On the first day of Reverberate arts festival, a group of Ebinger students kicked off the day with their version of "Livin' on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi.
"I was a bit nervous but I feel like it went well, and we sounded really good," said 7th grader Bill Keeble, who was on vocals. "It took a lot of work but our directors directed us well and got us organized, and we all practiced really well."
His fellow bandmate Ryker Patel, a 6th grader at Ebinger, plays the drums. He said he's excited there are events like Reverberate that allow him and other young people to perform in front of a big audience.
"One of the most important things is getting the younger generations ready to play music, he said. "It's almost a way of expressing your emotions and is also really fun."
He said it took lots of rehearsals and hard work but ultimately paid off in the end.
"I feel very proud that we've come all this way and have actually doe them and perform them well," he said.
Bill and Ryker are two of more than 1,400 students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade are participating in this year's festival, hosted by Chicago Public Schools.
This is the fourth annual festival, taking place at the Chicago Cultural Center.
"It is a four day multi-disciplinary festival," said Danielle Holtz, CPS Director of student programs. "We have theater, music, dance and visual arts across the street at the design museum."
She said the festival is made by students for students.
"They participate in workshops. We have an arts organization fair letting them know about all the places they belong in the city," she said. "Really, the festival is about belonging. You belong downtown. You're an artist. The city is yours."
Carolina Garibay
Arts Fair participants include After School Matters, the Chicago Children's Theatre and the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry. There are also several workshops led by professional artists. These include jewelry making, song writing and improv.
Manager for City Programs and Reverberate Sheldon Frazier said the festival shows students that they can and will be Chicago's future artists.
"I think this is the time for them to work out what art means to them and what being a performer means to them so as they develop they have more opportunities to express themselves."
The free festival runs through May 8.
