It has been said before by frazzled parents and child psychologists alike that kids today don’t know how to be bored. In the summer of 2020, the universe said, “Hold my juice box.” With most camps, sports teams and general organized activity out the window, kids of all ages found themselves with endless hours stretching before them. And while families mourned the would-be childhood memories of a season without summer camp, there was one silver lining: Creativity became paramount. Case in point: chalk drawings. From stick figures to Michelangelo-level sketches, the fleeting art was a common sighting on the many (many) neighborhood walks taken by stay-at-homers across the region. In Reston, residents seized on the sidewalk trend by entering Public Art Reston’s Stay-at-Home Chalk Art virtual event. Throughout the spring, the organization posted themes and asked artists and artists at heart to submit their interpretations. The chalk art that transpired ranged from simple hopscotches to Smithsonian-worthy creations—proving that “bored” is only a state of mind. Here’s to a fall filled with even more sidewalk-chalk discoveries as we all step away from Zoom for a little fresh air.
This post originally appeared in our September 2020 Best of NoVA print issue. For more news like this, subscribe to our weekly newsletters.
