Ventura Art & Street Painting Festival at Ventura Harbor Village to Benefit Food Share

    VENTURA, CA, August 07, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The Ventura Art & Street Painting Festival will take place Sept. 12-13 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Ventura Harbor Village. This waterfront juried art festival features more than 40 fine artists and artisans on the Ventura Harbor Village main lawn, as well as over 50 street chalk artists creating colorful murals along the Village promenade overlooking the boats. Proceeds from the festival benefit FOOD Share.

Visitors will see a wide range of fine arts and fine crafts for sale, including pottery, painting, photography, jewelry and more. Ventura County artists, as well as some from Santa Barbara and Los Angeles counties, will be participating.

This festival is the only street painting festival in Ventura County. Approximately fifty artists will be creating vibrant sidewalk art with chalk pastels. According to organizer Barbara Hinton, chalk art was added to the event in 2011. "We had fourteen artists that first year, which was fantastic considering I didn't know a single street painter when I first had the idea."

Hinton credits chalk artist Chris Brake of Santa Clarita with helping her bring street painting to Ventura, "A friend of mine had some contact with him and passed on his email address to me. He was enthusiastic about having a festival here because he loves Ventura."

Brake's passion for chalk began when he participated in his first street chalk event 11 years ago. Since that time, he has been a Featured Artist at several festivals and has earned a number of awards, including Best In Show. His daughter Kimberly, also an award-winning artist, chalked her first square at age seven. Now 15, Kim will also be creating her own mural at the festival.

Chris enjoys sharing his passion with others. In fact, he says that his favorite aspect of street chalk art is the public interaction. While many onlookers are amazed that the artists spend so much time on artwork that is temporary, Brake says that is what he enjoys about the art form. It is like a snapshot in time.

A limited number of chalk art squares are available for sponsorship by companies or individuals and will feature the sponsor's name. Sponsorships can be purchased through Ventura County Art Events, which hosts the festival.
Ventura Harbor Village has free admission and complimentary parking and over 30 seaside restaurants, boutiques, new waterfront coffee house, and several local artist galleries to enjoy during the two day festival. For artist application or sponsorship information, please contact Executive Director Barbara Hinton (805) 650-9858 or visit venturaartfestival.com.

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