USAO's annual Montmartre Festival, a judged sidewalk-chalk art competition, is held each year in conjunction with the USAO Scholastic Meet and Droverstock music festival on the first Thursday of April. Together, the events make up the Spring Triad.

The Montmartre festival, named after the arts district in Paris that holds chalk art festivals, serves a secondary role as a recruiting event for the USAO Art Department as well as for the university as a whole.