The Sarasota Chalk Festival is a local community-based event by the Avenida de Colores 501c3 charitable cultural arts organization. It is the first and only internationally acclaimed festival in Sarasota County. The volunteers strive to raise funds and donations for scholarships so children, students, adults, families, and the elderly that are professional, seasoned, emergent and even beginner artists can participate.
The festival is also a global community-based event where pavement artists from around the world are awarded scholarships to come together for this global cultural experience, once a year, to participate as performing artists in the festivities. Hundreds of artists use the pavement as their canvas and pastel chalk as their medium to create breathtaking oversized traditional and 3D illusionistic paintings. The public are invited to participate in, attend, and interact with the artists as they go about their work. Other performing artists, such as musicians, dancers, mimes, magicians, theatrical and Going Vertical street artists help enhance the festivities.
