Publication Date: Friday, August 27, 2004
Fine art, fried chicken and lots of traffic
Fine art, fried chicken and lots of traffic
(August 27, 2004) Palo Alto's Festival of the Arts returns to downtown this weekend
by Sue Dremann
For connoisseurs of art, the upcoming weekend conjures three images: Unique creations; a gastronomical feast; and traffic -- lots of it.
The Palo Alto Festival of the Arts will take over University Avenue and attendant side streets Saturday, Aug. 28 and Sunday, Aug. 29 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
University will be closed from High to Webster streets during the fair's duration. Most of the side streets in that radius, with the exception of Tasso Street, will be open from the Hamilton and Lytton avenue sides for parking and shopping at retail stores.
Tasso will be totally closed off to traffic.
As motorists seek out alternate routes, at least 125,000 residents from throughout the Bay Area are expected to attend the festival itself. The situation traditionally puts a greater squeeze on downtown's already strained parking stock -- especially on Saturday when the Farmer's Market also takes place.
Amanda Jones, Palo Alto's transportation coordinator, expects the new parking garages on High and Bryant streets will help ease the burden.
"The new garage on Bryant and Lytton will be the top, A-1 spot for festival parking with seven stories," she said.
The Q lot on High Street near Palo Alto Bicycles and the Webster-Cowper garage also provide additional parking.
But the best bet of all, Jones said, is to take public transportation or bike. Free, secure bike parking will be available at the Union Bank parking lot on Waverley Street.
Due to funding limitations, no special shuttles will run this year. The Palo Alto Shuttle also doesn't run on weekends. Caltrain, however, provides weekend service for out-of-towners, she said.
Once you get there, organizers say visitors are sure to enjoy such unique attractions as the Italian street painting exhibition. The event also features the largest percentage of sculptures that can be found at any art fair, according to Claudette Mannina, director of marketing and communications for festival manager MLA Productions.
Among this year's featured sculptors are father and son team Phillip and Chad Glasshoff, who create towering stainless steel garden sculptures out of found objects on their Suisun Valley orchard.
The street painting exhibition will be held at Tasso Street. Vividly colored 6- foot by 8-foot and 9-foot by 12-foot paintings are each sponsored by individuals, companies and local organizations. Proceeds benefit the Palo Alto Foundation for Education, providing teacher grants for arts programs for nearly 10,000 students in Palo Alto schools.
This year $13,000 was raised by sponsors, ranging from local architects and dentists to corporations such as Hewlett-Packard, said Cindy Ziebelman, exhibition chair.
Twenty-eight artists, ranging from professionals to middle school students, will participate in the centuries-old tradition. Painted images will include Bay Area Gold medalist Natalie Coughlin, El Greco's "Boy Lighting a Candle," and Indian tribal art.
The Palo Alto Weekly, a sponsor, will also contribute a faithfully rendered painting of Marilyn Monroe sporting her famous, billowing white dress from the classic "Some Like it Hot."
Also new is a kids' "Chalk-a-Lot" area, where budding artists can try their hand in 2-foot square areas. A $10 donation per square will add to the fund raiser's coffers.
E-mail Staff Writer Sue Dremann at sdremann@paweekly.com.
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