2005 Year in Review

Paint the Town Scheduled for September 17

Paint the Town 2001

Paint the Town 2001

The surface of Morrison’s Main Street will again become a canvas for hundreds of amateur artists of all ages during “Imagination – It’s All In Your Head” Paint the Town 2005, September 17.

“It’s such an unconventional canvas. Kids can’t normally paint on the street or it is called graffiti. But here, it’s call art. And it is art,” Barb Bees, Children’s Art Preservation (CAPA) board member, said.

Beginning in 1994, CAPA, has put together Paint the Town, a unique family art event. The street is blocked off and a grid of squares is painted on the street surface. For “Imagination – It’s All In Your Head” Paint the Town 2005, more than 1,000 squares will be available to artists.

“Because the event has grown so much and we’ve had so many requests already, we felt it would be wise to anticipate further growth and add more squares,” Bees said. “It’s exciting.”

Pre-register to paint a masterpiece alone or with a friend for $10 per participant and $15 the day of the event. Participants receive an assigned 5-foot by5-foot square on the street, a 2005 “Imagination – It’s All In Your Head” event T-shirt, freebies from sponsors and all the supplies needed to paint: a primary paint set (one per square), chalk, two brushes, cups for mixing paint and paint stirrers. Squares are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis and pre-registration is advised.

Paint supply pickup and walk-on registration is 12 noon to 4 p.m. September 17 across from City Hall, 200 West Main Street. Painting is from 12 noon to 6 p.m.. And there’s more to the art festival than just street painting. Beginning at noon, the day’s events include hands-on activities, a variety of food vendors and entertainment featuring dance, vocal and instrumental music.

Main Street will again be blocked to vehicle traffic 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on September 18 to allow art lovers to safely stroll the street and view the finished art. “The entire downtown area become an outdoor art gallery not just for a day but for weeks until the weather washes the paint away,” Bees said. Registration forms for Paint the Town are available at Morrison City Hall, 200 West Main Street.

In the event of an all-day rain September 17, registration will be inside Morrison Fire Department at 206 West Main Street. Participants will receive a bag with all paint supplies and a 2005 “Imagination – It’s All In Your Head” logo T-shirt.

For more information about Paint the Town, visit CAPA or call the City of Morrison at (815) 772-7657.

Proceeds from the event to go support art in Morrison schools through enrichment programs and scholarships.

Sponsors include:
Corporate Sponsors – KWQC-TV 6, Sauk Valley Newspapers and the Clinton Herald.
Paint Sponsors – Super Wash, Inc., American Products, P & P Industries, Inc., Shell Express-Johnson Oil, Fitzgerald Pharmacy, Whiteside County Health Department-Home Health Care, Community State Bank, Wells Fargo Bank, Dr. William Simpson, DDS, Happy Joe’s, US Cellular, Weinstine, Shirk and Buckwalter-Sherman, Bosma Renkes Funeral Home and 3M.
Event Sponsors: RC Smith Transportation, Shawver Press, Joy Tegeler Computer Service, Morrison True Value, Sterling Federal Bank and Karen Bramm Insurance.
Art Patrons: Endress Cole, thecity1.com and Schuler Motors.

2005 Paint the Town Entertainment Schedule:
Jason Hamilton – Magician-Storyteller; Backwater Bayou Band, Cajun, Blues; Tre Oates – Storyteller-Jokes-Physical Comedy; Kaysay – Music of the Andes; Morrison High School Pons; and Jennifer’s Dance Center.

Children’s Art Preservation Association

Children’s Art Preservation Association is unique to Morrison. Organized in 1993, the group’s original goal was to frame student art, displaying it in the community and protecting it from deterioration.

The group’s first fundraiser was “A Night for Art,” an art auction in the spring of 1994. More than $14,000 was raised towards framing costs. After many pieces of student art were framed, CAPA began to work on other projects involving the visual arts. Paint the Town was born in 1994 when CAPA members found a unique way to let a large number of kids paint on an unconventional canvas, the surface of Morrison’s Main Street. The street remains an outdoor gallery until weather washes away the painted squares. The event began with 250 street squares in 1994 and has grown to include 1,000 squares over a five-block area downtown Morrison.

“When it comes down to it, CAPA is a group of people that care about the community, the children and the arts. We hope to give children the opportunity to participate in the arts not just having it presented to them, but having them do art,” CAPA board member Barb Bees said.

CAPA also works to support art enrichment programs in Morrison schools, holds a CAPArt Show and sponsors an art scholarship for a Morrison High School graduate. To contact CAPA visit CAPA or write to Children’s Art Preservation Association, P.O. Box 45, Morrison, IL 61270.

by  Editor, theCity1.com
August 30, 2005