Got kids?  Want to get them out of the house?  Want them to collect something other than dust sitting on the damn couch all day?  Want to hang out with other grown-ups and have a pop or two while someone else keeps your kids busy?  Get to Bidwell Parkway from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 2. 

Young Audiences WNY teaching artist Gerald Mead will be at the Elmwood Village Association’s Picnic in the Parkway Summer Concert Series to help children make collage postcards with an Elmwood Village theme. Admission is free and any kid is welcome, but space is limited; only the first 150 children can participate. 

Gerald Mead has received a number of awards and grants, some from the New York Foundation for the Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts. He also teaches at Buffalo State College, formerly taught at the Burchfield-Penney Art Center and gives as much care to teaching art as to creating and collecting it. His work has been shown in many places, from the Albright-Knox Art Gallery to the International Museum of Photography and Film. It has even been shown in Europe. Mead has an MFA in visual studies through the University at Buffalo and a BS in design and BA in psychology from Buffalo State College.

Your kids will get their postcards back through the mail, covered in stamps and postmarks. It’s a great way for them to learn about interactive art and using the world around them as inspiration. So fire up your future deltiologist—this art activity promises to be fun and educational for the kids, and does not involve them murdering zombies with automatic weapons on your television screen for seven-hour stretches. More information is available at Young Audiences WNY’s website.

Young Audiences WNY is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to art education. For 49 years, they have provided performances, workshops and residencies in educational, cultural and community centers across WNY’s eight counties.  Nice.