Cheers! Annual Art & Wine Festival returns to downtown

The annual Art and Wine Festival, presented by the Clayton Business and Community Association, will be back for the 19th time on Saturday and Sunday, May 3 and 4.

All the features that more than 200,000 attendees during past festivals have come to enjoy will return: premium wines and beers, arts and crafts vendors, a food court, continuous live music and the popular Kiddieland.

The festival is open to the public with no admission charge. Saturday’s festivities run from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Ed Waraner, owner of Waraner Tree Service, will join the more than 100 vendors that will line up along Main Street and Marsh Creek Road.

Waraner creates the very recognizable large wood carvings of bears, rabbits and eagles that are seen around town. The Smokey Bear carving at the Sunshine Fire Station on Marsh Creek Road and the little bunny standing guard at the Cardinet Trail are his work. The wood is all salvaged from his business – “designer firewood” he calls it, chuckling. He carves every piece on his property on Marsh Creek Road, which is clearly marked by a tall carved bear at the driveway.

New to Art and Wine this year are first time exhibitors Sarah Noble and David Miller – Silver Toad Jewelry – who will bring their carefully crafted pieces of sterling silver, copper, brass and semi-precious stones. The pair has lived in Clayton for 12 years. “We’ve done a few holiday vendor events, but this is our first exhibit,” Noble says. All pieces are handmade and many are one-of-a-kind.

Like raising a child, it “takes a village” to mount the annual event. More than 300 volunteers on a dozen committees plan, run and manage the festival, one of three fundraising events produced during the year.

Celebrating its 40th birthday this year, the CBCA has a long history of raising money to donate back into the community. And many of the groups that benefit from the funds generated by the Art and Wine Festival, the Clayton Classic Golf Tournament and the Oktoberfest return the favor.

“The Boy Scouts are absolutely instrumental in picking up trash and breaking down boxes for recycling,” says CBCA’s Ed Hartley, who has served as club president and chair of the event. “The scouts and their parents come out in force to help.”

All proceeds from the festival and other CBCA events are poured back into the community. The association is particularly partial to supporting the educational, cultural and sports programs at local schools.

To contact CBCA about the Art and Wine Festival, to volunteer or for membership information, visit claytoncbca.org or call 925-672-2272.