First Holiday Artisan Faire makes good impression
Yountville resident Nancy Caldwell was at last Saturday’s Holiday Artisan Faire with her handmade pillows. Caldwell was one of some 25 vendors who plied their wares in the Community Center Plaza from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Photos by Robin McKee-Cant.
By all accounts, Saturday’s first-ever Yountville Holiday Artisan Faire was a resounding success.
It helped that the weather was clear and that there was a wide array of specialty items made by talented artists and crafters, many of whom live in the Rancho de Napa Mobilehome Park, which has held an annual arts and crafts show in its clubhouse the last several years.
It was the level of artistic talent at the clubhouse show that inspired Rancho resident and Yountville Town Council member Robin McKee-Cant to take it a step further.
“Because we have such good artists here, and last year, just walking through [the clubhouse] I was like, are you kidding!? And I started thinking, let’s take this out of Rancho,” McKee-Cant said this week.
She talked to a couple of the artists, she said, and approached Yountville Parks and Recreation director Samantha Holland about having an event downtown that featured the top artists and crafters from not just Rancho de Napa but from other neighborhoods and towns as well.
“I felt confident that this could fall into that category of activation, which we’re always looking to do to make sure that there’s things for people to do in town,” said McKee-Cant, “and especially to help make up for the deficit of retail shopping that we have here.”
There was plenty to buy on Saturday, as the Community Center Plaza was ground zero for 25 artisan vendors selling everything from paintings, photos, and jewelry to handbags, candles, and birdhouses.
“It was packed, and the artists are just glowing, saying it was one of the best days they’ve had,” McKee-Cant reported.
Among the happy vendors was fine art photographer Vi Bottaro, who used Saturday’s event as a sort of coming out party following the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I had a very good day,” she said. “Even my doctor came and bought a couple of pieces. It was a good venue, and I acquired some new patrons.”
Bottaro said one woman who purchased her Night Harvest and Hands of a Vineyard Worker pieces had tears well up in her eyes as she voiced fears that these workers could face deportation under a new presidential administration.
