Fall is here for those of us residing in Florida. No, not many trees are dropping leaves or changing color, but the daytime temperatures are now more tolerable and nights are definitely cooler! We have visited one Fall Festival complete with a pumpkin patch, but it is still not the same. Last Saturday was another beautiful day, John and I knew we had to get out and do something. I could have stayed inside cooking for the luncheon which I was to serve after Clarissa's baptism the next day- but it was time for John and I to get to one of the many festivals going on in the area.
We drove over to Clearwater Beach and immediately, upon arriving, we encountered traffic jams. Parking spaces were also limited. We wondered what was going on- until we noticed a volleyball tournament on the beach, derby car racing in the downtown area, and someone informed us that a stone crab festival was happening further up the coast. John thought maybe it was spring break time (see how messed up we are about the seasons down here?). My better guess was that the snow birds are returning.
John is always good at conversing with people, so I got the scoop about the chalk festival. Artists who wish to compete submitted the size of their drawings, and whether they wanted a white or black background. The background was then painted on the sidewalk with tempura paint.
The picture above was my favorite. The expression on the child's face is priceless. That artist is a professional, who travels and chalk paints sidewalks around the world. Another artist is a graphic designer by trade. Not all were professionals and one young lady had a collection pot out as she is saving for a college education. The youngest was fourteen years-old. She was working on her picture, shown below. The artists had until Sunday afternoon to complete their pictures, at which time the winner would be decided. I turned in my vote before I left.
The three dimensional pictures were quite interesting. John posed for the one below. There was a spot marked for where he was to stand, but he did not quite bend down far enough to reach the straw.
Some of the artists were not participating in the contest as they were drawing advertisements for restaurants or resorts, as you may notice in the picture above. There were about 37 people participating in the contest, and their paintings ranged from the weird and grotesque to the charming and cute. There were also pictures drawn of Johnny Depp, Bill Murray, and Muhammad Ali.
Pictured above is our granddaughter. No, she is not one of the aforementioned men. Clarissa's baptism day was another wonderful day. She slept through the ceremony, but was all smiles afterward.
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