22 May, 2014 marked MGCI’s first ever Doodle Fest. A concept created by Vicky Xu, a grade 10 student and Junior Executive of Art Council, the event made use of Garneau’s concrete track as a canvas for participants to draw on. Approximately one hundred students came out to doodle whatever they liked using chalk provided by the Art Council while enjoying the sunny spring weather. Event organizers hoped that by the end of the lunch period, the entire track would be covered in colourful drawings by students from all over the school.
“I think our inspiration was to hold an event where everyone could participate,” commented Vicky Xu. “There is no such thing as a ‘bad’ doodle, and more often than not, it’s the crazier doodles that are a lot more fun!”
Students spent the lunch period drawing on the track. Photo: Valiant Chan
Noreen Alidina, Treasurer of Art Council, added, “[Doodle Fest] is intended to bring everyone together by integrating our individual thoughts into one unified masterpiece.”
While participants let their creativity flow, members of Art Council distributed freezies to students. Unfortunately, the frozen treats ran out only a few minutes after the event started, so Art Council hopes to limit them to participants only for next time. Despite this setback, Doodle Fest seemed to have garnered overall positive feedback.
“I thought it was one of the most innovative events I had ever attended at Marc Garneau! I had so much fun doodling- it brought me back to my childhood,” commented Grade 9 participant Yilena Xu.
Although the event was originally planned to be held at lunch on 22 and 23 May, inclement weather postponed the second day of Doodle Fest to Monday 26 May, when students will have another chance to contribute to a masterpiece on the school track.
