Donkeys + Dragons =
A Very Special Day! Photos by Anderson Huynh, Brunswick High School
E
yes sparkled with excitement and smiles spread across eager faces, as children watched a dragon enter the Selden Park gym! A miniature donkey named Gussie and members of the cast of Brunswick High School’s production of Shrek, The Musical were also in the house, making it the perfect environment for imaginations to run wild and creativity to flow. Welcome to the Very Special Arts Festival! Very Special Arts (VSA) was founded in 1974 by Jean Kennedy Smith with a mission to utilize the power of the arts to reach people with disabilities. VSA provides arts education and cultural arts opportunities for and with 150 Glynn County special needs students in order to enrich their lives and to bring such enrichment to us all. Helping with that mission are approximately 100 volunteers from St. Fran44
ELEGANT ISLAND LIVING
cis Xavier Catholic School, Glynn Academy, Brunswick High School, and Frederica Academy. The local group has produced an annual festival since 1987 that includes local artists and has a different theme each year. This year, the theme was Big Bright Beautiful VSA World and was inspired by Shrek, The Musical. Grants from Hello GoodBuy and the Christ Church Frederica Episcopal Church Women, as well as contributions from Ron Rector, Brooke Sumerford, Ed and Lynn Turner, and supporters of the Shrek Ear fundraiser helped fund the VSA festival this year. So many others were valuable participants: Brunswick High School Art teacher Joan Nichols, who brought her miniature donkey Gussie (a big festival favorite!) as well as her art students; Debbie Dolivera, Tony Tennent and Brenda Hunt with St. Francis Xavier 8th Grade; Jody Bradford, Fred-
erica Academy, Honor Society; Glynn Academy Drama Teacher Josh Sinyard and his actors Luke Brown (Donkey), Kylie Knox (Fiona), and the fabulous dragon; Heather Heath and Kelly Hunter of Golden Isles Arts & Humanities and the Penguin Project, local artists Cathy Dart and Eda D’Onofrio; Selden Park staff members Mary Daniels and Willie Banfield. Coordinator Mardi Johnston hopes to spread the word about the event and invite the community and more local artists to participate in future festivals. It definitely takes a village! And how wonderful it is that our village loves the arts and its youth! For more information about Very Special Arts and how you can get involved, please contact Mardi Johnston at 912.638.9084 or email her at mardijohnston@bellsouth.net.
