Prelude to Chalk it Up

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John's square from last year

Chalk it Up is a big event every Labor Day weekend in Sacramento, CA.
Artists from all over the area come and design a square of sidewalk. The squares are purchased by local businesses for $150 each, and they either ask for a certain artist or take whatever artist comes along. John has done this event for about 4 ears for the early music groups Trobadores, River City Renaissance Band, and Camellia Camerata.

His friend Lynda does her square for Lazer Glass, and she's done a square for even more years.

They've worked out a system that seems to work for them. They get there incredibly early, like 6 a.m. so they can find one of the shady spots. Shade is a very important part of the event, as Sacramento is pretty warm. This year the temperature is expected to be 104 for at least Saturday and Sunday. Some spots are shady in the morning, some are a little shady in the afternoon, but there's one spot that's shady almost all day. That's their spot.