Venice Chalk Festival Moves To Sarasota, Scales Back After Hurricane Ian

SARASOTA, FL — As Southwest Florida continues its recovery from Hurricane Ian, which slammed the region at the end of last month, the annual Venice Chalk Festival will scale back its events and move them to Sarasota.

Organizers shared on Facebook that the festival, which kicks off Oct. 28 and runs through Nov. 1, “will be performing in a limited capacity in downtown Sarasota creating 3-D illusions.”

During this time, 25 artists will participate in public chalk art events. The remaining 150 pavement and floral artists are rescheduled to April 5-7, the festival said.

• Stay up-to-date by viewing all Hurricane Ian coverage on Patch here.

The festival was originally set to take place at the fairgrounds at the Venice Municipal Airport. The venue served as a staging area for Florida Power & Light, following the powerful hurricane, and also suffered damage from the storm, WFLA reported.

“The Airport Authority canceled all events at the Fairgrounds leaving us back peddling over two years of preparations and coming up with some incredible free experiences in Sarasota,” organizers wrote on its website.

Denise Kowal, the event’s chair, told the Venice Gondolier that the festival “was pretty uncertain” after the hurricane.

She added, “We are moving forward the best we can.”

October’s Chalk Festival events in Sarasota’s Burns Court include:

• Avenue of Art Sidewalk Paintings, Oct. 28-Dec. 31
• Chariot of the Sun Mural, Burns Square, public mural project, Oct. 26-30
• Zombies in Burns Square, sculpture installation, Oct. 28-Nov. 1
• 3-D Pavement Painting, Oct. 28-30

A three-day Chalk Festival took place in April after the event was canceled two times because of the COVID-19 pandemic.