Oak Ridge Today

Street Painting Festival honors Scarboro 85, raises funds for Roane State scholarships

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The theme for the 2021 Street Painting Festival, “Honoring Scarboro 85,” recognized the first Black students from the former Scarboro School who integrated Oak Ridge High School and Robertsville Junior High on Sept. 6, 1955. The Honoring Scarboro 85 award went to the team of Dawn and Her Guys. (Photo courtesy Roane State)

The 2021 Street Painting Festival, hosted by the Noon Rotary Club of Oak Ridge, is in the books having raised more than $14,000 to help fund scholarships for Roane State Community College students in Anderson County.

Held in Oak Ridge’s Historic Jackson Square each October, the festival blends art, history, and community for a fun event in support of local students. Nearly $300,000 in scholarships issued by the nonprofit Roane State Foundation have been provided since the start of the festival in 1999, a press release said.

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 then paint pictures with chalk. Materials and Chemistry Laboratory Inc. once again sponsored the event at the Platinum Level. 2021 marked the 20th consecutive year of festival sponsorship for the company.

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Rotary Club, ORHS football players team up to promote literacy

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Darren Osborne (Submitted photo)

 

Oak Ridge Wildcats football players and head coach Joe Gaddis recently took part in a virtual reading project in partnership with The Rotary Club of Oak Ridge and Oak Ridge Schools Preschool. Here is how the project began, a press release said.

The Oak Ridge Schools Preschool had a need for additional books and supplies. They also needed volunteers to read to their students. The Rotary Club of Oak Ridge learned about the need and devised a plan to help. Rotary members purchased age-appropriate books and additional supplies for the school. Because of COVID-19, they were unable to visit the Preschool to read with the students, so club members videoed themselves reading those books to share with students, the press release said. Then, the Club decided to present the opportunity to the ORHS Wildcats football team. They eagerly accepted. [Read more…]

Street Painting Festival honors pandemic heroes while raising funds for Roane State scholarships

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Best of Show winning chalk art by The Yaun Ladies. (Photo courtesy Roane State Community College)

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

Crisp, clear weather greeted a fall tradition in Oak Ridge’s historic Jackson Square on Saturday, October 17, with artists of all ages creating colorful chalk art on the sidewalk.

By mid-morning during the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge’s annual Street Painting Festival, many of the participant’s creations were taking form, and each artist’s hands were covered with a chalk patina.

Launched in 2000, the festival is facilitated by the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge to support scholarships for Roane State Community College students through the nonprofit Roane State Foundation. Both participants and onlookers followed pandemic guidelines, wearing masks and practicing social distancing.

“We are so fortunate to continue our partnership between Roane State Community College, The Rotary Club of Oak Ridge, and the Jackson Square Merchants Association to present the annual Street Painting Festival,” said Rotarian Jim Dodson, the event’s creative director.

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Street Painting Festival Saturday helps fund Roane State scholarships

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The Street Painting Festival in Oak Ridge today (Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020) helps fund scholarships at Roane State Community College.

The Street Painting Festival in Oak Ridge today (Saturday, October 17) helps fund scholarships at Roane State Community College.

The theme for this year’s event is “HeART For Heroes.” The festival is being held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at historic Jackson Square in Oak Ridge. Chalking began at 8 a.m.

Materials and Chemistry Laboratory, Inc. (MCLinc) of Oak Ridge recently announced it is sponsoring the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge’s Street Painting Festival at the Platinum Level. The festival was launched in 2000, and this year’s event marks the 19th consecutive year that MCLinc has been a major contributor to the effort, a press release said. MCLinc is an applied research laboratory that provides analyses and consultation services in a wide assortment of fields, including environmental chemistry, industrial hygiene, and uranium chemistry.

Festival sponsors make a tax-exempt donation to the Roane State Foundation, providing funds for scholarships for Roane State students. Sponsorship levels include Platinum, or $5,000 and up; Gold, $2,500 to $4,999; Silver, $1,000 to $2,499; Bronze, $500 to $999; small business, $250 to $499; and individual, $100 to $249.

