Chalk the Walk 2016
The 11th anniversary of Iowa’s largest-ever Madonnari Festival, Chalk the Walk, will take place Saturday and Sunday, May 7 and 8, 2016, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Join the fun at Chalk the Walk 2016!
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Chalk the Walk 2016 will take place Mother’s Day Weekend. This event will feature the work of more than 300 artists who will use a downtown city street as a canvas and more than a half-ton of chalk. Last year’s 1st Place Winners, Pamela Hyberger and Alison Frerking, will return to the event as this year’s featured artists. As in past years, this year more than $1,500 in cash prizes will be awarded to chalk artists, with a formal check presentation ceremony to take place Sunday afternoon, May 8.
“We are ready to kick off the summer festival season in Mount Vernon with our annual Chalk the Walk event,” said Danielle Chargo, Chair of the Chalk the Walk committee. “The event will coincide with Mother’s Day this year and we are hoping that everyone in the state will plan to come to Mount Vernon and Spend Mother’s Day weekend with the Madonnari!”
This year’s large collaborative piece of chalk art is a 30’ by 50’ recreation of 16 pieces from Andy Warhol’s colored Campbell soup can series. For a $10 donation to the festival, any interested festival participant will be given a set of chalk sticks and will be asked to create a single 2’ by 2’ square of a portion of the image. When finished, a recreation of the Warhol’s soup cans will appear on Mount Vernon’s Main Street as a giant image, colored with pastel chalk by dozens of artists of all ages and abilities.
The Chalk the Walk committee will be taking photos of festival participants and creating instant Warhol-esque 4×6 prints that can be taken home for a small donation, or, if they choose, participants can request a photo with a Chalk the Walk Warhol lookalike.
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.”
In addition to the chalk art and photo project, this year’s Chalk the Walk will also feature six outdoor food vendors and two days of live music, art and fun.
Music schedule for Chalk The Walk:
SATURDAY
10:15 KIMBERLI MALOY
11:00 DUGAN & WILSON
12:00 HARMONY ABIGAIL
1:00 ACE JONES
2:00 CHRIS AND LAURA SWISER (Jasmine)
3:00 JASON AND SYDNEY DAMS
4:00 MIKE MORAN/IOWA GOATSINGER
5:00 TWO BIT MANIAC
SUNDAY
10:00 RECORDED MUSIC (possible drum circle)
11:00 MATHEW FONTEYNE
12:00 NANCITA
1:00 LANE GAFFNEY
2:00 JAMES KENNEDY AND FRIENDS
3:00 CRAIG ERICKSON
4:00-4:30 KIMBERLI
4:30 AWARDS ANNOUNCEMENTS
5:00 LEE KOHL & THE WRECKING BALLS
The week following the Chalk the Walk festival, the exhibit “Immortal: Warhol’s Last Works” opens at the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library in Cedar Rapids. Museum staff and volunteers will be on site during Chalk the Walk providing information about the exhibit.
Note: Design composed of original Andy Warhol artworks. Artworks © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.
Volunteers are still needed for the event. A volunteer form is available online.
This event is organized by volunteers representing the City of Mount Vernon, Mount Vernon Parks and Recreation, the Mount Vernon Area Arts Council and the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Community Development Group (CDG).
About Mount Vernon
Historic Mount Vernon, Iowa, is home to 4500 residents, including 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.
