Chalk Art Festival Returning to Downtown Hillsboro in Summer 2023 – Visual Arts, Performing Arts, and Family Activities
La Strada dei Pastelli Chalk Art Festival is returning to Downtown Hillsboro’s Cultural Arts District on July 15 and 16, 2023! La Strada is an immersive, open-air art festival featuring large-scale street paintings, live performances by local musicians, food and drink vendors, art vendors and hands-on activities for the whole family. This regional attraction is a premier professional-caliber chalk art festival and expects over 40,000 attendees.
La Strada dei Pastelli is produced by Tualatin Valley Creates and supported in part by the City of Hillsboro, Washington County Visitors Association and 45 additional local and national contributors. Last year, festival-goers watched as 25 award-winning and emerging artists from Oregon, California, Virginia and Georgia transformed Main Street into a temporary gallery full of colorful and vibrant legos, pandas, bubbles, and portraits of joyful children made entirely from chalk pastels. In the community chalk area (along 2nd Ave.), kids had the opportunity to create their own mini-masterpieces, filling over 1,000 squares.
This July, professional artists will return to Downtown Hillsboro to transform Main Street into a wildlife scene inspired by the theme “Creative Critters.” Individual visual artists will be creating massive 10×10 foot chalk drawings of animals like lions, sloths, zebras and snakes. Tualatin Valley Creates is excited to welcome festival-goers from all over Oregon, neighboring states and beyond to come watch as these ephemeral pieces of public art come to life in real-time. Artists begin their designs early Saturday morning and work through the entirety of the festival to complete their design by Sunday afternoon. Visitors to the event will also have the opportunity to vote for their favorite in the People’s Choice Award. To learn more about this year’s festival or see photos and video from previous years visit www.tvcreates.org/lastrada.
Highlights for this year’s festival:
- 31 different squares to be chalked by experienced and emerging artists from the local community and across the county. Including art by renowned 3D Chalk Artists Nestor Mendoza, Jamie and Craig Rogers, local chalk artists and book publisher Brian Parker and last year’s People’s Choice Winners, Cheryl and Wayne Renshaw.
- Performance stage featuring local and international performances from 10:00am- 6:00pm each day. Including the White Lotus Dragon Dancers*, acoustic performer Ricardo Cardenas*, and Bollywood dance troupe Rhythms.
- Roving troubadours and pop-up performances throughout the event will include Saturday Only: Portland Opera A La Cart pop up performance, Noon-2:00pm. Sunday only 2 hour youth musical performance by Bach2Rock on 2nd Ave at Lincoln, 2:00-4:00pm Sunday.
- Over 30 vendors including local fine arts, crafts and wellness booths.
- Discover international culinary delights at the food truck coral, alongside the diverse array of Downtown Hillsboro restaurants.
- 11 non-profit booths, each providing interactive art projects for children and adults alike.
What: La Strada dei Pastelli Chalk Art Festival, supported in part by the City of Hillsboro and Washington County Visitors Association, is an immersive large-scale street painting experience wherein professional chalk artists will be working on larger-than-life, bold images down the center of Main Street in Hillsboro, Oregon. The weekend will also feature live music and local art vendors. Young and old are invited to take part in multiple hands-on activities. The festival is FREE and open to the public. For more information visit www.tvcreates.org/lastrada.
When: July 15 & 16, 2023; 10:00am-6:00pm each day
Where: The Cultural Arts District in Downtown Hillsboro, Oregon, along E Main Street (1st Ave to 4th Ave)
Cost: Free and open to the public
Sponsors: La Strada Dei Pastelli is produced by Tualatin Valley Creates and sponsored by the Washington County Visitors Association and the City of Hillsboro. Chalking supplies are graciously provided by Colours Art Supply in Hillsboro, OR. A special thank you to Office Depot, Beaverton for 5 years of supporting La Strada!
From our Coverage in 2022-
Thanks Dirk for the great run down on this years La Strada event