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| Chalk the Walk |
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Saturday, May 05, 2007; 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM 
Mount Vernon/Lisbon Community Development Group
The Mount Vernon Parks and Recreation Department and the Mount Vernon Area Arts Council have announced joint sponsorship of Iowa’s largest-ever Madonnari Festival. Titled Chalk the Walk, the two-day festival will take place Saturday and Sunday, May 5 and 6, and will present the work of more than 200 hundred artists utilizing a downtown city street as a canvas and more than a half-ton of chalk.
Chalk the Walk is based on an original art form that began in Italy in the 16th century. Called Madonnari, this form of public art was originally done by street artists hoping to collect coins from passersby. Images back then were based on religious themes, and as the Madonna was a popular subject, the artists became known as the “Madonnari.”
Although these festivals have become very popular in the U.S. in the last few decades, particularly in California, this will be the second time a large-scale Madonnari festival has been staged in Iowa. The co-sponsors of the event have secured once again the talents of professional Madonnari artist Dawn Morrison Wagner from California who will be creating a 12’ by 12’ chalk recreation of an Italian Renaissance painting. In addition, several other professional artists will be creating 10’ by 12’ chalk images as well.
Event producers are also utilizing hundreds of local people to create a massive 3000+-square-foot recreation of a “famous painting” to be unveiled at a future date, (a contest is being held to determine this year’s painting). Each person will be responsible for creating a single 2’ by 2’ square of the famous painting, and when finished, the chalk drawing will appear as a giant quilt, colored with pastel chalk by artists of all abilities.
“Last year it was an inclusive festival that brought together all ages and types of people and all levels of artists,” says event coordinator Craig Wilson. “Imagine a beautiful spring day in Iowa with hundreds of community members and visitors from all walks of life, gathering together to work on a single collaborative piece of art. That is Mount Vernon’s Chalk the Walk.”
In addition to the artwork, there will be strolling musicians, food vendors and sponsorship booths. Applications for both artists and sponsors are available through the Mount Vernon Parks and Recreation Department, and at www.cityofmtvernon.com.
Historic Mount Vernon, Iowa, is the home to 4171 residents and 1200 college students enrolled at Cornell College. Located in Eastern Iowa at the intersection of Highways 30 and 1, 20 miles north of Iowa City and 15 miles east of Cedar Rapids, it boasts a vibrant uptown business community with numerous antique and specialty stores, restaurants, coffee houses, commercial art galleries, and three National Historic Districts
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