Nearly 100 artists participated in this year’s Centennial Chalk Art Festival, bringing a breadth of color and imagination to the sidewalks of the shopping district, The Streets at SouthGlenn.

Among them was 15-year-old Maria Chavez, who used chalk to bring an adventurous character she imagined to life.

Her art piece, called “The Glader,” showed a man wearing a cape and standing on ice, facing a large boat traveling amid a snowy, mountainous backdrop.

The man is named Kester, and he is the main character of an adventure novel Chavez wrote this summer. 

Chavez said she came across an image of the boat and mountains on Pinterest, and she decided to insert Kester into the scenery and bring the visual to the festival. 

As the artists worked on their pieces, people of all ages walked around the outdoor shopping district, admiring and voting for their favorites. 

Centennial Mayor Stephanie Piko announced the winners of three categories — kids’ choice, artists’ choice and people’s choice.

Chavez won awards in two categories — third place in artists’ choice and first place in people’s choice. 

“I was really surprised,” Chavez said, adding that it felt really good. 

Although she started creating art in the sixth grade, this is only her second year doing chalk art, she said. 

Last year, her mom signed her up for the chalk art festival without her knowledge. 

“She bought me a bunch of chalk and told me to start practicing,” she said. “And then, I was pretty much begging all … the next year to do it again.”

Also returning to the chalk art festival this year was Rachel Hueske, an artist and stay-at-home mom living in Aurora who participated in last year’s festival as well. 

Hueske spent hours creating a vibrant gecko decorated with different patterns. The art style is similar to how she paints, and she wanted to test her ability to transfer her painting style to chalk.

When asked why she wanted to come back again this year, she said the festival is relaxing and fun. 

“I just keep hearing people are enjoying all the colors,” she said. “It’s cool how many different things you get.”

On top of the art, attendees also enjoyed local vendors, live musical performances and the opportunity to create art themselves. 

The Centennial Arts and Cultural Foundation gave out rocks for people to paint — a popular attraction for many families. 

Mayor Piko, who is also president of the arts and cultural foundation, said they had 450 rocks to start, but handed out so many that they had to get more. 

Piko thanked attendees for coming to the festival, saying there was a great turnout and hundreds of votes cast. 

“Congratulations to all the artists,” she said. “We had nearly 100 artists participate this year — such a great event.”