Knoxville Dogwood Arts Chalk Walk

One of the best parts of the Dogwood Arts Festival for me, is the Chalk Walk. Held on Market Square, the event brings together families, school children and adult artists and gives them one day, one square of sidewalk and chalk. On my very best day with the best art supplies and the best surface I could never do what these amazing amateur and professional artists accomplish. At the end of the day judges hand out awards to the winners in the various categories.

I explored the scene pretty thoroughly last year and I’d caught bits of it in the years before. This year I saw a good portion of it, but conflicts in my schedule prevented me from seeing all the art. I hate that. I returned on Sunday, but it had faded substantially, so it wasn’t the same. My judgement of what I did see was that it was perhaps better on average than last year, but the best of last year was superior to the best of this year. That said, I know I missed some of the very best.

Almost as much fun as seeing the finished product was observing the process as a few lines or large smudges in the early morning progressed into recognizable, then finished products by the end of the day. There were categories for families and it was fun watching them and groups of friends working cooperatively. As always, the children were the most fun to watch.