WVHS artists to display artwork at 2nd Annual Monarch Village Fest on Saturday

Back in May of 2023, Warwick's Village Board approved a resolution making the village of Warwick the first New York State community to be named a Monarch Village USA member, a designation that signifies Warwick’s commitment to the preservation and protection of monarch butterflies. Since that resolution, Warwick has celebrated Monarch Butterfly Month every June, and this year is no different!

This Saturday, June 21, Warwick's Monarch Village Pollinator Project is holding its 2nd Annual Monarch Village Festival, and we are proud to say it is taking place at our very own Park Avenue Elementary School. The free and family-friendly event begins at 10:00 am and continues until 1:00 pm.

The fest will feature educational exhibits and demonstrations, as well as art and music, created by Warwick Valley students and their guests from the Bellvale School in grades K-12. All of it is aimed at raising awareness about Monarch butterflies, the critical role pollinators in our environment, and promoting positive environmental stewardship. Among this year's festival attractions will be an installation by Warwick Valley High School students in art teacher Nicole Sisco's classes. Ms. Sisco reached out to a handful of her students with the opportunity, which would require them to paint both during and outside of school hours in order to meet the project's deadlines and guidelines.

"Abbey Ashely, one of the founders, advocates and leaders of the Monarch Butterfly Project, approached me to see if some of my students would be interested in creating artwork for this year's festival, and I was elated to give my students an opportunity to display their work outside of school," said Ms. Sisco. "I wanted them to make sure they had time to create the high level paintings I knew they would be capable of, inspired by the Monarch Butterfly Project's guidelines... they all rose to the occasion!"   

Thirteen students took on the challenge, working in Ms. Sisco's room during their lunches and study halls, and taking their canvases home to complete their paintings. The paintings are all 16" x 20" acrylic on canvas works. Congratulations to these student artists, whose work will be on display on Saturday (you can preview the paintings in the gallery below this story)...

• Maddie Pesta
• Felicia Gambino
• Madison Tyzbir
• Catie Burrows
• Jenny Walker
• Aubrey Grigalunas
• Zoe Swornik
• Emerson Ryle
• Esme Gilley
• Genesis Martinez
• Eliza Thomas
• Sophia Wehrman
• Olive Weaver

"I am so proud of their effort and the advanced skills and creative techniques that each student brought to their work," Ms. Sisco beamed. "I gave the students a lot of artistic license to create work they would be proud to display, and they have all done something that is truly their own and an expression of their unique styles. I even had one student approached with an inquiry to purchase her painting... the show hasn't even taken place!" 

When you go to the 2nd Annual Monarch Village Festival on Saturday, you'll also want to be sure to catch the Warwick Valley Middle School Honors Chorus, which performs at 11:00 am under the direction of music teacher Shane Peters! There will all kinds of WV creativity, ingenuity and activism on display!