May 3, 2023

Sunday Sun Shines on ClydeFEST 2023

Friday morning. ClydeFEST set-up day. Saturday’s chance of rain: 95%. The entire county had watched the forecast closely all week, but on Friday, CAC made the tough call. For only the second time in 21 years, ClydeFEST would move to its rain date on Sunday.

2 photos of ClydeFEST 2023 setup - on the left, volunteers help raise the first tent; on the right, colorful old fashioned games are unloaded and awaiting placement

An army of volunteers from Bold Companies and the community at large joined us to set up the field as scheduled, while we wondered if we could reach enough people with the news. Meanwhile, folks in Chatham did what Chatham folks do. Businesses, individuals, community orgs, and the local media got out their metaphorical megaphones and shouted the word with us all throughout the county, boosting our signal with gusto! Mother Nature had a new plan for ClydeFEST!

On Sunday morning, a group of amazing teens from El Vinculo Hispano/The Hispanic Liaison joined up with a slew of community members to get the field ready after Saturday’s downpour, and . . .

A group of teenagers from The Hispanic Liaison stand and kneel in front of the ClydeFEST entrance banner.

The result? On a beautiful and sunny Sunday, ClydeFEST 2023 saw the largest crowd in the festival’s history! Nearly 2,500 parents and kids came through the gates and entered a magical, screen-free world of arts, games, and fun! Thanks to extraordinary gifts of time, talent, and treasure by our volunteers, food vendors, artists, community booths, The Ag Center crew, and our sponsors–including naming sponsor Jester Group at Baird–joy filled the air.

Photograph of a woman with her young child, whose face is painted.

There were folk-art crafts for kids to make at over a dozen booths run by community organizations and businesses. From making candy spiders to painting their clay pottery, from creating paper wings to making environmentally-conscious jewelry, kids got to take home armloads of their own creations!

Photograph of young girl holding a clay bowl she is painting.

Photo of man in tie-dyed Chatham Arts Council shirt demonstrating print blocks to a child

And of course, Critterville was a popular spot because who does’t love paint and glitter?! Kids and parents alike got messy painting critter cut-outs, then left them to dry in the sunshine while they enjoyed the rest of the festival.

Photo of a woman standing in front of a sign that reads Critterville

Photo of adults and kids gathered to paint wooden critters

Photo of painted wooden critters lying in the sun to dry

There were old-school, handmade carnival games spread all over the field, and kids reveled in the sunshine!

Photo of children playing old-fashioned carnival game at ClydeFEST 2023

Photo of young girl playing an old fashioned carnival game with colorful mailboxes at ClydeFEST 2023

All afternoon, music could be heard across the field thanks to performances from Carolina Lightnin’, Farmer Eno, Adam Sampieri, Sisters’ Voices, and Deepti Sitar Ensemble on the stage.

Photograph of 3 women and 1 man sitting on the ClydeFEST 2023 stage, playing sitar

Photograph of man wearing a cowboy hat, sitting and playing guitar on the ClydeFEST 2023 stage

The dance floor provided the perfect spot for Diali Cissokho to lead a drum circle.

Photograph of Diali Cissokho wearing sunglasses that reflect the drum circle he is leading at ClydeFEST 2023

Photograph of a diverse group of people playing drums in a circle, with a small child dancing in the foreground

And ClydeFEST wouldn’t be ClydeFEST without 12-time world champions the Bouncing Bulldogs! Community booth folks got a little breather since much of the crowd gathered to watch.

Photograph of Bouncing Bulldogs jumprope team with huge crowd in the background.

Photograph of woman jumping rope with Bouncing Bulldogs

Photo of 2 Bouncing Bulldogs holding ropes while another Bulldog does a handstand in between them

The beauty of Latin dance was also on display, as members of Takiri Folclor Latino dazzled the crowd in their vibrant traditional costumes.

Photo of dancers from Takiri Folclor Latino dance on a wooden floor in brightly colored traditional costumes.

