By Mary Sisk
Rock River Current
Get our newsletter
ROCKFORD — A cartoon yellow squirrel clad in a purple hat and gesturing as if it has a secret is popping up all over downtown.
You might see it on a glossy, business-card like square where the image is accompanied by nothing more than question marks and a QR code. Or, it could be stuck to downtown businesses’ windows on a pop-culture inspired poster.
Laura Gomel, the director of 317 Art Collective, calls it her “secret squirrel.” She intentionally left a little mystery to the character that’s the face of her marketing campaign for Arts Happening Downtown, a collection of art installations and other activities that take over a block of Market Street later this month.
This is the second year of the Arts Happening Downtown, which takes place June 25.
“Last year when I made it up, I didn’t want to tell everybody what we were doing at first,” Gomel said. “So I just started putting secret squirrel heads on everything.”
More: Australian family’s traveling cafe aims to create conversation and ‘sense of community’ in Rockford
This year, those squirrel heads are on iconic movie posters and album covers, including “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and Nirvana’s “Nevermind.”
“I just think it’s fun when people get excited about stuff,” Gomel said. “I mean seriously, what’s up with the squirrel heads.”
Arts Happening Downtown is hosted by 317 Art Collective and will feature music, food, themed art installations and more.
(story continues below photo)
The art installations are interactive cubicle-like rooms scattered around the event’s pathway that will feature a theme and showcase the respective team or artist’s work. Last year, some of the installations included a monstrous open-mouth with a three-dimensional tongue large enough to sit on and a black-and-white theme that allowed attendees to participate in creating a stop-motion movie.
“We roll them out on the street that day and people can interact with them,” Gomel said. “We have a bunch of other artists.”
There will be eight themed art installations by HLGN, 317 Art Collective, Mainfraim, Rodrigo Cabellos, New Genres Art Space, Melinda Cook, Eamonn James and Lindsey K. Nelson.
The art and music festival will take place from noon-10 p.m. on June 25 and will encompass the 300 block of Market Street between Madison and First streets.
Art will not be for sale but there will be booths with mementos available throughout the event.
The event will be emceed by Steve Silver and nine bands are scheduled to perform.
Know before you go
Where: The 300 block of Market St. between Madison and First streets
When: noon-10 p.m. Saturday, June 25
Admission: June pre-Sale: $12 (ends June 23) available for purchase here; Day of onsite: $15.
Additional information: artshappeningdowntown.com
This article is by Mary Sisk. Email her at msisk@rockrivercurrent.com or follow her on Instagram at @maryrrcurrent