Plan your October 17–18 visit
Via Arté takes place Saturday and Sunday, October 17–18, at The Marketplace, 9000 Ming Avenue, Bakersfield. The official visitor hours are 9 a.m.–8 p.m. both days. Live performances begin at 10:30 a.m. each day, with awards scheduled for Sunday at 4 p.m. All times are Pacific.
The festival lets visitors watch artists turn pavement into chalk works. The organizer’s schedule also lists an earlier Saturday start for artists; visitors should use the 9 a.m. public opening time. Admission pricing was not independently confirmed in this update.
Update, October 1: This page now leads with verified visitor details. The September 7 adult application deadline and September 13 notification date have passed; the earlier application guidance below is retained as background.
Background: the artist application deadline was September 7
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — The announced application window for artists age 18 and older ended Monday, September 7, for for Bakersfield Museum of Art's 28th annual Via Arté Chalk Festival. The official artist page says there is no fee to participate, but the event is juried: applying does not guarantee a square or acceptance.
The application asks for a description and photograph of the masterwork being copied or the concept for an original piece. Applicants may submit up to three image options, and first-time participants are asked to include portfolio images. The museum directs artists to read its rules before submitting through the official form linked on the Via Arté page.
The September 7 registration deadline has passed. Contact the organizer for any later availability; this article does not establish that new adult applications are still being accepted.
Copyright rules are part of the application
Applicants may propose their own original artwork, recreate or draw inspiration from a work in the public domain, or use a protected work when they document permission from the rights holder. Via Arté says entirely AI-generated artwork will not be accepted, pop-culture references are discouraged and images with unknown sources will not qualify.
Those requirements matter because internet availability is not the same as permission to reproduce an image. The festival warns that a work labeled free for personal use may still be unsuitable for a juried public event with prizes and publicity. Applicants using contemporary work need documented permission rather than an assumption that attribution alone is enough.
Selected artists receive an assigned pavement space and one 48-count box of chalk pastels, according to the official instructions. Requests for particular square sizes are not guaranteed, and the rules permit chalk or chalk pastel rather than paint or fixative. Artists may work alone or identify assistants, but each square needs a lead artist.
Younger artists have separate ways to participate
Artists under 18 are not part of the adult open call. The organizer instead directs them to participate through a school or youth group. Via Bambino offers smaller 2-by-2-foot spaces for people of any age to purchase during the festival and does not require the juried adult application.
Those paths should not be treated as interchangeable. A school-group organizer needs to follow the separate school instructions, while a family interested in Via Bambino should check the festival page for current availability and purchase details. The adult deadline does not establish that every youth or walk-up space will sell out on the same date.
The museum says selected adult artists will be notified September 13 and will then have an opportunity to rent an umbrella. The guidance recommends monitoring spam folders for a message from a bmoa.org address. An application receipt is not an acceptance notice.
The festival is October 17 and 18 at The Marketplace
The festival is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, October 17–18, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. at The Marketplace, 9000 Ming Avenue in Bakersfield. BMoA describes Via Arté as a fundraiser and community event that has brought artists and spectators together since 1999.
Artists are expected to begin work by 10 a.m. Saturday, and squares are intended to be completed by 3 p.m. Sunday for judging. The festival is outdoors and scheduled to continue rain or shine, so later weather and organizer notices should be checked before attending.
This report's photograph is an authentic 2015 image by JIP showing a street-chalk festival in Helsinki, Finland. It is used under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 license as visual context for pavement art; it does not depict Via Arté, The Marketplace, any Bakersfield artist or the 2026 event.
Sources and further reading
Via Arté: Official performance and awards schedule ↗
Via Arté: Official artist application, requirements and deadline ↗
Via Arté: Official 2026 festival dates, hours and location ↗
Bakersfield Museum of Art: 2026 events calendar ↗
KBAK/FOX58: 28th annual festival application announcement ↗
Wikimedia Commons: Helsinki street-chalk photograph and CC BY-SA 3.0 license ↗