Northern Illinois University Students Paint Thanksgiving Day Parade Logo

Northern Illinois University reports that approximately 24 NIU art students have been called upon for the second year in a row to paint the Thanksgiving Day Parade logo in Downtown Chicago. To get the job done they will have to travel to the City, gather their supplies, brave the cold Chicago wind and night, and paint a large logo on the famous State Street, so that the parade can begin.

Last year they were called upon to do a rush job and they did it so well that officials have invited them back to do it again this year. They were given all night to complete the job, but finished handily by 2 in the morning, exhibiting the spirit of NIU and the professionalism of its art students.

This year's painting will begin at ten in the evening. It should be quite a job because temperatures are supposed to drop below freezing at the site, located on State Street, between Washington and Madison. There will be hand warmers, paintbrushes and floodlights.

The street will be barricaded off from traffic, a grid will be set down to guide the artists, and work will begin. Last year it took seventeen gallons of paint to complete the job. Artists will then spend the night in a Chicago hotel, before rising early to witness the parade.

Students learn a lot from the event, like how to coordinate the work of more than twenty people, giving each a meaningful job; how to solve on site problems quickly; how to apply their classroom skills in the outside world; how to give to the community; and teamwork.

The President of Northern Illinois University's National Art Education Association chapter, Casey Klemp, of Downers Grove, Illinois, says that keeping warm in the frigid fall air, so close to the lake, will be a priority.

Art students will be able to see their work on television, too.

The logo itself will be 30 feet by 50 feet, and the paint will be provided by the Chicago Festival Association. Carole Jo Fremouw is the event manager, and it was she who called upon her alma mater last year on such short notice. "They did such a phenomenal job last year. The students just blew us out of the water."

The parade is sponsored by McDonald's and over 400,000 people are expected to attend. It moves on State Street, going north, starting near Congress and ending near Randolf.

Art Education Students Paint, NIU