Whoever decided it was a good idea to combine a classic car show with a sidewalk chalk art festival deserves 12 big brownie points. The fruits of that idea sprang to life on Father’s Day, when a sea of classic cars poured into Pasadena’s Green Street, flanked on both sides by more than 500 artists from all over California to create hundreds of murals, using pastel chalk as their brush and the pavement as the canvas. Show-goers were able to capture the artwork drawn on as well as rolled onto the pavement.
It was the 21st Chalk Festival, but only the 12th Police Department Classic Car Show for the City of Pasadena. While the chalk festival has been around longer, there was no shortage of show cars, as vehicles from the turn of the 20th century up through model year 1974 flocked the street, with a police helicopter and an armored SWAT vehicle thrown in for good measure.
Not only was it ideal to hold the car show concurrently with the chalk festival, the show organizers chose the popular Paseo Colorado shopping center venue for the location of both. So, even family members not so inclined to see a car show had a reason to visit Green Street (“I’d rather get a shot at the doctor’s office than see a car show,” confessed a member of my family). If not for the cars, then for the chalk art. And if not for the art, then for the good food and shopping opportunities, courtesy of the Paseo Colorado shops. Nice going, Pasadena.
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The writer is the executive editor of LA Car. More scenes from the 12th Annual Pasadena Police Classic Car Show can be viewed at LACar.com and at Facebook.com/lacarcom.
