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I Madonnari, the first festival of its kind in North America
to present the performance art of street painting, will once again transform
the plaza at the Santa Barbara Mission into an Italian Street Painting
Festival on May 26, 27, and 28.
This is the fifteenth I Madonnari presented by the Children's
Creative Project, a nonprofit, arts education program of the Santa Barbara
County Education Office, William J. Cirone, superintendent. The festival
will open at noon on Saturday with a ceremony and will run from 10 a.m.
to 6 p.m. all three days. Admission is free.
I Madonnari is produced by the Children's Creative Project. The
organization is the first to bring this public art form to North America.
After traveling to the festival in Italy, Executive Director Kathy Koury
created the concept for the fund-raiser and produced the first-year
event in 1987, when the Santa Barbara Mission was celebrating its bicentennial.
Father Virgil Cordano and the bicentennial committee members agreed
to accept the street painting festival as a part of their celebration.
From that time on, the festival has continued to grow and now is being
replicated in other cities throughout the U.S. Since 1992, the Children's
Creative Project has produced a second festival during April in San
Luis Obispo to raise funds for arts education programs in that county.
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