(Posted July 27, 2018)
Art literally will come to the streets of downtown London as part of several changes to this year’s London Rib & Jazz Festival.
Three chalk artists from Chalkstix will draw masterpieces on East Second Street during the first day of the two-day festival. The public can watch the artists in action from about 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Aug 3. The festival continues Aug. 4.
“Normally, creating a piece of art is a very private thing. It’s you and the canvas, you and the paper, you and the pastel,” said Sheryl Lazenby, a founding member of Chalkstix and member of the Ohio Chalk Art Guild. “Chalk events afford walkers-by an opportunity to witness art as it is being created. It is wonderful to have folks take photographs and ask questions and to have people stop and watch.”
While artists paint the streets on Friday, the popular London Rib and Jazz Festival car show has moved to Saturday. The show will take place on East and West Second Street from 5 to 8 p.m., with awards at 8:15.
The 2017 event attracted more than 100 vehicles, and this year space has been added to make the show bigger than ever. Registration takes place from 2 to 5 p.m. Entry fee is $10.
The festival’s cornhole tournament, traditionally held on Saturday, is set for Friday this year. The tournament will start promptly at 6:30 p.m. on West Second Street. Participants should bring their own partner. Entry fee is $20 per team.
The tournament is double elimination with the winning team taking home $100 and trophies. Second place earns $50, and third place team gets their money back. Sign up at Casey’s Carry Out & Drive Thru, 123 S. Main St., or at the city of London administrative office, 6 E. Second St.
