Día de los Muertos

Join Pasadena Chalk Festival's Virtual Día de los Muertos Art Fest

It's free to join, and you can participate from anywhere.

Gabriel Perez/WIN-Initiative/Neleman

What to Know

  • Oct. 28-Nov. 1, 2021
  • Participants will send photos or a 30-second video to the Pasadena Chalk Festival; the fest will share entries on its social media
  • Registration is not required

Chalk?

It's a fairly malleable substance, as far as tools for making art go.

You can brush it this way or that, in order to create a fresh image, and breaking a chalk stick into smaller pieces, all to share with other artists, is a possibility, too.

Like the colorful chalk that it is synonymous with, the Pasadena Chalk Festival has also proven that it can go with the flow and change direction when change is required.

The huge art celebration, which regularly spotlights hundreds of on-the-ground artworks and the talented people who make those masterpieces over just a few fascinating days, cancelled its Father's Day Weekend event in 2021, a local happening that's been a joyful Junetime staple for decades.

The festival was moved to October, in hopes that a large-scale celebration could go forth. But after consideration, the team behind the free festivity decided to look to June 2022, and the traditional Father's Day Weekend window, to hold its next in-person affair.

But wait: There is something special afoot for the tenth month, and it will be a virtual festival, a whimsical and meaningful event that anyone can join from anywhere.

The theme? It's Día de los Muertos, giving madonnari near and far a chance to create memory-filled odes via the chalk and inspiration.

The time period of the virtual fest? If you guessed the very end of October, you'd be correct. Artists will have five days to work on their piece, beginning on Oct. 28.

You can share photos of the process, and/or the done artwork, by emailing the team at the Pasadena Chalk Festival. Videos delving into your process are also welcome, but do make sure the clip you submit is around 30 seconds.

Oh yes, and you're invited to incorporate an altar or other traditions of the occasion, all to complement your creation.

The festival will begin sharing the snapshots and videos it has received on the morning of Monday, Nov. 1.

Will you create a display of marigolds and mums? Perhaps a picture filled with pictures of loved ones? Will calacas be your centerpiece or a candle-filled procession?

Decide which section of the ground you'll use as your canvas and begin to plan how your artwork will take shape over the five-day window.

Stock up on chalk, too, then prepare to share your Muertos-moving vision with the larger chalk festival community, via the Pasadena Chalk Festival's social pages.

Details, recommendations, and everything you need to know? Twirl your veil and dance in the direction of the Pasadena Chalk Festival site now.

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