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Every year in the middle of springtime, Safety Harbor holds its Bloom n Chalk Fest bringing artists from around the country and state to decorate the sidewalks with beautifully rendered chalk art.
This year I took my little one Thomas and met up with friends and we were captivated by the street paintings.
A portion of Main Street is cordoned off for pedestrians. The first half was donned with arts and craft tents for the Kiwanis Arts & Crafts show.
In the second section both sides of the street were dedicated to the chalk artists, all of whom appeared to be sponsored by local businesses.
The painting that immediately drew Thomas in for a closer look was a red panda by Ever Galvez from Los Angeles CA.
Maybe it was the hints of green in the panda’s paw that perfectly matched Thomas’s St Patrick’s Day shirt and beads but this piece practically popped off the sidewalk.
Seventeen hours of labor produced a realistic mermaid by Brian Morris from Lutz FL. Unfortunately someone rode their bicycle through the artist’s work just as he was about to photograph his piece, but luckily Thomas got to see up close how he masterfully blended and corrected the mistakes with sponges.
Thomas really wanted to jump into some of the chalk art, and so I asked him to take photographs of the seahorse by Holland Winslow from Williamsburg VA and of the portrait by Susan Kelly from West Palm Beach FL.
After viewing the lion by Tara Aiken of Minnetonka MN, Thomas, Milli and Madi ended the day by racing toy cars and savoring sweet sugary shaved ice under the Baranoff Oak tree.
Bloom n Chalk is getting better every year and we look forward to the next one.
