Festival of the Masters offers plenty of free, kid-friendly fun this weekend

What child does not enjoy making arts and crafts projects? This weekend, youngsters can participate in fun, free projects at Walt Disney World during the Festival of the Masters at Downtown Disney.

In recent years, the long-running outdoor festival that showcases fine art has expanded its scope, adding more and varied activities that appeal to the whole family. Basing the festival on creativity, and not just traditional art forms, has allowed there to be more activities that engage children. For example, amazing sidewalk chalk drawings by adult artists have been a staple at the festival. But who do you typically see outside drawing on driveways? Children, of course! So they have been given their own space to work, too, amid the 1,000 square feet of sidewalks that will be covered.

When sponsor Michaels Stores joined the Festival of the Masters two years ago, experts began offering presentations, how-to experiences and Make-It, Take-It booths — many of which were designed for youngsters. This year, kids can make and take home a Mickey ear wood frame and a sun visor, color a Disney masterpiece featuring characters from the upcoming movie “Frozen,” and contribute to a larger-than-life mural. These activities are located on the West Side of Downtown Disney near Bongos Cuban Cafe.

In previous years, animators also were stationed in the area to teach guests how to draw their favorite Disney characters. The classes were modeled after the Animation Academy inside DisneyQuest but also can be seen on Disney property in the lobby of the Art of Animation hotel. The animators take about 30 minutes to walk guests of all abilities through the process. My own children really enjoy the Animation Academy each time we go to DisneyQuest, and it’s easy to see how this is a popular activity at the Festival of the Masters, too.

If the visual or decorative arts aren’t what your kids enjoy the most, they might enjoy the performance art that will be on display at the festival. On the plaza in between DisneyQuest and Cirque du Soleil, performers from La Nouba will appear from 4 to 4:15 p.m. each day. In addition, there will be performance artists on stage at Waterside Stage throughout the day.

The applied arts also get their due at the festival, too. On the Marketplace side, kids can help build LEGO masterpieces and work on an interactive mural at the LEGO Imagination Center. Little MissMatched and Rainforest Cafe also are scheduled to offer kid-friendly activities, as well.

As I mentioned in my previous post, Disney Interactive has two booths to demonstrate its new video game system, Disney Infinity, and a new iOS app, Disney Animated. The Infinity booth is located in front of Once Upon A Toy in the Marketplace, while the Disney Animated booth is on the West Side. You can read more about both here.

Festival of the Masters begins today and runs through Sunday. Friday and Saturday hours are 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and it’s open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission and parking are free, as are all the kids’ activities I have described. How often can you say that about a Walt Disney World event?

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