Artrageous Kids Art Festival is an Outer Banks thing. Sure there are other arts festivals that engage kids but there is something magical about the way the Dare County Arts Council event seems to reach everyone.
The place and day to discover what it’s all about is this Saturday at Dowdy’s Park in Nags Head. The Festival’s scheduled from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00p.m.
Artrageous began in 1989. Much of the impetus for the first Artrageous came from Outer Banks artists and memorable personality Glenn Eure, who working with a number of his artist friends envisioned a day where kids would have fun with art.
This year’s theme, “Be You! You’re An Original,” is a perfect description of what the day is all about. It is also a wonderful description of Glenn Eure’s personality. Glenn passed away in 2018, but that theme, “Be You! You’re An Original,” encapsulates everything that Glenn was about.
The Festival has really grown over the years and has become an amazing showcase for the creative and artistic talents of local youth. It has also become the place to be for organizations that work with kids and families.
The day includes music from young musicians, art projects that fully engage kids and much more. There are also always quite a number of Outer Banks artists and vendors with booths at the festival so there is plenty to do even when kids aren’t creating art.
Dowdy Park has truly become what Nags Head planners hoped it would be when they first envisioned repurposing the long-closed Dowdy’s Amusement Park. From the outset they hoped the park would become a place the Outer Banks community would gather to celebrate all that is best about the area. Artrageous is the perfect exclamation point to that idea.
So much to do one the Outer Banks and it never seems as though there is enough time. Spend some time in a Brindley Beach Vacations home and begin exploring this sandbar by the sea.