Children’s arts festival dedicated to Malala Yousafzai

Nobel Prize winner an inspiring figure, organizer says

January 15, 2015 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Poster advertising the Children’s Choral & Arts Festival of Peace. Photo courtesy Rita Pihra-Majurinen

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A children’s arts festival held in Bay Ridge every year that is dedicated to world peace will be saluting Malala Yousafzai, the youngest person ever to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

The Children’s Choral & Arts Festival of Peace, now in its fourth year, will take place on Saturday, Jan. 31, at Union Church of Bay Ridge, 7915 Ridge Boulevard, at 3 p.m.

The festival will feature choral performances by children from Leif Ericson Day School, the Children’s Chorus of Bay Ridge, P.S. 102, John J. Pershing Intermediate School, Bay Ridge Preparatory School and Our Lady of Guadalupe Elementary School.

The afternoon will also feature an exhibit of artwork created by children from the Brooklyn Public Library’s Explore & Create Art Class, as well as artworks made by youngsters from P.S. 102, Bay Ridge Preparatory School and the Children’s Chorus of Bay Ridge.

There will also be activities for children, including an interactive art project, a video ‘activism’ project and face painting, according to organizers.

The festival this year honors Malala Yousafzai, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year at the age of 17. In 2012, young Malala was shot by the Taliban in her native Pakistan after she had been outspoken about the importance of education for girls.

“Malala’s message is a powerful one for children. It’s a message they can understand, a message they can put into practice. Education is the way to improve one’s life,” Rita Pihra-Majurinen, the festival’s co-director, said in a statement.

Pihra-Majurinen and festival co-director Julia Hurn dedicated last year’s festival to the plight of homeless children and indicated that their goal this year is to raise awareness and funds to help the homeless.

The Children’s Choral & Arts Festival of Peace is a non-competitive, invitational event that seeks to bring diverse children’s music and arts organizations together as a way of to displaying peace-building efforts.

For more information, visit www.childrenschorusofbayridge.org.