Sacramento's Fremont Park will fill with hundreds of temporary chalk murals, live bands, food trucks and beer tents this Labor Day weekend as Chalk It Up marks its 36th year, running Saturday through Monday, Sept. 5-7. The free festival draws tens of thousands of visitors annually, according to organizers, and this year's edition carries an extra layer of meaning: a Monday afternoon tribute to Charles Thomas, the Midtown musician, comedian and chalk artist known to generations of locals as Ground Chuck.
The festival, hosted by the local nonprofit Chalk It Up, began in 1991 as a single-day street painting event and has grown into a three-day gathering that spans music, art and community grantmaking, according to the Sacramento Bee. Its roots trace to the Italian tradition of Madonnari, the practice of painting elaborate sidewalk murals, which local artists set out to bring to Sacramento's streets when the event launched, according to GivingEdge. This year, organizers expect between 40,000 and 50,000 attendees over the weekend, per the same account.
Chalk It Up executive director Christy Jourdan said Ground Chuck had been a familiar face to the local music scene since the 1980s, and that the ongoing dedication of volunteers, artists, musicians and supporters continues to make Chalk It Up possible, according to the Sacramento Bee. Thomas died on September 14, 2025, at age 56 following several months in hospice care, as reported by CapRadio. His death prompted Sacramento City Councilmember Phil Pluckebaum to formally adjourn a Sept. 16 city council meeting in his memory, calling Thomas a key part of Midtown's cultural heartbeat, CapRadio reported. Hoodline covered his passing at the time in a piece remembering the punk icon.
A Monday Tribute and Grant Ceremony
Sacto Storytellers will present a Ground Chuck tribute paired with a grant presentation at 2:30 p.m. Monday, followed by the festival's chalk art awards ceremony at 3:45 p.m. that same afternoon, according to the Sacramento Bee. Youth arts grant presentations take place earlier in the weekend, at 3:45 p.m. Sunday. Over the last decade, Chalk It Up has awarded more than $80,000 in youth art mini-grants to Sacramento-area K-12 classrooms, student artists and community arts organizations, largely benefiting Title 1 schools that need help funding art supplies and field trips, per GivingEdge.
The nonprofit's youth-arts mission extends well beyond the Labor Day weekend. Chalk It Up also runs an annual High School Self-Portrait Show every March, which handed out $6,000 total in cash prizes and teacher grants to Sacramento-area high school artists and educators this year, according to Chalk It Up. To mark its 35th year in 2025, the organization also piloted “Chalk It Up at My School,” an outreach program that brought street-painting activities directly to campuses across four areas of the Sacramento region, per the nonprofit.
Music, Food and Family Activities All Weekend
Live music from local performers will run throughout the weekend, with acts including G.I.R.L.S. Rock Sacramento: Wisteria, Be Brave Bold Robot, Solidarity and The Ghost Town Rebellion on Saturday. Sunday's lineup features Asesinos, Rose Lyon, The Brody's, Sol Peligro and Leaping Blennies, while Monday closes with the Richard March Band, Green For A Day and Little Elvis, per the Sacramento Bee's schedule.
Beyond the stages, the festival includes free sidewalk chalk stations where local artists will create hundreds of temporary murals, plus artisan vendors, family-friendly activities, and a Kids Corner highlighting nonprofits that serve local youth. The Drink It Up tent will pour local beer, cider, wine and non-alcoholic beverages, and a free bike valet will operate from 10 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. across all three days. Fremont Park itself, located at 1515 Q St., will be open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily during the festival.
Getting There: Free Transit and Parking Options
Sacramento Regional Transit is offering fare-free rides on bus and light rail lines from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. throughout the Sept. 5-7 weekend for anyone presenting a printed or digital copy of a special event flyer, one per group, available on SacRT's website. The 16th Street Light Rail station is the closest stop to the festival grounds. Drivers can also use the R St. Parking Plaza at 15th and R Streets, a block from Fremont Park, which is offering special event pricing of $15.99 for all-day parking.
The festival's growing draw comes as the blocks around Fremont Park continue to change. The residential building 16 Powerhouse, directly across from the park at 16th and P Streets, sold to real estate investment firm Oakmont for $34.5 million in May, Hoodline previously reported on the record sale. Weather heading into the weekend looks favorable for the open-air gathering, with a gradual warmup expected following brief early-week drizzle, creating warm late-summer conditions, according to Hoodline's weekend forecast.
