While people may attend the annual Big Fresno Fair for rides, food or other attractions, five art students attended to display their work in the high school chalk drawing contest on Oct. 9.

?At the beginning of the year, I announced the chalk contest at the fair and five students volunteered,? Sharon Scharf, art teacher, said. ?This was our third year going. It?s a great way for the students to learn new art techniques and promote our school.?

Before going to the fair, the five student volunteers divided into two teams to create their drawings. The first team consisted of seniors Ie Run Jung and Jennifer Yang.

?For our chalk drawing we drew Elvis, Martin Luther King Jr. and Captain Hook,? Jung said. ?The theme was ?big times are back,? so we wanted to use famous people.?

Yang partnered with Jung for the design and both believe they benefited from the experience.

?It was fun because we both enjoy drawing,? Yang said. ?We also got to see our beautiful drawing at the end when we finished.?

Sarah Hollingsworth, ?10, and seniors Michael Bowen and Brittany Hollingsworth, composed the second team.

?We drew a picture of Bob Marley with ?one love? written across his portrait and roses,? Sarah said, ?because we didn?t want to do a pirate theme like everybody else.?

Bowen reveled in the event and the food available at the fair.

?I pretty much went because I wanted to get out of school,? Bowen said, ?but it turned out to be a lot of fun, because the food was great and I liked making our chalk drawing.?

Brittany wanted a new experience and savored the outcome.

?I?ve never been to the fair before so I wanted to experience something new,? Brittany said, ?and the people who went before said it was fun. Also, I like the time it took to make it. It wasn?t just a quick sketch, it took a few hours before we finished.?

Both teams brought the materials and resources they would need to depict their illustrations.

?The students brought their own chalk and other art tools with them to the fair,? Scharf said. ?Then, the teams were each given a four-by-four board of black plywood to draw on, were assigned an area to work and given five hours to draw.?

Although the drawings were not recognized with awards, the participants left with souvenirs and new experiences.

?Each student participant received a T-shirt and cowboy hat,? Scharf said. ?After they were done drawing, the chalk drawings were judged and the students returned to the school.?