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Sidewalk chalk event slated for Oct. 15-16

JANESVILLE — Sidewalk artists of America, gather your sticks.

Your moment has come.

On Friday, Oct. 15, and Saturday, Oct. 16, the Janesville Convention & Visitors Bureau is hosting the Janesville Mile Chalk Walk, a sidewalk chalk competition for youth.

Your first question, we know, will be “Will this event conflict with any previously scheduled hopscotch competitions?”

The answer is, unequivocally, “No.”

Your next question, “What and where is the ‘Janesville Mile?” is a little more complicated, but not much.

The “Janesville Mile” is a term the convention and visitors bureau is using to promote the city’s downtown attractions. It runs from the Armory through downtown to Rotary Botanical Gardens and includes the historic senior center, the ultra-modern library and the Janesville Performing Arts Center, shops and restaurants.

“Previously we had to say, ‘the downtown,’” explained Christine Rebout, executive director of the Janesville Convention & Visitors Bureau. “We wanted something fun, something new.”

During the chalk walk, kids are invited to create a mural on a sidewalk square on Main Street.

The event is free, but artists need to register and bring their own chalk.

Ages categories are 4-6, 7-12, 13-18 and mixed age groups (ages 4-18) of up to 20 youth.

The group category is a way for classrooms of kids or siblings of different ages to work together, Rebout said.

Artists can work on Friday or up until 10:30 a.m. Saturday. After completing their work, participants must take a photo of their work and e-mail it in. For those who don’t have a camera or access to the Internet, “ushers” from the convention and visitors bureau can lend a hand.

The photos are designed to protect the images from the elements.

“Five minutes after someone gets done, it might rain,” Rebout said. “It’s October in Wisconsin, it could snow.”

A panel of “celebrity judges” will judge the entries, and the winners will be announced at noon Saturday in Fireman’s Park.

Rebout hopes the event will appeal to both artists and connoisseurs.

“We wanted to do something interactive that would get people out,” Rebout said.

If enough artists sign up, Rebout thinks they could decorate every other square from the Janesville Performing Arts Center well into the downtown.