At Riverlife, we create, activate, and celebrate Pittsburgh’s riverfronts, connecting people through exceptional places and experiences. Each summer, one of the most joyful ways we do that is through Riverlife Chalk Fest—Pittsburgh’s most colorful kickoff to the season.
Now in its fourth year, Riverlife Chalk Fest has grown into something truly special: a vibrant, two-day celebration of creativity, community, and place. It’s a festival where professional chalk artists from across the region (and beyond) transform pavement into murals, and where kids, families, and curious passersby linger to watch, participate, and connect.
This year, Chalk Fest also became something more.
A Living Artform, A Shared Experience
There’s an alchemy to chalk art. Pigments and paint. Sunlight and sidewalk. Subject and story. It’s art you watch happen in real time, knowing it will only last until rain or a power washer returns the canvas to its neutral state.
That sense of impermanence is part of what makes Chalk Fest so meaningful. These artworks are fleeting, but the memories, the sparks of imagination, and the sense of connection they create can last much longer.
Nurturing the Next Generation of Artists
This year, Riverlife launched a new partnership with the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh to introduce a Chalk Fest Preview Day. Artist Shawn McCann led a free hands-on workshop at the Museum’s North Side campus, teaching close to 100 young artists about chalk art techniques and sharing the early stages of the mural he’d complete along the riverfront that weekend.
“We are thrilled to partner with Riverlife to have a hands-on experience that is a preview of the festival, and we appreciate the opportunity to engage with the featured artists,” said Jane Werner, Executive Director of the Children’s Museum. “We can’t wait to see the creativity and curiosity that kids and families use to express themselves through chalk art.”
Many of those same kids showed up the next day to find Shawn’s finished mural—and even more exciting, they added their own creative voices to our new Community Mural, an open, participatory art experience. It’s Riverlife’s hope that moments like these might plant a seed: that a young artist today might return to the riverfront in a few years as one of our featured professionals.
Expanding into Allegheny Landing
This year also marked a shift in where and how Chalk Fest lives. We expanded our footprint to include more of Allegheny Landing, a public park on Pittsburgh’s North Shore that Riverlife is actively reimagining through a major capital project.
Through community engagement, we heard a strong call for artful play—a desire to see this underused space brought to life with creativity, exploration, and joy. While design and fundraising continue, we used Chalk Fest as a way to prototype that future.
We added a second mural zone along the Three Rivers Heritage Trail, working with artist Erik Greenawalt (aka The Chalking Dad) to map out areas that could safely accommodate artists and visitors while keeping the trail accessible. The result? A new stretch of vibrant, large-scale murals in one of the city’s most iconic waterfront settings—flanked by the Roberto Clemente and Andy Warhol Bridges with Downtown Pittsburgh on full display.
Unlike murals placed on a temporarily closed street, these trail murals won’t be power washed away the moment the festival ends. We’re letting them slowly fade, serving as a visual love letter to impermanence—and to the ongoing presence of creativity along the riverfront.
A First Pitch—and a Full-Circle Moment
Just steps from Allegheny Landing, PNC Park provided one more layer of community connection. The Pirates have been steady and generous partners, helping extend the Chalk Fest experience into game day activities and inviting us to honor our artists on the field.
This year, 10 of our artists were part of the Group Salute before the game—and Erik Greenawalt threw out the ceremonial first pitch. It was Erik who first brought the idea of a chalk art festival to Riverlife four years ago. Watching him take the field with his daughter Jaycie—now a chalk artist in her own right, with her own mural at the festival—was a moving full-circle moment.
Catching the pitch? Riverlife President & CEO Matthew Galluzzo, a champion of Chalk Fest since day one.
“It starts with a little chalk and inspires a big idea: Pittsburgh’s riverfronts belong to everyone,” said Matthew Galluzzo. “At Chalk Fest and beyond, Riverlife is committed to making space for creativity, connection, and a shared vision of what riverfronts can be. We create opportunities to bring people together down to the river, connecting communities through playful experience.”
What Makes Chalk Fest Work?
It’s the partnerships.
It’s the creative risks.
It’s the joy of strangers becoming collaborators on a sunny afternoon down by the river.
Each year, we’re reminded: the art is incredible—but the real magic is in what it makes possible.
To every artist, sponsor, partner, volunteer, and visitor who brought this year’s Chalk Fest to life—thank you. We’re already dreaming of what next year’s blank canvas might hold.
Riverlife Chalk Fest is made possible through the support of Arconic Foundation, Eat’n Park Hospitality Group, EQT, Giant Eagle, and Xylem. A portion of all food and beverage sales during the event benefits Riverlife’s work to create, activate, and celebrate Pittsburgh’s riverfronts.
