In fact, they weren't even sure how an oil painting of a California mission on black velvet was even going to sell at that show on Sept. 27, 1959.

"We all kind of looked at it and said, 'I wonder who's going to buy this?'" Heid said. "It was the first thing sold."

The inaugural Saratoga Rotary Art Show featured the work of about 20 artists, was staffed by the 32 Rotarians and brought in a grand total of $560. The club took a commission of $200, of which it awarded $100 to the Montalvo Association and $100 to an organization helping children with disabilities.

Now the show—which moved to the West Valley College campus in 1981—brings 175 artists, 120 Rotary members and their families, and about 20,000 visitors to Saratoga. According to Don Miller, adviser to the show's chairman, the event has provided funding for $70,000 to $100,000 worth of grants to community organizations in recent years.

The Saratoga Union School District has received several grants from the Rotary Club for materials such as stage curtains and outdoor storage sheds for emergency supplies. A $6,416 grant from the Rotary Club last year allowed the district to purchase science kits made by the Smithsonian Institution. Marybarbara Zorio, principal of Saratoga Elementary School, said the kits supplement reading about science with hands-on activities.

"Research tells us that really doing things is what gives depth of understanding," Zorio said. "What we were lacking was the full complement of hands-on materials that we really needed. The Rotary's generosity allowed us to beef up what we have."

EMQ Children & Family Services, which provides mental-health and social services to children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbances, received a $15,000 grant from the 2003 show proceeds for its addiction-prevention program. Scott Staub, vice president of fund development for EMQ, said the program is being implemented at 15 public and private schools in Santa Clara County, including Saratoga High School and St. Andrew's School.

"It's a program at K through 12 schools, working with the entire school body on behaviors," he said. "For some schools, it might be working with eating disorders in addition to obvious substance-abuse issues. Really we tailor it to each school's specific needs. The whole thrust of it is if we start with children at early ages."

Staub said the award received from Saratoga Rotary is enough to fund the program at one school for an entire year.

"We were thrilled that the Saratoga Rotary has again acknowledged us," he said. "They've been a terrific regular donor, and this has been one of their bigger grants. We know it's very competitive."

Indeed, there is a fair amount of competition for the grants. Miller said approximately 24 to 30 recipients are chosen out of at least 50 applicants every year. The board of the Saratoga Rotary Charitable Foundation meets four times a year to review applications, and individual board members conduct audits. He said that when a grant is awarded, it is generally in the amount requested unless the foundation determines that a lesser amount is reasonable to fund a program or project.

Sense of community

But almost equally as important as the charitable grants is the way the art show fosters a sense of community in Saratoga. Several artists say they see the show as an opportunity to meet new people and reconnect with old friends.

"I've lived in Saratoga for 40 years, so I know a lot of people," said Kay Duffy, a painter who has shown her work at the Rotary event for more than 20 years. "Sometimes I see some of these people once a year, at the show."

Photographer and longtime Saratoga resident Susanne Karlak, a former teacher at Lynbrook High School, enjoys the chance to chat with former students, fellow members of the Brookside Swim and Racquet Club, neighbors and other acquaintances, as well as anyone who is interested in her art.

"The minute somebody comes in to look at one of my pictures, I can't help but engage them in conversation," Karlak said. "I find that people want to interact with the person who takes the pictures."

Linda Mau, a Saratoga ceramic artist and teacher at De Anza College, said that she meets not only members of the public, but sometimes other artists. One of her students brought Chinese sculptor Henry Leung Chuen, who has sculpted busts for politicians, world leaders and other high-profile subjects, to meet Mau. He enjoyed Mau's art and agreed to come to her class to teach about sculpting, with translation help from Chinese-American students. Chuen even sculpted a clay bust of Mau and is working on a bronze version.

Mau said what draws people like Chuen, and thousands of others, is the quality of the art. The show is juried, meaning artists must apply to be included and only those selected by a judging committee are actually invited to the show. She said this practice gives the show a quality not seen at other similar events.

"You have to put up or shut up," Mau said. "They do invite back the top sellers, but we all get juried every year. I don't just automatically get a booth because I've been doing the show for 12 years."

