For 27 years, the Chalk It Up Festival has been covering Sacramento sidewalk squares with vivid, powdery murals to support youth in local arts programs. Initially the murals were dispersed on sidewalks around the city, but now the festival is located in Fremont Park, a vibrant public area surrounded by a mix of new and vintage apartments, restaurants and coffee houses.
As a non-profit, Chalk It Up uses proceeds from the festival and donations to fund grants. According to their press releases, in the last four years, over 50 grants have gone to youth arts organizations, K-12 classrooms and individuals in the Sacramento region. Chalk It Up has invested a total of $25,700 into young local creatives.
This year has been the best yet with a wide range of artistic ability levels and visions, and event organizers expect over 60,000 people to pass through the festival over the Labor Day Weekend.
The park becomes a party with live music acts changing once an hour and a number of the region’s best food trucks and local breweries available.
Craft vendors inside the park sell a wide variety of unique and handmade pieces including jewelry and tie-dyed clothing.
Just as varied as the content of the murals, the festival draws an eclectic and laid-back crowd from families and feminists, to a foxy drag queen in fur to a guy in a cartoon fox head with faux fur tail.
As ever, entrance is delightfully free. For more details, see the Chalk It Up website and mark it on your calendar for Labor Day Weekend 2019.
