Community Corner
Artists Flock to The Loop for Its First Chalk Festival
More than 100 artists of all ages came to create some artwork on University City sidewalks.
Artists from across the area made their way to University City on Saturday morning for .
"I love art and I've been dying to do a chalk contest," said Sarah Curry, one of the younger participants in the event.
Prior to the event, 107 participants had registered to decorate their own piece of the University City sidewalks, and more artists joined the ranks throughout the day.
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"It seemed like a great family activity," said Karen Handelman of as to why she and her kids decided to come and participate in the festival.
People with chalk-smudged clothes and faces could be seen all the way from Noodles and Company to on both sides of Delmar Boulevard.
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"I'm expecting to find some really good artwork," said Jeff Weintrop, owner of and one of the festival judges, towards the beginning of the event.
The chalk festival was sponsored by The Loop Special Business District and , but other Loop businesses also donated prizes for the award winners.
The event officially started at 9 a.m., and chalk artists had until 6 p.m. to finish their works of art. However, the event was cut short a little before 5pm when a severe rainstorm pounded the area, washing away all the chalk art. The weather .
People are being asked to email any photos of the event to HSBTobacconist@gmail.com. A posting on the official Delmar Loop website says, "We took as many photos as we could before the storm came, however we were not able to photograph all of the artwork before it started raining."
Judges will choose winners in the categories of "Chalk of Fame," "Loop Theme" and "Most Creative." Winners in those categories will be announced on the Visit the Loop website. But because of the storm it may not happen until Monday, so keep checking on the site.
Also, photos of all of the 100-plus entries will be posted online to allow people to vote for the "Viewer's Choice" award.
Be sure to check out the photo gallery for a look at some of the artwork as it was being created on Saturday morning. University City Patch editor Myra Lopez has from the festival posted throughout the day.