Photo of 2 dancers from Takiri Folclor Latino in brightly colored traditional costumes

Finally, the magical day ended again this year with a parade led by Paperhand Puppet Intervention! Anyone on the field could carry a giant puppet or sign, or just tag along for fun.

Members of Paperhand Puppet Intervention and festival attendees carry large puppets in the closing parade of ClydeFEST 2023

Photo of Paperhand Puppet Intervention's giant sun puppet and several other puppets and signs carried by festival-goers

And we were thrilled to have Clyde Jones himself on the field for the day’s festivities.

It was a special day for all of us at the Chatham Arts Council, celebrating folk art in the sunshine with kids (and kids-at-heart) in Chatham County! Until next time, y’all . . .

If you wanna see more ClydeFEST fun, check out these photos!

  • Teenage volunteers get a face-painting tutorial
  • Photo of medium height boy, small girl in a sunhat, and a small boy in a sunhat making giant bubbles
  • Photo of man in baseball cap holding a glue stick, a woman wearing sunglasses, holding a toddler and doing a craft
  • Woman in baseball hat assisting young boy wearing a sunhat with giant bubbles
  • Photo of small girl with a ponytail and earrings, holding a large hula hoop
  • Members of Takiri Folclor Latino, in colorful traditional outfits, playing mini golf
  • Small child squatting on a tarp with sprinkling gold glitter onto her critter at ClydeFEST 2023
  • Photo of toddler boy with a pacifier in his mouth getting snacks from his stroller
  • Photo of Ubi the clown, in striped pants and straw hat, blowing up a balloon for a young boy, while a crowd watches
  • Photo of wooden critter cut-outs laid out to allow the paint to dry
  • Photo of two small boys wearing baseball caps throwing balls into tire flowers while man looks on
  • Photo of small boy with face painted like a skeleton looking at his painted critter
  • Small girl wearing paper wings playing hand drum in the drum circle at ClydeFEST 2023
  • Photo of child on his knees painting his wooden critter cut-out a bright yellow
  • Photo of teens from Hispanic Liaison after volunteering with ClydeFEST 2023 set-up
  • Photo of two women with arms on shoulders, smiling for the camera
  • Children's works of arts hanging on a line to dry
  • Photo of small boy watching 2 people (backs to the camera) making a candy spider
  • Photo of a woman smiling at camera while a baby in a backpack is holding a hat and laughing
  • Photo of boy wearing sunglasses holding balloon sword in the air while bearded man (dad) smiles
  • Boy with painted face like a leopard, holding a large bee puppet
  • Photo from L to R: small boy with tiger face paint is holding a hoop; center - boy wearing a baseball cap is holding his arms above his head while hooping; R - a girl with pigtails carries 2 hula hoops
  • A bearded man wearing sunglasses and a hat (Snuffy Smith) and a woman with white hair and pink stripe, wearing a purple dress (Pam Smith) smiling at the camera
  • Photo of Latino family, L to R - teenage girl in green ClydeFEST shirt, woman with ponytail (mom), teenage girl in pink ClydeFEST shirt, man in baseball cap and sunglasses (dad)
  • Photo of Bouncing Bulldogs team members turning two ropes while a girl from the audience jumps; audience members in the foreground and on the right have their hands raised to be the next jumper
  • Photo of three women from WINGS community booth, all in beautiful gowns and wearing wings; left background giant blue puppet from Paperhand Puppet Intervention
  • Photo of a man wearing a blue dashiki, sunglasses, and blue knit cap (Diali Cissokho) sits behind his drum and holds out his hand to demonstrate how to play, while a man wearing sunglasses, and a small girl, both with drums, watch
  • A teenager with ripped jeans and a ponytail paints a critter cut-out in the shape of a turtle
  • Photo of a smiling woman wearing sunglasses and hair pulled back (Mayme Boyd) holding a red ClydeFEST shirt
  • A man and woman, in brightly colored traditional costumes dance on a wooden dance floor; Takiri Folclor Latino
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ClydeFEST 2023 was sponsored in part by Jester Group at Baird.

