Equipped with a piece of chalk and their own imaginations, artists from all over the globe came together during Sarasota’s annual 10-day event to create breathtaking and realistic creations right on the street.

In its sixth year running, the Sarasota Chalk Festival hosted a variety of pieces created by over 500 world-renowned artists. Their chalk creations were all based on this year’s theme, “Circus City, USA,” which reflects Sarasota’s rich history in the circus. From tightropes to juggling clowns, it was apparent to me that these artists let their imaginations soar as high as the high top.

In past years, tourists and locals alike have flocked to Downtown Sarasota to witness artists working on their chalk creations. On the afternoon I visited, this held true as the streets were crowded with people ooing and ahhing over the sidewalk art and stopping to chat with each artist as he or she worked. The interactive nature of the festival adds to its attraction each year.

The circus theme this year lent to a wide range of creativity. In particular, I most enjoyed that the artists used bright, vivid colors to portray the vivaciousness of circus life. Chalk creations were separated by a variety of categories including line-drawings, 2-D, 3-D and chalking on the sides of buildings.

There were two chalk pieces in particular that fascinated me the most.

The first embodied the child in everyone, capturing the cartoon interaction between child and circus animal. While I was not able to personally witness this artist working on his or her creation, I could tell there had been a great deal of effort put into the artwork in order to bring about smiles on the faces of passerby.

The second chalk creation that was interesting to me was one that represented a lion tamer and her lions, based on a photograph that was taken in the early 1900’s. The artist drew it in a semicircular shape and then placed a cylinder-shaped mirror next to it. The image that the mirror then reflected was not in a semicircle shape and truly reflected the artist’s ingenuity.

Although I don’t necessarily consider myself an art connoisseur by any means, I’ve enjoyed attending Sarasota’s Chalk Festival for the past few years. With each year I find the exhibits to be even more interactive with a wider variety of artists, each leaving their own impression on the sidewalk.