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Decorate a chair to support St. Charles event

The Downtown St. Charles Partnership is coordinating a "Chair-ity" event that will place decorated Adirondack Style Chairs throughout downtown St. Charles during the summer of 2015.

Director Lynne Schwartz went before city council and received approval for the event that starts Memorial Day weekend and runs until Labor Day.

"It's a new event that encourages creating something out of the ordinary with visual interest, and is a great way to showcase our beautiful downtown. It gives people a reason to explore, a way to discover new parts of the city, and a reason to stay," said Schwartz.

The idea came from volunteer Chuck Parr of St. Charles, who was inspired by the city of Chicago's "Cows on Parade" from the summer of 1999.

Parr says, "The idea was sparked when I attended my first city council meeting. It was stated more than once that the vitality and economic development of the downtown is dependent upon increased foot traffic. I thought a decorated Adirondack chair was more feasible and affordable and easier to engage more of the public. I look forward to seeing the creative ways people decorate their chairs and then bringing friends and family downtown to admire their work."

Interested participants are encouraged to create imaginative and unique works of art appropriate for public display. Any individual, group or business can participate, with the option of donating the chair for auction at the conclusion of the event.

Participants can supply their own Adirondack chair or the partnership has also worked with ACE Hardware of St. Charles on a discounted price for participants who wish to purchase a chair. Bring your "Chair-ity" entry form to ACE to secure your discount of $39.99 for an unassembled Adirondack chair, or for $44.99 the store will put the chair together for you. All proceeds for the event will go back into downtown beatification efforts and will be announced at the conclusion of the event.

For more information or to sign up to participate in the event, visit www.downtownstcharles.org/events/chair-ity/. For inspiration, the partnership has posted photos on its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/stcchairity. All entry forms are due by Wednesday, April 15.

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