This year, Chalk the Walk encouraged people to put themselves in the piece Bedroom in Arles with an interactive portion of the exhibit. That piece and committee were named Committee of the Year by Mount Vernon Lisbon Community Development Group.
“We started discussing the pieces for Chalk the Walk’s main community piece in December and January area,” said Andrzej Blacharski, committee chair of Chalk the Walk. “We had different pieces and ideas before we really settled down on the Van Gogh piece. Joe Jennison presented this idea he had encountered that let him sit in a bedroom of the piece. We knew the piece we had for community piece was colorful, but this was a chance to make something interactive, and we as a committee worked on that.”
Blacharski said with the help of a neighbor lending a garage and several neighbor kids helping with painting and minor details, as well as his son’s bed they had a piece constructed that could easily be taken down and reassembled in uptown Mount Vernon for the three day festival and give people another way to embrace the art.
“I could not be happier that I was able to see that interactive piece come to life,” Blacharski said. “Having to work on something that would be viewed and enjoyed by so many people from the community and beyond was overwhelming at times, however, the group came through and made it successful. I especially enjoyed working with so many talented artists that spend their time helping with gathering props, constructing the structure for the three-dimensional viewing effect, painting the room, props and each individual picture. Special thanks to my son Adam for letting us use his bed.”
Blacharski said this year’s committee included Matt Siders, Sarah Bootss, Joe Jennison, Tiffany Carr, Diane McAfee, Lane Gaffney, Katey Forest and himself.
“I really enjoyed working with all the committee members and learning about the festival and how much work it takes to make the Chalk the Walk festival as successful as it is,” Blacharksi said. This was his first year on the committee.
Challenges for the committee included the festival straddling both sides of Hwy. 1, making sure that there were enough food vendors on both sides of the festival and trying to accommodate all the artists who wanted to be part of the festival.
“I would like to thank all the volunteers that helped us make the festival the success it was and looking forward to next year’s Chalk the Walk already,” Blacharski said.
Committee of the Year – Chalk the Walk
August 17, 2023
About the Contributor
Nathan Countryman, Editor
Nathan Countryman is the Editor of the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun.