Hampton Township School District presents Hues and Harmony

Just in time for athletes’ transition from winter to spring sports seasons, Hampton Township School District’s creative types have the opportunity to showcase their talents.

The annual Hues and Harmony celebration is taking place throughout March, which happens to be both Music In Our Schools Month and Youth Art Month.

For the latter, district educators are turning the spotlight toward younger students.

“Last year, we focused on secondary, so this year our focus is elementary,” Lisa Woods, head of the visual arts department, said. “The three elementary schools in our district happened to have their open houses during March, and they just thought: Hey, this is a great opportunity for us to bring these two things together. It’s a great time for tons of parents to be able to come in and see their kids’ work.”

The open houses are scheduled for March 21 and 23 at Wyland Elementary School, March 23 and 30 at Central, and March 29 and 30 at Poff. Student artwork created throughout the academic year will be on display, including paintings, drawings and three-dimensional pieces.

“Most kids love art,” Woods said. “It’s fun to create and use your imagination, and creativity is becoming more and more important in education, in the workforce. So you really have to embrace this and celebrate this.”

Also featured at the open houses is a tuneful element.

“We’ll be showing a video compilation of musical performances from grades 4 through 12, so that folks visiting the open house can get a taste of what the music program has to offer in band, chorus and orchestra throughout the grade levels,” Sean Desguin, head of the district’s music department, said.

In addition, five musical performances were scheduled, starting with the Hampton Middle School Band “Pops” Concert and Hampton High School Band Winter Concert on the first two days of the month. Next up are the middle school Chorus Concert, March 7; high school choir Winter Concert, March 9; and the All-District Orchestra Concert, March 15.

As was the case with countless events, a similarly artistic endeavor fell victim to the onset of the covid-19 pandemic in March 2020.

“We used to do a K-12 show at our high school, and we had the entire show hung, ready to be seen,” Woods said. “And then the next day, everything was shut down.”

With everything now open again, she invites the community to join in the Hues and Harmony festivities.

“Everybody has their imaginations and their creativity and their ability to visualize,” she said, “and I think everybody has artistry in them.”

For more information, visit www.ht-sd.org/arts/hues-harmony.