Veterans showcase their artistic sides at College of Lake County

Students and veterans came together Thursday as the College of Lake County hosted the 11th annual Veterans Creative Arts Festival.

The Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center sponsored the event in association with the Student Veterans of CLC club. It featured a juried show of artwork, creative writing and live performance acts by area veterans.

"I've always been an artistic person and I like to see the good stuff and it's always great to see it," said Jessica Lopez, a Marine veteran and president of the CLC Student Veterans Club. "It makes me happy that there is another outlet that veterans can go to maybe find some comfort. Everyone has their different kind of thing that they like to do. This is a great platform where we can show ourselves a little bit."

The festival was open to any veteran under care at any of Lovell FHCC's facilities. There were more than 160 art entries, 24 live performances, and 20 creative writing entries.

The art categories included painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, wood, leather and pottery. The performance categories featured dance, including wheelchair dance, drama and comedy performances, and solo and group vocal and instrumental acts.

Local artists, writers and musicians judged the entries, with first-place finishers advancing to a national competition, where their entries will be judged against veterans from other Department of Veterans Affair facilities around the country.