Rescheduled: June 15, 2025
We’re inviting local artists, students, and artist groups to participate in the inaugural Harrisonburg Chalk Art Festival! Located at Turner Pavilion, this festival welcomes all to enjoy a day of art and creativity.
To prepare for the Saturday festivities, we’ve invited nationally renowned street artist, Jennifer Chaparro, to Harrisonburg to lead a FREE 3D chalk painting workshop on Friday, June 13 under the cover of Turner Pavilion in downtown Harrisonburg. Registration is required (see below). Previous experience in street chalk art is not necessary – just bring a willingness to get down and dirty on your hands and knees for a couple of hours!
Learn about Street Painting/3D Chalk Art with award-winning artist Jennifer Chaparro. She will give a brief background on the art form, and then do a quick demo on how to layout a small 3D piece on the ground with basic tools. Then you will be able to break up into small groups and try your hand at creating your own work. You can bring an idea of something to chalk; examples will also be available. Chalk and tools will be provided. Dress in clothes you don’t mind getting dusty! Ages 12 and up are welcome; children under 14 should be accompanied by an adult.
Originally scheduled for Main Street on Saturday, June 14 during
Best.Weekend.Ever., this event has been moved to Sunday, June 15, when we’ll be chalking – rain or shine – at Turner Pavilion!
You’re invited to create your own chalk masterpiece in marked spots under the cover of the pavilion. You can come as early as 9 am to check in, sweep off and plot your square, draw your reference lines, and start prepping for your drawing.
Individuals and groups can sign up in advance for three different size “squares”:
There will also be an opportunity for community members to create small chalk works in a freeform space at the pavilion.
Experienced street painters Jennifer Chaparro and Robert Mott (event co-organizer) will create large-scale feature drawings!
Jennifer grew up in Southern California but didn’t start street painting until she moved to West Palm Beach, Florida in 1999 and started street painting with her daughters. She started her business, Amazing Street Painting, in 2008. Her street paintings are either reproductions of masterpieces or large-scale original 3D works; some are temporary, and some are permanent. Jennifer is also the founder of the International Street Painting Society, has traveled internationally for her chalk art, teaches workshops, and has won many awards. She has a BA from UCLA and received her Maestro Certification from Florida Chalk Artists Association in 2011. Murals have recently started to take up more of her time, and she won the Canvas West Palm Beach Local Showdown in 2016. When not creating street art, she works as the Marketing Manager at Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art in Colorado.
Robert Mott has enjoyed creating chalk art drawings in public settings for more than 30 years. In the early 1990s he was a regular artist at the I Madonnari Chalk Festival in San Luis Obispo, California where he was known for colorful recreations of historic California orange crate labels. He and his brother, Tom, led a collaborative team of chalk artists that was featured at the premier San Diego Chalk Festival in the late 1990s. In the early to mid-2000s, Mott began sharing his talents at Staunton Jams music festivals, the Staunton Pride Festival and more recently creating fantastical Harry Potter-themed street art at a number of Queen City Mischief and Magic Festivals. In 2017 Mott was invited to create a Jimi Hendrix drawing at the prestigious I Madonnari festival at the historic mission in Santa Barbara, California. His professional graphic design studio website is found at robertmottdesigns.com.
No! Thanks to support from The Community Foundation of Harrisonburg & Rockingham County’s Earlynn J. Miller Fund for the Arts, this entire chalk festival is completely free to the public!
Arts Council of the Valley will provide all the chalk you need (though if you’re an experienced chalk artist, you’re welcome to bring your own chalk, too)!
Your creativity – and the 5 hours of time from 12 noon to 5 pm – are your primary limitations.
Some ideas: For a 5-hour chalking session, comic-book style references work well with their strong colors, sharp lines and solid fields of color. Flowers, animals, mandala shapes, musical instruments, “peace” images, and still-lifes are also popular street painting subjects.
Please note: You will sign a waiver when you register agreeing to content guidelines.
In the middle of June, the weather can be quite warm and the temperatures on the pavement can be 10-15 degrees hotter than the air. Wear comfortable old clothes and shoes that can get dirty.
Some darker chalk colors don’t wash out of clothing (like blue jeans) easily, so keep that in mind! Lighter colors and lightweight fabrics can help keep you cooler. Wearing shorts might be uncomfortable as your knees and legs may be touching the pavement.
Some other suggestions:
