The power of the arts: Bill Cho's United Taekwondo to be part of Kaneland art festival

MAPLE PARK – Those who head each year to the Kaneland Community Fine Arts Festival are treated to a full schedule of musicians, visual artists and actors.

This year, for the first time, the martial arts will be on display.

Maria Dripps-Paulson, the executive director of the festival, said organizers are excited to welcome participants from Bill Cho’s United Taekwondo.

“People don’t really think of it as an art thing, but it’s called the martial arts,” she said.

The festival, in its 17th year, takes place from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday at Kaneland High School, 47W326 Keslinger Road, Maple Park. There is no admission charge. For information and a list of participants, visit www.kanelandartsinitiative.org.

Representatives from Bill Cho’s will take part in a board breaking workshop at 1 p.m. in the commons area. After that, Bill Cho’s will be featured in an auditorium performance at 2 p.m.

Dripps-Paulson noted that the most recent winner of the Mr. Kaneland competition performed a martial arts routine. As she watched it, she said she thought of the upcoming Bill Cho’s presentation and said, “I’m really glad they’re coming.”

“It was awesome,” she said of the Mr. Kaneland performance. “It was definitely choreographed. It was definitely a performance.”

She said she expects more than 3,000 guests to attend the festival. There will be work displayed by professional artists and students from Kaneland School District 302 schools. Also, there will be artists in attendance. They will show their work. Some will perform work as well.

Dripps-Paulson pointed out some highlights. There will be Tom Leibing, an artist who works with repurposed tank drums. There also will be a tank drum demonstration and performance, and a clinic for those in kindergarten through 12th grade. Advance registration is required for the clinic by emailing kai@kaneland.org.

A photographer, Michael Barton, will offer a workshop, “The Impact of Light on Photography.” The photography workshop is a response to community feedback from past festivals, Dripps-Paulson said.

“We get people who ask us, ‘Can you do a workshop on a specific medium of the arts?’ … We figured photography was a good one,” Dripps-Paulson said. “We’re giving the community what they asked for in the surveys.”

Know more
The Kaneland Community Fine Arts Festival will take place from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday at Kaneland High School, 47W326 Keslinger Road, Maple Park. There is no admission charge. For information and a list of participants, visit www.kanelandartsinitiative.org.