For the first time in Bellows Free Academy’s history, the BFA Arts Department hosted Arts Night on Dec. 9.

Dee Christie, who is the Chair of BFA’s Fine Arts Department, said that the idea for Arts Night has been around for years. No one really did anything to bring the idea to life, but according to Christie, Susan Palmer, BFA’s drama teacher, revived the idea.

So what is Arts Night? “We are showcasing our different disciplines in the arts; [there is an] art show, dance performances, drama excerpts, and band and chorus are performing excerpts from their performances,” Christie said.

Since this was the first time BFA has ever planned and hosted an event like this, modifying the event to fit COVID guidelines wasn’t an issue. It was planned for the first time with COVID in mind. Palmer said that the Art Department wanted things kept small for this first time but are looking into having other schools come to Arts Night in the future to give their performances and show off their art as well.

The event was planned by BFA’s own Fine Arts Department, but the workshops were planned and presented by students. According to Palmer, in future years, they would love to have more students involved in the planning process. 

Palmer said that Arts Night was beneficial to our community. “It creates an inspirational and celebratory evening which builds community spirit and pride in our school while offering inspiration and joy to all.”

Christie added, “I think Arts Night promotes goodwill, our skills, our talents and the students most importantly…having a sense of pride in what we do, and what they do; it’s all about them.”