The National Veterans Creative Arts Festival displays the artistic talents of veterans across the U.S. in categories including visual arts, writing, dance, drama and music. Each festival features art and writing exhibitions of the first-place entries from the national competition.

Veterans who achieve gold-medal-winning status in numerous categories present a show performance. Visual arts and performance workshops as well as writing seminars are offered during festival week to educate participants in a vast number of artistic modalities, making use of the talents of local community artists.

Marine Corps veteran Catherine D’Angelo was awarded a gold medal in the National Veterans Creative Arts competition, securing her participation in this year’s National Veterans Creative Arts Festival, held on April 24 in St. Petersburg, Florida. D’Angelo has been a participant in the Veterans Creative Arts competition and festival both locally and nationally for the past 15 years. 

“When life gets too crazy, I just go and do my crafts,” said D’Angelo. “Nothing else matters. It really helps me to focus and calm myself.”

Each year, veterans prepare for the festival at their local VA and collaborate with staff to submit their artwork out for consideration at the national level. 

“I get a lot out of participating in the creative arts program at the Orlando VA Health Care System (OVAHCS),” said D’Angelo. “I’ve learned so many new skills: paint by number, staining glass, wood burning, and creating no-sew quilts, like the one that won a gold medal this year.”

D’Angelo’s gold-medal-winning, no-sew quilt was inspired by her mother.

“My mother used to have a beautiful garden and bird houses when I was growing up,” said D’Angelo. “This quilt takes me back to simpler times.”

The festival also provides Army veteran Lionel Marcoux with the opportunity to share his passion for music. 

“I’ve been participating in the National Veterans Creative Arts Festival since 2002,” said Marcoux. “I look forward to the comradery, the sense of belonging and new friendships made each year.”

Marcoux performed “We Shall All Stand Tall,” an original composition written by his friend specifically for this festival. 

“I sang this song in this year’s festival because I really want people to hear the words of the song and its meaning,” said Marcoux. “It’s such a beautiful piece.”

Jenny Danieli, creative arts therapist at OVAHCS, explains that engaging in the National Veterans Creative Arts Competition and Festival is an excellent way to incorporate rehabilitation goals for veterans.

“I’ve really seen tremendous growth in both Catherine and Lionel over the years,” said Danieli. “They have both made great progress not only with their health-related goals but in their personal lives as well. I am really proud of them and think that they help us to shine a light on the creative arts programming that we offer here at OVAHCS.”

For more information about the OVAHCS Creative Arts program, please contact Jenny Danieli at [email protected]. To learn more about this year’s National Veterans Creative Arts Festival, visit National Veterans Creative Arts Festival – Veterans Health Administration.