Art, wine, and music highlight festival
By Jessica Thy Nguyen Special to the Dispatch
Gilroy – Local jazz artist Sandra Marlowe and three other bands will provide entertainment for Gilroy Art & Wine Festival-goers Saturday, as guests sample scrumptious food dishes and wines from local vendors.
The second annual festival is a collaborative effort between the Gilroy Community Services Department and the Gilroy Visitor’s Bureau, and will take place at Christmas Hill Park between 11am and 6pm.
“It was a nice surprise last year as to how well it went off,” said Judy Janisch, recreation supervisor for the Gilroy Community Services Department. “We’re hoping for double the attendance this year.”
Janisch said the continuation of the festival was due to the success of last year’s event. More than 1,000 guests came to enjoy the art booths, and food and wine vendors.
There will be 13 artisans displaying their wares, ranging from clothing items, glass ware, jewelry, pottery, painted crafts and wood worked items. Famous local artist Whitney McClelland will also be selling her specialty art works, in which she paints on window panes.
A showcase of amateur photography will also be displayed, judged and awarded prizes.
Aside from the art culture, festival goers will be able to sample food from 10 vendors, ranging from cheese and fruit plates to sausage dogs and pizza. After having a taste of ribs from Famous Dave’s, or pizza from Mountain Mike’s, guests can parch their thirsty throats with choices from eight local wine and beer vendors.
Tickets and beverage packages are available for purchase to sample from each of the wine and beer vendors. The vendors include Farmhouse Brewery, Fortino Winery, Guglielmo Winery, Hecker Pass Winery, Kirigin Cellars, Mann Cellars, Pedrizzetti Winery, Solis Winery and Sycamore Creek Winery.
For the little festival-goers, a kids corner will provide hours of entertainment with five arts and crafts booths for just $1 per craft.
As for the entertainment, Marlowe will be performing with a first-rate jazz trio – Martan Mann, George Ballantyne, and Bill Bosch – from 3pm to 4:15pm.
She is a private vocal coach in Gilroy and recently starred in the musical production “How to Handle a Woman,” in Hollister.
The 46-year-old vocalist grew up in a musically inclined family in the midwest and worked with Judy Davis, a famous Warner Bros. vocal coach when she moved to California in her 20s. Davis taught renowned singers such as Barbara Streisand, Judy Garland and Janis Joplin.
Mainly singing jazz, Marlowe’s musical background includes working with big bands, swing and jazz groups, and performing at festivals around California and the entire nation.
Other music heard wafting through the air will be played by Acoustic Preservation Society, The Corvairs and Second Wind.
