Highland Street Art Festival will still take place with COVID-19 precautions in place

How do you hold an art festival in the middle of a pandemic?

The Highland Chamber of Commerce was faced with a dilemma when it came to the annual Street Art Festival annual Street Art Festival, in which artists create temporary works on sidewalks around the town square throughout the day.

“There wasn’t a good way to host everyone up on the square like we normally would,” said Chamber Director Nancie Zobrist. “We had to get creative.”

Instead of gathering all the artists in one place, the festival will station artists at locations throughout the city: Sidewalks, driveways, and parking lots. The artists will start at 8 a.m. as usual, but the Chamber won’t release the “treasure map” detailing where to find them until afternoon, so the artists can choose whether to stay by their art and answer questions, or leave to maintain distance.

“We didn’t want to put anyone in a situation they were uncomfortable with,” she said.

The community will be able to follow along on Facebook, and once the map is released, they can go around the city to see the works of art.

“I think it’s a great idea, and a good way to think outside the box,” said councilwoman Sarah Sloan when it was presented to the Highland City Council last week.

Zobrist said it’s definitely going to be like a treasure hunt, which may also lead visitors to some of the Chamber’s businesses.

“That was another reason to spread around the artwork, to help people see more places in Highland, maybe discover a new shop or business they can frequent later,” she said.

Zobrist said the artists should be spread out enough that there shouldn’t be large numbers congregating in any one place. In addition, Scott Credit Union is sponsoring a “Kids’ Chalk Challenge.” Families should request a #2020SCUKidsChalkChallenge sign at the drive-through of their local Scott Credit Union, and have the kids create a work of art at home.

When finished, they should take a picture including the sign and post the picture to the Highland Chamber of Commerce Facebook page, using the hashtag. The contest is open to children ages 5-14.

Naturally, it won’t be quite the same as the usual festival, which Zobrist described as a “laid-back” fest with live music and beer tastings.

“It’s always a really fun time,” she said.

Taking precautions, additional festival info

But it was one way that the event could still take place even under the added restrictions caused by the metro-east’s rising numbers.

“We don’t want to do anything that would make the numbers in our region increase and potentially cause greater restrictions,” Zobrist said. “There wasn’t any way to make sure that wouldn’t happen ... It’ll be different, but I’m hoping the community will come out for it.”

The Highland Street Art Festival will take place Saturday, Sept. 19. For more information, visit its Facebook page.

Sponsors for the Street Art Fest include Rural King, Scott Credit Union, Serendipity Labs, Korte Co., Scheffel Boyle CPAs, Bradford National Bank, Highland Machine, State Farm agent Lisa Sauer, Tri Ford, Starlight Dance Studio, Lee’s Fine Jewelry, Trouw Nutrition and Cedar Creek Dental.