Vaughan
November 20, 2008 11:10 PM
Genevieve DeBellis
Although the evening’s tally is still rolling in, one young woman’s big night scored a huge hit for little minds.
About 600 people turned out in support of the first-ever Big Art for little minds event last Friday at the Paramount Event Venue in Woodbridge, the brainchild of 22-year-old contemporary dance graduate Nicole Eliopoulos.
“I may be thinking big, but I believe you got to dream big,” said Nicole.
Singers, painters, actors, DJs and others in the arts strutted their stuff in the hopes of raising awareness of homegrown talent and raising funds to help build a wellness centre for children in Greece.
Organizer Nicole said she wanted to help open up young minds to the possibility of a future in the arts and highlight the benefits of continuing education past grade school.
“It’s all about connecting and opening up our senses,” she said. “We need new minds that can think bigger and dream.”
Regional Councillor Joyce Frustaglio said the night was unique.
“I was just blown away,” she said. “To say it was an extraordinary event wouldn’t even do it justice.”
Nicole is the daughter of Peter Eliopoulos of Vaughan company byPeterandPauls.com, a one-stop shop for special events planning and service.
Nicole’s sister, Katherine, operating manager of byPeterandPauls.com gifts and baskets, said her sibling’s inspiration came after a visit to Greece, specifically the town of Sparti, where their father is from. Many children there drop out of school at a young age and inherit their parent’s lifestyle, often working the farms, said Katherine, who helped organize the event.
Nicole said that through artistic expression and creative classes, the centre she hopes to build in Greece can help children develop a greater sense of themselves and their place in the world.
“I think we would have a society based on human values, equality and peace through artistic expression,” she said.
“We just want to make a brighter future and children are the future. So this is where the idea came from,” said Katherine.
For more information, go to
www.bigartforlittleminds.com.