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Montgomery Bell Academy celebrates 15 years of its family-friendly ENDADA arts festival on Saturday, April 26, with a broad mix of established and emerging artists and performers from campus and beyond. 
 
Among the colorful maze of vendors and demonstrations, look for new ENDADA participants Twyla Lambert Clark, a textile artist who transforms found objects into functional art and clothing, and Hatch Show Print poster designer Cory Wasnewsky.
 
There will be familiar faces, including fine woodworkers Jim Womack and Gordon Chenery, both former teachers returning to campus to display and sell their crafts. David Arnold, a fixture of the beloved Opryland theme park days, will be drawing caricatures, alongside portraitist Ellie Caudill and ceramicist Philip Andrews. 
 
The theme of the day--led by student director Spencer Simmons--is “Sugar Rush,” and three candy-named stages will feature student-led bands, including Kibby and the Biscuits and Senioritis, while student entrepreneurs will host booths including automotive-themed clothing line Vitesse and Avery Jacobson’s intricate stencil paintings that bridge street and fine art.
 
Kids of all ages can participate in hands-on activities such as carving and painting wooden figures, throwing clay on a wheel, or designing their own trucker hats, while painter Jose Vera will be on hand to paint and bedazzle faces.
 
Meanwhile, the educational spirit of ENDADA comes full circle when food truck New Berlin pulls in alongside Grilled Cheeserie, Steaming Goat, and a student-run crêpe pop-up. New Berlin co-owner Braden Welborn is an MBA alum and veteran of early ENDADA, where he performed on stage before eventually launching his mobile German street food enterprise. 
 
“Many students who get their start at ENDADA later find their way into creative careers,” says art teacher Catharine Hollifield, who has shepherded the cross-disciplinary program for 15 years. “When young people synthesize their artistic and technical know-how and interpersonal skills, they begin to understand how to apply their creativity in meaningful, real-world ways.”  
 
ENDADA is free and open to kids of all ages, Saturday, April 26, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Montgomery Bell Academy, 4001 Harding Road.