Sausalito The Hidden City
As you travel north from San Francisco, across the Golden Gate Bridge, through the Waldo tunnel and down the long grade, you would be excused if you thought Marin City was the closest example of civilization. No dear friends. Off to the east of the highway (and at the base of that grade) lies one of the real jewels of the Bay Area – the small town of Sausalito. Prior to the completion of the Golden Gate Bridge in 1937, it was the port which served rail, car and ferry traffic bound for San Francisco. But the opening of the bridge and the main highway’s route (which ran west of downtown) forced the bustling burg into a quiet yet dignified retirement.
Today’s Sausalito is a tourist destination filled with fine restaurants, art galleries and first class accommodations. It is also a getaway daytrip for City dwellers who have to still be home by 6pm to let the dog out. Of particular interest is the annual Sausalito Art Festival which is held during each Labor Day holiday and is now in its 62nd year (http://sausalitoartfestival.org ). We sent our reporters for a closer look.
Gala
The event began with a black tie gala on Friday (this year chaired by Wayne Kaleck) which afforded attendees a chance to preview the art and meet the artists. A sumptuous reception transitioned into a multi-course sit-down dinner (this year by celebrity caterer Dan McCall) followed by dancing to the music of the Dick Bright Orchestra. Proceeds from the gala benefit the Artists Teaching Arts (ATA) educational program (http://sausalitoartfestival.org/artists-teaching-art) as developed by the Sausalito Art Festival Foundation (SAFF) (http://sausalitoartfestival.org/about-the-foundation ) to serve K-12 students in both public and private schools throughout Marin County.
Festival Foods
A variety of foods were on offer via booth runs by local community organizations: the Sausalito Chamber of Commerce, St. Mary’s Star of the Sea Church, Sausalito Youth Sailing Foundation, Sausalito Nursery School, Galilee Harbor, Sausalito On The Waterfront Foundation, Sausalito Woman’s Club, Educational Tall Ships, Sausalito Sakaide Sister City Program, Christ Episcopal Church and the Sausalito Lion’s Club.
Wetting the Tastebuds
Available champagne and sparkling wine brands included Moet Imperial, Domain Carneros, Roederer Brut, “J” Cuvee Sparkling and Louis Bouillot Rose. Wine from Rombauer NV, Trecini Russian River, Stags Leap Karia, Bogel Chardonnay, Coppola Diamond Merlot and Gassier Rose topped up the offerings.
Those with a taste for the brewed beverages selected from brands running the gamut from Stella Artois to Budweiser. Local breweries like Mendocino and Firestone showcased both their most popular products as well as their new beer varieties.
If you somehow fell into the none-of-the-above category, a selection freshly-made margaritas and mojitos, Starbucks Iced Coffee, Santa Cruz Organic Lemonade, Sparkling Water, Tejava Iced Tea and Coco-Cola soft drinks filled the void.
Entertainment Saturday’s music line-up included the Caffell Band, Lavay Smith and her Red Hot Skillet Lickers, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Jackie Greene, the Norris Clement Trio, Montana Skies, Sony Holland and Hi-Ball Hot Shots. Sunday’s performances continued the groove with Danny Click and the Hell Yeahs, Taj Mahal, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Tommy Castro Band, Gypsy Jazz Caravan, Deborah Winters and Swing Set. Monday’s artists built on the earlier work with sets by Pete Escovedo, Pride and Joy, Tower of Power, Harry Duncan – Spinning The Best in Roots & Rhythm, Laurel Trio, Dixie Giants, Pamela Rose with Wayne De La Cruz and the Hammond Organ Party.
