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ArtOberfest, Chalk the Block bring creativity to downtown Parkersburg

By Gwen Sour 3 min read

PARKERSBURG -- Art, music and fall festivities came together Saturday as the Parkersburg Art Center hosted ArtOberfest and Chalk the Block, offering opportunities to create artwork, meet artists and enjoy the center's exhibits.

Jessie Siefert, managing director and education director for the art center, said both events began in 2017. Chalk the Block gives people a place to express their creativity regardless of whether they have work to display in a gallery, she said.

"I think because it's open for everybody," Siefert said. "Maybe it's an artist, but they don't have art on the walls to put in a gallery exhibit. But they still have that creative spirit, so they get to go and express it on the street."

The temporary nature of chalk art is also part of its appeal, she said.

"You know you can go out there and it can always be changing and something new," Siefert said.

Uncertain weather prompted organizers to move voting for the chalk art competition online. Photographs of the completed entries will be posted on the art center's Facebook page by Oct. 19, with voting scheduled for Oct. 19-23.

The weather also shaped arrangements for ArtOberfest. Siefert said vendors were being set up inside to protect their work from possible rain, while food trucks and outdoor activities were planned just outside the center.

New additions to this year's festivities included fire pits, s'mores kits, hot pretzels with cheese and a pickup truck selfie station. Butcher Family Farm supplied pumpkins and cornstalks to help create a fall setting.

Siefert said the lineup included three musical acts, with performances changing about every hour and 15 minutes. Among them was 3M Acoustic Trio, Hannah and Levi Westfall and the DeBarr Stevens Trio.

Artist demonstrations, including pottery wheel work and woodcarving, were also part of the plans, along with opportunities to visit vendors, view exhibits and enjoy refreshments.

For Kaylee Stewart, who attended with her family, the event offered an opportunity to visit the art center for the first time. She said it also introduced her to artists she had not known were based in the Mid-Ohio Valley.

"I haven't had the right opportunity to stop in and see (the art center)," Stewart said. "This is just wonderful."

Among the participating artists was Kathleen McCabe-Martin, a mosaic artist who moved to the area from California to be closer to her daughter.

McCabe-Martin said a visit to the art center last year helped confirm the decision to relocate.

"When we came to visit her last year, came to the art center, and that's what sealed the deal," she said. "I was just so blown away by the art center and the community."

McCabe-Martin began exploring mosaics about 25 years ago after seeing a flowerpot at a shop in Niles, California. She started taking classes and has since studied in locations around the world. Much of her work incorporates stained glass, including larger pieces she creates at home.

For Siefert, the events were an opportunity to help visitors find their own connection to the arts.

"I hope that they realize that art is for them, and that art brings people joy," she said. "Music, art, community, food, drink, merriment. That's what we're about."

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