HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-12-2016 - City Arts Commission - 04 Staff Report Proposal for Newport Beach Chalk Art FestABSTRACT:
The annual chalk art festival on the Balboa peninsula has become an important annual tradition. For
2016, the event planners have expanded the festival to include music, dance, and food. The event can
be expensed from the funds transferred to the City from the Balboa Theatre Performing Arts
Foundation.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Arts Commission seek City Council approval for the Newport Beach
Chalk Art Fest, a chalk art festival, on the weekend of October 15 and 16, 2016.
FUNDING REQUIREMENTS:
The $25,000 required to fund the festival and ancillary events will be expensed from account 4002-5901
(Arts-Private Donations). The funds, which were transferred to the City from the Newport Beach Arts
Foundation, will be appropriated by budget amendment subject to City Council approval.
DISCUSSION:
Balboa Village has hosted the City’s local chalk art festival as an annual event. In previous years, the
event was called La Strada dell’Arte and was held in April in conjunction with the Newport to Ensenada
Yacht Race. This event has been renamed the Newport Beach Art Fest will be held on the weekend of
October 15 and 16 (which will coincide with Newport Beach Arts Foundation’s Art in the Park). The
Newport Beach Art Fest is sponsored by the City of Newport Beach, the Balboa Village Merchants
Association (BVMA), and local businesses and residents.
Using the asphalt as canvas, the region’s most talented professional and student artists will transform
the parking lot at the corner of Balboa Blvd. and Palm Street into large masterpieces in chalk over a two-
day period. The artists will work from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday and will begin again on Sunday
morning at 8:00 a.m. and finish by 5:00 p.m. The public will be able to view the creation of intricate and
exquisite works of chalk art.
TO: Newport Beach City Arts Commission
FROM: Library Services Department
Tim Hetherton, Library Services Director
949-717-3810, thetherton@newportbeachca.gov
PREPARED BY: Tim Hetherton
TITLE: Proposal for Newport Beach Chalk Art Fest
In addition to the chalk art, on Sunday, October 16, from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm, the following activities
will be offered in the parking lot:
- Live music featuring a classic rock band
- 5-6 local restaurants selling a variety of food (bottled water and soft drinks will also be available
for purchase).
- Beer & wine garden selling alcoholic beverages
- Children’s chalk section where they can create their own drawings
The beer & wine garden will be in an enclosed area of the parking lot with a single entrance and exit.
Security guards will be on hand to check IDs to ensure that guests are 21 or older and that no one is
allowed to leave the designated area with alcohol.
In order to further promote Balboa Village, our guests will be encouraged to explore the rest of the area
using a “Peninsula Passport” designed to direct them to local restaurant tastings, to observe musicians
and dancers strategically placed throughout the Village and to participate in various hands-on creative
activities at ExplorOcean.
While it is free to the public to attend the festival and participate in the hands-on activities, there will be
a charge for food and beverages, and the children’s chalk (which will be $5 per box).
A portion of the parking lot will remain available for handicapped parking during the event.
A janitorial service will be hired to power wash the parking lot prior to the event and again after the
event, to remove the chalk murals from the pavement.
The fee will be expensed from account 4002-5901 (Arts-Private Donations). This money came to the
City via the Newport Beach Arts Foundation who received the funds from the dissolution of the Balboa
Theatre Performing Arts Foundation. These funds are to be used for performing arts programming in
the City, with a preference for the Balboa peninsula. The creation of chalk art is considered a
performing art, in that it brings the artistic process into the public eye. The viewer becomes part of the
process, as they witness the artist creating a masterpiece on the streets and sidewalks. This interaction
is what makes the spectacle of Chalk Art so compelling.
Pending City Arts Commission, the proposal will be submitted to City Council requesting a budget
amendment.
NOTICING:
This agenda item has been noticed according to the Brown Act (72 hours in advance of the meeting at
which the City Arts Commission considers the item).