Hot day, cool craft

Liberty Township, Ohio – The weather was hot, but the activity proved super cool.

Even – perhaps especially - when things went a little haywire.

More than 90 people packed the picnic shelter at Fort Liberty Playland when the Fitton Center returned for Creative Arts in the Park July 21.

The plan? Teach children to create paper frogs with long string tongues, compete with a fly on the end. The end product is a catch-the-fly-in-the-cup game.

But moms, dads and grandparents brought enough crafty kids that green construction paper ran short, forcing frog designs to drift toward shades of blue, yellow, orange, pink and more.

“It’s a good problem to have,” said Caroline Digiovenale, Fitton Center Education and Community Experience Coordinator. “They started getting into who could make the craziest frog. It was great to see kids realize they didn’t have to do everything in a traditional way for it to be fun.”

With the temperature and the turnout about the same number – and the heat index approaching triple digits – it was nice to see so many people participating.

“We couldn’t be happier,” Digiovenale said. “We’re excited to have these outreach programs in Liberty Township. We are happy to introduce ourselves to this community through these programs.

“Any time you can attract that many people, you feel pretty good about what you’re offering. People enjoyed making the crafts, enjoyed being outside, enjoyed the family time. We enjoy being part of those family memories people make. The crafts may or may not last a long time, but the memories will. And if they like these, we hope they’ll come out for more of what we’re doing, both here and back at the Fitton Center.”

In fact, Creative Arts in the Park returns to Fort Liberty Playland one more time this summer - 10 to 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 18. The August craft will be turtles made from yarn and popsicle sticks.

“They are super cute and super fun to make,” Digiovenale said. “And turtles can be any color, too.”

The Fitton Center for Creative Arts is located at 101 S. Monument Avenue on the Riverfront in downtown Hamilton, Ohio.

Building Community Excellence through the Arts and Culture