WATERLOO - Several dozen parents weaved through the crowd to see their children's artwork on display, but art instructor Darlene Asmus really had her work cut out for her.

With a video camera at the ready, she was snagging images of each of her 38 Orange Elementary art students as she found them, asking them how they made each piece and congratulating them on their work.

At the opening of the Waterloo All-School Art Exhibition, and with hundreds of students and parents passing through the student gallery, it was no small task. But Asmus was up to it.

"I love having kids show their art," she said, in between her students' video interviews.

Her students also loved showing off their watercolor, pastel or mixed paper pieces. Kortni Pabst, a fifth-grader at Orange, was happy to point out her creation, "Fish," made with paper, markers, glue and scissors.

"It was either going to be a fish or a starfish," she explained. "I just made it up as I went."

Over by the main entrance to the Waterloo Center for the Arts, staffer Michelle Temeyer and her crew were ostensibly making it up as they went, too, though they've done similar events in years past. There has been an all-school art exhibition for several years, as well as various culture fests, at the center.

Thursday night's event, called CultureFest '08 and celebrating cultural diversity in the Cedar Valley, brought it all together in a heap of displays, exhibits, demonstrations, talent showcases, food, music and a sneak peek at the new Youth Pavilion. It was the first year of what the center hopes will be an annual event.

"It's been a great way to collaborate," Temeyer said.

Patrons of the free event could wander through the gallery of K-12 student art - displayed "very professionally," according to Asmus - play games from other cultures, make crafts, sample ethnic foods or watch one of the several performances ranging from karate demonstrations to step teams to piano recitals.

Hallways and exhibit rooms were crowded for much of the evening, and cars continuously roamed the center's parking lots.

"There has been a ton of people already," Temeyer said.

If parking proved elusive, don't fret. The all-school exhibit, featuring over 1,000 works by Waterloo students, will be on display in the Forsberg Riverside Gallery through the end of March.

Contact Amie Steffen at (319) 291-1464 or amie.steffen@wcfcourier.com.