Colorful windows into children’s imaginations will be on display this week, so be sure you take a look.

Connections 4 Kids, the early childhood council of Moffat and Rio Blanco counties, will host its fourth annual Cherish the Little Things children’s art show Thursday through Saturday.

The show will feature more than 300 pieces of art created by Moffat County youths from ages 3 to 18. The show will be open to the public from 3 to 6 p.m. Thursday, 2 to 6 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday at The Center of Craig, 601 Yampa Ave.

“Parents, grandparents and even the general public enjoy coming in and seeing the show,” coordinator Betsy Overton said. “We start at one end of the room, and you can see them progress from preschool to 18.”

In her second year organizing, Overton said this year includes entries from East, Ridgeview, Sandrock and Sunset Elementary Schools; Craig Middle School; Moffat County High School; preschool programs Eagle’s Nest and the Early Childhood Center; and, for the first time, Calvary Baptist School.

The show is also open to home school students and those in GOAL Academy and the MCHS Alternative School.

Overton said she has already brought in more than $8,000 in sponsorships and hopes the funds brought in during the display will add to that total. At the show, community members may vote by their monetary donations on their favorite pieces among 20 finalists, all of whom are of elementary school age.

“It’s nice to see some of the same kids, but we see a whole new round of kids,” she said. “I don’t think there are any of the same that we had in our Top 20 last year.”

The top vote-getter will be featured on the cover of the upcoming Connections 4 Kids calendar, which will feature important dates, activities and ideas for families and will be distributed throughout Moffat County. The next top 12 vote-getters will each be placed on their own month, while the seven runners-up will be featured in a tiled fashion on the final month of the school year calendar.

Keepsake prints of the 20 finalist art pieces will be available for purchase, as well as ornaments that double as tabletop art, featuring miniature versions of the finalist pieces from each year.

Overton noted that the prices have been reduced from last year — prints are now $15 and ornaments are $5.

She expects to see plenty of parents and community members the first two days, Saturday is always the big draw, with the exhibition occurring in conjunction with downtown Craig’s Art Walk and Taste of Chocolate during the evening.

“A lot of people who don’t even know about the show come in from the Art Walk,” Overton said.

Of course, the promise of goodies never hurts.

Chocolatier Shirley Cromer will be operating out of the Center of Craig, providing confectionaries that include Kahlua, salted caramel and dark chocolate. A baker whose own works of art have been featured in Martha Stewart Living, Cromer has set up shop at Cherish the Little Things before and is happy to do so again.

“Everybody loves getting out and about and mixing,” she said. “I just like being able to see everyone and to share the things that I do.”

Contact Andy Bockelman at 970-875-1793 or abockelman@CraigDailyPress.com.