Second annual event set for Friday and Saturday
By Tracy Ouellette
SLN Staff
Jo and Randy Timms are hoping for sunny weather Friday and Saturday for the second annual Sidewalk Chalk-Art Festival in East Troy.
The Timms created the festival last year to celebrate the artistic work of students from East Troy Community School District middle and high school and St. Paul’s Lutheran School. This year, the festival has been expanded to two days and will include artists from the Milwaukee Plein Air Club and Milwaukee Sketch Club, who will be on the square painting and drawing on Saturday.
Like last year, area school kids will use the sidewalks in Village Square Park to create their chalk art on Friday for public viewing.
“We have a few more students involved this year,” Randy Timms said. “That says to me it was a success last year.”
Timms said one of the questions he has heard from the public is: “Why isn’t this on a weekend?”
“People are scratching their heads over this and it’s simply because it involves the area’s students and when they’re on the square drawing, it’s considered a field trip, so it’s done during school days,” he said.
Unlike last year, there is no rain date for the event, which, considering the recent weather, is a bit of a risk.
“We’re totally dependent on the weather this year,” Randy Timms said. “The reason is because the school year is so busy, the kids only had this one day to do the event.”
But the organizers of the festival might be in luck, as of deadline, the forecast for Friday and Saturday was cool, in the mid 50s, but sunny or partially sunny.
Timms said he was happy with the response he had received from the community about the festival and had picked up a few more donors this year, which he hoped would continue.
“We’d love for this to become a full art festival that eventually takes place on a Saturday and Sunday,” he said. “That was the reason for inviting out the Plein Air and Sketch clubs, we want to make it a real art festival in the future.”
He said starting small, as they have done, means it takes a while to gain the recognition needed to attract vendors and other artists, but each step brought them closer to providing a multifaceted art festival for the community.
“Come out and see what the kids do,” Randy Timms urged. “Whether you have kids who have participated or not, come down to recognize the kids and see what they’ve accomplished.
“Then, stop by and see the artists from Milwaukee on Saturday. They’re always looking for a nice venue and we’re hoping they will come and see what East Troy has to offer and come back again to enjoy the community.”
For more information, email rtimms1@centurylink.net.
