Healdsburg Arts Festival moves to full weekend

Organizers seek volunteers to help coordinate Sept. 20, 21 event
The annual Healdsburg Arts Festival, which brings over 80 arts and crafts vendors to central Healdsburg, returns on the weekend of Sept. 20 and 21 to a new location on Plaza Street. For the first time, the event will take place over two days, and organizers are still seeking volunteers to help in various capacities.
Event organizer Cheryl Itamura said the expansion to two days allows more people to be able to attend the event, meet artists in person and view and buy artwork that they may not normally have the opportunity to see. “And the artists themselves appreciate having the opportunity to interact with more people that a full weekend allows,” she said.
The expansion has also prompted a physical relocation from the Healdsburg Plaza to Plaza Street between Center and East Streets because the city does not allow the plaza to be rented for a full weekend, according to Itamura.
Moving the event closer to the location of the Healdsburg Center for the Arts will also “allow festival-goers the opportunity to visit the center, see the Eight x Eight exhibition and other artwork inside our gallery and learn more about us,” Itamura said. The Eight x Eight exhibition of small works in all media debuts on Sept. 17, a few days before the Arts Festival.
Artists showcased in the festival work in a variety of mediums, including clay, fiber, glass, jewelry, mixed media, painting, photography and sculpture. Event activities also expand beyond visual art, said Diana Jameson, who is the president of the Center’s Board of Directors, and include an open-mic format poetry booth and a free writing workshop.
While many of the participants are Sonoma County-based, Itamura said that artists also travel from surrounding areas such as Marin, Napa and Mendocino counties, the San Francisco Bay Area and as far as the east coast and South Africa.
In addition to providing exposure for artists, Itamura said the value of the event stems from its ability to unite the community in support of the arts in a fun way and provide local residents and visitors with access to art they may not normally see. “The event also helps to bring visibility to and support our arts education, exhibition and gallery programs,” she said.  
Beverage sponsors for the event include Rochioli, Simi, Preston and Rued wineries, and new to this year, there will be beer from Lagunitas Brewing Company. While food vendors have scaled back for 2014, “we’re going to direct our guest population to the restaurants in the area,” Jameson said.
The nonprofit Healdsburg Center for the Arts is dedicated to promoting the arts in the local community. In addition to running a gallery and organizing exhibits throughout the year, the Healdsburg Center for the Arts also conducts adult art workshops and children’s art classes, as well as community events including “Kids’ Day at HCA” and “Art for the Holidays.”
The Healdsburg Center for the Arts is still seeking volunteers to help with the event in various capacities, including with set-up, greeting guests, traffic control and clean up. Itamura is asking volunteers to help bring visibility to the fact that this is a volunteer-run organization. “We need the support of the community to make this festival happen,” she said.
The Healdsburg Arts Festival will occur on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 20 and 21, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Plaza Street in Healdsburg, between Center and East Streets. For more information on the Healdsburg Arts Festival or to sign up to volunteer, visit www.healdsburgcenterforthearts.com/events/arts-festival.