The 46th Annual Gasparilla Festival of the Arts is scheduled next weekend (March 5-6) in Tampa. Art of all types is featured from ceramics to paintings to chalk and more.

TAMPA – Artists and art lovers from around the U.S. convene on this city each spring for the Raymond James Gasparilla Festival of the Arts, where the country’s most accomplished artists and rising stars vie for the $15,000 Raymond James Best of Show Award and an additional $59,500 in prize money.

Held annually during the first weekend in March in downtown Tampa, it is a true showcase. Featured art includes ceramic, digital, drawing, fiber, glass, jewelry, mixed media, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, watercolor and wood. The esteemed event also features the works of local young artists, a weekend full of live entertainment and a children’s art activity area.

Other events include Carmada in Kiley Gardens, where you can watch the creation of art cars.

What’s an art car, you ask? It’s any standard vehicle modified into mobile artwork through application of paint, sculptural embellishment, and other techniques. Visitors to Kiley Garden will be encouraged to vote on their favorite art car, with prizes going to the artists. New this year – Gasparilla’s 15 Emerging Artist tents, and the Art Collectors in Training program, will be part of the Kiley festivities. At street level, adjacent to Kiley Gardens, the NOMADstudio Art Bus invites visitors to add to their giant mobile mural.

Don’t forget the Chalk Walk under the eaves of the Tampa Museum of Art, co-sponsored by Tampa Bay Businesses for Culture & the Arts and Raymond James Gasparilla Festival of the Arts. Ten specially commissioned chalk artists bring their amazing 8’x8’ chalk drawings to life in this interactive live-art experience. This will be the eighth year for the Chalk Walk.

The festival will be 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday (March 5) and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at Curtis Hixon Park, 600 N Ashley Drive. The Tampa Museum of Art is at 120 W Gasparilla Plaza.

For information about the 46th Annual Gasparilla Festival of the Arts, go to gasparillaarts.com.

For information about the Tampa Bay Businesses for Culture & the Arts, go to tbbca.org.

Tampa | Gasparilla Arts Festival | Tampa Museum of Art | Chalk Walk | Carmada | TB Reporter

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