Free up your weekend for Santa Clara’s 34th Art & Wine Festival this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Central Park (969 Kiely Blvd.), where the 52-acre park–with its lake and fountains, grassy picnic areas, and pavilions–is one of the loveliest art and wine festival venues in the South Bay.
The weekend festivities include about 175 local and regional artists selling unique, handcrafted items from jewelry to bird houses, some 25 community groups serving food for purchase, and volunteers pouring local wines and micro-beer on tap. Continuous live entertainment takes place on three stages, including one in the separate Kids Kingdom, where low-cost carnival rides and fun activities from face painting to rock wall climbing engage the youngsters.
An annual early fall community tradition, the art and wine festival draws thousands of families from Santa Clara and surrounding communities. In 2013, an estimated 50,000 people attended. The festival, hosted by the City of Santa Clara Parks and Recreation Commission, is both a fun and fundraiser, with 100 percent of the net proceeds from food, wine, and beer sales supporting the activities of city non-profit community groups and organizations. Business sponsors contribute financial support, and the Parks and Recreation Department staff, along with hundreds of volunteers, make sure the festival runs smoothly.
“It’s a special civic event that the City and the community put on as a way of bringing the community together,” City Parks and Recreation Director Jim Teixeira likes to point out.
For more information, call (408) 615-3140 or check the City website: www.santaclaraca.gov. Entrance is free. No pets are allowed in the park September 13 and 14 only.
