It was not yet 9 a.m. on Saturday, and Acoma Street was already becoming a canvas.

Groups of people, many wearing salmon-red event T-shirts with the word “artist” on the back, used rollers to paint a solid liquid chalk background in 8-foot by 8-foot squares denoted by painter’s tape on the pavement. Others, down on their hands and knees, sketched outlines in the square, occasionally glancing down at a nearby reference photo.

Looking on were other members of their colony, taking turns working on the group’s design in between sitting in lawn chairs on the sidewalk verge. The air was cool, with the parkway trees casting shadows over the roadway as group members helped themselves to a breakfast of bagels and coffee.

The serene scene — a welcome sight for many after days of overcast skies and extended rainfall — was the backdrop for the first day of the 23rd annual Denver Chalk Art Festival, a two-day event spanning Saturday and Sunday that turned sections of Denver’s downtown pavement into a museum, though one with its art on the ground.

Hundreds of artists, as well as a several food trucks and live musicians, took part in the event in Denver’s Golden Triangle creative district, including Bannock Street, Acoma Street and West 12th Avenue. 

“It’s so cool,” said Shannon Pingel after walking through the festival on Saturday morning. I just love all the different creative ideas, I can’t wait to see what it turns into as the day goes on.”

Attending the festival with Pingel was Corinne Kirsch, who noted just how impressive it was to see people engage with a more unique art form.

“I’m a crochet and mixed media artist,” Kirsch said. “The fact that some people can do this blows my mind.”

What originally began as the La Piazza Del Arte (The Plaza of Art) festival 23 years ago rebranded under a new name to help give people a better idea of what the event was and attract more visitors, said Renee Ortiz, director of the festival.

“The whole history of chalk art stems from Italy,” Ortiz said. “The origins of the Denver Chalk Art Festival were much more rooted in the Italian traditions … we went with a much clearer, more concise way of saying who we are.”

While chalk was the medium of art highlighted in the festival, some of the artists did not have a background in that art form. Some artists had more experience with studio art; others were more proficient in arts such as ceramics.

But for Jake Weaver, a tattoo artist who was participating in the event for the tenth year, the medium wasn’t too difficult to grasp.

“I make art on my own otherwise,” Weaver said. “This is like the family fun. It’s just nice to be out here.”

Weaver’s work of chalk was a cartoon based off a sketch he drew of his two sons traversing the universe in a spacecraft, he said. While his tattoo art is certainly more permanent than what he was drawing on Saturday, he noted that he enjoyed the temporary nature of the medium.

“Think about anything else in life. When you enjoy happiness, part of what makes it so happy is the fact that it’s temporary,” Weaver said. “You enjoy it while it lasts, you take whatever comes. Any rain would just be a part of the story.”

Mikayla Geeve, who was drawing an image of a horse with her mother, Michelle, felt the nerves that come with taking part in the festival for the first time but was ultimately excited for people to see her work.

“It’s definitely part of the just have fun with it (idea), knowing that it’s probably going to get washed away anyways,” Geeve said. “So I guess I shouldn’t take it too seriously.”

PHOTOS: Denver Chalk Art Festival