Another festival season has kicked off and the storms threatening our area held off for most of Chalk the Walk this year. There was a light squall Saturday evening, sure, but a lot of pieces were covered to protect from any storm damage overnight and the big rain didn’t hit until just after awards were announced Sunday afternoon.
As we say at every festival, it takes many hands to make this move smoothly between the multiple organizations who have an investment in the festival – the City of Mount Vernon, Mount Vernon-Lisbon Community Development Group, Mount Vernon Parks and Recreation and the Mount Vernon Area Arts Council especially for this festival.
That also includes the efforts of countless volunteers, before, during and after the festival to help things go smoothly. And the area businesses in the uptown, who staff and prepare for one of the busiest days of the year.
And the art will not last indefinitely. The rain storm Sunday afternoon just after the winners were announced already started some of the pieces washing away, as it was a pretty torrential downpour.
But that’s the fun of this particular festival as well. There are countless photos of artists working and the interactions they have with members of the community who encourage the piece. The editor knows he spoke to a few artists about pieces this year he saw.
It’s also a time for countless citizens to catch up with one another, to remind of things coming up and reset for the next big event.
So let the chalk start streaking and lasting for a few days under motorists driving, and know it’s coming back again in the coming years, at least until the street scape study that Mount Vernon is having done concludes and that project moves to a priority for the uptown business district and different options have to be looked at.
Sun Editorial: Festival season kicks off with a great Chalk the Walk
May 11, 2023