The rain drops may have been threatening — and at times a reality — but it couldn’t stop the artists from coming out.

The 11th annual Issaquah Chalk Art Festival may have been the first one ever to suffer gray skies, but it still brought out its fair share of budding artists as 55 showed up and colored in their individual square before the rain really kicked in at about 3 p.m.

“It’s really a nice way to celebrate kids’ art. And kids being (ages) 1 to 25,” said organizer Barbara de Michele. “This is the first time, though, that we have had clouds.”

Winners were announced in each of five categories.

In the 6 and under category Kaitlyn Becker, David Madidson and Finn Mittlestaedt all won awards. In the 7 to 11 Sophie Mittlestaedt and Emma Patterson won. In the 12 to 15 Kyle Patterson, Darian Talbot, Dayanaira Downwad and Anna Magidson won and in the adult category Barb Cluff, Emily Cluff, Heather Suk, Christina and Spencer Hildie and Paul Eberhardt won. Finally in the family category, the winners were Amy Eberhardt and her daughter Chloe won.

The winners won various art supplies, including colored pencils and finger paints.

“We get a fair number of 16 and over,” de Michele said. “It gets pretty sophisticated.”

Stacy Heller brought along her son Charlie, 5, daughter Annie, 12, and friend Maddie Lee, 5 (“5 and 1/2,” Maddie added), to the event. This was the Hellers’ first time at the event. The family moved to Issaquah from the East Coast.

“The town offers so much more,” Heller said.

The Hellers worked on a beach scene of palm trees, sun and a crab. They had some recent practice as the kids’ grandma just moved to Florida and had all the kids practice drawing palm trees to send her.

“It’s a symbol of what’s not happening here today,” Heller joked.

Kevin Rettig and his 4-year-old son, Blaise, were also first timers. They found out about the contest through an e-mail from Blaise’s preschool. Rettig worked on a mountain scene, while Blaise made some train tracks – he is a big fan of trains.

Christina Frost and Spencer Hildie, both 16, said they knew it might rain, but came anyway to work on their masterpiece, a depiction of the Issaquah Hatchery.

“We heard it might come, praying it wouldn’t,” Frost said. “That’s why we drew really hard with the chalk.”

When the downpour began in the mid afternoon there was already three Arts Commissioners, along with de Michele, at the event so they ran out in the rain and quickly judge the entries. Each did a individual assessment and picked their top ten then compared notes, and de Michele added, were very much in agreement.

The winners were announced later that evening at the Concert on the Green on the lawn in front of the Community Center.

The event was put together by the Art Commission, which paid for chalk, water and the prizes.