For the past 3 years, Chalk It Up North has been inviting families to come join in the fun and experience live entertainment, a color run, raffle prizes, chalk art, and more. Held in the North Ogden Kirt’s Plaza, over August 24 and 25, 2018—it was a hit once again!
What does Chalk It Up North mean? What is it all about? Chalk It Up North is a local event in North Ogden supported by the non-profit organization, JUST-a-BREAK, which started as an idea by Greg Thorpe in Ogden, Utah.
During the time he spent caring for his wife, Jen, (a stage IV colon cancer patient) Greg soon understood how difficult the journey was for himself, as a caregiver, but also for Jen and his family. Greg felt the heavy burden on him, and through his experiences, he had a desire to help others lighten their load as they went through similar circumstances.
From their website, www.justabreak.org: we learn that, “JUST-a-BREAK is completely ran by a volunteer staff and funded exclusively from generous donations by local businesses and individuals to provide local cancer patients just a break.”
Greg’s beautiful wife, Jen, passed away in December 2015, but her memory lives on and on especially through this wonderful family event, Chalk It Up North.
The Reverend and the Revelry, The Rosewood Band and the Greg Simpson Band all performed throughout the day and into the night. Local artists created beautiful chalk art in the parking lot behind Kirts. Each had their own square to create whatever their minds could muster such as a mermaid, Todd and Copper from the Fox and the Hound, The Salt Lake Temple in the fall, a kaleidoscope, a tiger and more.
9-year-old Payton decided she wanted create a chalk art to help with the Just-a-Break foundation. She titled her piece, “The Light” in remembrance of her Aunt Jan who passed away of cancer earlier this year.
Payton’s Mom, Shannon, said, “When I told Payton what the fundraiser was for she wanted Jan to be part of it. Payton put together the picture to have light in it as well as animals.”
Mayor Brent Taylor, who has been on a 2-week leave from his deployment, greeted the runners and thanked them for participating in the Chalk It Up Color Run 5k.
My own two young boys, ages 7 and 10, and I were involved in the Chalk It Up Color Run--and we had a blast! I am not a runner, per se, but I decided to give it a shot anyway; and with the cooler temps it was worth doing!
My boys were so excited to be part of the cause and get the chance to meet Greg Thorpe. I loved how each of the stations we came to threw chalk dust on us! We got more and more colorful by the end of the race! Goggles were part of the swag bag, of course, so you didn’t have to worry about your eyes turning purple.
98-year-old Anna even walked the race; and she completed it with a winning smile! Participants who had already finished formed a line, making an arch with their arms as Anna walked gleefully into the cheering crowd. What fun to see her face light up!
Greg Thorpe offers a HUGE thank you and says, “It was a great success. Chalk It Up brought a lot of awareness to the JUST-a-BREAK charity and some awareness to the awesome city of North Ogden!”
Thorpe would also like to add that, “I’m super thankful for my awesome team of volunteers and I’m always looking for volunteers -and I’m always looking for volunteers throughout the year to help with Chalk It Up and/or JUST-a-BREAK!”
If you would like to volunteer or learn more about how you can help with JUST-a-BREAK, please go to www.justabreak.org.
