Kids Can Get Kinetic with These Family-Friendly Papio Kinetic Sculpture Parade Events
 
With the Papio Kinetic Sculpture Parade just around the bend, kids and their caregivers can easily join in on the fun with a bevy of events created just for them:  “Kinetic Flash,” a free pre-parade workshop that also invites kids to march in the Saturday, May 6 parade, a Sunday, May 7 “Papio Picnic & Kinetic Kids Day” at Fort East Martello’s courtyard, and free museum entry into Fort East Martello Museum with a special exhibit tour of the Stanley Papio collection that same day are all offered by Key West Art & Historical Society as a way to create fun for all ages.
 
Saturday, May 6, 10am – 12pm on the Custom House back porch: “Kinetic Flash”- a free parade entry group with a pre-parade workshop.  Children aged 6-13 are welcomed to join art educator Bria Ansara for a free pre-parade workshop that will guide participants in the creation of “wearable art” to be donned in the parade as a group entry.  The workshop will take place behind the Custom House starting promptly at 10am.  Participants are encouraged to wear bright, solid colors and lots of sunscreen, and also bring water bottles for the one-hour parade down Duval Street that follows the workshop.  FREE.
 
Sunday, May 7, 12pm-1pm at Fort East Martello Museum: “Stanley Papio: Junkyard Rebel Exhibit Tour.”  Come learn about and see the work of the late Stanley Papio, a man ahead of his time who saw art where others saw junk. The pioneering folk artist transformed the controversial metal collection piled high in his yard into extraordinary sculptural works— many of them comical and caustic commentary on neighbors and naysayers who wanted him to abide by zoning laws. When Papio passed suddenly in 1982, The Society acquired his collection— more than 100 sculptural objects and three-dimensional constructions, which now live permanently in the Fort museum’s renovated, climate-controlled gallery. FREE, with FREE museum entry all day long.
 
Sunday, May 7, 11:30am-3:30pm at Fort East Martello: “Papio Picnic & Kinetic Kids Day.”Bring a picnic blanket or lawn chairs and enjoy a post-parade afternoon in the courtyard of Fort East Martello with a picnic fundraiser presented by KWAHS and May Sands Montessori.  The Billy the Squid & Sea Cow Drifters band will be rolling out their fabulous signature style rockabilly with an outlaw twist, while kids and grown-ups enjoy a kinetic day of games, slingshot rockets, hula hoops, crafts, face painting, a waterslide, bake sale and lemonade stand, hot dogs, sausages and veggie dogs, and Pilar rum for the parents. $5 per person donation includes one cold soft drink and the afternoon’s activities.
 
The weekend parade celebration and its surrounding events are a nod to Papio’s legacy and collection of work and a wink to the rebel, outsider spirit in us all.  Join us as we celebrate, and introduce your family to a pioneering Florida Keys folk artist while at it!
 
For parade registration information, event schedule, entry guidelines and sponsorship information, visit www.papiokineticparade.com. The Papio Kinetic Sculpture Parade is sponsored in part by the Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Council of the Arts and Culture, and the State of Florida. Additional support provided by the Monroe County Tourist Development Council, Historic Tours of America, Margaritaville Key West Resort & Marina and Southernmost Beach Café.  Your Museums.  Your Community.  It takes an Island.
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