Every September since 2008 the all-volunteer Luna Park Arts Foundation puts on the Luna Park Chalk Art Festival in Backesto Park (in downtown San Jose, bounded by 13th & 15th streets and Jackson & Empire.)

The Festival brings together artists of all ages and abilities to chalk the walks of the park. The event is free to attend. We estimate our annual attendance at 3000. General Admission Artists pay $20-$25 for a reserved chalk space and chalk. K-12 age youth groups (schools, scout troops, art clubs, etc.) are invited to register for free and are then eligible to apply for one of our K-12 grants for their arts programs. We fund the grants from the general admission tickets and give out grants ranging from $200 to $1000 to 5-7 schools each year. We have granted over $30,000 over the past 5 years. We rely upon grants and donations to fund the park use fees and other expenses of running the festival. In addition to utilitarian expenses such as porta-potties and electricity, we pay stipends of $250 to 10-12 inspiring artists, which we feature in a designated area. As part of our community outreach and engagement strategy we also invite food trucks, local vendors, non-profits and neighborhood craftspeople to participate.

Just to keep things lively, we schedule 5-7 local acts to appear on our stage. The acts range from Judo class demonstrations, Aztec Dancers, a Celtic Pirate band and other eclectic talent. In support of our talent, we offer each group a stipend of $250. For the last 4 years we have used the San Jose BoomBox as our stage - because it is so much fun to have them at our Festival - and because it is less costly than renting stage and sound equipment. Prior to working with the BoomBox folks, our stage and sound equipment cost were as high as $2500!