.png)
On Father’s Day weekend, Paseo Colorado and Light Bringer Project will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the annual Pasadena Chalk Festival. The 2017 event, which will explore the history and impact of the centuries-old artistry of street painting, will be held June 17-18 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Paseo Colorado. Featuring the spectacular work of nearly 600 dedicated and talented chalk artists, this year’s silver anniversary event, which is free and open to the public, is expected to attract tens of thousands of visitors to the shopping center.
To showcase this unique artform, hundreds of madonnari (Italian for street painter) will spend the weekend creating breathtaking murals on concrete surfaces throughout the shopping center’s three city blocks. While many of these street painters are independent artists, others include design teams representing schools, creative and cultural organizations, and even artistic families from all over Southern California as well as other regions nationwide.
What’s Taking Place?
- Amazing Artwork: Using more than 25,000 sticks of pastel chalk, talented artists will create designs ranging from classical to contemporary with themes that include the whimsical and fantastic to the socially relevant.
- Live Music: In addition to the extraordinary opportunity to watch artists at work, guests will be treated to live music throughout the weekend.
- Children’s Chalkland: From 12 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. children can test their creative talents in the Children’s Chalkland by making Father’s Day cards while they interact with a creative balloon artist and face painter. This activity is now located on the 2nd level by El Cholo Café Pasadena.
- Pasadena Police Classic Car Show: On Sunday, June 18th, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., classic cars will be on display on Green Street between Marengo and Los Robles.
- Animation Alley: One of the highlights of the Pasadena Chalk Festival is Animation Alley, an area where gifted artists shape masterful chalk renderings of their signature work including classic characters, renowned personalities from film and television and each artist’s own original murals. Animation Alley shines a spotlight on some of Southern California’s most up-and-coming animators and graphic designers.
- Chalk of Fame: The Chalk of Fame, located near ArcLight Pasadena, is an area designated specifically to recognize the work of artists who create chalk murals depicting favorite movie scenes and famous movie posters. The theater will award a special prize to the winning mural in this category.
- Artist Gallery: Always a highlight of the Pasadena Chalk Festival is the Artist Gallery where people can bid on affordable, small painted canvases created by participating festival artists as well as a variety of festival merchandise. Proceeds will benefit the Light Bringer Project, a nonprofit Pasadena-based arts organization that places an emphasis on youth development, providing innovative arts programs that unite schools, industry and community resources throughout Los Angeles County. To support the gallery and its mission, Dick Blick Art Materials will provide new, unpainted 12” x 12” canvases and pastel chalk for the artists to use to create donations for a silent auction.
- Artists Awards Ceremony: At the conclusion of the festival, participating artists will examine the work of their peers, selecting the most outstanding murals for a variety of awards, including 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place Best-of-Show Awards as well as Best Technique, Best Use of Color, Best Rendition of a Masterpiece, Most Inspirational, Most Humorous and more. Shopping center visitors will also have the opportunity to vote for their favorite mural using ballots available at the Information Booth near the Main Stage to determine the winner of the Paseo Colorado People’s Choice Award.
- Media Preview: Members of the media are invited to attend a special sneak-peek behind the scenes of the Chalk Festival during a Chalk Workshop on Saturday, June 10th, from 10 a.m. to Noon. During this special event, five experienced artists will demonstrate their mural-painting expertise on the south Garfield promenade. Each mural will feature the work of a different genre, from classical masterpieces to 3D innovations, and the artists will explain their process. Reporters can even display their own artistic talents by creating small images.
- A Silver Anniversary Tribute: The Pasadena Museum of History is now hosting a tribute to the Pasadena Chalk Festival’s silver anniversary with a new exhibit: “Art in the Street: 25 Years of the Pasadena Chalk Festival.” The exhibit will be open to the public through August 13th.
Popular among artists and art lovers alike, prestigious cultural festivals similar to the Pasadena Chalk Festival often take place throughout Europe, North America and South America to celebrate this traditional art form. Through a generous grant to assist with the production of one of the city’s most prominent public events, the City of Pasadena Cultural Affairs Division helped support the Pasadena Chalk Festival for the benefit of the community. This June, Paseo Colorado and its visitors can celebrate 25 years of this cultural experience and enjoy the magic of street artistry as they drop by to shop, eat or take in a movie.
Paseo Colorado is located at 300 East Colorado Boulevard (between Marengo and Los Robles Avenues) in the heart of Pasadena’s historic downtown Civic Center. Convenient parking is available. For festival information, visit www.pasadenachalkfestival.com.
Photos courtesy of Paseo Colorado
About Paseo Colorado
Paseo Colorado is a 445,000-square-foot mixed-use lifestyle center located in the center of downtown Pasadena, California. Spanning three city blocks on an expansive 13-acre site at the intersection of East Colorado Boulevard and South Marengo Avenue, Paseo Colorado is anchored by a 14-screen ArcLight Cinemas, Equinox Health & Fitness, DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse, P.F. Chang’s China Bistro and Yard House, accompanied by a strong mix of national and specialty retailers and restaurants, including Bath & Body Works, Chico’s, Soma, Victoria’s Secret, White House | Black Market and West Elm. Traditional shopping hours are 10am – 9pm Monday through Saturday and 11am – 6pm Sunday. Hours at restaurants and select specialty shops may vary. Visit www.paseocolorado.com for more information.
