One year later: Chalk the Town flourishes during Third Thursday
One year ago, Kara Vaughn of Hutchinson chalked her driveway and got asked to remove the drawings from her landlord.
One year later, Vaughn’s mission to bring the community together through chalk flourished in downtown Hutchinson at Third Thursday.
“I've learned more about chalk artists and how there are festivals, chalk festivals and things like that and I think it's really inspiring and really fun and I really wanted to bring that same kind of culture, same feel with Chalk the Town,” Vaughn said. “And it's not there yet, but it's what I envision Chalk the Town to be. It's like a good fun chalk festival with a lot of different activities around the same theme. That's really my perspective of it.”
Throughout the area by DCI Park, Hutchonians of all ages took part in drawing and decorating the town.
Vaughn said the goal of Chalk the Town is more than just to decorate the city.
“It stems from the situation that happened which was with bullying and things like that,” Vaughn said. “Wanting to make a positive of the situation and raise awareness about that stuff and to spread kindness and positivity in the community is the main goal and heart of Chalk the Town.”
Vaughn said community members who returned to celebrate the event showed up in t-shirts that were won from last year’s event. She added people in Hutchinson enjoy taking part in community events like Chalk the Town.
“I love Hutchinson because it is a really close-knit community and people are very supportive and they will come out and support these kinds of things,” Vaughn said.
For the future of Chalk the Town, Vaughn said she would like to make a difference in area schools and educate about bullying and other social ills.
“I'm going to start focusing on starting a non-profit once this event is done because I want to be able to take the whole experience that I have and the message that I'm trying to share and go to schools and talk about bullying and try and raise awareness in those areas and then give back to the community by facilitating things like Chalk the Town and doing scholarships and things like that,” Vaughn said.
The next Third Thursday event will take place in downtown Hutchinson Aug. 15.