The popular Community Mosaic Street Painting Festival will take place on Memorial Day weekend again this year, as it had every year since its debut in 1996 — until pandemic disruptions forced the festival to go virtual in 2020 and delayed it until September last year.
Street painting, fine arts and crafts exhibits, live music, dancing, drumming, theater, children’s activities and artisan vendors make the festival, hosted by East End Arts, a perennial family favorite.
The daylong celebration of the arts and community will take place on East Main Street and on the grounds of East End Arts on Sunday, May 29, from 12 noon to 5 p.m.
The event is inspired by the 16th century Italian street painters, Il Madonnari, who created chalk masterpieces of the Madonna. Some chalk artists at the festival paint in the tradition of the Madonnari, but the chalk paintings along Main Street usually depict everything under the sun — and sometimes beyond.
Chalk artists can purchase an artist’s square online for $20 by May 28 or at the festival for $25. Artists will receive chalk, blending tools, and a knee rest to help them create their masterpiece at their assigned square. Register and purchase an artist’s square here.
Businesses and organizations interested in becoming a festival sponsor or sponsoring an artist’s square will find information at the East End Arts website.
Here’s a look back at scenes from the street painting festival in years past. RiverheadLOCAL photos by Peter Blasl, Denise Civiletti, Katie Morosky and Alek Lewis.
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