Look Down at Scintillating Sidewalk Art During ‘Lompoc Chalks'

LOOKING UP IN LOMPOC: It's difficult to know whether you should gaze down, up, or straight ahead in and around Lompoc, that lovely and history-laden Santa Barbara County burg. If you're looking up, you may be wowing-out over a Vanderberg Air Force Base launch. If you're gazing straight ahead, it could be to admire Lompoc's famous murals, which colorfully punctuate some of Lompoc's largest exterior walls. And gazing down? Perhaps you're a petal person and you're enjoying the area's Flower Trail, which blooms each year in the spring and summertime. There are, in short, several sights to savor while in the area, whether you're looking skyward, straight ahead, or at the ground. It's this last category that's going to be in focus from Oct. 21 through 23 when a bevy of talented madonnari make for the Lompoc Airport to create several masterful artworks, one chalk stroke at a time.

LOMPOC CHALKS... is a weekend-long affair, but the Friday night kick-off will be about getting to know the artists behind the fanciful festival. There will be food trucks and tunes, too, at the Friday night event, while viewing the pretty pavement-based pieces throughout the weekend? That's free. As with any chalk festival, the later you arrive in the process, the closer to completion the pieces will be. So some people? They rather like seeing the start of an artwork, while others prefer to be there when the final flourish of chalk is added. Hankering for more art-strong sights while legging it around Lompoc? Here's where to find the town's celebrated murals.