Pasadena Chalk Festival

Festival Location: Pasadena, CA, USA

Festival State: Californian Festivals

Festival Type(s): Art Festivals, Community Festivals

Pasadena Chalk Festival Media:

For centuries artists have painted beautiful images on the boulevards and squares of great cities, using chalk as their medium and the street pavement as their canvas. These artists and their creations were not a destination unto themselves; they were a wonderful element of the everyday business of these cities. Paseo Colorado's interconnected mix of retail, entertainment, housing and garden promenades helps the Pasadena Chalk Festival continue the legacy of the street painting art form by offering festival visitors an opportunity to shop, dine or see a movie as the artworks come to life.

The Pasadena Chalk Festival places over 25,000 sticks of pastel chalks in the hands of hundreds of "Madonnari" (Italian for street painter) who come from all across Southern California and points beyond to spend two days on hands and knees creating spectacular murals on concrete areas the size of two city blocks. In every style imaginable, from classical to contemporary, whimsical and fantastic to socially relevant, the murals are designed and created by independent artists as well as teams representing art schools, museums and cultural centers. The artists are an incredibly diverse group, representing many ethnicities and age ranges. Prestigious cultural festivals in Europe, North and South America celebrate this traditional art form and are popular attractions for artists, art lovers and people from all walks of life. The Pasadena Chalk Festival is the world's largest of these gatherings by sheer numbers of participating artists.

In addition to the extraordinary opportunity to watch artists at work, guests will be treated to live music and children can get into the creative act in Chalkland. A specially designated area for kids and families, kids will have the chance to create their own chalk drawings for dad on Father's Day cards provided by Paseo Colorado and get their faces painted.