The Artists Alley at this year’s Block Party is one for the kids—and grown-ups, too.

Come around the corner on North Bend Way, behind the antique mall and the Bank of America, and you’ll discover an oasis of creativity. Local artists will be showing off their works, both hung up for viewing and in progress. Painters will be working on canvasses, live. And this year, there’s a special interactive project aimed at the younger set.

Alraune Chowdhury, a Mount Si Artist Guild member who’s helping organize the show, was inspired by a recent trip to Montreal. There, she happened upon a public art event that got her mental wheels turning.

The result is the new Children’s Community Art Project, which lets youngsters paint a variety of images and patterns on pre-cut mask shapes—anything their imaginations can dream.

Paper, paint and brushes will be donated by guild artists, who will assist and offer tips. Masks will be tagged with each child artist’s  name and age and will be on display throughout the afternoon. In August, they’ll go in a special display at the Festival at Mount Si.

“They’re part of the show. They’re participating, they’re creating it,” said Chowdhury.

What will families experience through this project?

“They can see the festival is promoting children’s imagination and creativity,” says Chowdhury. “It’s putting something together. Each mask will have the same shape, but it’ll have a different pattern, color, motif.”

The guild is eager to educate people about appreciation and participation in art, especially young people.

The whole idea is to promote art, locally, says Chowdhury.

“One of the guild’s guiding principles is to promote art and talent in the community,” she says. In coming to the block party, the guild can reach out and approach new faces.

Mount Si Artists Guild is an established 501c(3) non-profit organization that brings together local artists for the purpose of providing encouragement, education and a forum for the promotion of visual fine arts in the Snoqualmie Valley.

In raising awareness of fine arts in the community, the guild supports local artists by fostering an environment for creating and displaying art as well as promotion of the artists. The guild is also committed to bringing a positive, educational art experience to the community through classes for children and adults.

Throughout the year, the guild conducts numerous art-related events, including auctions, regularly scheduled shows and other events which simulate local and regional tourism to the Valley.

Learn more at www.mtsiartistguild.org.