Arts Festival 2021 - A Renaissance Is Coming
let us celebrate the beauty of art, of hope, and of Jesus, always.
By: Elise Reiff, Arts Festival Chair
Arts Festival 2021 will soon be upon us, and it is a much-welcomed event! It is almost unbelievable that, at this time last year, we were closing things down and had to put an indefinite pause on our 2020 festival. But here we are, one year later, and we are ready to celebrate the beauty of the Renaissance!
A Renaissance Is Coming
When we chose the Renaissance theme in the summer of 2019, we had no idea that a global pandemic would shut down the world as we knew it, throwing our lives into a darkness of sorts. Though it goes without saying, this past year has been full of unknowns, full of chaos, and full of fear. We have waded through a plague, many of us facing loss and hardship, questioning when things will feel normal again.
I can’t help but see the parallels to those in the Middle Ages. They too were dealing with these questions and doubts.
And while I don’t want to get ahead of myself too much, it does seem that there may be a glimmer of light breaking through at the end of the tunnel. We might just be seeing a time ahead of us when things will look normal again.
We won’t know for certain until it gets here, but we will look on with hope and great expectation. A Renaissance is coming, and it is clothed in wonder … full of beautiful things, creative inventions, and new art!
Celebrating Beauty
It is perfectly fitting that as we are, hopefully, ending our own dark ages, we get to celebrate the arts of the Renaissance as a school. We will create art, stretch our engineering minds, learn new skills, and celebrate the beauty that comes from ashes.
I am brought to the words of Isaiah 43:18-19, “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”
How lovely that we have this scripture to see us through these times. It may be hard to not remember these things, as they are still happening to us in real-time, but what’s better than that is to look to the new, to look at what’s ahead, and to see all that God has prepared.
In the words above from Isaiah, God’s message was regarding the coming of a Savior for the world! That same Savior, who reigns in beauty and splendor, moved the Renaissance artists to take up their brushes, pens, or chisels. That same radiant holiness stirred the hearts of men and women to celebrate in new expressions throughout a previously broken region. That same Jesus is our hope today in 2021.
So as we move from darkness into light, let us celebrate the beauty of art, of hope, and of Jesus, always.
We kindly request the presence of all grade 3-8 lords, ladies, masters, mistresses, peasants, majesties, court men, villagers, knights, counts, earls, dukes, and duchesses for the Arts Festival on Wednesday, April 21. Join us in Renaissance attire for feasting and frolicking. Stay tuned for more details. Contact Lady Sarah Barber, Lady Meghan Grubbs, or Lady Elise Reiff with any questions.
God shows up in our messy places and transforms ordinary moments into holy ones.