MVHS art teacher Brian Chow smiled as he watched his youngest daughter goofily finger paint a piece of paper. He took a few quick pictures on his phone, pleased that she seemed to be enjoying herself.

Chow organized the MVHS Art Festival on Saturday, April 27, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. The festival offered several activities for students and their families to interact with — a student art showcase in the library, food trucks such as Kona Ice, which served snow cones in the rally court and a fashion show in Black Box Theater.

“I wanted to offer a fun experience for students in the community to come to more than just an art show when you walk in and walk out,” Chow said. “Something where you can stay and enjoy yourself.”

One main attraction was the community art wall on which anyone could paint with a variety of paints provided on the side. Junior Morgan Duong attended the event both last year and this year, always leaving time to visit the wall and paint her own art.

“Not only do I like leaving my mark,” Duong said. “But I also like seeing what ends up on the paint wall every year.”

From 4:45 p.m. to 6 p.m., many students and parents gathered in the Black Box Theater to watch the Spring Fashion Show. Fashion Club members prepared several outfits based on their own theme and invited MVHS students to model their designs. Themes ranged from an 80’s throwback to denim to minimalistic clothing, outfits mainly consisting of scratch materials that designers transformed into the elaborate styles seen during the show.

Sophomore Naomi Yin was one of the models who walked in the show to present her designer’s clothing. This was her second year modeling, so she wasn’t as nervous as she was before, although seeing people from her classes did contribute to the slight feeling of anxiety she felt.

“You kind of have to fake it until you make it to boost your confidence,” Yin said. “Most of the female models do wear heels with at least one of the outfits they model, so [the heels] added a bit to the fear factor. But overall, the show ran smoothly and there weren’t any major accidents, so I’d say the show went well.”

Halfway during the show, senior Brian Lee, otherwise known as his stage name “Kid Kuza”, rapper and producer, made a guest appearance and performed a freestyle while the audience looked on with impressed looks, some laughing at his humorous but fluid lyrics.

The art, the music and the fashion were all elements that Chow hoped could showcase the creativity behind the academically centered atmosphere of MVHS.

“We’re trying to really imprint fun at MVHS, coming back to the idea that school is just supposed to be fun,” Chow said. “The second thing is trying to have people in our community recognize and validate the creativity.”