KidFest producer from Clayton wins CCC Arts award

Jay Bedecarré has spent many years involved in the local arts and cultural scene and is being recognized this month for those efforts by the of Arts & Cultural Commission of Contra Costa County with a 2016 Arts Recognition Award.

The county commission began “honoring those who have made a significant artistic or philanthropic contribution to Contra Costa’s Arts and Culture” in 1996. This is the 19th year giving recognition to worthy individuals and organizations (no awards were presented in 2009) in the county.

Bedecarré became involved in the arts when he was part of the original administrative staff of the Concord Pavilion in 1975. He says he’s especially proud of wining the county award since his mentor, Pavilion general manager John Toffoli Jr., was an inaugural AC5 recipient in 1996.

The San Francisco native, who has lived with his family in Clayton since 1988, was marketing director at the Pavilion for its first 12 seasons and during that time advertised and marketed nearly 800 events. In collaboration with Toffoli he was able to help the Pavilion present world-renowned artists in every musical genre from opera, symphony, ballet, modern dance and musical theatre to rock, jazz, country, pop, R&B and folk music.

He was lauded by the city when he left the staff as “the man who made the Concord Pavilion known to the world.” He purchased a local advertising agency in 1987 and continued to market Pavilion events until 2002.

In 2010 when the city of Concord said Bay Area KidFest could no longer be held at Todos Santos Plaza for financial and logistical reasons, Bedecarré moved the family-friendly event to his nearby alma mater, Mt. Diablo High School. KidFest has been held for the past seven Memorial Day Weekends on the school site. One of the major attractions of KidFest is the community stage where up to two dozen local groups perform annually.

Bedecarré took over KidFest from long-time producer Beth Clark in 2009 after the city of Concord and Clark had co-produced the event for 20 years. He formed a company, Bay Area Festivals, and now also presents Camp and School Fairs, Bay Area Kids’ Book Fair, Super Holiday Boutiques (Dec. 4 this year at Centre Concord) and other events around the Bay Area.

The other AC5 award recipients for 2016 are Solo Opera founder Sylvia Amorino of Concord, Richmond RYSE Center, Lamorinda arts activist Lawrence Kohl and Michael and Shannon Demers of Contra Costa Musical Theatre.

Presentation of the awards to the five honorees will be made by the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Oct. 25, at 9:30 a.m. in Martinez.