Pastels on 5th - Sidewalk Art

I participated in a wonderful  all -day event on Sept 13th, in my home town of Loveland CO.  The event is called Pastels on 5th because it's located on 5th Street.  This event started in 2011 and it raises money for the local Alternatives To Violence organization.  (Alternatives to Violence educates and empowers victims, survivors and the community to break the cycle of violence).  Business owners sponsor the event by donating money for a sidewalk square, and artists donate their time and talent.  The community comes out and pays $1.00 a vote for their favorite sidewalk square.  The event was so well organized and included breakfast and lunch for the artists and volunteers.  There was a wide variety of music from local musicians too. 

Holly Williams (friend and soon to be CZT) and I decided to do a Zendala (Mandala with Zentangle patterns) together. This was the first time participating for both of us.  We had one of the biggest squares at 6x6 foot.  We practiced for a couple of weeks ahead of time, and we still learned a lot about working with sidewalk chalk the day of the event. Many thanks to our family and friends (including 2 CZT's, Pat Mathes, and CJ Petersen), who came off and on through the day to support us.  It was a long day, and we discovered muscles we hadn't used in awhile, but all in all we had a blast!  Now we are looking forward to next year!