Art
Of the 260+ artists who displayed their work, these were our favorites:
Ben Joyce , Kathleen Carrillo
2-D Mixed Media
ARTIST NAME
Aaron Coleman
Stacy Dynan
David Fenton
Julio Cesar Garcia
A dolfo Girala
Sylvia Gonzalez
Julie Havel
Barbara Bouman Jay
Carolyn Johnson
Ronna Katz
Michael Madzo
Alejandro Martinez-Pena
Tom McQuaid
Sheri Meldrum
Brett Moore
Erik Nelson
Samuel Price
Carolyn Reynolds
Justin Robinson
Dylan Strzynski
Anna Sweet
Tres Taylor
Istvan Vago
Robert Weil
Sarah Winkler
Red Wolf
3-D Mixed Media
ARTIST NAME
Ron Anderson
Neil Blanck
Robin Branham
Evan Chambers
Gabriela & Jeremy Firehammer
Amy Flynn
Ben Joyce
J Brooke Patterson
Angelique Robichaud
Chris Rom & Geoff Buddie
Kathy Ross
Barbara Woods
Sandy YoungCeramics
ARTIST NAME
Gerald Arrington
Kimmy Cantrell
Jack Charney
Lucia Friedericy
Eileen Goldenberg
Michael Gustavson
Jeff Margolin
Marge Margulies
Daniel Oliver
Erin Pietsch
Barbara Sebastian
Digital Art
ARTIST NAME
Daryl Thetford
Beau Tudzarov
Drawing
ARTIST NAME
Anne Davis
Sheila Evans
Helen Gotlib
Amanda Houston
Desarae Lee
Anne London
Judy Miller
Fiber
ARTIST NAME
Kalbindar Basi
Kate Beck
Bozenna & Lukasz Bogucki
Deborah Cross
Diane Harty
Jenny Hill
Selma Karaca
Cara Kiely
Joan McGee
Susan Neal
Susan Otterson
Marylou Ozbolt-Storer
Gina Pannorfi
Gregory Roche
Mary Shemeta
Karen Smith
Carol Sobieniak
Joanna Staniszkis
Elaine Unzicker
Natalie Wall
Arlene Wohl
CAFunctional Art
ARTIST NAME
Chanin Cook & Jonathan Edie
Kevin DesPlanques
Daniel Grant & Ingela Noren
Gregg Hessel
Christine Kendrick
Dan McCabe
Patrick Meyer
Vince Meyer
Clark Renfort
Mark Reynolds
Alex Santamarina
Scott Stewart
Joah & Michael Thiele
Jay Younger
Glass
ARTIST NAME
Syed Ahmad
Christy Aloysi & Scott Graham
Ken & Ingrid Hanson
Elaine Hyde
Dehanna Jones
Nick Leonoff
Mark Lewanski
Andrew Madvin
Steve Palmer
Marlene Rose
Charles Savoie
Alexis Silk
Peter Vizzusi
Mayauel Ward
Jewelry
ARTIST NAME
Luciano Borotone
Kit Carson
Ann Marie Cianciolo
David Conroy
Amy Faust
Melissa Finelli
Pam Fox
Samantha Freeman
Falcher Fusager
Cornelia Goldsmith
Sarah Hassler
Tiara Sunkyung Kim
Christy Klug
Kim Koch
Brigit Kupke-Peyla
Cathryn Martinez
Karen McCreary
Baxter Moerman
Rebecca Myers
Randy Polk
Isabelle Posillico
Melissa Schmidt
Albion Smith
Yumi Ueno
Katya Wittenstein
Karin Worden
Genevieve Yang
Painting
ARTIST NAME
Kendra Baird,
Stan Beckman
, Ken Berman,
Brian Blackham
, Michael Blessing
, Steve Bogdanoff
Cara, Brown
John, Bucklin
Kathleen Carrillo
Justin Coopers Smith
Liz Cummings
, Jim DeWitt
David Gallegos
Stephanie Gardner
Ali Golkar
Signe Grushovenko
Michael Gumbert
Richard Hall
Catherine Haller
Erin Hanson
Isabel Hayes
Brian Jensen
Linda Koch
Wil, low Laland-Yielding
Michael Leu
Kathleen Lipinski
Debra Maddox
Tom Marlatt
Brian McGuffey
Santiago Michalek
Gabrielle Moore-Gordon
Hung Nguyen
David Oleski
Grant Pecoff
Martha Pettigrew
Leo Posillico
James Randle
Teresa Saia
Ludmila Shtchenioff
Gregory Sievers
Matthew Sievers
George Sumner
Alla Tsank
Chris Vance
Taman VanScoy
Scott Yelonek
Caroline Young
Pop Zhao
Kevin Zuckerma
Photography:
ARTIST NAME
Mel Ashar
, Whit Bronaugh
,Andrew Butler
, Doug Cavanah,
Zeny Cieslikowski
, Ian Ely
Craig, Fonarow
John ,Gavrilis
Tim Giraudier
,Chris Gug
, Clifton Henri,
Cali Hobgood
William, Hogan
Jesper, Johansen
Storm, Jones
Dennis, Kohn
Lisa, Kristine
Mark, MacKinnon
Fred, Mertz
Youngbok, Park
Bruce, Reinfeld
John, Scanlan
Greg Slick
E, Loren Soderberg,
Mark Stephenson,
William Vanscoy,
Sondra Wampler
Printmaking
ARTIST NAME
Amy Carstensen
, Anna Choi
Liz, Lyons Friedman,
Tom Killion
Gabor Koryani
Ray, Maseman
Rik Olson
, Eric Rewitzer,
Yoshiko Yamamoto
Sculpture
ARTIST NAME
Nobe Babayan
John Brown
Jim & Matt Budish
Andrew Carson
David Falossi
Steve Farris
Ruben Fasani
Theodore Gall
Roberto Gutierrez
Cary Henrie
James Hill
Adam Homan
Jason Johnston
Crystal Lockwood
Yevette Lubbers
Bruce MacDonald
David Marshall
Gino Miles
Carlos Page
Malen Pierson
Reza Pishgahi
Marv Poulson
Dakota Pratt
Stefan Savides
Micki Shampang-Voorhies
Tye Trevethick
ARTIST NAME-Woodwork
Melody Bellock
Martha Collins
Mark Doolittle
Matthew Hatala
Deborah & Jerry Kermode
Greg Klassen
David Levy
Clifford Lounsbury
Jeffrey & Katrina Seaton
Holly Tornheim
Barry Uden
Nestor Yulfo
