A highlight for football fans attending Santa Clara’s 35th Art & Wine Festival September 19 and 20 at Central Park, was Tour 50, the Super Bowl 50 Host Committee’s mobile exhibit, presented by Chevron, to celebrate the history of the Bay Area’s championship football teams.
For the first time ever, the three Oakland Raiders and five San Francisco 49ers Vince Lombardi trophies, awarded each year to the Super Bowl winner, were displayed together. Each 22-inch, seven-pound, hollow sterling silver trophy, produced by Tiffany & Co., depicts a football in a kicking position on a three-sided stand. People lined up to view the eight trophies and have their photos taken with them.
“My whole life, growing up, my dad had season tickets to the 49ers games, and I’ve never seen a trophy before,” says Peter Palomo from Cupertino, viewing the trophies with April Guer and their son Braden. “My dad passed away three years ago. He was a huge 49ers fan. I saw the trophies for him today.”
As part of Tour 50 (www.sfbaysuperbowl.com) on Saturday, Guy McIntyre, former 49ers guard and three-time Super Bowl Champion, posed for photos with fans, signed autographs and read stories to kids in one of the several Tour 50 activity areas for children.
The temperature peaked in the mid-90s Sunday, while the entertainment and bands—on three different stages—played on. And the estimated 50,000 Art & Wine Festival visitors—the estimate has stayed the same over the last few years—coped as best they could.
The Santa Clara Department of Water and Sewer had 10,000 collapsible water bottles to pass out and one thousand gallons of water to fill them. That, of course, was in addition to beer from Gordon Biersch Brewing Company and wine from Bargetto, Chaucher’s, Guglielmo Winery, J. Lohr Vineyards and Wente Vineyards.
“This festival is a lot more open and not as crowded as ones on the street. And you can go sit on the grass. It seems a lot more like having a good time,” says Joseph Jaoudi from Santa Clara on Saturday.
“It’s not as linear,” adds Danielle Jordan, Jaoudi’s companion. “We’ve been having a great time walking around, enjoying the day, the company—and the occasional shade.”
“We run into a lot of people we know here, and the music is good. The food is awesome. Everything is great!” says Santa Clara resident Maria Gutierrez.
“A lot of people are very inventive with their ideas,” she continues, referring to some 175 artisans whose booths lined the park pathways.
Carol Colwell, an artisan who creates lamps from used wine bottles (All about Wine, www.facebook.com/winelights), points out that the Santa Clara festival doesn’t let vendors buy and resell.
“They try hard to make sure everything is original. Other craft shows don’t even try,” she says.
First-time seller Diane Rasmusson from Oregon (www.steelmyart.etsy.com) uses a plasma torch to cut through steel, transforming old shovels, saws and iron pans into decorative art pieces.
“I have a lot of fun with my ‘critters.’ They’re like my family,” says Rasmusson, whose cousin lives in Santa Clara. “We’re making this a mini-vacation. We’re having a wonderful time and hope to be back.”
Per tradition, the Joe Sharino Band, on the Pavilion Stage, closed the festival Sunday with a conga line circling the pavilion under the still blazing sun.
The Santa Clara Parks and Recreation Department sponsors the annual festival and fundraiser. Last year, in 2014, proceeds of $55,000 were distributed to six Santa Clara nonprofits: the Police Activities League, Friends of Parks and Recreation, the Schools Foundation, Wilcox and Santa Clara High Schools Grad Night Committees and the Senior Center Care Management Program.