Smile Politely

40 North sidewalk chalk contest

This year’s contest was held outside of Big Grove extending down to in front of Exile on Main and even a few outliers in front of Destihl. Contestants were grouped according to grade pre-kindergarden to kindergarden, 1st to 5th grade, and 6th to 8th grade.

There were a good number of kids out participating. Parents watched and gave verbal help while people passing by looked and gave encouraging feedback to the kids.

The event was great. It encouraged creativity, was of low impact on the environment, and was entertaining to folks out enjoying Friday Night Live. I would like to see more events that include children in our weekend evening activities.

Judges were Cynthia Bruno (WCIA), Stacey Gross (Centennial Art Teacher), and Kelly Donahue (Midland States Bank, FNL sponsor)

The winners this year were:

Pre-K-Kindergarden

1st prize: Lila Nandan

2nd prize: Ava Stark

1st–5th grade

1st prize: Jason Kim

2nd prize: Oneil Johnson


6th-8th grade

1st prize: Emma Trafelet

2nd prize: Shaylyn Clem

Prizes included Meatheads gift certificates, Knight Action Water Park tickets (provided by Illini Radio Group), Champaign Park District Leonhard passes, Urbana Park District Outdoor Family Aquatic Center passes, TCBY gift certificates, and a packet of chalk.

See more in the gallery below.

[gallery sidewalk_chalk]

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