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New at Street Painting Festival: Take the STEAM challenge

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Artists turned Jackson Square into a work of art last year at the annual Rotary Club of Oak Ridge Street Painting Festival. This year’s event will be held on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019, at Jackson Square. (Submitted photo)

The 20th annual Oak Ridge Street Painting Festival at Jackson Square on Saturday will offer a new challenge this year, a press release said.

The October 19 event will be held in historic Jackson Square, and it will offer the first STEAM Challenge. STEAM stands for science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics.

The festival will, as always, offer prizes for artists in each category, the press release said. But this year, artists in any category can win an all-ages, all-categories bonus prize as part of the STEAM challenge.

The Street Painting Festival is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge. It’s a fundraiser for Roane State Community College scholarships.

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Street Painting Festival at Jackson Square will include Ed Westcott Challenge

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The annual Oak Ridge Street Painting Festival, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge, is fun for artists of all ages. This year’s festival, which raises funds for Roane State Community College scholarships, will be held on Saturday, Oct. 13, at historic Jackson Square. (Photo courtesy Roane State Community College)

The annual Oak Ridge Street Painting Festival, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge, is fun for artists of all ages. This year’s festival, which raises funds for Roane State Community College scholarships, will be held on Saturday, Oct. 13, at historic Jackson Square. (Photo courtesy Roane State Community College)

 

In celebration of Oak Ridge’s 75th anniversary, the 19th annual Oak Ridge Street Painting Festival will have two “firsts.”

The October 13 event will be held in historic Jackson Square, and it will offer the first-ever Ed Westcott Challenge for artists interested in chalking a creative interpretation of a famous photograph by Manhattan Project photographer Ed Westcott.

The festival will, as always, offer prizes for artists in each category. But this year, artists in any category can win an all-ages, all-categories bonus prize as part of the Ed Westcott Challenge, a press release said.

Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge and a fundraiser for Roane State Community College scholarships, the annual art extravaganza will be held on Saturday, October 13, at historic Jackson Square. Chalking will begin at 8 a.m. Categories are available for all ages, teams, and families. Artist participation is free, the press release said. [Read more…]

Calling all artists! Register for Street Painting Festival at Jackson Square

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The Rotary Club of Oak Ridge’s annual Street Painting Festival will, for the first time, be held at Jackson Square on Oct. 13, 2018. (Submitted photo)

The Rotary Club of Oak Ridge’s annual Street Painting Festival will, for the first time, be held at Jackson Square on Oct. 13, 2018. (Submitted photo)

 

The Rotary Club of Oak Ridge’s annual Street Painting Festival will, for the first time, be held at Jackson Square.

The festival gives artists of all ages an opportunity to showcase their talent and have fun, a press release said. Plus, the event raises funds that provide scholarships to Roane State Community College students who otherwise could not afford to attend college. More than $200,000 have been raised since the first festival in 2000, the press release said.

The festival will be held on Saturday, October 13. Chalking of sidewalk squares at Jackson Square will begin at 8 a.m. Categories are available for all ages, teams, and families. Artist registration is free, and chalk and other supplies will be provided, the press release said. [Read more…]

ORISE, Rotary Club plan to package 20,000 meals for Rise Against Hunger

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More than 100 volunteers from the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education and the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge will package 20,000 nutritious meals for Rise Against Hunger, an international hunger relief organization, in a few hours on Thursday, March 8.

The event is marking the expansion of a warehouse on ORISE’s south campus by helping feed people around the world.

“Volunteers will follow an assembly-line process to package highly nutritious dehydrated meals comprised of rice, soy, vegetables, and 23 essential vitamins and minerals,” a media alert said. “Rise Against Hunger will distribute the meals primarily to school feeding programs in developing countries around the world.”

ORISE is managed by ORAU, a nonprofit corporation and federal contractor, for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.

Street Painting Festival is Saturday at Roane State

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Photo courtesy Roane State Community College

Photo by Roane State Community College

 

The Street Painting Festival is Saturday at Roane State Community College in Oak Ridge.

Here is an event notice posted by Roane State.

Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge

When: [Read more…]

Many community organizations support the Oak Ridge International Friendship Bell

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The three Oak Ridge Rotary Clubs present a check for $10,000 for the Peace Pavilion that will house the International Friendship Bell, at the kickoff for the fundraising campaign last year. From left, they are last year’s Rotary Club presidents, Devrin Kuipers, Oak Ridge Sunset Rotary Club; Jennifer Campbell, Rotary Club of Oak Ridge; and Emily Jernigan, Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club. Accepting the check are Pat Postma and Alan Tatum, co-chairs of the International Friendship Bell Citizens Advisory Committee. (Photo by D. Ray Smith)

The three Oak Ridge Rotary Clubs present a check for $10,000 for the Peace Pavilion that will house the International Friendship Bell, at the kickoff for the fundraising campaign last year. From left, they are last year’s Rotary Club presidents, Devrin Kuipers, Oak Ridge Sunset Rotary Club; Jennifer Campbell, Rotary Club of Oak Ridge; and Emily Jernigan, Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club. Accepting the check are Pat Postma and Alan Tatum, co-chairs of the International Friendship Bell Citizens Advisory Committee. (Photo by D. Ray Smith)

 

When local organizations step up to support local initiatives, communities experience success.

“Communities that organize and work with a goal in mind benefit and prosper far more than those that don’t,” said Pat Postma, co-chair of a group leading a fund drive for a new Peace Pavilion for the Oak Ridge International Friendship Bell.

Postma is pleased that many local organizations have contributed to the Friendship Bell drive, seeing it as a sign of strong community support when organizations that raise funds for their own causes contribute to other community initiatives, as well. They join contractors, businesses, local governments, and individuals that are supporting the effort, a press release said.

Among the first organization to contribute to the drive was the Girl Scouts Oak Ridge Service Unit, which observes the United Nations International Day of Peace annually at the Friendship Bell and has established friendships with Girl Scouts from Oak Ridge’s sister city in Japan, the press release said.

“The Girl Scouts of Oak Ridge made a donation of $1,000 when we had a visit from our sister Girl Scout Troop 37 in Naka, Japan, in 2014,” said Jerry Luckmann, community service coordinator for the Oak Ridge Service Unit, which covers about 30 troops in the Oak Ridge area. [Read more…]

Down payment assistance of $15,000 available for qualified home buyers in Clinton zip code

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This the map of targeted zip codes where $15,000 in down payment assistance is available to qualified home buyers. (Map by Tennessee Housing Development Agency)

This is the map of targeted zip codes where $15,000 in down payment assistance is available to qualified home buyers. (Map by Tennessee Housing Development Agency)

 

A program that kicked off in March offers $15,000 in down payment assistance to certain qualified home buyers in a Clinton area zip code and 54 other zip codes across Tennessee.

The down payment assistance is available through the Hardest Hit Fund Down Payment Assistance program, a federal program administered in the Volunteer State by the Tennessee Housing Development Agency, or THDA.

The help is available in Anderson County in the 37716 zip code. That zip code includes an area north and east of Oak Ridge, extending to Clinton and beyond along State Route 61 and north and south of the highway.

To qualify, home buyers must purchase an existing home in one of the 55 targeted zip codes. The purchase requires a THDA Great Choice Home Loan. [Read more…]

Come watch artists chalk the walks Saturday

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2014ouitanorthcutt

This chalk painting by Ouita Northcutt received the People’s Choice Award and first prize in the professional category at the 2014 Street Painting Festival. Last year’s festival was rained out. This year’s festival is Saturday, Oct. 1, 2016, at Roane State Community College in Oak Ridge. (Submitted photo)

 

The 16th annual Oak Ridge Street Painting Festival is drawing near—it will be held from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday (rain day on Sunday) at the Oak Ridge Campus of Roane State Community College.

Dozens of artists will be brushing up on their skills as they transform concrete sidewalk squares into colorful chalk paintings. The public is invited to this free festival organized by the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge in conjunction with Roane State.

While would-be Rembrandts are chalking the walks, young children will enjoy free activities from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday in the Kid Zone.

Music will be provided by Roane State music groups. [Read more…]