Children in the community have the opportunity to participate in Art Around the Lakes craft stations, including sand bottle art.

By MADISSON HEINL
Communications Specialist, Center for Lakes & Streams

The Center for Lakes & Streams is preparing for the Northern Indiana Lakes Festival June 5 to 20. Several of the stations and activities, traditionally at the Lakes Festival, will be returning including the Art Around the Lakes craft stations.

Art Around the Lakes is supported this year by the Kosciusko County Community Foundation and is an opportunity for youth and adults in the community to participate in free art-related activities during the festival weeks.

Art stations returning to the Lakes Festival include the coloring contest, sandcastle building, face painting and sand bottle art. New art stations will also be joining Art Around the Lakes, including a bug box decorating station, in which attendees can decorate a box to house critters found around their lake, and a sun-catcher painting station.

Heather James, the events coordinator at the Center for Lakes & Streams, said of Art Around the Lakes, “We are happy to be offering these stations for free to festival participants once again through the generous support of KCCF. This is an opportunity to showcase the talents of children and adults around the community — and to provide free fun for families.”

As in years past, there will also be an opportunity for community members at the festival to contribute to a community canvas painting. The painting is an opportunity for all attendees to paint on a large canvas, which, when finished, will be hung in the Kosciusko County Community Foundation building.

The art stations will be introduced at the Lakes Festival kickoff during First Friday in downtown Warsaw on June 5. Art Around the Lakes stations will also be open at Winona Lake on Saturday, June 13, and at Center Lake on Saturday, June 20, along with other festival activities. For more information about the Northern Indiana Lakes Festival, to register for a workshop, or to volunteer, go to lakesfestival.org.

This year’s top Lakes Festival sponsors include Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A.; Silveus Insurance Group; Depuy; Zimmer; Biomet; Louis Dreyfus Commodities; Maple Leaf Farms; and Tippecanoe Watershed Foundation.

The Center for Lakes & Streams at Grace College conducts applicable research, engages and educates residents and collaborates with other organizations in efforts to make the lakes and streams of Kosciusko County cleaner. For more information or to support their efforts, visit lakes.grace.edu.

Lakes Festival attendees of all ages are welcome to contribute to a community canvas painting that will be hung in the Kosciusko County Community Foundation building.