PERRY — Downtown Perry Saturday will be full of color and food.
The 15th annual Perry Chalk Art Festival will bring in chalk artists to downtown Perry to create temporary, outdoor art. Professional artists will bring to life gigantic, pastel artworks on the theme “Stranger than Fiction.” Youth artists compete for prizes and encourage young, aspiring artists to try chalking. Artist Erik Lalita will create a super-sized chalk work under the Festival Plaza pavilion.
Meghan Hauser, coordinator, said there will be 27 adult artists and 27 youth artists. She said they usually get 15-20 aspiring artists, who are 6 to 9-year-olds, and everyone is welcome to chalk on the chalking walk.
The artists are coming mostly from New York state, and Hauser said there will be four new adult artists coming this year.
Music will be going on all day at the outdoor festival stages with Kelly’s Old Timers, Creek Bend, Elise Kelly and the Brothers Blue performing.
New this year will be Western New York food trucks and other concessions on site. The Farmers’ Market and Perry Public Market will have extended hours to match the festival.
“(The Perry Chalk Art Festival) started as part of a bicentennial celebration for Perry,” Hauser said. “After that we were like, ‘Let’s make this an annual event.’”
The Chalk Art Festival runs from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with the Festival Plaza closed through Sunday afternoon for extended artwork viewing pleasure. Artists will put finishing touches on their works by 3 p.m. and the 4 p.m. award ceremony will feature artist and sponsor recognition and prizes.
For a complete event schedule, go to www.perrychalkfestival.com. If significant rainfall is forecast, the Chalk Art Festival will take place July 17.
