Here's what's new at the Lake Worth Beach Street Painting Festival
The Hang out, The Art Yard, a record 850 artists highlight this weekend’s free event
The 32nd annual Lake Worth Beach Street Painting Festival kicks off Saturday morning in downtown Lake Worth Beach. About 100,000 people are expected over the two days.
Here’s what’s new:
The Hangout
Across the street from the post office, in the parking lot at the southwest corner of J Street and Lucerne Avenue, will be The Hangout. It will feature a stage, a bar and covered seating where festival goers can take a break, relax and listen to music.
“We think it is going to be fun and a little different,’’ said Sharon Hoffman, sales manager for Sunfest of Palm Beach County, which is under contract with the city for $271,222 to run the festival for the second straight year.
“It’s going to be a great place with music, food and beverages and a great place for some interaction for the general patrons,’’ she said.
In past years, that same space was used as an artist check-in area, which this weekend will be moved a block west on Lucerne between Dixie Highway and J Street.
Children’s Meadow and The Art Yard
The Children’s Meadow, a block of asphalt devoted to young emerging chalk artists, will be moved to L Street just south of Lake Avenue at the entrance to the outdoor Arts & Wellness Space behind the south wall of the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County building.
The wellness space will be transformed into The Art Yard, where local artisans can display and sell their crafts. The Children’s Meadow will flow into the Art Yard, converting that section south of Lake into a family-friendly area.
“The Cultural Council is excited that the city’s Street Painting Festival is expanding along our block this year, activating our backyard Arts & Wellness Space,’’ said Lauren Perry, the council’s associate vice president of marketing.
The council’s building will be open, too, giving festivalgoers a chance to grab some shade and air-conditioning while checking out three exhibitions in the lobby’s galleries.
More art!
The street painting festival will feature 850 artists working in 340 spaces, the most in the festival’s 32 years. (Many of those spaces are large, requiring multiple artists.)
There will be 65 featured artists, with 25 representing 16 states and one other country, India.
Artists will be armed with roughly 30,000 pieces of chalk and pastels, about $17,000 worth, supplied by the festival. The chalk comes from Eternity Arts, the pastels from Jack Richeson Co.
The festival also supplies 88 gallons of tempera paint, from Blick Arts, for the artists to lay down prior to chalking.
Welcome reception
For the first time, the city will host an invitation-only Welcome Reception for featured artists Friday evening at the Lake Worth Beach Library. It is not open to the public and will include city and county officials, sponsors and local business leaders.
GETTING THERE
2026 Lake Worth Beach Street Painting Festival
Saturday, Feb. 21: 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 22: 10 a.m.- 6 p.m.
Parking close to downtown will be extremely limited.
These downtown roads will be closed starting at 6 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 21, through 10 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22:
• Lake Ave. from South Dixie Hwy to south Federal Hwy.
• Lucerne Ave from North Dixie Hwy to North Federal Hwy
•J,K, L,M, Streets from 2nd Ave. North to 1st Ave. South.
Use the free park-and-ride service at Palm Beach State College. Park in the college’s “blue” and “copper” lots, accessible from Lake Worth Road and Congress Avenue, and catch a shuttle.
Tri-Rail is offering a special $5 roundtrip for the festival with free shuttles looping from the passenger train’s Lake Worth Beach station on Lake Worth Road under Interstate 95 just west of the high school.