Downtown El Paso transforms with color with Chalk the Block art festival

The 18th annual Chalk the Block Public Arts Festival returns to San Jacinto Plaza in Downtown El Paso this year.

It's a weekend-long celebration of creativity bringing together artists from El Paso, Las Cruces and Juarez.

There will also be art installations in Cleveland Square from a Belgian artist as well as some from Colorado artists.

But the chalk murals will be gone after 6 p.m. on Sunday Oct. 12.

"That's the magic of the event, is you have to come during that weekend," said Ben Fyffe, the City of El Paso's Managing Director of Quality of Life. "Because if you miss it, you've missed out on that transformation. And over the years, those transformations have included installations from artists like Buenos Aires or France, Shanghai, to be able to see all of these things in our own backyard."

Museums like La nube and the Mexican American Cultural Center will also be participating in the creative scene. 

The event is free and takes place on Saturday, Oct. 11, 10 a.m. - 10 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 12, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.