04/22/2026
It's National Volunteer Week, and it is so important for us to share how special our volunteers are to FestiFools and FoolMoon. Without you, these large scale creations, their public display, and the magical and Foolish hours we have on the street would be impossible. You hold us (and our giant puppets) up!
Let's hear it from some of our students this semester:
"My piece would not have been possible without the help of volunteers coming in and it was always so crazy seeing how much volunteers would get done over the weekend and how much our works would come to life in the times that we were gone." - Kelsey
"They basically did all the papier-mache for me, which is a huge accomplishment because it would have taken me FOREVERRRRRR to papier-mache by myself. I suppose that is one reason why events like FestiFools and FoolMoon attract such dedicated public support: they are not just looking at the individual work of the artist, but at the combination of the work of the community as a whole." -Arron
"Every time I wanted to give up, I thought of the people who pushed our piece even when they didn’t know what it was. We have so much help in the creative process, and it's so lovely to see what the creative community can do in AA. Now public art is love and community to me, having people be there for your vision, and it later on becomes our vision. I appreciate everyone so much." - Raven
"I’m proud to say I’m a public artist after being a part of both FoolMoon and FestiFools, which allowed me to interact with the city of Ann Arbor; the most positive influence this class had on me was the fact that we didn’t just do it for us. We did it for them, for every volunteer who dedicated their time to painting the limbs of our creative masterpieces, for every parent who drove their kids from near or far to be able to line up outside to see the parade, and for every child who looked forward to this event and interacted with our puppets with the biggest smile on their face." - Effe
Putting on our annual public art events takes a VILLAGE, and we are so grateful to have such wonderful, supportive community members that make up ours. Thank you thank you thank you and we hope to create with you again soon :)
