The second annual chalk fest that was scheduled for Saturday, May 4th has been rescheduled due to inclement weather over the weekend. The event will now take place on Saturday, June 29th on Ellsworth Drive in Downtown Silver Spring.
“Bring the whole family to experience DTSS’ 2nd Annual Chalk Fest! A celebration of art, community and the completion of this season’s new 350′ long street mural Sweet Network by CHALK R!OT. Stroll Ellsworth Drive and experience the art at your feet with chalk art creations by local artists and groups.
- Pop-ups by BurgerFi and Nando’s with sips & bites.
- Enjoy music by DJ L. Boogie and plenty of alfresco dining options on your favorite Downtown Silver Spring restaurant patios.
- Kids’ Creative Corner
- REGISTER HERE – spaces are limited
- Calling all youth, amateur, hobbyist and professional artists! – register for your own 5’X5′ space along Ellsworth Dr!
- All donations benefit Arts on the Block!”
ABOUT THE NEW MURAL – SWEET NETWORK: This year’s mural design invites the Silver Spring community to reflect on two important questions: What do you offer to your community? What do you receive from your community?
Chalk Riot’s ongoing pavement art project The Sweet Network uses the metaphor of beehives and their builders to visualize what strengthens and connects us. In collaboration with Arts on the Block, young artists illustrated on worksheets responses to the prompt “What do you offer to your community?” and Chalk Riot crew members included those designs inside some of the honeycombs!
We hope that when people travel through this space, they will be reminded of the vast networks of support and care that exist in this world.
Arts on the Block empowers creative youth to imagine and shape fulfilling futures, join the creative workforce, and contribute to the quality of life of their communities. They achieve this by providing real-world experiences in the arts and entrepreneurial training geared toward opening new pathways to learning, self-discovery, and achievement.
Chalk Riot is an all-women mural production house that specializes in art on the ground, based in Washington, DC. Since 2021, they have repainted Ellsworth Drive with a new design each year. Their Sweet Network project debuted in Nairobi, Kenya in 2023 at a global peacebuilding conference, and the team is thankful to be bringing it throughout the United States and now to Downtown Silver Spring.