Milpitas Art Walk intended to help make Main Street ‘vibrant’
In her State of City address on June 22, Mayor Carmen Montano said one of her passions is revitalizing Main Street in Milpitas.
“Main Street has long been the heart and soul of Milpitas, and it is time to unleash its full potential,” Montano added. “Together, we can create a vibrant, thriving and welcoming hub that will be a pedestrian-friendly area to stroll, shop, eat and be a destination place here in our city.”
The mayor’s words were put into action at the Milpitas Art Walk on Oct. 7. This was Milpitas’ second art walk, but the first one held on Main Street. Milpitas Recreation and Community Services invited residents to stroll down Main Street from the Milpitas Library to Sinnott Lane and discover new artists, admire artwork, enjoy live performances and dine at local restaurants.
Singers, dancers, comics and jugglers were invited to apply to be street performers, and fine artists and craftspeople of all ages and skill levels were invited to enter a Community Art Contest and have their artwork displayed on the Community Art Wall at the event. Volunteers were invited to help decorate Main Street sidewalks with chalk art signs the morning of event.
Visitors had their passports stamped at each location along the walk for a chance to win four tickets to Milpitas Community Theater’s production of “Matilda Jr.” at the community center Nov. 2-5.
The first station was located on Winsor Street and included tours of StageOne Creative spaces and exhibits from Mysri Fine Arts Studio and Shital Artworks. Young chalk artist Justin stopped at the Community Chalk Art station to draw a colorful and exquisitely detailed potted plant while Caroline, 7, designed her “Love Heart” on the sidewalk corner.
Terri Fradelis, who was exhibiting her landscapes, started getting into acrylic art painting when COVID hit in 2021 and set up an art studio in her garage. Fradelis‘ big dream in life was to sell her art in a show.
“The Milpitas Art Walk fulfilled my dreams,” she said. “I sold over 20 paintings, and I was walking on clouds.”
Dhwani Gada used henna paint at her “Just wow by Dhwani” station, while VietSteps performed Vietnamese youth cultural dance on stage. Other live entertainment included Retro Notes, a swing jazz band.
The art walk was funded in part through the American Rescue Plan Act.