Travel Tips

Each year, during the second weekend of June, San Rafael hosts the annual Italian Street Painting Festival, which attracts about 60,000 people. The medium is chalk and the canvas is asphalt.

The event benefits the Youth in Arts, a nonprofit organization that funds art programs for the youth in Marin.

Live music is performed constantly throughout the festival. On Saturday morning, I listened to a wonderful big band, playing 40s era swing music. On Sunday (pictured here) I was entertained by the jazz band of a local high school.

This event begins on Saturday morning, and continues all day through the daylight hours on Saturday and Sunday. Since I live so close to San Rafael, and admission is free, I will come back to 4th street several times over the weekend to checkout the progress of my favorite paintings. It is fascinating to watch the paintings come alive.

The name of the festival is the ITALIAN Street Painting Festival, but this is not Italy, the artists are not Italian and most of the paintings have no connection to Italy.

But it's still the ITALIAN Street Painting Festival. Sort of like French Toast, I guess

Everyone always seems to have a cause in San Rafael, and it's not uncommon to see the community divided by their opinions from time to time. It's also not uncommon to see the community adopt an opinion about a local business because of a cause the business supports, or some action it has taken.

However, during the Italian Street Painting Festival, all politics seem to be forgotten. Many businesses contribute to the Festival for a space on the street - and they hire talented artists to draw the painting in chalk. Our community comes out to admire the art, and the politics are forgotten for two days.

One thing that I found interesting was the Italian street painting is actually a team effort. Often, one person (the true artist) designs the big picture and outlines are drawn on the asphalt. Other artists do the actual chalk work and "color in between the lines". I got to talking to one of the artists at work and she said "Oh, my husband who designed this is the true artist. I'm not an artist." Yet she was the one putting chalk to pavement, blending the colors. I thought what she was doing required real talent -- she was an artist.

I guess this is sort of like the architect and the builder, the choreographer and the dancer, the composer and the performer. It was very fascinating how all these lovely pictures evolved.

This work of art was commissioned by our local rock quarry that has angered many San Rafael residents because of the continuous noise, dust and truck traffic. Never mind that the homeowners "came to the nuisance". But like I said -- politics were forgotten for two days.

This "painting" was one of my favorites. I liked the contemporary look and the vibrant colors.