Chalk the Walk to feature giant “Dugout”

MOUNT VERNON - Norman Rockwell's famous Saturday Evening Post cover 'Dugout” has been selected as the centerpiece for Mount Vernon's Chalk the Walk festival in May.

A committee made up of staff and volunteers from the city of Mount Vernon, Mount Vernon Parks and Recreation, Mount Vernon Area Arts Council and the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Community Development Group chose the work to become a 30-by-50-foot chalk drawing at the 12th annual festival, which runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, May 6-7.

The event features the work of more than 300 artists utilizing a downtown city street as a canvas and more than a half-ton of chalk.

'We are thrilled to announce 'Dugout” as our large community piece for 2017,” said Danielle Chargo, chairwoman of the Chalk the Walk committee. 'We have wanted to do a Norman Rockwell piece for several years, and the timing with last year's historic Cubs World Series win seemed like the perfect opportunity.”

For a $10 donation to the festival, participants will be given a set of chalk sticks and asked to create a 2-by-2-foot square of the 'Dugout” image. When finished, a recreation of the Rockwell piece will appear on Mount Vernon's Main Street. Artists of all ages and abilities are invited to participate.

Chalk the Walk is based on an 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 passers-by. Images back then were based on religious themes, and as the Madonna was a popular subject, the artists became known as the 'Madonnari.”

Chalk the Walk organizers call the festival the largest of its kind in Iowa.

Artist, volunteer and food vendor applications will be available in March.

For more information, go to visitmvl.com.