The free Pasadena Chalk Festival makes great art from the ground up

As you stayed busy delighting Dad with dinner, a zoo visit, some golf, a movie, or all of the above, you may have pondered just when a much-loved Father's Day Weekend event would take place.

It's true the Pasadena Chalk Festival didn't happen over the third weekend in June, which has been the free celebration's usual spot on the calendar for a good long while, save the virtual schedule it observed in 2020 and 2021.

But here's some good news: The creative festival will happen, with its usual oomph and flair, within days of the Dad-centered holiday. You'll want to make for the plaza area of the Pasadena Convention Center on either June 22 or 23.

Or both days, if you like, if you'd like to watch how these ground-based artworks come together, from the initial sketches to the incredibly intricate completed pieces.

As with past festivals, the scene on Saturday will have an anticipatory "getting started" feel, while the "almost done" phase of the artworks starts to gel on Sunday.

It's "A Museum Without Walls," according to the organizers, and visitors will behold hundreds of artists at whimsical work.

Plenty of nature imagery can be found at each festival — think lions, trees, or butterflies, or all three in one picture — and a few famous portraits, as well as clever spins on existing masterpieces.

And the incredible, crowd-pleasing trompe l'oeil entries are also a festival staple; you might spy a square on the ground that looks as if it is a doorway to a secret passage or a magical well. It's those "tricks of the eye" pictures that often draw a crowd.

A DJ will provide the sunshiny soundtrack while concessions and a beer garden will give visitors the chance to stay awhile with a beverage or snack.

No ticket is required and entry is complimentary.