- October 19, 2022
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The ephemeral art of floral carpets involves not just flowers but also seeds, leaves, berries and other natural materials.
Sarasota Int'l Chalk Festival volunteers have found that many hurricane debris can be incorporated into the materials they've been collecting.
Another ingredient needed for the carpet art is sand, and it so happens that sand from hurricane sandbags, which festival organizers say is of good quality, conveniently fills the role.
That isn't to say that the event has not also seen negative impacts from the storms, with some effects including a decrease in volunteers and ticket sales.
Yet its organizers want the community to know that regardless, the Sarasota Int'l Chalk Festival is still going forward as planned, from Nov. 8-10.
On Nov. 1, an array of activity could be seen along South Orange Avenue as artists and organizers undertook preparations.
Volunteer Denise Loiselle primed the signature elephants, with white paint, for the flower-themed design they will receive, the Statue of Liberty sculpture was pieced together, and local and international artists assembled puppets themed around Florida's flora and fauna.
The festival's founder and executive director Denise Kowal said that after the hurricanes, the festival will continue to serve its role of supporting Sarasota's community.
"Come to Sarasota. Enjoy these amazing artists that are coming here from around the world, creating incredible masterpieces, and this time, incorporating the flowers into the festival, and then enjoy Sarasota while you're here," she said. "Support the brick and mortar that's here, and just enjoy everything beautiful that Sarasota has to offer."
Hurricane Milton wasn't the only challenge the festival faced this year.
On July 10, it had also seen around $40,000 in funding cuts from the county, part of a decision that also impacted the arts organizations Embracing Our Differences and WSLR+Fogartyville.
Festival manager Bill Baranowski said this year, the bill from the city was about four times that of past years and unexpectedly featured additional service fees with a new requirement to pay upfront.
Kowal said on Sept. 20 that as a result of the high city fees, she is concerned about the situation for the community as a whole.
"I worry about our city hindering opportunities for people that have as much drive as I have, that are younger than me, that want to create something for this city. I am very concerned that they're creating a situation that that vibrancy is being hindered," she said.
In response to the county's decision, the festival launched its “Grow the Heart” program, which invites the public to support the event through a GoFundMe account and fundraising VIP tickets.
With community support, everything was running smoothly prior to the hurricanes.
"Tickets were selling. Everything was going great, and then the first hurricane, hit, and that slowed things down," Kowal said.
Kowal said the storms brought about a decrease in ticket sales, a need for reworking when it came to aspects like sponsors and housing, and an overall decrease in volunteers that has made things "a little more difficult."
Kowal said some volunteers have left the area completely, some are dealing with hurricane damage, and some, despite having lost everything, want to be part of the event.
"The storms have been so horrible, and in everything horrible, there's new life, and there's new opportunities that come from it, and definitely, with all the debris around, it's given us all this stuff that we need for the artists to work," she said.
As volunteer Denise Loiselle said, the contributions are not just about art, and there is "something everyone can do."
For instance, the festival is currently in need of a professional chef who can prepare the items from food sponsor W&S Foods Co.
The festival also launched the inaugural Floral Storefront Contest, which sees stores in the area competing to offer the best decorations in support of the festival, with the grand prize being a free trip to Rome to participate in the 248th Genzano di Roma Infiorata.
Festival artists are also working on a series of paintings for a future auction with Sarasota Auction House. Originally serving a fund to raise money the festival lost due to Hurricane Ian, the auction's role has now expanded to involve the storms that followed, Kowal said.
There's also a positive sense in which it's not an ordinary year for the festival.
The “Floralia Infiorata" floral carpet section of the event will be a first for the United States, with the country having never before hosted a delegation of international artists devoted to the art form.
Partnering with nine floral carpet organizations, the festival will require the importation of 75,000 flowers, and for the first time, it has a dedicated botanist on staff.
In keeping with tradition, the Chalk Festival will see participants marching over the floral carpets in a parade, destroying what was created.
Incorporating the puppets, the parade will allow festival goers to witness everything from people dressed as fish, to a spoonbill controlled by a stilt-walker, with attendees even having the chance to make their own masks and materials with the help of artists.
It helps integrate the tradition of floral carpets into Sarasota, by celebrating Florida's native wildlife with an emphasis on the concept of pollination.
As Artist Danaé Brissonnet of Quebec said, "It's like we're destroying the art, but ... keeping the seeds or the thing of the flower to create more, so there's a new beginning and a continuing."
