The Festival of The Arts celebrated its 50th anniversary this Wednesday and Thursday, displaying everything from a fully functional arcade game to a doodled-upon desk entitled “Senioritis.”

This year the music section of the festival featured performances from all of the school’s bands and choruses. A performance from Chamber Choir drew a big crowd when it sang a medley of some of its competition pieces, as well as three new songs including a rendition of the well-recognized “Fields of Gold,” originally recorded by Sting.

The festival also welcomed several coffeehouse bands and solo acts in a performance space called “The Venue”, which provided a soundtrack for the rows of art in the gym.

Highlights included performances from Whitman’s resident a capella groups “NOTA” and “Pitch Please” and an engaging selection from sophomore Aaron Dane on the marimba.

Junior Bailey Elaine Rosenblatt takes AP studio art and showcased her life-like, larger-than-life portraits at the festival.

The faces of her subjects were full of life and color and immediately stole spectators’ attention when they walked into the main gym.

Rosenblatt says that she actually enjoys the stress and frustration of trying to get a painting right when paired with the relaxation and sense of accomplishment at the end. She plans on pursuing art in college and possibly professionally.

Senior Maria Szczesny also plans on pursuing art in college, but in the field of glass blowing. Szczesny displayed her ceramics work from AP 3D studio art.

“Ceramics interests me because there are rules that you have to follow in order for your pieces to function and not fall apart,” Szcesny said. “But at the same time, there are an infinite number of ideas and possibilities for what you can make.”

Even with students who don’t plan on making a career out of art, their passion and dedication are still very evident. Junior Josie Schwartz exhibited this by traveling to a run-down neighborhood to take photographs of abandoned buildings.

“I love telling stories with my photos,” said Schwartz, who has been a photographer for five years, three of them in high school.

Though the enthusiasm of artists is not new, the event has evolved since its beginning in 1963. The festival has grown in terms of the number of students that participate, the amount of artwork on display and the number of people who attend the event.

“It just seems to have become bigger and bigger in terms of numbers,” said nine-year photo teacher Mike Seymour.

The overall presentation of the festival has also changed. “The music wasn’t always separate. It was more integrated,” said art teacher Jean Diamond.

The Festival of The Arts used to have music and art interspersed in presentations, complete with chalk artists drawing portraits, and even roving quartets to serenade the patrons, Diamond said.

Students used to have more variety in their presentations, Diamond said. “The kids could take their space, and they could make it whatever they wanted,” she said.

“The images may be different,” Diamond said, “but the passion is the same.”