Adirondack chairs invite you to relax, browse businesses

Come to town and sit a spell.

Antioch’s annual public art charity program this year offers visitors to the town (and to parts of Lake Villa) 53 painted Adirondack chairs to lounge in and fulfill the program’s name, Chillin’ on the Chain.

“The first year, we did Dogs on the Chain, the second year, Bears on the Chain, and this year, Chillin’ on the Chain, because you’re kind of just sitting back and enjoying,” said Barbara Porch, director of the Antioch Chamber of Commerce.

Chillin’ on the Chain is a tiered program. Each month a new contest surrounds the chairs. May was A-chair-ican Idol, where visitors voted for their favorite chair. June is a chair scavenger hunt. Participants will get a list of clues and try to find the corresponding chair. July will be a “what’s on my seat” contest, where clues will lead to a different chair based on the design on the seat. The final contest will be in August, another clue-based contest that matches a chair location with the clues. Entry forms for the contests can be downloaded from the Chamber’s website (www.antiochchamber.org). Completed forms can be dropped off anytime at the Chamber, 882 Main St., for the chance to win prizes.

The culmination of the program is a Chair-ity Dinner and Auction. Every year the art pieces are sold at auction with the proceeds going to charities. The first year, the dogs raised almost $20,000, and the bears the next year raised just more than $16,000. Local organizations accepting the charity donations this year include Open Arms Food Pantry and Save-A-Pet.

"We're hoping for great things for our charities," Porch said.
The program benefits more than just the charities. Area artists and businesses are able to increase their exposure as well.

“We do this every year; it’s a worthy cause,” said Nancy Guenther, owner of Wilmot Heritage Antiques and Gifts in Antioch. “We’ve seen more traffic from the chairs. People go and look, they don’t always come in, but they stop.”

Guenther has a favorite artist, Joan Schultz, that the store has used every year for the art program. This year, her chairs display two ends of a spectrum, the regal Louis XIV, a chair painted like royalty, and the down-home Uncle Louis, a chair painted like everyone’s favorite uncle.

Shelly Heiss, an artist from Antioch who participated last year, painted four chairs this year.

“I enjoyed [last year] so much I just wanted to do it again,” she said. “It’s a great means of getting the community out and around town, looking for these chairs. Being able to donate the time and effort that goes into it for a good cause is very rewarding.”

Marilyn Bowen, a kindergarten teacher at Grass Lake School in Antioch whose class painted a chair, agrees that the program is beneficial to the community.

“I really like the program because it’s brought in more community members ... ,” Bowen said. “Those are the people we go to for support, and it’s kind of a way of giving back. It gives the students a chance to get involved with the smaller businesses.”

Her students based their chair, Famous Art Studies, around the works of famous artists they learned about in art class.

“The inspiration was the artists but the work was theirs,” Bowen said.

She also noted that painting the chair was a learning experience for her and her class.

“They taught me who Henry Matisse is,” she said.

All learning aside, at the seat of the program sits a great family activity.

“Our community is always so generous when it comes to supporting good causes,” Porch said. “And not only does it support good causes, it’s a fun family activity. It’s so nice to see groups of people. We see groups of ladies out who had lunch and they are visiting the chairs and filling out the contest forms or we see families with children. It’s just a very nice activity.”

For a map and chair listing, go to the Antioch Chamber of Commerce at 882 Main St., or visit www.antiochchamber.org.