Don’t be surprised if you see more chalk art, concerts or dancing in downtown Davis this October. For the second year of ARTober, the Davis Downtown Business Association (DDBA) and the Mondavi Center are planning to hold several art-related events, including concerts, art exhibits and community affairs.
One such event is the Skreever Fest, which will take place on Oct. 17 and 18 and is a collaboration between Armadillo Music, Nestware and Paula’s Boutique, which are all located on the 200 block of F Street.
“We were thinking of something different to do for ARTober other than displaying art, so we decided on a sidewalk chalk art competition,” said Armadillo Music owner Josh Chapman.
The stores involved will offer refreshments and let people chalk spaces on the sidewalk. The art will be judged in various categories, with the winners receiving prizes such as gift cards.
Local art galleries are also getting involved. The Natsoulas Gallery will hold the Jazz and Beat Festival on Oct. 5 and the Pence Gallery will host three new exhibitions and a performance for October.
“The main gallery will feature an exhibit called Reality2 [Reality Squared], which features the work of six painters who focus on realism to show different senses of reality,” said Pence Gallery director Natalie Nelson.
The paintings were selected by art critic DeWitt Cheng and feature work by Mark Bryan, William Harsh and Michael Kerbow, among others.
“One of the smaller galleries will show the work of Cynthia Martin Kroener, who does landscapes, mainly of Tahoe, but also of Mexico and Africa. They’re acrylic and colorful,” Nelson said.
Kroener will do a painting at the gallery on Oct. 5 and 6, and will give an Artist Talk on Oct. 15.
The Mondavi Center is also involved in ARTober with several performances scheduled. These include Asphalt Orchestra, Ahmad Jamal, the San Francisco Symphony and MOMIX Botanica.
The Mondavi Center was involved with ARTober in 2011, when it was initially focused on Sacramento events.
“Our early involvement in ARTober grew out of the work our Executive Director, Don Roth, does as co-chair of the For Art’s Sake committee,” said director of marketing for the Mondavi Center Rob Tocalino in an email.
The ARTober organizers approached the DDBA in 2012 and asked to partner up.
“They thought it would be great to include downtown Davis because of the new street art [that was added in 2012],” said DDBA marketing director Nina Gatewood.
Gatewood said that the reaction from the businesses she’s partnered with have been positive.
“Most of the businesses want to work with us,” Gatewood said. “ARTober brings more people downtown, and since we don’t charge businesses to participate, it’s like free advertising.”
Chapman felt that events such as ARTober are vital.
“Getting people involved and motivated to do something they might not do normally is important for Davis as a whole,” he said. “It fosters a vibe in our community that is much needed.”
For a full list of ARTober events, visit davisdowntown.com/calendar or mondavicenter.org.
JOHN KESLER can be reached at arts@theaggie.org
