Sacramento’s Fremont Park will fill with hundreds of temporary chalk murals, live bands, food trucks and beer tents this Labor Day weekend as Chalk It Up marks its 36th year, running Saturday through Monday, Sept. 5-7. The free festival draws tens of thousands of visitors annually, according to organizers, and this year’s edition carries an extra layer of meaning: a Monday afternoon tribute to Charles Thomas, the Midtown musician, comedian and chalk artist known to generations of locals as Ground Chuck.
The festival, hosted by the local nonprofit Chalk It Up, began in 1991 as a single-day street painting event and has grown into a three-day gathering that spans music, art and community grantmaking, according to the Sacramento Bee. Its roots trace to the Italian tradition of Madonnari, the practice of painting elaborate sidewalk murals, which local artists set out to bring to Sacramento’s streets when the event launched, according to GivingEdge. This year, organizers expect between 40,000 and 50,000 attendees over the weekend, per the same account.
Chalk It Up executive director Christy Jourdan said Ground Chuck had been a familiar face to the local music scene since the 1980s, and that the ongoing dedication of volunteers, artists, musicians and supporters continues to make Chalk It Up possible, according to the Sacramento Bee. Thomas died on September 14, 2025, at age 56 following several months in hospice care, as reported by CapRadio. His death prompted Sacramento City Councilmember Phil Pluckebaum to formally adjourn a Sept. 16 city council meeting in his memory, calling Thomas a key part of Midtown’s cultural heartbeat, CapRadio reported. Hoodline covered his passing at the time in a piece remembering the punk icon.
A Monday Tribute and Grant Ceremony
Sacto Storytellers will present a Ground Chuck tribute paired with a grant presentation at 2:30 p.m. Monday, followed by the festival’s chalk art awards ceremony at 3:45 p.m. that same afternoon, according to the Sacramento Bee. Youth arts grant presentations take place earlier in the weekend, at 3:45 p.m. Sunday. Over the last decade, Chalk It Up has awarded more than $80,000 in youth art mini-grants to Sacramento-area K-12 classrooms, student artists and community arts organizations, largely benefiting Title 1 schools that need help funding art supplies and field trips, per GivingEdge…