Howard Street in Rogers Park turns into a giant outdoor gallery this Saturday, when the Chalk Howard Street Festival brings 3D pavement art, live music, and open invitations for neighbors to grab chalk of their own back to the neighborhood's commercial strip. The free, family-friendly event runs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. along Howard Street between Paulina Street and Ashland Avenue, directly east of the Howard CTA Red Line station.
The festival is billed as Chicago's only major 3D street chalk art festival, a distinction it has held since the Rogers Park Business Alliance launched it in July 2019, according to the Rogers Park Business Alliance. That claim still held up as of July, when Chicago on the Cheap reported that Chalk Howard Street remains the only dedicated 3D chalk art festival in the city. The event is co-managed with Special Service Area #19, which has funded commercial district management and small-business programs along Howard Street since 1997 and expanded its reach to Jarvis Square in 2021, per the alliance's account.
National Artists Join Local Talent on the Pavement
This year's lineup pairs out-of-town 3D specialists with Chicago's own 2D artists. The 2026 roster of featured national 3D chalk artists includes Jonathan Buggs of Indiana, Midnight of Michigan, and Tracy Lee Stum of Pennsylvania, the alliance notes. Alongside them, Chicago-based professional 2D artists Andrew Vickers, Elizabeth Niemczyk, Natalie Glogowski, and Yosmer Urrieta are set to showcase their work as part of the festival.
Sandi and Yosmer joined WGN-TV ahead of the event with more details on what to expect, describing Chalk Howard Street as a family-friendly festival that highlights the street's shops, restaurants, live music, and artists. The station's Spotlight Chicago segment, which airs weekdays from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. on WGN, framed the festival as an invitation for street artists, neighbors, and art lovers alike to transform the street into a creative canvas.
Anyone Can Pick Up Chalk for $25
The festival is not just for professionals. Organizers are offering community members the chance to purchase individual 4-by-4-foot pavement chalk squares for $25, which includes the chalk supplies needed to fill them in, according to the alliance. It is a low-cost way for neighbors of all skill levels to leave their own mark on the corridor alongside the national and local artists.
The event has weathered disruption before. During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, organizers pivoted Chalk Howard Street into a virtual festival streamed on Instagram Live, where Chicago 3D chalk artist Nate Baranowski created tabletop 3D art promoting local Howard Street food and products, the same account states. That improvised format kept the festival's small-business focus alive even when the street itself couldn't host a crowd.
A Corridor Built on Foot Traffic
Local elected leadership has also thrown its weight behind the event. Chicago 49th Ward Alderwoman Maria Hadden promoted the August festival in ward communications, framing the street art gathering as a key vehicle for supporting small businesses and neighborhood vitality along the Howard Street corridor, according to a Chicago alderman newsletter tracker. That framing lines up with the festival's underlying purpose: while the visual draw is the 3D street art, the broader goal is steering foot traffic to the small, independent businesses that line Howard Street near the Red Line terminal.
More information on Saturday's festival, including artist details and event updates, is available at howardstreetchicago.com.
