Chalk-dust scorcher

The sidewalk around Fremont Park will get a major art makeover this weekend at Chalk-It-Up!’s 16th annual Sidewalk Chalk Festival. More than 200 sidewalk paintings by local artists will be created over the event’s three-day run, and plenty of space will be available for the public to create their own masterpieces. Chalk-It-Up! is a nonprofit organization that raises money for children’s art education, funding grants and sponsoring art programs throughout the Sacramento area. There are a number of ways to participate in the Sidewalk Chalk Festival. Festival sponsors have purchased blocks of space for artists to fill with their creations, or artists and interested amateurs can purchase their own personal squares for $10, which includes a box of artist’s chalk. Free art space also will be available for passers-by, so they can get down on hands and knees and let their inspiration guide them. Chalk-It-Up! is about the kids, so all of the festival’s activities are free for children. Past festivals have featured an incredibly diverse range of styles: portraiture, abstracts, cartoon art, landscapes and much more. The Sidewalk Chalk Festival also will feature local bands and performers, donating their time to entertain both the artists and the art lovers. The festival runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day beginning Saturday, September 2, and running through Labor Day, Monday, September 4, at Fremont Park, 15th and P streets. For more information, contact Chalk-It-Up! at (916) 484-5710 or visit www.chalkitup.org. This event is perfect for those of us who have always wished we were Bert in Mary Poppins. Um, that was probably too much information.