Chalk the Block Returns to El Paso for 19th Edition with New Commissions

Key facts

• The 19th Chalk the Block festival took place on the first weekend of October 2026 in El Paso, Texas.
• The festival began in 2008 with 12 artists and about 5,000 attendees, and now averages 200 artists and up to 50,000 visitors.
• Originally a one-day summer chalk-drawing event, it moved to fall and expanded to include performances, live music, installations, and art commissions.
• Ben Fyffe is the Quality of Life Managing Director at El Paso's Museums & Cultural Affairs Department and the only remaining staff member from the festival's early years.
• New commissions for 2026 include Desert Playgola by Nómada Estudio Urbano and River Memory Wall by Mitsuma 'Mitsu' Overstreet.
• BIG ART, a Canadian collective, presented BIG TV, a 25-foot interactive retro television and stage at Cleveland Park Square.
• River Memory Wall drawings will be documented and preserved in a digital archive in collaboration with the Borderlands Digital Humanities Center at University of Texas at El Paso.
• The festival is held on the banks of the Rio Grande and aims to develop cultural identity and community resilience.