“I get the feel
of a happy
atmosphere.”
Sandra Aguirre, Artist

The City of Santa Clara hosts its annual Art & Wine Festival today and tomorrow at Central Park on Kiely Boulevard. The event features live music, a variety of food vendors, and dozens of artists displaying and selling their work. Thousands of people will stroll through the grounds of the park this weekend to enjoy the vibe, taste some local wines, enjoy a variety of musical presentations, and check out the works of local vendors.

My favorite part of this annual event is people watching. I’ve lived in the Santa Clara Valley since 1972. I first attended the Santa Clara Art & Wine Festival in 1984. Since that time, Kathy and I make an effort to get there almost every year. Walking along the paths of the park, between the vendor booths and the lake, it’s inevitable that I will see people I know, many who I have not seen in quite a while.

This year, our visitors from Nagasaki, Saori, and her daughter Saki, will join us. The event will give them a good experience of life in the United States. I’m confident they will enjoy the variety of artists selling jewelry, paintings, ceramic sculptures, hand-sewn bags, hats, gemstones, and custom bead work. Music from artists of different genres will fill the air throughout the event, and the smell of burgers, popcorn, barbecued ribs, and gourmet pizza will permeate the air. 

There have been years when this event was held during unbearably hot weather. This year, however, the high temperature predicted for today is a comfortable 74º — cool enough that we won’t need to worry about staying hydrated, yet warm enough to treat ourselves to an ice cream at some point in the day.

I’m grateful for the opportunity to share this event with Saori and Saki. While there are many festivals in Japan, which, in some ways, are quite similar to this event, the Santa Clara Art & Wine Festival will be an experience they will never forget.