The Youth Art Festival was a competition organized for artists to showcase their talent. It was hosted at the Vera Davis Center in Venice on Nov. 17. The categories for the competition were poetry, drawing, painting and photography. Kids of all ages were allowed to participate.

The festival was a fun environment for artists to meet each other and build
connections with one another said senior Mireya Curiel who participated in the competition and won first place for her poem.

“I was really surprised and excited I didn’t expect to win because there was another poem that was really good,” said Curiel.

The festival was a free space to fully express their ideas and passions. There was complimentary food, music, candy and a raffle that made everything more exciting.

“I saw a lot of cool art and listened to some inspiring poetry, it’s amazing to see how one expresses themselves through poetry.” said senior Andrew Ellersick, who has attended multiple festivals, he also said this one would have to be his favorite.

There were volunteers helping out at the event. They came from Loyola Marymount University and from high schools all around.