The Expressions Festival 2012 is coming to Arts Umbrella's South Surrey facility this Saturday (June 9, 1-4 p.m., 116-15850 26 Ave., at the Shops at Morgan Crossing).
And while it's not the biggest or most elaborate of the events in Arts Umbrella's annual showcase of visual, media and performing arts programs, it should be a clear indication that the renowned arts education organization is alive and well in the community.
As Arts Umbrella Surrey manager Colleen Maybin notes, the opening of the facility early this year meant it fell somewhere in the middle of parents' planning for their children's arts activities.
"But we already have lifers who take our classes and parents who are committed and want to volunteer," she said of the keen response the programs have received so far from Peninsula residents, particularly from families with children in the younger grades.
Judging by a recent visit to the facility, 'Parent and Me' sessions – introducing toddlers to arts activities with mom or dad present – are thriving, as are beginner drama programs and the opportunities for home-schooled children to express themselves through art classes.
The public will have an opportunity to interact with all of these Saturday, while the facility will also host Arts Umbrella's pre-professional Act One: Youth company in a performance of the piece, Objects In Mirror Are Already Here, in which seven young women begin a journey of self-discovery as they transition from Grade 7 to Grade 8.
"It's a great showcase and an opportunity for people to see what goes on here," said Meghann Shantz, marketing and communications manager for Arts Umbrella.
"Part of the plan is to grow the programs that operate here."
Founded on Granville Island in 1979 on the conviction that arts education can "profoundly and positively" impact childrens' lives, the Arts Umbrella approach emphasizes the process as much as the result in helping develop well-rounded citizens and healthy and dynamic communties, Maybin and Shantz said.
"There are two styles of programs – ones that are tuition-based, and outreach classes, which are predominantly free of charge," said Shantz. "Our organizational mandate is reaching as many children as we can."
Surrey is already well on the way to overtaking Vancouver in size of population, and with some 26 per cent of that population under 19, Maybin and Shantz Arts Umbrella is well-placed in its Central Surrey and South Surrey initiatives in a city that has already declared itself "Child and Youth Friendly."
"We've been working with the Surrey School District for three years now, learning where we can make the most impact," said Maybin, who added that district-funded spring arts day camps run by Arts Umbrella included a recent program at White Rock Elementary.
But Arts Umbrella is also sensitive to the presence of existing arts programs in the community, she said.
"That's one of the reasons we're not offering dance here – the area is already well-served with existing studios," she said.
"In drama, this would be a place where children could work on skills, rather than toward a performance – if a drama student wanted to be in a program where there is a show at the end of the year, there are other programs that do that."
"The Granville Island location has been around for 33 years, but that didn't happen overnight," said Shantz.
"It developed with the community. We want to make sure we're offering something suited to the needs in an area."
For more information, call 604-314-6410 or visit www.artsumbrella.com