Sidewalks at Roane State Community College's Oak Ridge Campus will become canvases for colorful creations during the Oak Ridge Rotary Club's eighth annual Street Painting Festival Oct. 20-21.

The festival supports education by raising money for Roane State student scholarships, and it celebrates art by providing opportunities for artists of all ages and skill levels.

The public is invited to watch the artists work. The free event, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge, will include an entertainment stage and plenty of activities for children.

Over the last seven years, the festival has raised nearly $145,000 to fund scholarships at Roane State.

Artists use chalk to "paint" sidewalk squares that sponsors "purchase" through their donations.

Sponsors may provide their own artists, or an artist or group will be assigned to a sponsor's square. Artists design their sponsor's square and compete for a $50 first prize in various categories.

Sponsors purchase sidewalk squares by making a tax-deductible contribution to the Roane State Foundation. Corporate levels of support are: platinum, $10,000; gold, $5,000; silver, $2,500; and bronze, $1,000.

Small business sponsor levels begin at $200, and individual levels begin at $100.

Festival sponsors will be recognized through advertisements, signs on sponsored squares, the festival T-shirt and during the awards ceremony.

For more information, contact festival chairman Russ Schubert at (865) 481-2001.

The festival is open to professional and amateur artists of all ages. There is no charge to participate as an artist. Interested artists should contact Devrin Kuipers at devrin@devrin.com or (865) 599-9145.

Chalking instruction, professional chalk and other art supplies are provided at no cost to participating artists. Artists must complete their work by 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 21, so that judging can begin.

Artist awards will be announced at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 21.

Entry forms for artists can be found at http://rotaryor.org/streetpaintingfestival.