The 2022 Street Painting Festival this month raised more than $20,000 to help fund scholarships for Roane State Community College students in Anderson County.
The annual festival was hosted by the Noon Rotary Club of Oak Ridge in Historic Jackson Square. The festival blends art, history, and community for a fun event in support of local students, a press release said. More than $300,000 in scholarships issued by the nonprofit Roane State Foundation have been provided since the start of the festival in 1999.
Festival sponsors make a tax-exempt donation to the Foundation, with levels ranging from $5,000 for Platinum down to $100 for Individual. Sponsors’ names are assigned to sidewalk squares upon which the artists paint pictures with chalk.
Materials and Chemistry Laboratory, Inc. (MCLinc) renewed its Platinum Level sponsorship for 2022, marking the 21st consecutive year that the business has been a festival sponsor.
United Cleanup Oak Ridge LLC (UCOR) also provided a $5,000 donation, becoming the second local sponsor to support the event at the Platinum Level this year.
Additional community sponsors included ORNL Federal Credit Union, CNS Y-12, and Pinnacle Bank along with many other organizations, businesses, and individuals.
The theme for the 2022 event, “Imagine Rotary,” asked artists and attendees to “imagine the possibilities in the change we can make to transform the world in areas such as peace, education, environment, health, economic development, and disease eradication,” the press release said.
Cash prizes were awarded to participants. Best of Show received $300 while the People’s Choice Award earned $200. Other prizes for each category were $75 for first place, $25 for second, and $15 for third. Artists that created chalk art clearly inspired by the “Imagine Rotary” theme also had a chance to win a $25 bonus prize.
The Imagine Rotary award went to Ellie Monroe. People’s Choice was awarded to the team of Mercy, Anna, and Vivian. And the coveted Best of Show award went to Sonia Summers. Additional winners in the elementary, middle and high school categories as well as the adult and family categories are listed at roanestate.edu/streetpainting.
The Roane State Foundation is a separate 501(c)(3) corporation governed by an independent board of directors and established to provide financial support for Roane State students and programs. The Foundation seeks to enhance community awareness of the college, to secure private contributions and bequests, and to manage monies or properties given to the Foundation. For more information, visit roanestate.edu/foundation online or email Foundationdept@roanestate.edu.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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