By Kelly Huth
The sidewalks of College Hill were transformed into a colorful canvas recently, thanks to ChalkFest.
The free event, hosted by McKelvy Scholars each semester, invites local families to put their creative spin on the sidewalks near McKelvy House.
McKelvy Scholars were on hand Sept. 19 to welcome participants and hand out boxes of chalk, donated by Crayola. Each participant was given a numbered section of sidewalk to draw on and decorate, with prizes awarded to the young artists at the end of the event in categories such as “most expressive,” “best use of color,” “most chalk on your clothes,” and more.
Benjamin Cohen, faculty adviser of McKelvy Scholars, says the event was a great success with approximately 40 community members stopping by to draw and share their creativity.
“As a community event, it creates space for a creative, artistic, colorful morning,” said Cohen, professor and chair of Engineering Studies. “It’s an open-arms kind of thing, where grade-school kids hang out with college kids and end up drawing a whole new canvas on the sidewalks. They each add their art to a sidewalk square, but then when you step back, you can see they collectively created a kind of sidewalk tapestry. It’s fun; it’s a joy.”
The event also featured local artist Tom Smaldone, aka ChalkBorg, as well as Steve Schmid, a volunteer with Easton Farmers’ Market whose chalk designs delight market-goers each week.
Check calendar.lafayette.edu in the spring for the next edition of ChalkFest.
