Best Summer Art Festivals In The Bay Area
Millbrae Art & Wine Festival (credit: Melanie Graysmith)
The Bay Area loves its street fairs and festivals, and is happily rewarded with numerous festivals throughout the year. From March through October Bay Area Arts & Crafts Festivals make their appearance and draw in art aficionados and festival lovers. Read on for five art festival suggestions around the Bay Area.
45th Annual Millbrae
Art & Wine Festival
Broadway Ave.
Millbrae, CA 94030
www.millbrae.miramarevents.com
Date: September 5 & 6, 2015, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Price: Free
A Labor Day festival favorite, the annual Millbrae Art & Wine Festival is the largest Labor Day weekend event in the Bay Area, and an art lovers delight. Downtown Millbrae transforms into a sunny "Big Easy" vibe with this Mardi Gras-style celebration. Art in all categories is the draw at this al fresco show, showcasing 250 of the West Coast's finest artists and craftspeople. Decorative and functional ceramics, original jewelry designs, metal work, photography, fine art paintings, sculptures, handmade quilts, wearable art and more are here for browsing and meeting the extraordinary artists represented here. The Millbrae Art & Wine Festival boosts a great lineup of live music in a wide range of musical sounds. This is a terrific family event with Kids' Playland, Home & Garden exhibits, a "Classically Cool Car Show," a talent stage for emerging young and local talent and a lot more.
Craneway Pavilion
1414 Harbour Way S.
Richmond, CA 94804
www.kpfa.org
Date: June 20 through June 21, 2015, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Price: two day admission/$12, senior and disabled/$8, youth under 18/Free, ample free parking, free shuttle from Richmond BART
Be a part of the first KPFA Summer Arts Fair at its new location, The Craneway Pavilion in Richmond, California. This beautiful waterfront site in the marina is the perfect spot to enjoy the original, handmade work of 200 exhibitors displaying art covering a multitude of media, like painting, sculpture, woodwork and ceramics, along with fine and affordable jewelry, glasswork, photography, home goods and a slew of gift items.
Montclair Shopping District
Mountain Ave. at La Salle
Oakland, CA 91763
www.pacificfinearts.com
Date: June 26 through June 28, 2015, Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday at 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Price: Free
A Pacific Fine Arts Festival, the Montclair Fine Arts Sidewalk Festival is now in its 40th year of celebrating art outdoors. More than 80 Bay Area artists from the Bay Area and beyond will display their art against a backdrop of charming Montclair Village and the Oakland Hills at this popular East Bay art event. If you are not familiar with Montclair Village, the festival will be a great introduction to this attractive and lively community, with its laid-back small town feel, showing a different side of Oakland.
Downtown Los Altos Village
Main St. & State St.
Los Altos, CA 94022
(209) 267-4394
www.pacificfinearts.com
Date: July 11 and July 12, 2015, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Price: Free
Get ready for the largest two-day mid-summer event in the Bay Area! The Los Altos Arts & Wine Festival is a first-rate festival experience that transforms downtown Los Altos into a distinctive art emporium, showcasing the diverse works of artists and craftspeople from the Bay Area and more than a dozen states. Sample select wines of local wineries, plus a wide range of tempting food items, including Chinese, Thai, and Mexican specialties in addition to all American darlings like sausages, roasted corn, hot links, sweets and dessert favorites and more. Enjoy the live sounds of daylong free concerts with performances from the likes of Sage, The Cocktail Monkeys, The House of Rockers, Debbie Thacker and others. This is definitely a family event with children in mind at the Kidzone for arts and crafts, rides, activities and entertainment all weekend.
(credit: Sausalito Art Festival)
63rd Annual Sausalito Art Festival
Sausalito CA, 94965
(415) 332-3555
www.sausalitoartfestival.org
Date: Sept. 5 through Sept. 7, 2015, Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Price: Adults - $25, Seniors - $20, Kids six through 12 - $5, Kids under five - free
The Sausalito Art Festival is a top Labor Day weekend event, and one of the Bay Area's best-known art festivals. As one of the premiere open-air art festivals in the nation, the Sausalito Art Festival attracts more than 30,000 art lovers and collectors from around the world to its idyllic waterfront location. Local artists and ones from across the nation and Canada exhibit their art covering the full range of mediums, including paintings, ceramics, woodwork, mixed media, jewelry photography glass, fiber arts and more. Last year's festival introduced the Beer Garden, joining the array of over 20 local and national brews, premium California wines, and microbrews to wash down the tasty international food offerings.
