Holiday parties might not be abundant this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, but the Firehouse Art Center aims to ensure ugly sweaters are.
On Thursday, Elaine Waterman, executive director at Firehouse, will host a virtual ugly sweater do-it-yourself class on the art center’s Facebook page.
People can participate in the class in two ways: They can purchase the ugly sweater kits from the Firehouse’s Eventbrite events page or create their ugly sweater using items they already have at home.
For people who choose to buy design kits, they come with guides for creating four designs, fabric glue, a fabric marker, confetti, ribbon, felt, Christmas bulbs, bells and other holiday sweater goodies.
There are several options attendees can choose from, and some include sweatshirts. People can order kits for two, which come with two sweatshirts and two design kits or they can order for the whole family with four sweatshirts and four design kits.
“We envision families getting together at the dining table to make their sweatshirts, and then taking a crazy holiday sweater picture at the end,” Waterman said. “2020 was a pretty dark year, we want to give people opportunities to create fun memories and just have a laugh.”
A do-it-yourself ugly holiday sweater kit from Firehouse Art Center.(Photo by Heather A. Davis)Arpita Choudhury, a Firehouse board member, will be participating in the class with her daughter. She believes ugly sweaters give people the opportunity to put their seriousness aside and lighten up.
“The Firehouse is a wonderful place where the community can engage in the arts through a variety of activities and events, it is a wonderful part of living in Longmont,” Choudhury said. “I think it would be a fun activity to do with my kid.”
Waterman knew the moment she was hired as Firehouse executive director in February that there would be an ugly sweater event this year.
“I love ugly holiday sweaters and I have wanted to do a class or an event for a long time,” she said. “The plan was to sell tickets, have dinner, everyone gets a sweatshirt, there was a mini presentation while people decorated and at the end there would be a fashion show, with people voting for the best designs.”
Even though the event is free, Firehouse is asking that people register for the event prior to the class using Eventbrite. The cost of the ugly sweater kits includes the entry fee to Firehouse’s Fashion Show.
On Dec. 17, Firehouse will hold a virtual fundraiser featuring some of the ugly holiday sweaters created in the DIY class. People who don’t purchase a design kit will need to pay an entry fee to enter their designs into the fashion show, and people are encouraged to enter their pets’ ugly holiday sweaters in the show, too.
The fundraiser will allow people to show off their holiday sweaters and win some prizes while supporting the Firehouse.
“I wanted to honor the Firehouse's mission of inspiring human connection by providing life-enhancing experiences through the creation of art. I wanted to keep this as an opportunity for our community to create something together,” Waterman said.
