It starts with a sketch and a few sticks of chalk. Then come the artists — some professionals, some complete newcomers — kneeling side by side on the concrete. As hours pass, hands darken, colors bloom and an ordinary city block is transformed into a living gallery.
“Chalk art is basically a performance-based medium,” says Michael Rieger, longtime artist director of the Denver Chalk Art Festival. “You do have a beautiful creation at the end, but it’s really about watching the pieces come together."
Back for its 23rd edition, the Denver Chalk Art Festival returns June 7 and 8 to the Golden Triangle Creative District, filling the streets with bold colors, immersive illusions and 230 artists with roughly 4,000 pieces of soft pastel chalk. The free two-day event, co-produced by CherryArts, has become one of Denver's most treasured traditions, offering the opportunity to see live art-making in action while also celebrating the community that has grown around it.
“One of the most rewarding parts of this festival is seeing so many incredible artists return year after year," Rieger says. "There’s a real sense of community that forms on the streets — artists encouraging one another, sharing their process and connecting with the public as their work comes to life. It’s a reminder of the power of art to bring people together.”
Rieger has been with the festival since the beginning. “I started out back in 2003 on a committee for the Larimer Arts Association that helped launch the festival,” he says. “That first year, we had 42 artists down the center of Larimer Square. Half of them were friends I dragged down there. None of us had ever done chalk art before. It was totally a new thing in Denver.”
"Obviously, the whole idea of the chalk festival dates back to the 16th century," Reiger says. "But in the last ten to fifteen years, they've exploded in popularity in the US. People just love watching things being created. We've been able to grow the Chalk Festival here by really focusing on the art and the artist community in Denver."
By year four, Rieger had taken on the role of artist director, a position he still holds. Since then, the festival has weathered everything from location changes to torrential storms to the COVID-19 pandemic, which temporarily moved the event online.
“In 2020, we still did a festival, but we did it virtually,” Rieger says. “Everyone drew in their driveway, and we ran it through Facebook. It was successful and a big shot in the arm for all the artists that needed it.”
It then temporarily relocated to Cherry Creek in 2021 in conjunction with its new partner, the Cherry Creek Arts Festival, before moving to its current location in the Golden Triangle in 2022. Today, the festival features over 100 artist teams working on eight-by-eight-foot squares, as well as a few twelve-foot canvases reserved for larger works such as 3D illusions and murals.
“We’ve got chalk artists who are professionals and travel the country doing this, and we’ve got people who’ve never touched the medium before,” Rieger says. “Every year, at least ten percent of the field is brand new to the Denver festival. However, since the artists are giving up the time to do this, we like to reward them for returning. So they go through a judging process, but it's not a blind panel. It's more of a curated process, and they get points for putting together a strong application, but then they also get points for returning. The more years you do it, the easier it is to get in."
That continuity of artists coming back year after year has become one of the festival’s most defining features. For Angela Checco, it’s practically a ritual. She and her two teammates first participated in the youth division back in 2010, and they’ve returned every summer since.
“Our art instructor [at Highlands Ranch High School] got a notification about needing high school students to be in the youth competition,” Checco recalls. “The three of us were like, ‘Oh, that sounds like a lot of fun,’ so we went out and we did it.”
Their first piece, a Fauvist take on a Claude Lorrain painting, was as much a learning experience as it was an artwork.
“We had no idea what we were doing,” Checco says, laughing. “But we had a lot of really cool people from the artist community come and give us tips and tricks.”
What began as a school activity quickly grew into something deeper — a shared creative tradition that endured even as life took the trio in different directions. Over the years, team members have moved across the country and abroad, but the Chalk Art Festival always pulls them back.
“At one point, one of us was in New York, and now one of us is living in the UK and coming back from England to do this,” Checco says. “But every year, we’ll make the trek back to Denver. It’s just something we look forward to and always feels very special. I love the reconnection with my teammates; it's a cherished tradition."
Now veterans of the festival, Checco and her team have grown alongside it. While the event continues to welcome newcomers through its youth division, where high school teams of up to eight students contribute to the weekend’s sprawling collection of street art, it also cultivates an atmosphere of mentorship and mutual support.
Awards are handed out each year in categories like Best in Show, Best Use of Color, Most Whimsical and Best Reproduction of a Master, as well as People’s Choice, which attendees vote on. A three-judge panel walks the site, evaluating not just the finished works but the creative process itself, including how artists interact with spectators, handle imperfections in the pavement and adapt to challenges.
One of the biggest of those challenges? The weather.
"We’ve had rainstorms happen and ninety percent of the drawing got washed off,” Rieger says. “But I’ve also watched the artists just rally together and get everything done.”
Light rain won’t ruin a piece — chalk can hold surprisingly well through a drizzle — but high temperatures can make for grueling conditions.
“The heat, if it’s really, really hot, tends to make it the most miserable,” Checco says. “I would take a little bit of rain over heat any day. Fingers crossed, it's nice and cool, and if it rains, it's light rain."
Despite the unpredictable weather, the team continues to return. This year, they’re creating a fully interactive 3D illusion featuring a monkey artist painting portraits, complete with a small stool inside the drawing for photo ops.
“It’ll look like he’s painting your portrait,” Checco says. “We really wanted an interactive piece this year.”
Though the style and scope of their work have evolved, the reason they return hasn’t changed.
“It’s a very positive, uplifting kind of Denver staple, and it just feels like a really cool thing to be a part of,” Checco says. “It’s something we look forward to every year.”
