Children celebrate creativity at Scoville’s Dot Day

SALISBURY — Children escaped the rain Sunday, Sept. 13, for an afternoon of ice cream, balloons, raffles, art projects and other activities at Scoville Memorial Library.

The library and Project SAGE hosted the event in celebration of International Dot Day, inspired by Peter H. Reynolds’ children’s book “The Dot.” Project SAGE is a Lakeville-based nonprofit domestic violence agency serving communities in Northwest Connecticut and nearby areas of New York and Massachusetts.

Angela Hall, marketing coordinator at Project SAGE, said, “The Dot” is about “creativity and courage.”

Participants were encouraged to decorate colored dot stickers however they wished. The collected dots will be assembled into a larger work of collaborative art.

Similar events are taking place across the United States and in 190 countries, Hall said.

Linda Ciano of Project SAGE said last year’s project, which used popsicle sticks as its basic unit, was so successful that the organization created seven artworks and presented them to the Region One schools.

Grassland Desserts in Lakeville made a special batch of “Dot”-themed ice cream sandwiches and donated both the treats and the use of a freezer to keep them cold.

Asked whether the ice cream freezer would become a permanent fixture, Scoville Director Karin Goodell laughed and said, “It probably should be.”

Goodell’s 3-year-old grandson, Arlo Schlaudt, worked intently on his own dots. He was concentrating so hard that his grandmother had to ask him a couple of times to look up for a photo.

Addison Southwick of Canine Link Therapy Dogs in Hillsdale, New York, brought two dogs to the event. One, Wrexy, a 4-year-old Bernese Mountain Dog, was particularly eager to greet everyone who came within sniffing distance.

As if ice cream, face painting and an international art project were not enough, youngsters were also entertained by Balloon Ben of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, who made balloon animals to order.