To: 2012 Chalk Festival volunteers

As Circus City comes to an end

Monday night, November 5: I sit at my computer going through video clips and images from the last month, my mind is numb and one image looks like the next. I swallow and I feel a lump in the back of my throat… hinting at a cold sure to follow. I’m too tired to will it away or fight it.

Tuesday morning I wake up. As I take a swig from the Dayquil bottle, a SRV tune plays over and over in my mind. “The sky is crying”. The weather has been fair all week and the very last day… rain? I don the familiar OJ volunteer shirt one last time.

The un-sung heroes

This year was my first “behind the scenes” look at the Sarasota Chalk Festival. Sunday’s in October were reserved for those who would “get their hands dirty”. It was a prop day and we painted circus posters, wrapped people in packing tape and took on any other task that needed to be done.

Friday nights were were set aside for informal meet and greets where we would all cram into Denise’ home, chat, nibble and laugh.

None of this prepared me for the first day of the festival when I reported to volunteer HQ. The hub… the go to place for everything festival related.

I think back to a group of young wide-eyed volunteers reporting for duty. As they were waiting to get their official orange volunteer shirt, I saw it on their faces. Eager to please… but not quite sure of what to expect. These young people could be doing anything but they were here volunteering their time. Admirable.

That is the reason for this video. While I’m was working on it, I had one regret. I didn’t get every volunteer in the video. There will be a thousand photos of the festival, the art and the artists. But you guys are the un-sung heroes of the whole thing. I make a vow to do better next year.

I was part of the photography team headed by David Taylor. There wasn’t a lot of time to get to know each other but we got to meet. I’m sure we will run into each other out there shooting and our week at the festival has given us a common bond. Each one of you have your own style and it was a pleasure watching you all in action.

Thank you Cold Sun Productions:

I can’t say I was stalking you but I was watching how you work all week. This particular day you were on top of the scaffolding overlooking Kurt Wenner’s piece and that was where I wanted to be. As you grabbed my tri-pod and camera helping me over the top of the scaffolding, I jokingly mentioned that I could handle my little handy cam and wrapped it around my wrist. As we chatted all I wanted to do was get a hold of your video camera and see for myself the difference between shooting on my budget and yours. It was probably nothing to you but it was like a revelation to me when you said how you remembered shooting a whole video with a hanycam. That little statement gives me hope. Till then, I will happily plug along on what God has given me. By the way… YOUR WORK IS AWESOME!!!

From Cold Sun Productions…

The artwork on buildings will be in progress after the festival and the art on the street has been allowed to fade away over the next month. But until next year the crowds, the artists, and the festival atmosphere are all gone.

To be a part of the Chalk Festival experience go to the Sarasota Chalk Festival website and sign up.

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