The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

Photograph by Skye Dunlap

Despite the overcast weather, Jesse Mendiola, 4, and Clara Chenoweth, 2, enjoyed the sounds of the Joe Sharino Band at the Art and Wine festival in June. Sunnyvale will host a second Art and Wine festival in August.

Art and Wine Festival, take 2

By Justin Berton

Part II of the Sunnyvale Art and Wine Festival will premiere Aug. 1-2, after bad weather and slow foot traffic turned the 24th annual festival in June into one of the summer's biggest disappointments.

A group of artists approached event organizers on the rain-soaked Sunday morning that kept patrons away, and quickly pledged to return to Sunnyvale should organizers plan another event.

"We're calling it the sequel," Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Suzi Blackman said.

The last time organizers had to reschedule the city's largest festival was in 1993, when bad weather again was to blame.

Blackman said the Chamber fell shy of its $100,000 goal by about $20,000.

The Art and Wine Festival has attracted as many as 150,000 people in one weekend in an exemplary year, Blackman said. Organizers are hoping the event can net $60,000 the second time around.

"You could get parking on Sunday afternoon," Blackman said. "And usually, you can never do that."

The new challenge for the August version of the Art and Wine festival will be attracting attention after the slew of other summer events have saturated the area.

As the kick-off for the season, the June Art and Wine festival easily lures eager vendors and patrons to the show. Now, the festival will take place at the tail-end of the season--one weekend after the nationally-known Gilroy Garlic Festival and the city of Fremont's arts and crafts show. Blackman said some vendors, who travel as far as Arizona and Nevada, could be weary to set up shop for one more fair.

"We feel like there is a little risk involved, but right now we feel like we need to take that risk," Blackman said.

Blackman expects about 350 artists to return from the more than 500 that turned out for the first show.

Close to 40 percent of the artists have already signed up to attend the second show.

Artists and vendors will not set up along Murphy Avenue now that the weekend farmers' market has returned for the summer.

Some of the biggest sponsors of the event, such as Coca-Cola and Black Mountain Spring Water, will return to the festival.

Stephanie Kray, spokesperson for California Artists, the contracting firm for the festival, said most artists are eager to make their way back to Sunnyvale.

"They're usually happy to return and give it another shot," Kray said.

Susan Gagnier, a watercolor artist who attended the June show, said she was pleased to be returning.

"I'm glad for the opportunity," Gagnier said. "It's a well-publicized event, a well-run event and I'm excited to do it again."

Gagnier said she fell a little shy of the $2,000 goal she considers a good weekend at the June show.

Blackman said with good publicity and good weather, she hopes the show can pull in a large draw the second time around.

"This is something we do not do just for fun and games, but for the whole community," she said.

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Art and Wine Festival, take 2

The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper