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SALT LAKE CITY — Crouching on their hands and knees, chalk artists began creating murals in the annual Chalk Art Festival at the Gateway Mall Friday afternoon.
Working individually and on teams, 140 artists created the beginnings of what will be 80 murals on Rio Grande Street of Gateway Mall. The festival, sponsored by Utah Foster Care, is meant to raise funds for special programs and raise awareness of the needs of children who have been neglected or abused, as well as the foster families who care for them.
"Utah Foster Care recruits, trains and offers support groups throughout Utah. The chalk art festival really supports that goal," said UFC Communications Manager. "We are looking for more foster families, and so we encourage everyone, as you're enjoying the art down the street, to also stop at our information tables and find out a little bit more about foster care. If you can't be a foster family, maybe you can donate, maybe you can volunteer. Help in some way."
Linder said that UFC trains potential foster parents, and suggests that those looking to take foster children into their home have a good sense of humor.
The festival, which is in its 11th year, attracts about 20,000 visitors throughout the weekend.
"We had to beg artists the first year to show up because nobody had ever heard about street painting. Now we turn people away," Linder said.
