An art project wants to make civics fun and encourage a few more people to get counted in the 2020 Census and vote in November.
Wide Awakes Mississippi will host 2020 Awakening, a free event open to all ages, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday at the Pike School of Art, 1312-C Harrison Ave., McComb.
Wide Awakes members will help children create billboard designs for causes that are dear to them and teach adults how to fill out the census and register to vote.
Monday, Oct. 5, is the deadline to submit census information and registering to vote in the November election, but those looking to do either still have time for both this weekend.
As long as voter registration forms are postmarked or submitted in person by Oct. 5, applicants will be able to vote in the general election this November.
“We’re just in time. We thought Oct. 3 would be a great day to get some last-minute voter registrations in and just make a day out of it,” said Pike School of Art-Mississippi director Calvin Phelps.
A representative from the U.S. Census Bureau will be there to talk to guests about the importance of the census and help them complete it.
The billboard project will let children flex their creativity in advocating for their issues.
Wide Awakes is ready to help visualize ideas ranging from teenagers who want a public skate park to 6-year-olds who want to make a billboard about how much they love cats and dogs.
“When we’re teaching art, we don’t make them make what we want them to make. We work with the kids to come up with a subject matter on their own,” Phelps said.
Mask wearing and social distancing will be in effect, and guests will be seated at tables spaced apart in the parking lot. Wide Awakes members will sanitize the stations between one-hour sessions, which guests are asked to book in advance.
The group encourages participation from people of all political stripes. Phelps wants the event to be the opposite of the vitriol seen on all sides of politics, he said.
The Mississippi chapter’s Oct. 3 Awakening comes the same day that chapters around the world will hold events in honor of the 160th anniversary of the original group’s 1860 movement to help elect Abraham Lincoln as president.
While the short-term goal of the new Wide Awakes is to create new voters, its long-term goal is to dispel feelings of political distrust and instead get people involved in a way that leads to listening, healing and justice.
“It seems like people have a distrust of government. We’re just trying to have more civic engagement and let people know that they can be part of the process.”
To reserve a space, visit https://rb.gy/t2sl8q.
