Get ready for an autumn Saturday full of professional chalk art, live music and libations from around the state! AMA ChalkFest is returning to downtown Albany on Nov 13, 2021.

“We are pleased to announce that ChalkFest is returning as a live event in downtown Albany,” Mallory Black, co-chair of the Albany Museum of Art’s ChalkFest Committee, said. “We will have all the things everyone loved at our first two ChalkFest events—professional chalk artists creating unique artworks on the pavement, live music throughout the day, libations, food trucks and vendors.”

Moving the festival in mid-November should also help make it a more pleasant experience because of milder temperatures, Black noted.

“Summer hangs on well into the fall in Southwest Georgia,” she said. “But we can usually get highs in the 70s by mid November. And, of course, we’re hoping for beautiful blue, clear skies!”

The Fall 2020 ChalkFest was conducted as an online event with special restaurant takeout days because of the pandemic. Museum officials expect this year’s ChalkFest to attract a substantial crowd to downtown Albany. The last live festival in October 2019 drew more than 4,000 people.

“We feel this will be an entertaining, safe event at a time when folks will be wanting to get out and enjoy themselves,” Albany Museum of Art Executive Director Andrew J. Wulf, Ph.D., said. “With COVID numbers down and the latest CDC health safety guidance, we hope people will take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to enjoy the arts in community.”

In addition to AMA ChalkFest, the AMA’s commitment to downtown Albany can be seen in site work that has begun at the museum’s future location on West Broad Avenue. On Monday, demolition work began on the former dance studio to make way for a future sculpture garden that will be on the grounds of the new museum, which will be located in the former Belk department store building. The relocation project is expected to take up to five years to complete.

Announcements will be made soon on the theme for this year’s festival.

“We’re working on many of the details now, so stay tuned for updates!” Black said. “We also will post new applications for artists, volunteers and vendors soon on the festival website, www.amachalkfest.com. We have exciting ideas for this year’s festival, and we can’t wait to share them!”

In addition to being a festival for the community, AMA ChalkFest is the Albany Museum of Art’s major fundraiser for the fall.

“By getting out and enjoying art, music, craft beer and each other’s company, festival-goers help us provide free admission for everyone,” Wulf said. “It doesn’t cost you a dime to see the art of the world at the AMA, thanks to our strong membership support, donors and fundraisers like ChalkFest. This is truly a case of a community event helping unite and create a stronger community.”

Updates on AMA ChalkFest also will be available on AMA social media and the museum website, www.albanymuseum.com.