If you’re not familiar with Buffalo’s Annual Miyazaki Chalk Contest, then you might also be surprised to hear that this year marks the 9th consecutive year that the contest is being held at North Park Theatre on Hertel Avenue.
The contest is dedicated, of course, to the animated works of Hayao Miyazaki (Japanese animator, director, producer, screenwriter, author, and manga artist), who is co-founder of Studio Ghibli Inc. (a Japanese animation film studio headquartered in Koganei, Tokyo).
Passionate fans of Miyazaki have figured out a fun, family-friendly way to pay tribute to his work, by hosting the Miyazaki Chalk Contest, which is free for anyone to enter, and is attended by chalk artists of all skill levels. Here’s the scoop:
PRIMARY THEME: All chalkings related to Studio Ghibli or the works of Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata will be eligible for prizes from GKIDS Films and Gutter Pop Comics.
SECONDARY THEME CATEGORY: This year, in anticipation of the August release of DRAGON BALL SUPER: SUPER HERO, all chalkings with a DRAGON BALL, DRAGON BALL Z, DRAGON BALL SUPER, etc. related theme will be eligible for a special DB—related prize.
If you get creative and mix-and-match DRAGON BALL with STUDIO GHIBLI, you will be eligible for both!
General prize packages TBA (they will be cool!) and will be sponsored by GKIDS Films—the American distributor of Studio Ghibli—and Gutter Pop Comics across the street.
NOTE: This year, the festival spans TWO days: July 23rd – July 24th. Except in extenuating circumstances, artists will be judged according to one day’s worth of work.
Chalking starts at 9:00 AM Saturday and Sunday. (But you can start any time after.)
Final judging starts at 9 PM Sunday.
Take a break at 11:30 AM to catch Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata’s PANDA! GO PANDA! on the BIG SCREEN!
PLUS: If you missed any Ghibli posters over the years, KatyDid will have a table out with North Park prints, buttons, postcards, and all kinds of cool stuff…!
Reminders:
- Please use non-permanent materials
- Entry is free
- All skill levels are encouraged
- Some chalking supplies will be provided
- Free water for chalkers