Graphic logo for The Jester Group at Baird

Related

By Andrea Akin | Filed Under: Arts for Resilient Kids, Arts in Education, ClydeFEST, Events, Slideshow Featured |

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  1. Chatham Arts Council Now Accepting Proposals for 2023 JumpstART Commissions - Chapelboro.com says:
    August 11, 2023 at 5:17 pm

    […] sphere. This year, we’re adding an exciting twist! Artists will present their works as part of ClydeFEST, which had a record 2,500 attendees last […]

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AIS Stories from the 2023/24 Season

Sparking Creativity: Blackspace’s Beat Making Lab at Chatham Middle featuring Grammy-nominee Pierce Freelon
Photo of Black man with dreads showing 3 middle school students the mixing board

Movement Matters: Silk Hope School and Gaspard&Dancers
Students play a game of making different shapes with their bodies through dance with the help of professional instructors inside a school multipurpose room.

Poetic Pursuits: Phillip Shabazz at Perry Harrison Elementary

Igniting the Flame of Flamenco: Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana at Moncure School

Mike Wiley’s Masterful Residency: Teaching through Theatre at Bennett and Bonlee School

Black Box Dancers Delight Fourth Graders at Pittsboro Elementary
Black Box dancers lead fourth graders in dance at Pittsboro Elementary.

Poet Phillip Shabazz Supports Fifth Graders at North Chatham Elementary
Poet Phillip Shabazz instructs a class of fifth grade students on poetry writing.

Black Box Residency Bursts with Creativity and Collaboration at J.S. Waters School

Diali Cissokho Dives Into Drumming with Siler City Elementary Fifth-Graders
Photo of three smiling boys, two brown and one black, sitting playing drums

Chatham Grove Elementary Students’ Sensational Safari with The Magic of African Rhythm
A young Black boy and a young white girl printmaking in classroom

Diali Cissokho Drums and Dances alongside Fifth-Graders at Virginia Cross Elementary

From the Horse’s Mouth…

Don’t take it from us! See what Chatham County students, teachers and administrators are saying about their Artists-in-Schools experiences.

  • “Children were so excited to write and to share. They all came away talking about writing and wanting to talk about poetry. They looked forward to his [Phillip Shabazz] visits each day.” –Classroom Teacher
  • Photo of black man in sweater vest, seated, assisting a female student.
  • “It felt relieving and comforting to express myself during the workshop.” –6th grade student
  • “I really liked showing my feelings in my work.” –4th grade student
  • “This is my 4th time in this school division participating with an artist residency. They have all been wonderful. It is a great opportunity for students to learn in different ways. My hope is for this to be available to us every year.” –Classroom teacher
  • Photo of Black Box Dance Theatre's Stephen leading Virginia Cross students
  • “It made me feel happy because I got to use my imagination.” –5th grade student
  • “It felt good for me to release all my emotions.” –5th grade student
  • Photo of boy with ponytail, with head thrown back in laughter
  • “The students talked about the experience for a week after.” –Classroom teacher
  • “Watching the kids put their plan into action for the performance and actually dance, all while doing so in front of their peers is the reason we do this…The experience was amazing!” –Elementary Assistant Principal
  • “I have a student that is a newcomer to our school, as well as to our country. She found great comfort in being able to communicate with instructors in her native language and showed such enthusiasm in her willingness to participate. It was beautiful. We would welcome the opportunity again in the future!”  –K-8 Principal
  • Photo of Flamenco performer raising her hand in a choreographed movement, with students following behind her
  • “It felt good to be myself in school.” –6th grade student
  • “I personally saw students who, in my experience, have never been willing to speak in a group, let alone dance, do both without fear or hesitation.  Students who participated have asked to join band – they want to have more opportunities to participate in music.  Students in subsequent meetings have asked to learn more about Senegalese cultures.” –K-8 Music teacher
  • “It felt like the best days ever.” –5th grade student
  • Aya Shabu, in front, leads a group of students in an African dance

ClydeFEST Links

ClydeFEST Community Booth Application

ClydeFEST Food Vendor

ClydeFEST Volunteers

Become a ClydeFEST Sponsor

Photograph of a woman with her young child, whose face is painted.


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