Chicago's Only Chalk Art Festival Chalk Howard Street to Return This Month

Chicago's only chalk art festival Chalk Howard Street has announced its entertainment programming and vendors list, as it makes a full return outdoor and in person for the first time since 2019. National and local street artists, neighbors, families, and street art lovers will transform the street surface into a creative canvas on Saturday, August 27, 2022 from 11 a.m. - 8 p.m., on Howard Street between Paulina and Ashland, east of the Howard Red Line 'L' stop. This free-admission street art festival features live music, local vendors, food and drinks, while offering striking and immersive street art experiences as well as street squares available for public purchase. Chalk Howard Street is hosted by the nonprofit Rogers Park Business Alliance and Howard Street Special Service Area #19. For more information on the festival, visit chalkhowardstreet.com.

Chalk Howard Street 2022 features nationally renowned 3D street artists Amanda-Lee Harris, Zach Herndon and Jessi Queen, as well as Shawn McCann, in addition to 2D chalk artist Harmony Harris and emerging artists who will create vivid and interactive chalk drawings for art lovers, families, and summer fest goers. Following the format of the festival's 2019 debut, Chalk Howard Street this year will resume offering a limited amount of street squares available for purchase to individuals, families and groups who wish to have a creative space and draw their own chalk art. Each square is priced at $25 and includes a supply of chalk. To register and purchase street squares in advance, visit chalkhowardstreet.com.

The live music lineup includes DJ Slacky J (12-3 p.m.), Fruteland Jackson (3-3:45 p.m.), Kreyol Roots (4-4:45 p.m.), Urban Rhythm Band (5-5:45 p.m.), Cally & the Snag (6-6:45 p.m.), and Four Star Brass Band (7-7:45 p.m.).

An interactive dance performance by professional dance artists from Synapse Arts Collective will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to enliven pedestrian intersections and invite residents of all ages, abilities, and identities for a suite of creative and therapeutic dance movements.

Art, food, retail, and nonprofit vendors include and are not limited to Afterglow Art LLC, Athena Board Game Cafe, Cricket Wireless, DELFA CHI Art, Designs By Uchita, Highest Dimensions 2D mixed media art, Legacy Barber College school and barbershop, Made with Love Organic Vinegar, Nourishing Hope, Silver Smith Solutions, and Small Business Advocacy Council.

Chalk Howard Street returns to full scale outdoor for the first time since the festival's 2019 debut, after being held in alternative forms from 2020-21 due to the pandemic that included Virtual Chalk Howard Street that highlighted local businesses, a pop-up in-person live chalk art drawing session, and a self-guided walking tour Walk Chalk Howard Street.

Howard Street Chicago, located on the edge of Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood and suburban Evanston, offers an unexpected, eclectic city experience. It is alive with an engaging personality represented by its vital diversity, welcoming nature and entrepreneurial spirit. Howard Street is home to an international array of cuisine options, creative art shops, and multiple theaters, and offers easy access to the beach and Lake Michigan. Howard Street/Jarvis Square Special Service Area #19 is a business improvement district managed through Rogers Park Business Alliance and by a team of Commissioners representing local businesses.

Rogers Park Business Alliance (RPBA) is a nonprofit organization that has served Chicago's diverse Rogers Park neighborhood for 29 years. RPBA works to cultivate and sustain a thriving economic environment in Rogers Park, serving businesses and residents with a variety of public events and business initiatives. RPBA programs include the GROW/PROGRESANDO entrepreneurial training program, the Illinois Small Business Development Center at Rogers Park Business Alliance, annual Best of Rogers Park awards, Chalk Howard Street Festival, Taco Crawl, and the Glenwood Sunday Market farmers market. For more information, visit RPBA.org.

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