Charlottesville, Va., Feb. 28, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau (CACVB) invites visitors and locals to attend the first ever Charlottesville ChalkFest, set to take place on Saturday, March 3, 2018. This festival embodies chalk for its simplicity, versatility, accessibility, and its unique way of inviting people to create, innovate, and communicate. Initially consisting of a video centered around the Freedom of Speech chalk wall on the historic pedestrian Downtown Mall, this festival has now grown into a multi-faceted event, encouraging people to come together and connect with neighbors while forging a stronger community through meaningful, important conversations. The mission of this daylong celebration is to facilitate events that will invite community members to share their stories while simultaneously creating strong connections. Stories will be shared through a variety of platforms including chalk art throughout the downtown area, conversations, and presentations from several area non-profit organizations.
ChalkFest will kick-off with a free neighborhood breakfast for the neighborhoods surrounding the IX Art Park in downtown Charlottesville. Hosted at Three Notch’d Craft Kitchen & Brewery, neighbors are invited to share a French toast breakfast and have a conversation, beginning at 9 a.m. Later in the day, a non-profit village will provide an opportunity for local non-profits to share their stories and solicit volunteers and participation. In preparation for this event, members of the WillowTree team donated their time to coach each non-profit organization on presentation skills and design. By bringing together members of the Charlottesville community and non-profits, ChalkFest aims to provide a mechanism for sustaining conversations and establishing new connections that will last well beyond the festival date of March 3.
Also included in the festival will be the release of a video celebrating Charlottesville. The one-minute ‘Chalk’ video celebrates both the natural beauty and vibrancy of the Charlottesville area and the city’s small businesses, local innovation, and the potential rewards of community gathering.
The day will conclude with the launch of the Charlottesville Ale, a collaborative project between Charlottesville ChalkFest and Three Notch’d Brewing Co., Champion Brewing Company, Hardywood Pilot Brewing & Taproom, Random Row Brewing Co., Reason Beer, and South Street Brewery. During the launch, $2 from every pint and $1 from every six pack of this one-time release brew will be donated to the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation.
In addition to these events, there will be a variety of other celebratory activities throughout the day. Beginning at 11 a.m., the public is invited to view local artists while they craft chalk art murals at the Freedom of Speech Wall on the Downtown Mall. The Parking Lot, a documentary featuring the attendants of the Corner Parking Lot, will be shown at The Paramount Theater at 7:30 p.m. Additionally, t-shirts and posters featuring the artwork of local WillowTree designers, provided at cost by Red Star Merchandise, will be sold. Profits from the shirts and posters will be donated to Unity Charlottesville to fund the ChalkFest events, and the remaining funds will be donated to a local non-profit. For more information about the event and mission statement of ChalkFest, visit https://www.chalkcville.com/ or https://www.facebook.com/events/285477005315081/.
About the Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau (CACVB):
In addition to serving as the global resource for marketing the tourism assets of Charlottesvilleand Albemarle County, Virginia, through www.visitcharlottesville.org, the CACVB assists tour operators, meeting planners, reunions and other groups in planning visits to the destination. CACVB’s mission is “to enhance the economic prosperity of City and County by promoting, selling and marketing the City of Charlottesville and County of Albemarle, as a destination, in pursuit of the meetings and tourism markets.” CACVB operates the Downtown Visitor Center(610 E Main St) which is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and a second visitor center, the Albemarle Tourism and Adventure Center in downtown Crozet (5791 Three Notch’d Rd) at the historic train depot; it is open Wednesday - Saturday 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. and Sunday Noon - 5:00 p.m. The CACVB also provides a touch-screen kiosk at Monticello’s Thomas Jefferson Visitor Center. The official website of the CACVB is www.visitcharlottesville.org. In addition, the organization manages powerful social media channels; ExperienceCharlottesville on Facebook, @VisitCVille on Twitter, CVilleVA on Pinterest, and @CharlottesvilleVA on Instagram and Vimeo.
