By Local artists gathered on Oct. 26 to participate in the annual Belmont Shore Sidewalk Chalk Art Contest. With free admission and $1,000 in cash prizes up for grabs, three blocks of Second Street were lined with artists doing chalk art.
The event was run by Justin Rudd and the Community Action Team of Long Beach.
As a 501c3 nonprofit organization, CAT holds local events throughout the year.
“I love bringing people together,” Rudd said. “These things are my passion.”
Rudd has been engaged in the community for over 20 years, running events such as cash prize spelling bees, Long Beach Beauty Pageants and the Haute Dog Howl’oween parade.
Additionally, Rudd founded Rosie’s Dog Beach, a dog park located along Ocean Blvd, in 2003.
With provided paper, chalk and sidewalk space, artists had free rein to express themselves and their visions from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Lee Thongphun, a Long Beach local, worked on his art while family members watch from camping chairs beside him on Oct. 26. Thongphun drew each hair of the iconic Wolverine scruffy beard. Photo credit: Aiden Redsteer
“It’s cool to see people’s expressions and their perceptions of life,” Garret Line, a CAT volunteer, said.
Beyond artistic expression, the event also served as a valuable bonding activity for families like Roy Corona and his daughter, Tori.
Corona, a tattoo artist in Anaheim, and Tori, a Long Beach State alumnus, have been participating in the Chalk Art Event for the last nine years.
“We get to hang out all day and spend quality time together,” Corona said. “We are both artists and it’s the only time we get to do art together because we are always so busy.”
Tank the pup sits beside its owner, second-time contestant Patrick Marston as he works on his chalk art piece on Oct. 26. Photo credit: Aiden Redsteer
In most chalk art events, artists will work directly on the sidewalk or pavement in a designated area. With this, the art is washed away by weather or destroyed by everyday foot traffic, no matter how beautiful the pieces are.
However, the Belmont Shore Sidewalk Chalk Art Contest asked participants to do their work on poster boards taped to the pavement to save the art.
“It’s a unique art form where at the end of the day you can take it home,” Brianna Cunha, a seasoned street artist, said.
Jennifer Ripassa (left), has been working as a street artist for 18 years and receives the top award from the 2024 Mrs. Long Beach pageant winner, Terese Parkin (right) on Oct. 26. Photo credit: Aiden Redsteer
In past years, artists have also sold their art to bystanders at the end of the event, and, occasionally, the pieces will go for hundreds of dollars.
As the event concluded, participants lined up to show their work to judges while attendees formed a circle around them.
Taking this year’s highest award of ‘Best in Show’ was Jennifer Ripassa with her portrait piece based on a black and white photo that she found on her computer.
This piece was among her collection of thousands of portrait photos that she keeps for inspiration.
“I don’t usually like doing contests, it’s so hard to judge art,” Ripassa said. “I draw what I think I would have fun drawing, and I love pretty faces.”
As the ending of the 7-hour event drew near, the morning mist gave way to the evening sun on Second Street, illuminating a hand-crafted art gallery that pulled the eyes of passing pedestrians.
