Festival of the Arts!

The annual Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Arts is winding to a close.

After a weekend of hula hoops, clowns, dancing, singing and bubbles, things are almost done. What remains?

The Lydian String Quartet, playing at 8 p.m. in Slosberg Music Center. They will be playing Haydn’s Quartet in E flat major, Op. 33, No. 2; Mohammad Fairouz’s Lamentation and Satire; Vincent Persichetti’s Piano Quintet (with Geoffrey Burleson, piano). Artists are: Daniel Stepner, violin; Judith Eissenberg, violin; Mary Ruth Ray, viola; Joshua Gordon, cello.

In The Name Of, playing at 8 p.m. in the Mandel Center for Humanities, Room G10. In The Name Of is an original play by Renana Gal ’12, about her experiences as a conscientious objector in Israel. Produced by the Free Play Theatre Cooperative and featuring Noam Shuster ’11, Melissa Howard ’12, Dotan Horowitz ’12, Aidan Horowitz ’12, Emily Rubin-Falcone ’13 and Anthony Rios ’11. Ages 16 and older.

The World Premier of Sweet Escape at 8 p.m. in the Mandel Center for Humanities, G3 auditorium. Sweet Escape is a short film of a modern fairytale, told in 10 film genres, about a girl’s escape from her evil mother. Written and directed by Max Price ’11. Hanna Wellish ’12, director of photography; Celia Cataldo ’13, producer. Featuring Zoey Hart ’13, Levi Rion MFA ’11, Robin Rapoport and many Brandeis undergraduates. Ages 16 and older.

But, even after the Festival is over, why don’t we try to keep art around us? It seems pretty trivial to be reminded that “art is all around us” (the festival’s slogan) only once a year; why not display artwork around our campus all year round? Why not organize flashmobs, provide people with bubbles to blow, and encourage students to express themselves all the time? Perhaps there are ways we can do this, with the help of the Brandeis Administration, Student Union, and entire student body. What do you think.