My Wider Opportunities: 1986 Arts Oddyssey

1986 Arts Oddyssey was a national Wider Op sponsored by Talus Rock GSC in Pennsylvania.  Participants chose one area of the arts they wanted to focus on during the trip (Dance, Theater, Folk Arts, or Visual Arts).  I was in the Folk Arts group.  During the event, we stayed at the University of Pittsburgh in a dorm.  It was the first time I had been on a real college campus & I loved it.  We also got to stay with a "home hospitality" family for a few days before the event started.  Another girl from the event & I stayed with the same family, & we had a great time with them.  They took us shopping, we went to the local park a lot, & also went on a visit to Grandma's house - the children's Grandma adopted us right away.  She even taught us how to make friendship bracelets.

As part of the folk arts group, I got to make lots of great stuff:    Straw Wreath    Tin Punch of Girl Scout logo (a heavy pie tin that fit into our  wreath to make a wall decoration.)     A quilted notebook cover     A painted wooden cat doorstop (see picture below.)     Coil baskets

We also got to go on lots of field trips during the event.  We visited the Scaife Museum in Pittsburgh, saw three different plays, visited Bedford Village & also got to play for a day at Idlewild Park.

Arts Odyssey was a lot of fun for many reasons.  I got to do what I love (make crafts), got to see some great plays, make new friends, & visit a part of the country I had never been to.  There were two girls at the event from Japan, & we all learned a lot from each other during the trip, too!  I became good friends with one of the Japanese girls & we stayed in contact for a long time after the event!