BOUNTIFUL—Main Street in Bountiful has transformed into a work of art. The sidewalk on both sides of the street and around the Post Office is filled with art of every kind from superheroes to rainbows and jungle animals. Anything the artist can imagine has been created in colorful chalk on every square. The Chalk Art Festival is in full swing featuring the work of more than 200 artists who come from all over.

It all started in 2006 when Jane Joy had an idea. 

“I was teaching art to youth in custody, kids that had been arrested,” said Jane. “I saw what it did for them when they did a painting or drawing. They discovered something about themselves and I just thought that was wonderful so that’s when I started teaching art (in her studio).”

Jane said she had some art in the gallery and one day she looked at the sidewalks and just wanted to walk around. “I thought it would be neat to put some art on the sidewalk. So I was messing around a little bit and a city councilman said ‘what are you doing? You’ll ruin the streets if people start scribbling on the sidewalk.’”

Jane told him she was sorry but then ignored him. “The plaza at the Post Office is where it started and it just grew. It just gets bigger and bigger. It’s been for the entire family.”

Jane’s son David Joy has taken over the Joy Foundation that does the Chalk Art Festival and other events in Bountiful. 

“There’s a lot that we do,” said David. “Every Saturday night we have an open mic night. Families and friends come, it’s really intimate. The people who come are just amazing. From 7 p.m. – 8 p.m. we open up the stage for an open jam then from 8 p.m. – 10 p.m. it’s open mic.”

People sign up on a board and they get five minutes, he said. “Then we go through the list. We mostly get musicians and singers but we’ve had some comedians that come once in a while. We’ve got a mentalist that comes and that’s pretty fun.”

David said they have a full studio with instruments and a studio piano and everything. “So you don’t even need to bring anything – just show up.”

They also offer art classes, he said. “We have Kirt Harmon right now teaching art classes. We’re always looking for people interested in filling the open nights or days during the summer for kids to do art classes. It’s just a comfortable space to do it in.”

The festival used to be held in May but got pushed back to June when there were several years of rainouts that left artists running for cover. 

It’s Sharlet Gallagher’s third year participating in the festival. “The previous two years I’ve done it and had a massive square so it’s really nice to have a normal size.”

Gallagher said her number one goal is for people to see her art and just feel happy. “It’s just fun. It’s something that everybody can relate to but not be like having to tell themselves a story they can just enjoy it.”

This is 10-year-old Celest Gallagher's first year at the festival. Photo by Becky Ginos

 This was Gallagher’s 10-year-old daughter Celest’s first time at the festival. “You have to be 10 or older to enter. She's been counting down for the last four years.”

“I like art,” said Celest, her hands covered in blue chalk. “My mom inspired me. I had a lot of ideas so I had a hard time choosing (what to draw). Since it’s my first year I thought I’d start with something simple.”

“I use my kids as my inspiration,” said Alexis Jeffery, who was working on a picture of a tiger with a child. “My little boy likes gorillas so I did a gorilla last year. This year he’s been carrying a little tiger around so that’s what I decided to do this year.”

Jeffery didn’t really want to be an artist when she was younger, she said. “I thought artists were weird. I was taught in school about Van Gogh and he chopped his ear off and gave it to his girlfriend. I thought that was pretty weird.”

However, a car accident in 2014 left her with a traumatic brain injury. “I just went into my art and that’s where I found joy.”

“I had no idea it would be like this,” said Jane. “It’s just mushroomed. It really is magic on the sidewalk.” 

The Chalk Art Festival runs through Saturday, June 6, but the art can still be viewed after it ends.