‘Paint the Sidewalks’ lets residents leave colorful mark on Mount Pleasant

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Art Reach of Mid Michigan celebrated its 30th anniversary in color Saturday with its first ever “Paint the Sidewalk” event.

The roughly $2,500 affair enlivened the sidewalks of Main Street with a whole spectrum of painted designs. People of all ages showed up to enjoy the free food, sunshine, music and sidewalk art.

Michelle Sponseller, Mount Pleasant’s downtown development director, planned the event together with Art Reach.

“The turnout has been just terrific, way more people showed up than expected,” Sponseller said. “We had 42 pre-planned designs and each block had its own theme.”

Some of the themed designs included hopscotch art, geometric designs, splatter art and cartoon animals.

“I really thought it was a great way to get the whole community involved and expand the idea of public art,” Sponseller said. “We purchased all the paint locally and it has a special grit added which makes it long lasting, while also keeping walking pedestrians from slipping on the paint.”

Attendees showed up on Main Street between Bellows and High streets and received street paint, brushes and a sidewalk square to decorate.

Cally Klimczak, of Saint Ignace, drizzles yellow paint on a geometric design she painted with Liz Bloom, of Rockford, Saturday afternoon during "Paint the Sidewalks" in Mount Pleasant. "On our way here a lady said that these stay on the sidewalk for two years, so I think that is great," Klimczak said. (Andrew Kuhn/Staff Photographer)

Shepherd resident Heidi Olan took her family to go painting because she thought her children would enjoy the opportunity.

“It’s been so great, it’s been a real pleasure helping out the community and spending time with my children,” Olan said. “I think it’s so cool that our art will still be here a year or two from now.”

16-year-old Mount Pleasant resident Rebecca Steele was working on a design portraying an apple blossom, Michigan’s state flower.

She said, though she enjoyed the chance to be artistic, she felt the it was a bit restrictive.

“I just wish you could pick your own colors and come up with your own design, but I understand why they don’t do it that way,” she said. “It would be risky letting people have that much freedom to paint whatever they wanted.”

Nashville sophomore Amanda Erwin said she came after she read a preview about the event in Central Michigan Life.

“It is a fun thing to do in the summer, it brings the whole town together,” she said. “I was really surprised to see how organized it all is.”