Starting June 15, artists will be painting the walls of downtown Chilliwack through to mid-August. The Street Party on August 14 and 15 is the celebration at the end of it all — a free two-day festival in the heart of downtown where you can see the finished works and take in a full weekend of live music, art, and food.
Local artists on this year's roster include wildlife illustrator Aysha McConkey, self-taught Fraser Valley artist Nina Kroeker, and Chilliwack carver Stan Greene, who is collaborating with Vancouver artist K.C. Hall on a work rooted in Northwest Coast visual tradition. They're joined by artists from the Netherlands, France, Germany, and the United States.
The Street Party is split across two venues: Central Community Park and District 1881. It runs 6–9 PM on Friday and 2–9 PM on Saturday, with a lineup spanning rock, soul, Latin folk, circus, country, and beyond.
Friday's Sasquatch Stage in Central Community Park features Chopping Spree!, Wack, and The Imaginary Band, while District 1881's Thunderbird Stage hosts emerging local musician MADDI K, Latin folk artist Yesenia Florez, and marimba band Robin Layne & the Rhythm Makers.
Saturday opens up considerably, with Leo D.E Johnson, Peter Press Lee, Dana Sipos, and several others on the Sasquatch Stage, and circus band Blackberry Wood, beatboxer Poppa Nuge, and BRASSTAX among the Thunderbird Stage acts. Busker performances will also run throughout Saturday at The Homemade Shoppe.
Beyond the music, the festival will feature live painting of a Mural Cube in Central Community Park, a 40-foot community graffiti wall, LEGO block printing, interactive string art, and an immersive cultural installation called {DE}Fragmented by local artist Josh Conrad.
