17th Pasadena Chalk Festival This Weekend
By Pasadena Independent
Published: Thursday, June 18th, 2009
Saturday & Sunday, June 20 & 21 2009
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. This weekend, the Paseo Colorado will help the Pasadena Chalk Festival continue the legacy of the street painting art form by offering festival visitors an opportunity to see the artworks come to life on their sidewalks.
Now celebrating its 17th year, the 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.
Joining Pasadena Chalk Festival again this year, are popular artists Arlou Somo, Randall Wilson, Anne Marie 
Darrach, Esther Petschar, Henry Colchado, Daniel Ramirez, and animation artist Melody Severns, who will be filmed by National Geographic this year as part of a new life-style television show on National Geographic television premiering this fall.
In addition to the opportunity to watch artists at work, guests will be treated to live music and children can get into the creative act in ‘Chalkland’, an area specially designated for kids and families.
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