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Wesley creative arts program celebrates holidays in South Fayette

By Harry Funk staff Writer hfunk@thealmanac.Net 3 min read
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Harry Funk / The Almanac

Caithlin Kane of the Flying Sock Monkeys does a dramatic ending to a song, with Brady Morgan offering applause.

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Harry Funk / The Almanac

Drew Gagne has a friendly greeting for Allison Broaddrick, creative arts facilitator, during the Winter Wonderland Fun and Music event.

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Grace Gagne claps to the music at the Wesley Family Service creative arts program event.

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Participating in a musical parachute activity are, from left, Katie Harrill, creative arts program supervisor; Alan Suyasa; and volunteers Kory Antonacci and Jake Wheatley as Mary Poppins and Chimney Sweep Bert.

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Singing Christmas carols are, from left, Addison Reilly; Lilly Reilly, creative arts facilitator; Miranda Murphy, music therapy intern; and Allison Broaddrick, creative arts facilitator.

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Grace Gagne has fun playing "pass the hat."

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Saul Ploskina joins Katie Harrill, creative arts program supervisor, to participate in a music-related activity.

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Performing with the Flying Sock Monkeys are Clara Govachini, left, and Caithlin Kane.

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Volunteers Kory Antonacci and Jake Wheatley portray Mary Poppins and Chimney Sweep Bert.

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From left are Arianna Bendlin, music therapist, and Jessica Jacka, lead music therapist.

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Lilly Reilly entertains with a song.

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Caithlin Kane performs with the Flying Sock Monkeys.

As with most stories, the one about Katie Harrill’s 18 years as creative arts program supervisor for Wesley Family Services has a humble beginning.

“I had three kids in a file room,” she recalled. “It was a part-time job.”

Today, the program serves about 170 youngsters – “Our census has nearly doubled in the past two years” – in providing a fun, friendly approach to therapy for children and teenagers with behavioral, social, psychological, communication, physical and motor-cognitive functioning issues.

“We use creative arts modalities including music, art, drama and dance to reach developmental goals,” Harrill explained.

The growth of the program is mirrored in the level of participation in its Winter Wonderland Fun and Music event, held Dec. 17 at Wesley’s new location in South Fayette Township’s Abele Business Park.

Harry Funk / The Almanac

Harry Funk / The Almanac

Making for a suitable holiday portrait are, from left, Megan Hoffman, clinical manager of Wesley Family Service’s Parent-Child Interaction Therapy; Katie Harrill, creative arts program supervisor; Ken Rothert, Financial Business Analyst II, and Susan Ahlers, human resources manager. In front is Dave Grabowski, director of outpatient services, as Buddy from “Elf.”

“The first year, I want to say we had about 50 people, total, in attendance,” Harrill reported. “The next year, we probably had a hundred. Last year, we had 150. And this year, we had 230.”

Guests had the opportunity to enjoy activities, treats and plenty of music, along with visits by a variety of characters from popular kid-oriented movies and, of course, Santa and Mrs. Claus, all in a thoroughly accommodating and non-threatening atmosphere.

“You hear about the kids being afraid of Santa and having to wait in a line,” Harrill said. “You even hear about the sensory-friendly Santa events, which are wonderful, but there’s still a line, and they don’t allow that warm-up time. They don’t have the capacity to do it. And these families can’t take their kids to school parties.”

The Wesley party featured performances by the creative arts program’s pair of rock bands, the Flying Sock Monkeys and the Snow Phantoms.

Harry Funk / The Almanac

Singing for the Flying Sock Monkeys is Jason Smierciak.

“The Flying Sock Monkeys just actually celebrated their 10th year,” Harrill related. “There were a group of kids whom I’d been working with for years, and the service they were in, they needed something new. They needed to work on different skill sets.”

So they formed a band, named it, developed a logo and started rehearsing. Three of the original five members are still with the group, which now numbers nine and performs often at community events.

“It’s amazing to see the growth that they’ve made,” Harrill said. “They’re now friends. They socialize outside of the group. They’ve really become their own little family.”

The Snow Phantoms came together through similar circumstances a couple of years ago as yet another testament to how far Wesley’s creative arts program – offered at all of its locations, in South Fayette, Penn Hills and Marshall Township – has come.

“It’s definitely grown to a self-sufficient program that is all private-pay, and I think that is really significant,” the supervisor said. “We do have so many kids, so clearly the families are recognizing the benefits.”

For more information, visit wfspa.org/service/creative-arts-program.

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