Denver Chalk Art Festival, Saturday, June 7, through Sunday, June 8, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Golden Triangle Creative District; the closest address is 123 W. 12th Avenue. Free. Learn more at denverchalk.art.
“Chalk art is basically a performance-based medium,” says Michael Rieger, longtime artist director of the Denver Chalk Art Festival. “You do have a beautiful creation at the end, but it’s really about watching the pieces come together."
Back for its 23rd edition, the Denver Chalk Art Festival returns June 7 and 8 to the Golden Triangle Creative District, filling the streets with bold colors, immersive illusions and 230 artists with roughly 4,000 pieces of soft pastel chalk. The free two-day event, co-produced by CherryArts, has become one of Denver's most treasured traditions, offering the opportunity to see live art-making in action while also celebrating the community that has grown around it.
“One of the most rewarding parts of this festival is seeing so many incredible artists return year after year," Rieger says. "There’s a real sense of community that forms on the streets — artists encouraging one another, sharing their process and connecting with the public as their work comes to life. It’s a reminder of the power of art to bring people together.”
An artist works on their entry for the 2024 Denver Chalk Art Festival.
Courtesy of the Denver Chalk Art Festival
Modeled after events like the Madonnari Italian Street Painting Festival in Santa Barbara, California, and rooted in centuries-old European traditions of street painting, the Denver event has grown dramatically over two decades.
"Obviously, the whole idea of the chalk festival dates back to the 16th century," Reiger says. "But in the last ten to fifteen years, they've exploded in popularity in the US. People just love watching things being created. We've been able to grow the Chalk Festival here by really focusing on the art and the artist community in Denver."
By year four, Rieger had taken on the role of artist director, a position he still holds. Since then, the festival has weathered everything from location changes to torrential storms to the COVID-19 pandemic, which temporarily moved the event online.
“In 2020, we still did a festival, but we did it virtually,” Rieger says. “Everyone drew in their driveway, and we ran it through Facebook. It was successful and a big shot in the arm for all the artists that needed it.”
The 2024 Best of Show winner of the Denver Chalk Art Festival.
Courtesy of the Denver Chalk Art Festival
“We’ve got chalk artists who are professionals and travel the country doing this, and we’ve got people who’ve never touched the medium before,” Rieger says. “Every year, at least ten percent of the field is brand new to the Denver festival. However, since the artists are giving up the time to do this, we like to reward them for returning. So they go through a judging process, but it's not a blind panel. It's more of a curated process, and they get points for putting together a strong application, but then they also get points for returning. The more years you do it, the easier it is to get in."
That continuity of artists coming back year after year has become one of the festival’s most defining features. For Angela Checco, it’s practically a ritual. She and her two teammates first participated in the youth division back in 2010, and they’ve returned every summer since.
“Our art instructor [at Highlands Ranch High School] got a notification about needing high school students to be in the youth competition,” Checco recalls. “The three of us were like, ‘Oh, that sounds like a lot of fun,’ so we went out and we did it.”
Their first piece, a Fauvist take on a Claude Lorrain painting, was as much a learning experience as it was an artwork.
“We had no idea what we were doing,” Checco says, laughing. “But we had a lot of really cool people from the artist community come and give us tips and tricks.”
What began as a school activity quickly grew into something deeper — a shared creative tradition that endured even as life took the trio in different directions. Over the years, team members have moved across the country and abroad, but the Chalk Art Festival always pulls them back.
“At one point, one of us was in New York, and now one of us is living in the UK and coming back from England to do this,” Checco says. “But every year, we’ll make the trek back to Denver. It’s just something we look forward to and always feels very special. I love the reconnection with my teammates; it's a cherished tradition."
An artist uses pastel chalk to create a street painting in the 2024 Denver Chalk Art Festival.
Courtesy of the Denver Chalk Art Festival
Awards are handed out each year in categories like Best in Show, Best Use of Color, Most Whimsical and Best Reproduction of a Master, as well as People’s Choice, which attendees vote on. A three-judge panel walks the site, evaluating not just the finished works but the creative process itself, including how artists interact with spectators, handle imperfections in the pavement and adapt to challenges.
One of the biggest of those challenges? The weather.
"We’ve had rainstorms happen and ninety percent of the drawing got washed off,” Rieger says. “But I’ve also watched the artists just rally together and get everything done.”
Light rain won’t ruin a piece — chalk can hold surprisingly well through a drizzle — but high temperatures can make for grueling conditions.
“The heat, if it’s really, really hot, tends to make it the most miserable,” Checco says. “I would take a little bit of rain over heat any day. Fingers crossed, it's nice and cool, and if it rains, it's light rain."
Despite the unpredictable weather, the team continues to return. This year, they’re creating a fully interactive 3D illusion featuring a monkey artist painting portraits, complete with a small stool inside the drawing for photo ops.
“It’ll look like he’s painting your portrait,” Checco says. “We really wanted an interactive piece this year.”
Though the style and scope of their work have evolved, the reason they return hasn’t changed.
“It’s a very positive, uplifting kind of Denver staple, and it just feels like a really cool thing to be a part of,” Checco says. “It’s something we look forward to every year.”
Denver Chalk Art Festival, Saturday, June 7, through Sunday, June 8, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Golden Triangle Creative District; the closest address is 123 W. 12th Avenue. Free. Learn more at denverchalk.art.
