By Ashlee Geraghty, Staff Writer
For many First Flight High School students, their “fondest” memory of Dowdy Amusement Park is riding by and seeing a field containing abandoned roller coasters and carnival rides. Recently, this shabby and deserted piece of land has been shown some love from the town of Nags Head. Now when people drive by, they are likely to see children engaging in play on the brand new playground or running free in the large grass field of what is now the new Dowdy Park.
UPDATE: Artrageous will start at 1 p.m. and run until 8 due to the threat of rain. Check the Dare County Arts Council Facebook page throughout the day for updates.
This new attraction makes for the perfect location for the local annual event, Artrageous. Artrageous is put on by the Dare County Arts Council and was created to get the community more involved in the arts.
It involves a wide array of activities, targeting children from the elementary to middle school level. From making crafts to painting and even learning new yoga poses, Artrageous promises to have a little something for everyone.
“They (The Dare County Arts Council) organized the event and have many different community members come and participate,” First Flight art teacher Alice Baldwin said. “It’s for the visual and performing arts, so we’ll have students dancing, and singing, and different bands playing, as well as crafts going on for the little ones.”
This year at Artrageous, one of the spotlighted projects will be the ongoing OB Cans project. This involves the painting of trash cans that will be placed in various spots in the town of Nags Head and its beaches.
“The OB Cans project was designed by a former student, Berry Lee,” Baldwin said. “He was in high school with me and it was part of his senior project to get art in the community. So he teamed up with Nags Head and we’ve just kept it going.”
Baldwin has taken part in Artrageous for most of her life, whether it be participating as a kid, volunteering as a high school student or helping coordinate the FFHS Art Club to be a part of it.
Artrageous is a free event and will be taking place at Dowdy Park from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. The official grand opening of Dowdy Park will be taking place at 4 and a free outdoor concert will wrap up the day. An arts and craft show and local food vendors will be on site as well.
Junior Ashlee Geraghty can be reached at geraghtyas0916@daretolearn.org.
