Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/239386
A NEW CHALK FESTIVAL Artist Joel Yau (reproducing a World War I portrait by J.C. Lyendecker) chalks alongside artist Julie Kirk at the Sarasota International Chalk Festival in November. Yau and Kirk are returning to the area for the Anna Maria Island Festival. Photo by Barbara Dondero SEVEN PEOPLE RESOLVE TO LAUNCH THE FIRST EVENT OF ITS KIND ON ANNA MARIA ISLAND By Barbara Dondero Contributing Writer Is it possible for seven people to have the exact same New Year's resolution — to launch the first annual Anna Maria Island Chalk Festival? Yes! It is true for California artists Joel Yau and Julie Kirk, who will be returning to the area to be among the more than 20 professional artists who will "chalk" along Pine Avenue. It is true for Denise Kowal, artistic director and founder of the Sarasota International Chalk Festival, who — with Michael Coleman of the Pine Avenue Restoration Project — is helping coordinate the Anna Maria Island event on Jan. 18 and 19. It is true for Julie Fagen, who, with her husband, manages the Studio at Gulf and Pine (which is owned by Mrs. Lawton Chiles, former First Lady of Florida and also an avid patron of the arts). The studio will be the site of the VIP dinner for the artists and public,