ArtHealthy Festival draws in 2,000 attendee onto GCSU front campus

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  • A good crowd gathered for the ArtHealthy Festival on Georgia College & State University’s front campus.
    A good crowd gathered for the ArtHealthy Festival on Georgia College & State University’s front campus.
  • Jennine DeLane, UGA SNAP-Ed Recruitment Coordinator, tells Alexis McLean and her daughters – Kinslee and Kamri McLean and Kalyn Crosby – about the SNAP-Ed program.
    Jennine DeLane, UGA SNAP-Ed Recruitment Coordinator, tells Alexis McLean and her daughters – Kinslee and Kamri McLean and Kalyn Crosby – about the SNAP-Ed program.
  • The kid’s zone is filled with playing kids and their parents. The line in the middle is waiting for their turn to get shaved ice from Kona Ice truck.
    The kid’s zone is filled with playing kids and their parents. The line in the middle is waiting for their turn to get shaved ice from Kona Ice truck.

    The front campus of Georgia College and State University (GCSU) in Milledgeville was a splash of all colors of the rainbow April 15, as the 9th ArtHealthy Festival was underway.

    Sponsors of the event included Create, Inc. and GCSU.

    According to Toyia Barnes, owner of Create, Inc. and a GCSU employee, the festival started with about 30 vendors and a hundred people attending. This year, approximately 200 vendors participated and more than 2,000 people attended this family- friendly event.

    “The goal of the festival is to celebrate art and healthy living,” Barnes said. “We want people to understand that you can have fun and be healthy at the same time. “Also, it's an opportunity for the vendors to get their names out without being charged. They can showcase what they have and sell it or just tell people about the services they provide.”

    The ArtHealthy Festival featured live music, arts and crafts, a magic show, bounce houses and games for kids. It also featured yoga, a local school system performance, dance party, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) presentations, and plant giveaways, among other activities.