Visitors get a $2 discount with donation to FOOD Share
VENTURA — Get a jump on the holidays and turn your shopping experience into a celebration at the Harvest Festival® Original Art & Craft Show, October 14-16 at the Ventura County Fairgrounds (Seaside Park, 10 W. Harbor Blvd.), organizers reported Monday in a media release. Hundreds of top artists and crafters from across the county as well as locally are uniting for an ultimate weekend of shopping and entertainment fun for the whole family.
“Each item in our juried showcase is a handcrafted original, so you just won’t find it anywhere else,” says Nancy Glenn, Harvest Festival Show Manager. “We pride ourselves in creating a complete shopping entertainment experience that begins the moment you arrive.”
Boasting an array of more than 24,000 unique made in the USA handmade items this is the 22nd year the fall tradition arrives in Ventura County. There is something happening everyone with more than 200 exhibitors, live entertainment, strolling performers, a kids zone with interactive activities and a pumpkin patch, tantalizing specialty foods, and free health screenings to patrons, courtesy of Clinicas del Camino Real. Patrons who bring canned goods for donation to FOOD Share will receive a $2 discount on admission.
The festive atmosphere makes exploring the hundreds of exhibits an exciting discovery of ceramics, paintings, jewelry, blown glass, hand woven clothing, photography, candles, woodwork, garden designs, specialty foods, antique treasures, children’s accessories, sculptures, ornaments, and more. Patrons appreciate the opportunity to interact with artists, get their items personalized, or even learn some helpful tips through crafting demonstrations.
On the local front, Connie Gunderson of Ventura specializes in awe-inspiring handbags that boast unique fabrics, textures and colors. All hand-crafted, with attention to detail, her “Heavenly Accents” creations are almost wearable art, user-friendly, yet beautiful to the eye. “As a scientist, I was trained in a highly technical field, so people are always commenting on my workmanship,” says Gunderson. “I’m a senior now, with a new passion. I’m a self-proclaimed ‘fabric-holic,’ so the handbags are my way of showcasing all the amazing fabrics I discover.”
To Ventura resident and animal lover Candace Cassidy, her whimsical pottery is all about making people happy. For the last 30 years, she has kept busy sculpting animated animals to adorn her hand-thrown pottery. “My work makes people smile and laugh, so I find that the most rewarding aspect of what I do,” she says.
There’s something captivating for everyone, from special performances by the Southern California party band, “HyJinx,” and the Beatles tribute group, “The Hollywood Beatles,” to strolling entertainers such as “Big Mama Sue & Fast Eddie,” “Fables of the West,” “WC Willy,” and “Stilt Elvis.” The Gull Wings “On The Go” Mobile Museum offers interactive activities for youngsters in the Kidzone, and free child ID screenings are provided courtesy of Kids Are 1st. The pumpkin patch offers the ideal location for a photo memento, and there is also a grand prize drawing for a beautiful handmade Americana quilt.
More information is available at www.harvestfestival.com or toll free 1.800.346.1212