South Surrey youth-led nonprofit hosting free art party for local kids<\/p>\n
Published 3:00 pm Monday, May 4, 2026<\/p>\n
A group of South Surrey students are proving that they can turn a passion into something bigger.<\/p>\n
The Playful Palette Foundation started with a love for the arts and has now become a non-profit organization built on creating an inclusive space for kids who might otherwise miss out on art and theatre opportunities.<\/p>\n
This youth-led non-profit was founded by a small handful of students at Earl Marriott Secondary who all made the same observation: while there are plenty of programs from young athletes, there are few accessible options for kids drawn to the arts.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe noticed that there aren\u2019t that many non-profits or organizations targeted towards helping kids in the arts or humanities,\u201d explained co-founder and event coordinator Hanna Hakak.<\/p>\n
For the team \u2013 now 12 members strong \u2013 the arts aren\u2019t just an interest, they\u2019re a core part of who they are.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe couldn\u2019t imagine our life without art,\u201d Hakak added. \u201cWe think this is a very important cause, which is why we care so much.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Playful Palette is hosting its first-ever free Art Party on May 9 at Bakerview Park. The free day-camp-style event will offer kids arts and crafts, musical theatre games, dancing and more.<\/p>\n
Hakak shared that this event is aimed at helping kids explore creativity in a fun, low-pressure environment.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur mission is to help kids who come from underprivileged families who are interested in the arts but never had the chance to participate,\u201d said Hakak. \u201cWe try to help them as much as possible by giving them scholarships, opportunities, and having events.\u201d<\/p>\n
The upcoming event builds on previous initiatives held by the non-profit organization, such as a community variety show and a sing-along event that drew a strong turnout.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to help as many kids as possible and really give as many kids access to the arts,\u201d explained marketing team member Natalia Atanackovic. \u201cThe main goal is to help as many kids as we can.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beyond creating opportunities, the students say they\u2019re also pushing back against the idea that young people can\u2019t lead meaningful change.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of the time as youth, we are not taken fully seriously,\u201d said Grade 11 student and Playful Palette president Sabine Lapointe. \u201cJust because we are young, that doesn\u2019t mean that we aren\u2019t capable of making a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hakak echoed that sentiment, adding that the organization is as much about impact as it is about inspiration.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of young people don\u2019t think that they can make an impact because of their age, \u2026 but we\u2019re trying to make a difference as much as we can,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n
The event organizers say community support can help the initiative grow, whether that\u2019s through donations, attending events, or simply spreading the word.<\/p>\n
Looking ahead, the group hopes to expand beyond South Surrey by reaching out towards other schools and communities.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to open new chapters so that we can help more kids in different places,\u201d Hakak said. \u201cAchieving this would be heartwarming just being able to make such an impact.\u201d<\/p>\n
For now, the focus is on May 9 and giving kids a chance to try something new.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really hope that they enjoy the fun and the creativity and all of those new opportunities,\u201d Hakak said. \u201cIt\u2019s a chance to discover something they might not have otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Art Party is open to children and families through a simple online application<\/a> available on The Playful Palette Foundation website<\/a>, with a focus on reaching those who may not typically have access to arts programming.<\/p>\n The party will be held at Bakerview Park from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"South Surrey youth-led nonprofit hosting free art party for local kids Published 3:00 pm Monday, May 4, 2026…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":648152,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194299],"tags":[49,48,163792,87674],"class_list":["post-648151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-surrey","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-lower-mainland","tag-surrey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=648151"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648151\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/648152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=648151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=648151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=648151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}