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This weekend, Palo Alto’s University Avenue will transform into an art lover’s paradise; colorful paintings will adorn the street, live music will fill the air and vendors showcasing myriad artistic styles will line the road.
The Palo Alto Festival of the Arts returns to downtown Palo Alto this year, celebrating its 40th anniversary festival and showcasing a plethora of talented local creatives. Over the span of its four-decade history, the festival has built a community of artists and art lovers who anxiously await the next opportunity to see one another, according to CEO Charlie Weidanz.
“We see returning artists that have really become partners in the festival and come back year after year,” Weidanz said. “Over the 60 days prior to the event, I also get numerous calls from attendees, asking if certain artists are coming back this year. Folks are regularly calling in to ask if their favorite artist is returning.”
In addition to strong ties between artists and patrons, the festival is a pivotal part of a local ecosystem supported by the Chamber of Commerce that supports artists, presenters and nonprofits in Palo Alto.
“The festival helps the Chamber continue to support the local businesses and be advocates for the local businesses, but it also supports a variety of nonprofits,” Weidanz said. “So our Kiwanis Club, Ada’s Cafe, the Palo Alto Art Center, Youth Community Service, the Oshman Family JCC, all of those nonprofits get exposure and they get to benefit from this. We’ve been able to build a community around the festival, with the artists, with the sponsors, with the vendors which enables it to support the nonprofits and the businesses in town. It is a whole ecosystem of support.”
In its 40-year history, the festival has developed unique and renowned programs, most notably its Italian street painting event. Each year, celebrated chalk artists bring their imaginative work to the festival, showcasing this rarely seen artistic medium on the streets of Palo Alto.
This year’s featured chalk artist, Rod Tyron, promises to bring his larger-than-life paintings and interactive performance style to the festival this weekend.
“I really enjoy working very large,” Tyron said. “Usually, my paintings are about 10 or 12 feet in size, and I like that. I also enjoy working and having an audience while I work. It’s almost like performance art, interacting with a crowd rather than working alone in a studio. We are usually creating it from scratch all the way through the finished piece in front of a crowd, and it’s nice for the crowd because they can come back and watch the painting grow and see how it progresses. They really enjoy that too.”
Tyron is slated to create a three-dimensional image of a ferocious sea creature for this festival, bringing a dash of whimsy and playfulness to his artwork.
“It’s going to look like a sidewalk with a manhole and a killer whale coming up out of it,” Tyron said. “There will be splashing water all over the place. That should be fun. Depending on exactly where I am painting this artwork, my exact plans for it may also change as I start making it, which is always fun. I’ve done some where it involved water and there was a street grate near the sidewalk, and so I’ve changed my design a little bit and drawn water going down into the drain.”
Similar to what Weidanz noted about the festival, Tyron emphasized the communal aspect of his work, and how creating public art in public spaces has allowed him to connect with patrons in special ways.
“The interaction I get to have with my audience is really really fun and special,” Tyron said. “Kids really like my work too. And I really enjoy inspiring the kids and getting them excited. Sometimes I’ll let them jump in and color a little bit and see what it’s like to do artistic work. It’s really fun to have that kind of audience and to be able to inspire the younger generation.”
Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 26 and 27, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. on University Avenue, Palo Alto. Attendance is free. paloaltochamber.com.
