Chalk Festival Through the Years

The Pasadena Chalk Festival began in 1993 after a summer intern at the Light Bringer Project attended a street painting festival in Paris and brought back her amazing pictures and observations. From there, the festival has grown to become the world’s largest street painting event, boasting more than 600 artists each year.

Now approaching its 20th year, the Pasadena Chalk Festival is officially the largest in the world by sheer numbers of participating artists. In fact, previous festivals have attracted artists and design teams from many regions of the country, across Southern California, and virtually every Los Angeles-area community. Leading art schools, museums and cultural centers are also represented at the festival.

The Pasadena Chalk Festival is produced by Paseo Colorado and the Light Bringer Project, as a financial benefit for the nonprofit arts organization, raising proceeds for vital arts and learning programs in the schools and cultural opportunities for those of all ages. Each artist will volunteer up to 20 hours of his or her talent and energies to make this possible.

Several years featured centerpiece artists. In 2002, 13 Tibetan Monks from the Gynto Vajrayana Center participated as the festival’s special guests. In 1998, Aboriginal artists from Brisbane, Australia and the continent’s Central Desert created the festival’s centerpiece mural in their ‘dreamscape’ dot motif. In 1996, Kurt Wenner, recognized as one of the world’s greatest street painters or “Master Madonnari,” served as guest centerpiece artist.

We hope this quick history of the Pasadena Chalk festival has you excited for what is to come. June 16th and 17th is the weekend! Below are pictures from the early years of the chalk festival.