Ocean County College, Toms River, will host the 23rd annual Ocean County Teen Arts Festival on campus during March.
The Visual Arts exhibit will be on display in the OCC Fine Arts Center Gallery from March 5-27. The gallery exhibit is free and open to the public Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday until 5 p.m., and when performances and events take place in the theater.
On March 20, 7:30 p.m., a Visual Arts and Creative Writing Reception will be held in the OCC Fine Arts Center to honor those students whose work has been "Critiqued for Excellence" and who will represent Ocean County at the State Festival on May 22-23 at The College of New Jersey, Ewing. The reception is free and open to the public.
On March 27, 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., the county festival will be held, which includes performances, displays and workshops. The public is invited to attend.
"The Teen Arts Festival provides a showcase for young artists’ visual, performing and literary achievements," said Bobbi Krantz, Ocean County Teen Arts coordinator and OCC director of fine arts center. "The program seeks to identify, promote and nurture the artistic talents of teen-agers. One of the graduates from our Ocean County Teen Arts Program is Parris Mann (Lakewood) who has gone on to fame and fortune as a member of the River Dance Company and a former dancer with the New Jersey Tap Ensemble."
Among the 13 Ocean County high schools participating in this year’s festival are Jackson Memorial High School and Lakewood High School.
The Ocean County Teen Arts Festival is funded by the New Jersey Council on the Arts/Department of State through grant funds administered by the Ocean County Cultural and Heritage Commission with additional funding from the Friends of Teen Arts, the Ocean County Board of Freeholders, Ocean County College, Ocean County’s high schools, Sovereign Bank, Krantz and Sirota, DDS, PA, Dr. William Herbstman, and the Law Center of Toms River.