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Students show their smarts with cardboard creations at Wyoming Seminary

Kane re-certified as magisterial district judge

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; John Maday remembers running early one morning as the sun came up and noticing sidewalks filled with children&#8217;s artwork drawn with chalk.</p><p>&#8220;I guess kids are still doing that,&#8221; the executive director of the Riverfront Parks Committee and Wilkes-Barre resident thought.</p><p>At the next meeting of the committee, he asked, &#8220;Why don&#8217;t we give children chalk and let them draw, while providing environmental education?&#8221;</p><p>The idea caught on and now, seven years later, many area residents have made &#8220;Chalkfest and Hydromania&#8221; an annual family tradition.</p><p>&#8220;This, right here, is our classroom,&#8221; Maday said during Saturday&#8217;s edition of the annual event at the Millennium Circle portal on the River Common.</p><p>Kim Albert, Chalkfest&#8217;s volunteer coordinator, said she noted many &#8220;repeat customers&#8221; at the event, which is free to the public.</p><p>&#8220;I would hate to think that parents would have to tell their kids they couldn&#8217;t afford to come to Chalkfest,&#8221; Maday said. &#8220;But we do raise funds for the event throughout the year.&#8221;</p><p>Both Maday and Albert credited volunteers from local colleges and other organizations for making the effort possible.</p><p>Brenda Johnson, of Plains Township, brought her two foster children and her son, Sean, out to the event for the opportunity for both fun and learning.</p><p>When asked what his favorite activity was, Sean said he was looking forward to fishing.</p><p>Erica Barrera, also of Plains Township, and her three children were enjoying a presentation on ecology at the event.</p><p>Barrera said all three had enjoyed drawing with chalk, including her youngest, 2-year-old Bethany.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m glad the weather held out,&#8221; she said. &#8220;It&#8217;s a nice day.&#8221;</p><p>Stephanie Boback, of Nanticoke, who also does chalk drawing for the F.M. Kirby Center, carefully crafted a drawing of a blue heron in shallow water.</p><p>&#8220;We saw one today, right over there,&#8221; said Boback, pointing at the river.</p><p>Boback said she was impressed with the wonderful response from the community to the event and hopes to participate again next year.</p><p>Megan Sgarlat Prynn and other volunteers from the Penn State Cooperative Extension were on hand to provide information about the importance of preserving water.</p><p>Prynn said she and other volunteers had participated in a training over 12 weeks, so that they could educate the public about preservation of the water table.</p><p>One form of doing this, she said, was rain gardens, which preserve clean rainwater, create habitat and prevent local flooding and water pollution.</p><p>To Maday, the event symbolizes resilience of area residents and the benefits and challenges of living near the river.</p><p>He looks back to 2011 when flooding put the entire area under water but the festival was still held.</p><p>&#8220;We rescheduled it a few times that year,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It was a time of hope.&#8221;</p><p>Chalkfest, he said, builds community.</p><p>&#8220;Everyone is assigned a square,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And so the kids are busy creating art when suddenly families begin talking to each other.&#8221;</p><p>It happens that way, he said, every year.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Victoria Frantz, 6, is seen past her step-father, Angelo Randazzo, as the two work on a square at the Chalkfest event in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_TTL100216ChalkFest2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Victoria Frantz, 6, is seen past her step-father, Angelo Randazzo, as the two work on a square at the Chalkfest event in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_TTL100216ChalkFest3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Ava Lesh, 4, draws on a square at Chalkfest. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_TTL100216ChalkFest3.jpg</photo1><caption1>Ava Lesh, 4, draws on a square at Chalkfest. </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Geri Gibbons</p><p>ggibbons@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Geri Gibbons at 570-991-6117 or on Twitter @TLGGibbons</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Chalkfest still going strong on River Common