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Kidsfest 2008!

Kidsfest ... a time for play, a time to create and a time to have good clean -- if you don't mind a little paint, clay, glue, glitter, markers or any other creative ingredient you can think of -- fun!

Yes, it's time for our 13th Annual Kidsfest. This year, like last, we're going to hold two events. The first is right around the corner, on July 26; the second will be held on August 16. Both events are on Saturdays from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. The hours may be limited, but the fun is not!

Who's participating?

Every year we try and mix it up a bit. Some of our favorite vendors will be here again, with new products. A few of our long-time suppliers will be at Kidsfest for the first time, with their latest and greatest.

Best of all, you participate! Kidsfest is a free hands-on event for kids with accompanying adults.

Some of the highlights will be ...

Paint your own teeny-tiny masterpiece in acrylics and show it off on your own teeny-tiny display easel. Colart (the Winsor & Newton/Liquitex people) will be sponsoring this event and it surely will be a kid favorite. Sorry, but we don't sell teeny-tiny frames to frame the masterpieces.

T-shirt art, sponsored by Strathmore Paper Company. Strathmore recently introduced an inkjet iron on transfer paper that we will be trying all sorts of mediums on, and when finished, we'll iron your finished artwork onto a t-shirt for you to enjoy. This will be popular, and the number of shirts limited, but like all our events, it's totally free.

Artist trading cards, also sponsored by Strathmore Paper Company. For a number of years now, artists around the world have been creating artistic masterpieces on trading card size paper, and then trading the cards with other artists. Well Strathmore decided to create some "official" trading card size packs of some of its most popular papers, and artists are "trading" now more than ever. We're going to put together an area with lots of cards and tools to draw, paint and create, and have an in-house kid swap. Tell your kids to bring their talent, and prepare to swap creative ideas (and possibly their cards) with their peers.

Origami, always a favorite, will be sponsored this year by Yasutomo. Judy Pagnussat will be on hand to "story tell" how to fold a fun and unique piece of origami. Judy has many years of folding experience and is a fantastic teacher of this ancient art form.

The art of Manga, a type of Japanese cartoon, will be sponsored by Sakura. At this area, our own Jinny Kim will be happy to show you and your kids some basics of Manga. Your children can try their hand at it if they like, but since it's a difficult style to master, we will be giving the kids a starter booklet to take home so they can work on honing their Manga skill over the rest of the summer.

Mosaic Mercantile will once again sponsor an area for your kids to experience the art of mosaic. Since most parents don't consider mosaic a simple fun project they'd like to do at home, we enjoy showing them just how wrong they are. This is always a kid-favorite craft.

A beading area will be sponsored by Melissa & Doug, a brand name favored by parents who enjoy good quality children's toys, puzzles and art & craft items.

We are pleased to have Chronicle Books attending our annual Kidsfest for the very first time. They will have a team on hand to help create one of their favorite projects from their book The Super Duper Art & Craft Book. It's loaded with really cool, fun and mostly quick arts and crafts projects. No matter which one they choose to demonstrate, expect it to be crowd pleaser.

Face painting? So last year. How about tattoo body art with rubber stamps and tattoo stamp pads. Stewart Superior, a leader in the rubber stamp industry, will be on hand to take face painting to a new level. Finally, a tattoo that parents don't need to worry about.

And it's all on sale!

... at least all of it that's from our participating vendors.

The supplies we will be using during Kidsfest -- and almost everything else from the participating vendors -- will be at least 20% off on the two days of Kidsfest!