Safety Harbor Chalk Festival Returns This Weekend
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The Bloom N Art N Chalk Festival, a popular outdoor art show featuring several city blocks full of colorful, curbside chalk artwork, returns to downtown Safety Harbor this weekend. This will be the 15th year, for the Chalk Festival in Safety Harbor!
The event is set for Saturday, Mar. 18 from 10:00 a.m. until dusk and Sunday, Mar. 19, from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. and will feature unique works by artists of all ages from all around the country. The Kiwanis Club’s semi-annual Art Festival will again be held on Sunday, also.
According to Chalk Fest co-organizer Bobbie Wheeler, this year’s event is a continuation of the rebuilding process caused by two years of COVID related cancellations. “With losing two years due to COVID (2020 and 2021) it’s been a rebuilding process these past two years,” longtime ChalkFest co-organizer Bobbie Wheeler said days before this year’s event. “But we didn’t lose anything in terms of fundraising for the Safety Harbor Museum because the people in this community have always supported us and the artists continue to support us.”
Who will participate in the Chalk Festival this year?
Indeed, Wheeler said this year she expects to have around 50 artists from all over the country competing in various categories, and she noted ChalkFest ‘23 will feature some cool elements. “We’ve got some fun things planned this year, including mother and daughter chalk teams and some returning junior chalk artists who are now competing as adults,” she said, noting there will be open spots available for local artists who want to come out and join the creative fun.
“We’ve also got an ice sculptor from Michigan returning for the second straight year, and that’s something that’s very cool to see up close.”
Wheeler said as they enter the final week of prep they are ready for the start of ChalkFest, but she admitted planning for the event never goes as well as she and fellow co-organizer Stacy Schulstrom Roth hope. “It’s crazy this week, as usual, no matter how well you plan!” she said. And she admitted the most important thing to consider is the one thing they can’t control. “It’s NOT gonna rain!” Wheeler said in response to a question about Saturday’s dreary forecast. “We’re all doing our sunshine dance this week and we’re not going to let it happen!”
While Wheeler and the ChalkFest crew pray for dry skies this weekend, Safety Harbor Mayor Joe Ayoub said he excited for the event to return to the downtown district. “I’m very excited this event is going to take place again,” Ayoub said via text, adding, “It is a very well-run event, the residents love it, and it draws a lot of people to our town. I’m looking forward to seeing some great art on display this weekend.”
For more information, visit bloomnchalkfest.com.