Miller said the show typically features the work of artists from as far away as Southern California and Washington state, but there are occasionally artists from even more distant locales who participate. Mau said this keeps the talent pool fresh.

"I think sometimes shows that are too local don't keep the quality up," she said.

Luckily, though, some of those high-quality artists are right here in Saratoga. Mau's geometric, innovative ceramic kimonos, ikebana vases, and other works have been featured in galleries and publications throughout the nation. Duffy's watercolors depict lush, impressionistic scenes of trees, flowers and landscapes from Saratoga, Yosemite, France and other locations worldwide, and she has painted murals for clients like the San Luis Obispo Fire Department. Karlak's geometrically minded nature, landscape and floral photography has earned her attention from corporate buyers—the Palo Alto Medical Foundation recently purchased several of her photographs for its offices—and even recognition in national photography magazines.

All three women said they hope to be included in the Saratoga Rotary Art Show as long as they are able.

"I like being part of something that supports youth and supports service projects, because I have a commitment toward that myself," Karlak said.

Rotary offers support

Though all three said setting up for the show involves a lot of hard work, the Rotary members are well organized and well prepared to provide a great deal of support.

"Everybody is quite committed to doing a good job," Mau said. "You can't pay people to work as hard as they do."

Miller said the Rotarians have always helped provide the artists with setup and takedown help, breakfast and lunch, and help in their booths should the artist need a restroom break or simply want to browse the show. But the artists seemed most appreciative that the Rotary takes care of all of the transactions.

"We provide them with a packet of invoices so that the artist doesn't actually have to handle money," Miller said. "We collect the full amount and provide the artists with their take."

Miller said the artists are paid within two days of the show, something Mau said is "unheard of" at other shows.

And the show wouldn't be as successful as it is if it didn't treat those who attend well, either. In addition to browsing art, visitors can hear live music, watch entertainment from roving magicians, jugglers and clowns, take their children to the special "Kids' Corner" where they can climb on Saratoga's fire truck No. 31, or enjoy a few culinary treats. One of those, the Saratoga Pepperbelly, is unique to the show. Warren Lampshire, chairman of the 1980 show, said the Rotary first decided to sell food at a late-night planning meeting for that year's event. Lampshire's wife, Yvonne, developed the Pepperbelly.

"It was a special food wherein my wife actually developed the recipe for a French roll with Italian sausage," he said, though he said the recipe for the sandwich's unique sauce is classified information. "Norm D'Amico, who used to run the former Paul Masson Cellars, still makes the sauce for the Pepperbellies—he and the former fire chief, Ernie Kraule, work on them together."

But whether they come for the food, the art, the entertainment or the people, Heid said he's just glad people attend the show. Seeing the show grow from its humble beginnings has been "very gratifying" for the Rotarian.

"We were really ranked amateurs," he said of the first show. "Now, we've become the best one-day show in Northern California, if not all of California."

And to think, a black-velvet painting started it all.

ARTISTS SHOW
THEIR WORK
AT ANNUAL ROTARY EVENT

The Saratoga Rotary Art Show will feature booths throughout the West Valley College campus where 175 artists will display ceramics, crafts, fiber arts, graphic art, jewelry, paintings, photography and sculpture from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on May 2.

Main Stage

Musical performances at the southwest corner of the campus

* 10 to 11 a.m.—Jim Stevens and Friends (folk music and family entertainment)

* 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.—Talk of the Town (a cappella quartet)

* 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.—Kapalakiko (Hawaiian music and dancing)

* 1:45 to 2:45 p.m.—Zydeco Slim (New Orleans­inspired music)

* 3 to 4 p.m.—@jazz (jazz standards including bebop and Dixieland)

* 4:15 to 4:45 p.m.—Saratoga Sister City Taiko (Taiko drumming)

Roving Entertainment

* 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.—Honeydew & Jet Lag (magicians, jugglers and clowns)

* Noon to 1 p.m.—Jim Stevens (children's songs)

Kid's Korner

Children's activities including entertainment, a bounce house, arts and crafts projects and "some surprises"