From Cleveland to the entire West Side, the Beck Center is bringing music, art, and theater to the youth of Ohio. The Beck Center travels to different locations, offering tables with a variety of art projects that change with each visit and location. Activities include musical story time, interactive music experiences, and other creative projects designed to bring joy to the children.
Super Saturdays were created in 2008, building on the Beck Center’s early childhood programming. “There was one called Early Childhood ABC, and there was one called Hear and Touch the Music … they were both primarily music programs,” said Tracy Ammon, the Director of Education at the Beck Center. The program has provided generations of children an outlet to explore music. While the turnout might be small on some days, there has never been a question of whether it was enjoyable or not. Rather than offering multiple programs with similar content at different times, they put them together creating Super Saturday.
“The most amount of people we have seen at a Super Saturday out in the community is about 120, and then the biggest [number of] people we’ve seen at Super Saturdays held at the Beck Center is about 350,” said Associate Director of Community Engagement Kelsey Heikel.
Even though Super Saturdays are designed for children ages two through seven, that doesn’t mean attendance is small. With mostly high turnouts, instructors often have many children to manage during activities. When scheduling events, Heikel handles RSVPs, coordinates logistics, and makes sure everything runs smoothly. Heikel is the person you go to with any questions or concerns, as she is the person who set up the event and would be able to fix any issues that you might have.
The art portion offers three to four different tables with art projects for children to enjoy. On Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, the activities included popsicle stick drawing, tissue paper apple art, paper windchimes and pumpkin making. The most popular project was the tissue paper art project. Although it was the messiest, it was also the most engaging—fun for both the children and their parents, even if it left bits of paper everywhere.
The music portion included multiple projects and activities the children could participate in. One included a variety of instruments sitting on the ground—a floor piano they could step on to make music and different sets of drums for them to experiment with. The event also included a musical reading session, a staple at nearly every Super Saturday, where they take a childhood story and turn it into a song that the children who attend the event can sing along to.
“It’s fun, and it’s a short period of time,” said Carrie Derove, a volunteer at Becks Center. The activities are both engaging and enjoyable, while not taking up much of the day, leaving families plenty of time for other plans.
A big hit for these events is musical theater performance for the children, led by Heikel in her alter ego and mascot for Super Saturdays, Becky. “She is starting her own band called Becky and the Beck Beats, and she will make an appearance at the Hear in Touch and Music concert,” said Heikel. Creating the Mascot brings more interest and anticipation to the event, giving regular attendees something to look forward to. The children eagerly run and follow Becky to the upstairs theater room, which has the rest of the musical instruments. In the theater room, the kids get a chance to see and touch more musical instruments and receive guidance on how to play them.
If you visit the Beck Center, you can find information about the events that they host. Super Saturdays are held at various libraries across Ohio designed for children ages 2 to 7. Older siblings are welcome to join, helping younger participants experience the fun and joy these events bring.
