Children’s Museum & Cultural Arts Center Announce Partnership, Arts Festival

The Children’s Museum of Richmond today announced plans to partner with The Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen to highlight and increase arts and cultural offerings in western Henrico. The two organizations will co-host their first event, Heart the Arts Fest 2011, on Sunday, June 26th.

May 27, 2011; 10:39 AM • by Downtown Short Pump Staff

Children at play at CMoR's Short Pump location

Both CMoR and the Cultural Arts Center offer art classes for those who’d like to learn to create their own art as well as shows and performances for those who love artwork, dance and musical performances.

“The Cultural Arts Center is thrilled to be partnering with the children’s museum,” added K Alferio, president of the Cultural Arts Center. “We’ve always been committed to providing quality arts and cultural experiences to people who live west of the city, right in their own neighborhood. With CMoR’s presence here as well, we felt that a partnership could really bring value to the community. Together we fill the needs of everyone interested in the arts in this part of town.”

“As a children’s organization, we know how important the arts are to the development of young minds,” said Karen Coltrane, CMoR’s president and CEO. “So partnering with The Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen allows us to leverage resources and complement one another to provide services to area families and foster a love of the arts for a lifetime.”

With the tremendous growth in the Short Pump area, it stands to reason that the arts community has room to grow, too.

“The County of Henrico is proud of its burgeoning arts and cultural offerings,” said Henrico County Manager Virgil Hazelett. “It is exciting to see two of our premier arts organizations coming together to not only promote opportunities, but to add to the excitement of living and enjoying the arts in Henrico.”

There will be arts of every kind to enjoy at Heart the Arts Fest 2011 on June 26, just outside of CMoR’s Short Pump location. Old Brick Road, the main street of the West Broad Village mixed-use neighborhood, will be blocked off for the afternoon to allow the festival to line the sidewalks and spill safely into the street.

Neighboring tenants such as LaDifference, The French Boutique, 3 Sports and others will display their goods on the sidewalk. Whole Foods, Keagan’s, Sweet Spot and Kona Grill will offer up culinary creations. And the Richmond SPCA will bring furry friends to the event.

The Cultural Arts Center and the Children’s Museum have combined their talents and resources to create a line-up of live music and dance performances, artist demonstrations, games and hands-on projects to feed the senses and spirits of all who attend.

There will be cookie-decorating, art projects, prizes for the children, a watermelon-eating contest, a moon-bounce, water balloons and all the other activities a street festival brings to mind. Both organizations will also conduct demonstrations of the art classes they offer for children, teens and adults, and offer information about their summer camps.

Moving forward with their partnership, the two nonprofits will continue to cross-promote events, offer benefits to one another’s members or guests, and take part in joint projects. For instance, CACGA recently offered buy-one, get-one-free tickets to CMoR members for a performance by ventriloquist Lynn Trefzger.

“By working together, we can bring more arts and cultural experiences to the community,” said Coltrane. “There is no telling what two creative organizations can achieve when combining minds and ideas.”