Epcot International Festival of the Arts Fun

Epcot is hosting their 1^st International Festival of the Arts.  It started January 13^th and will run until February 20^th, on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays.  Throughout the park are exhibits by various artists, with plenty to look at and buy.  Disney photographers are out in masse for an amazing addition of life size pictures that you can step into and become part of the famous painting.

shhhh don't tell her this is here LOL

The food offerings are artistic and yummy, both pleasing to look at and taste.  I like the giant cookie that looks like an artist’s palette of paints. In the evening, they have the Broadway Concert Series to listen and enjoy.  There are also seminars and workshops to learn various things from. 

Since it was my mom’s birthday this week, I treated her, Staci, and me to the Artfully Blending Tea workshop with Karon Cannon of the Tea Craze shop here in Kissimmee.

  She is a tea sommelier and spoke about the difference in teas, health benefits, and how to properly brew a cup.  Then she helped us all blend our own tea called Tranquil Moments.  It had chamomile, lemon grass, lavender, passion flower, and mint in it.  There is a definite recipe with specific amounts, but Staci and I had fun just mixing all of it together LOL.  It smelled a bit iffy until we added the mint, then all was well.

Over the weekend the three of us had created our own mickey ears to Disney bound with.  Staci decided to go bounding as the Cheshire Cat, so after the workshop we quickly made our way over to the England Pavilion to meet Alice in Wonderland.

  Staci was first in line and was so excited.  Alice was completely delightful and precocious, which Staci loved of course. Staci also loved having Alice fawn over her Cheshire Cat ears and doll.

The most fun we have had at the festival though was Figment’s Brush with the Masters Scavenger Hunt.  Figment the Dragon is hidden in paintings all over the World Showcase, and you must find him.  In each painting, he has either replaced the main image (think Mona Lisa with Figment’s face) or has been incorporated into the painting somewhere.

  Once you find him, you match up the corresponding painting’s sticker to the correct pavilion.  The paintings can be challenging at times to find, the frames are what help a bunch.  Each frame has Figment prominently front and center.  After you find all the paintings, you take the completed chart back, and you receive one of four different magnets, each featuring Figment in a famous painting.  Staci and I love scavenger hunts, so this was great fun.

Only two more weekends left for the festival then all that fun is gone.  Hopefully it will become an annual event.