Mission Viejo’s annual Fun With Chalk promotes the arts
The street painting festival supports arts education for children. (Courtney Johnson)
To support art programs in our community, the City of Mission Viejo hosted the 11th annual FunWithChalk Festival. Held at the Norman P. Murray Community and Senior Center on May 2 and 3, many artists and businesses attended to help raise money for creative programs in local public schools.
Saddleback College students, among many other volunteers from schools, churches, and other community organizations turned out to help the activities run smoothly. Sponsors played a key role in helping these schools by hosting this event.
“I have been coming to the festival every year to witness such amazing talent from the artists, and to see everyone come together,” said Elizabeth Morrison, 49, Mission Viejo resident.
The festival is basically a mass street painting of original or classic art created on asphalt with chalk by many artists. The project is funded by different organizations. These organizations purchase a large square in order to advertise themselves and support the need for creativity programs for youth. The art takes approximately two to three days to complete, but the act itself is what local residents come to witness.
Art was not the only activity during the weekend. Music performances, dancers, vendors, radio stations, and children’s craft workshops brought people from the community together to volunteer and support our districts.
“My mom works for the Meet the Masters program in the local districts for children to be more interested in drawing and painting. Every year we volunteer here in order to keep programs like [these] alive,” said Jordan Gibson, 18, volunteer. “This year I worked in the kids’ workshop and helped kids create projects with clay, beads, and paint. It was a hard task, but completely worth it.”
By bringing together our local residents and students to witness creative art and entertainment, all for a good cause, the FunWithChalk Festival provided a service for the community.
“It is important to have events like this for much-needed programs,” said Lindsey Provencio, 19, undecided. “I loved the festival this year. I couldn’t believe how realistic the drawings were and the talent. Gathering together with my family for food and fun was a perfect way to support.”
This extraordinary festival features the exciting art of Street Painting, performed by “Madonnari” (Street Painters) from many parts of the globe. (Courtney Johnson)