Denver Chalk Art Festival 2026

The Denver Chalk Art Festival is an award-winning event that transforms Denver's historical museum district into a colorful street museum. Over two days, 200 professional, amateur, and student artists create chalk drawings on the pavement using soft pastels. Thousands of festival attendees enjoy food and live music while watching the chalk pieces come to life. The event is produced by Denver Chalk Art and CherryArts, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting arts awareness and education in Denver.

The festival takes place June 6th and 7th, 2026, with an Awards Ceremony at 5:00pm Sunday. Two participation levels are available: Master level for artists age 18 and up, and Youth Challenge for high school aged students. Application requirements include submitting one image of the proposed chalk drawing and three images of past artwork in any medium. Artists must produce the submitted artwork or obtain written approval to change their image. Artwork must be appropriate for public viewing with no words, symbols, or logos intended as advertising. Only non-oil-based soft chalk and pastels in solid form are permitted.

Standard squares are 8'x8'. A limited number of 8'x12' vertical spaces are reserved for 3-D challenge entries. Mural teams may apply to create 8'x12' horizontal images and require a minimum of 3 artists and maximum of 5. Artists interested in reproducing a museum work may enter the "Best Reproduction of a Museum Treasure" award category. Artists reproducing another living artist's work must obtain written permission. Denver Chalk Art Festival provides one set of 24 soft pastels, water, and breakfast and lunch throughout the weekend. All artists are invited to attend the VIP party. Artists are required to work on their chalk drawings both Saturday and Sunday. Chalk artists are not paid and there is no reimbursement for travel or lodging. Entry deadline is March 15th, 2026.