Pick of the Palette

Good-bye long car rides, hello fun art classes! That’s what kids in Surrey are saying about the arrival of two Arts Umbrella locations in their ‘hood this fall.

This arts education centre has been a hit with thousands of kids for more than three decades at the Granville Island location, but kids in the ’burbs had to travel into town to experience the unique visual and media arts, theatre, creative movement and music classes.

What makes it so special? Their slogan says it all: ‘Inspiring kids for life through the arts!’ Their number one goal is art education. Classes like Drawing & Painting introduce children to the great masters before they get their hands dirty with class materials like charcoal, oil pastel, watercolor and paper collage. In Dress-Up Drama, wee divas share stories and myths prior to diving into the tickle trunk. While the focus in Surrey will be on serving the artistic needs of kids 2 to 12, they also intend to offer Art-Full Saturdays, a free drop-in program for families.

Kids love experimenting with the high-quality supplies (no crayons allowed) to create their masterpieces and moms appreciate the small class sizes (12 students led by 2 teachers) and highly qualified artist instructors. We love the location—particularly of Arts Umbrella Surrey – South, located at The Shops at Morgan Crossing. With everything from grocery stores to gyms, not to mention plenty of free parking, we can be busy crossing items off our ‘to-do’ lists while the kids are kept busy creating.
Good to Know: Though not yet open, you can go to the Surrey locations’ website and request notification of the official opening, something that’s especially useful if you want to be among the first to register for late September or early October classes. Alternatively, sign your child up now for a class at the Granville Island location, then request a transfer once Surrey opens its doors.

Van Gogh may have felt suffering was a necessary prerequisite of the artistic process, but there’s no reason your little artist-in-the-making (not to mention his mom) needs to endure the pain (of a long car ride) for the sake of art. Tested by Carolyn W., Vancouver