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My initial impression of William Johnson was that of a talented painter speaking through styles ofmodernism and expressionism, and artist that I could not relate to. After studying his work, I humblystand corrected. The longer I studied Johnson’s work, his motivation became more clear to me and Irealized that his journey is akin to mine.

The community celebration of the Ames Family Atrium on Oct. 28 is a time for everyone to come together to mark this important milestone in the life of the museum’s expansion and renovation project. We aim to fill the museum with life, laughter, and family fun on that day and have been working with groups throughout the community to do just that.

Solstice, the museum’s annual summer music festival and late-night bash, is right around the corner. In the spirit of keeping things jumping all night long, we are driving attention to local street cuisine by inviting some of the city’s best food trucks onto the premises.

If you’ve visited Wade Oval in recent weeks, you may have noticed the large white tent that took up residence next to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in late April. This is the Cleveland Museum of Art’s parade workshop tent, an annual fixture that serves as a home base for guest artists, community groups, and families and individuals participating in Parade the Circle.

Each spring, high school students from the Museum Ambassadors program facilitate a Family and Community Day for the public. Hailing from all corners of the Cleveland area, these 10^th-12^th graders create projects summarizing their experiences at the museum during the past school year. Prior to the April 29^th Community Day, students met with museum staff, planned an activity for visitors, and marketed the event in their schools and communities. This year more than 800 visitors participated.

Spring is in the air, and that means it’s time for another Museum Ambassadors Community Day this Sunday! At the end of each spring semester, our high school Museum Ambassadors present student-led tours, scavenger hunts, and studio activities summarizing their experiences at the Cleveland Museum of Art over the past year. While the public only gets to see the culminating event of the program, a lot of work goes into this one day.

Every spring, Sawsan Alhaddad looks forward to the Cleveland Museum of Art's Parade the Circle. She has participated in the event for more than 20 years. She started to participate when her daughter Sarah was six years old and it’s been an annual tradition for them since. They only missed last year because of Sarah’s wedding.

"For us, it always meant that summer has started. The Parade was the first thing she did when school was out. She gained confidence by participating in the Parade each year. We have a lot of great memories."