The Bay Pines VA Healthcare System’s (VAHCS) C.W. Bill Young VA Medical Center will host the annual Veterans Creative Arts Festival local competition on Thursday, February 15 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The event will take place in the JC Cobb room located on the first floor of the main medical center building. Held in conjunction with VA’s National Salute to Veteran Patients Week – a week designated to pay tribute and express appreciation to Veterans – the competition includes 51 categories in the visual arts division that range from oil painting to leatherwork to paint-by-number kits. In addition, there are 100 categories in the performing arts pertaining to all aspects of music, dance, drama and creative writing. Veterans, family members, VA staff, volunteers and the general public are encouraged to attend the event to enjoy art displays, performances and more. “The Creative Arts Competition gives Veterans an outlet to express themselves through various forms of art. Often, this form of therapy is the life-saving tool Veterans need for rehabilitation,” said Suzanne M. Klinker, Director, Bay Pines VAHCS. Nationwide, medical facilities like the Bay Pines VAHCS use creative arts as one form of rehabilitative treatment to help Veterans recover from and cope with physical and emotional disabilities. Across the country each year, Veterans enrolled at VA health care facilities compete in a local creative arts competition. Through a national judging process, first, second and third place entries in each category are determined. Select winners will be invited to attend the National Veterans Creative Arts Festival in October 2018. To learn more about the Veterans Creative Arts Festival local competition or to obtain an application for entry, please contact Erin Todd, Music Therapist at 727-398-6661, extension 15884, or Jenny Campbell, Recreation Therapist at (727) 398-6661, extension 12793. To learn more about the national program, please visit: www.va.gov/opa/speceven/caf/. Watch a video from last year’s festival here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LcY4Jhp-C8
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