Splash into a community of art

Each artist could be sponsored by a local business. Jersey Mikes sponsored this young boy to debut his art on sandwiches.

Megan Overbey, Writer

Carlsbad is home to a vast amount of talented musicians and artists. Art Splash, a non-profit annual community event, offers residents a chance to showcase their skills while simultaneously giving back to the community.

Art Splash takes place once a year at the beginning of fall. It is widely known throughout the community of Carlsbad and is highly anticipated, typically attracting about 30,000 people each year. This beloved event would not function without the puppet master behind the scenes– and that person would be chairperson Joni Miringoff , the brains behind the operation, who has been involved with Art Splash for over a decade.

“My responsibility is to book everybody, our vendors, chalk artists; it’s really whatever my vision is,” Miringoff said.

Art Splash is solely run through volunteer work and the community comes together with hundreds of locals who contribute their time to help run this event.

“On good days, it’s great; on bad days, not always so great,” Miringoff said. “But, it’s really a fun group of people in the community that want to give back to the city of Carlsbad. It’s a great gift because it is a free event.”

Carlsbad High’s dance team represents Carlsbad at Art Splash every year, and they are honored to take part in such an adored community event.

“Performing at Art Splash is great because we get to show the community all that we have to offer, and it’s very rewarding to present to everyone what has resulted from all of our hard work,” sophomore and Xcalibur dance team member Natalie Palmer said.

Not only does CHS have representation from the dance team, but Art Splash also attracts students as attendants who are excited to see all of the talent that the city of Carlsbad has to offer.

“This is my first year coming to Art Splash, and I am so impressed with what I have seen — all of the chalk drawings are breathtaking,” senior Carissa Darroch said. “I will definitely be returning next year.”

Along with exposing residents to all of the art that Carlsbad has to offer, Art Splash has other motives.

“We’ve given out almost 60,000 dollars in grant money for music and art in North County schools,” Miringoff said.

This public event has a lot to offer to the citizens of Carlsbad, and it sends nothing but positive vibes throughout the community.

“Art Splash is the opportunity to give a great gift of the arts to the communities of North County, and we take great pride in that,” Miringoff said.