You can get messy and not get in trouble.

That’s a draw for kids, and dozens attended the first art crawl last week at Main Street Park, sponsored by the Town of Mocksville.

Why art?

“There are many kids who don’t participate in sports or other activities,” said Bruce White of Wild Mountain Designs, who planned the activities. “Art helps kids focus.”

White works with adults and children, and said that art can help children who have trouble paying attention.

“Art is calming. They don’t get a lot of opportunities to be creative and here, they can get messy and not get into trouble.”

The children rotated through activities including: acryllic painting, fake stained glass, squirt gun painting, clay and string art.