Student Arts Expo scheduled May 8 in downtown Lafayette

LAFAYETTE — The Student Arts Expo returns to downtown Lafayette on May 8 at the Acadiana Center for the Arts. The expo is a free and family-friendly festival of student artwork, live performances and arts activities.
Attendees can view artwork from hundreds of Lafayette Parish School System students from kindergarten through 12th grade. The young artists will show off their talents and creativity through artwork in every medium — painting, drawing, music, theatre, and much more, according to the Acadiana Center for the Arts news release.
The outdoor event is from 3-8 p.m.
Acadiana Center for the Arts, located at 101 West Vermilion St., will hosts family-friendly performances by breakdancers, slam poets, traditional Hawaiian dancers, and a Disney musical singalong, alongside a wide-variety of interactive arts activities and student artwork.
Patrons may join in the action with free hands-on arts activities on the street in front of Acadiana Center for the Arts and view live painting demonstrations by teaching artists and art educators from 5-8 p.m. with Art in Action.
The day also features a Student Artist Market inside Acadiana Center for the Arts where the artwork is also for sale.
The schedule of live family performances “under the big tent” on Vermilion Street include:
—3-3:30 p.m.: “The Breakdown: A Lesson on Hip-Hop History” by Kabuki Dancers.
—3:45-4:15 p.m.: Hula Halau Na ‘Olelo ‘O Ka Pu’uwai.
—4:30-5 p.m.: Lyrically Inclined Poetry Team.
—5:15-5:45 p.m.: Sing Along with Wonderland.
—6-6:30 p.m. Sing & Move with Ms. Melissa from Hello Music.
Families are invited to experience the event either in person or to join online for a “Virtual Art Parade” featuring student performances of music, dance and theatre. These videos will be streaming on Acadiana Center for the Arts’ YouTube Channel.
For families interested in engaging their children with creative summer camps, Acadiana Center for the Arts will host an expo where in order for families to learn about and sign up for more than a dozen different creative summer camps by organizations in Lafayette, in addition to Acadiana Center for the Arts’s own 10-week Summer Arts Camps.
The expo features summer camps from Academy of Interactive Entertainment, Acadiana Symphony Orchestra, Ballet Academié, Breathe & Move, CYT, Hello Dancer/Hello Music/Hello Imagination, Lafayette Public Library, LCG Public Works, The Music Box, Theatre Acadie, Vermilionville, and Wonderland Performing Arts.
The day features visual artwork from students at Acadiana High, Martial Billeaud Elementary, Paul Breaux Middle, Broussard Middle, Carencro Heights Elementary, Carencro High, Ovey Comeaux High, J.W. James Elementary, Lafayette High, Edgar Martin Middle, Southside High, David Thibodaux STEM Magnet Academy, LPSS Talented Program, and Youngsville Middle.
Streaming online, will be performances from students at Acadiana High, L.J. Alleman Middle, Broussard Middle, Carencro Middle, Ovey Comeaux High, Ernest Gallet Elementary, J.W. James Elementary, S.J. Montgomery Elementary, Southside High, and LPSS Talented Theatre.
Acadiana Center for the Arts credits the generous supporters of Student Arts Expo and its year-round supporters of Acadiana Center for the Arts’ arts programs in public schools.
Also happening in downtown Lafayette on May 8 is the Second Saturday ArtWalk from 6-9 p.m.