Hillel at Stanford
UP F RONT
Art fair celebrates 50 years
invites you to join us for the
High Holy Days RSVP at hillel.stanford.edu
By Jane Knoerle
or call 724.2401
Almanac Lifestyles Editor
F
or 50 years now, every Labor Day weekend, a transformation occurs in the redwood forest in the hills above Woodside. “Artists’ booths pop up around the Kings Mountain Fire Station like mushrooms overnight,” says Kings Mountain Art Fair spokesman Aeron Noe. “The forest becomes an outdoor gallery displaying some of the finest handmade arts and crafts on the West Coast.” More than 400 community members create the transformation, which takes place Saturday, Sunday and Monday, Aug. 31-Sept. 2, adjacent to the Kings Mountain Fire Station at 13889 Skyline Blvd. Local volunteers look forward to the weekend all year long, Ms. Noe says. Local residents started the Art Fair in 1963, when a group called the Pine Needles decided to have a craft fair in a red barn as a fundraiser to help create a volunteer fire company for the remote Kings Mountain community. “We put straw all over the barn floor because we thought that was folksy,” local resident Ardyth Woodruff recalls. “Someone had the idea of asking the artists who lived here to put their paintings upstairs, and that’s how it started. We didn’t make much money that first year.” Initially what made up the volunteer spirit was forming the fire brigade. “Forestry could only put out tree fires, not structure fires,” she says. “People were passionate about getting equipment and getting people trained. And we did it. Nobody else owns our fire department. We own it.” Ms. Woodruff, who worked for the Almanac in its early days in Woodside, went on to create many of the first posters for the fair. She served as a co-director of the fair for 15 years, and as the outside exhibitor director for another 10 years. “She still shows up every year,” says Ms. Noe. Today the fair is ranked in the
Woodside Elementary School District Request for Qualifications for PRE-CONSTRUCTION AND LEASE-LEASE BACK SERVICES Woodside Elementary School District requests Statements of Qualification from general contractors for pre-construction and Lease-lease back services for moderate renovation of its existing classroom buildings, roofing, drainage and sewerage and the demolition and construction of a new MPR, preschool and a design lab. Firms submitting a Statement of Qualifications must attend a mandatory meeting/walkthrough on Thursday, August 29 at 11 a.m. RFQ is available at: http://www.woodside.k12.ca.us Statement of Qualifications deadline is 2:00 p.m., Friday, September 13, 2013. Please submit to: Dr. Beth Polito, Superintendent Woodside Elementary School District 3195 Woodside Rd, Woodside, CA 94062. Facsimile (FAX) copies of proposals will not be accepted.
An Independent K-8 Non profit School Individualized, Self-Directed Learning “Follow the child”
Courtesy Kings Mountain Art Fair
The Kings Mountain Art Fair offers juried and local art in a redwood forest setting.
‘We’re all sort of in awe of what this collective community has done.’ DAWN NEISSER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, KINGS MOUNTAIN ART FAIR
top five art fairs in California by the Art Fair Source Book. Dawn Neisser, executive director of the fair, says the single biggest change the fair has undergone was its transition from a local arts and crafts fair to a juried fine arts fair. “The professionalism and the quality of the art both increased dramatically,” she says. “The creation
Essential Qualities: Respect, Responsibility, Independence
Multi-Age Classrooms “Continuity is key to learning”
“Children thrive on trust”
of Mountain Folk Art (crafts created by locals) was also an important step, so we didn’t lose the local flavor.” Ms. Neisser says more than 1,300 Kings Mountain volunteers have taken part in the art fair over the past 50 years. “When you stop and think about it, we’re all sort of in awe of what this collective community has done,” she says. “You don’t find many things that have lasted that long with that much community effort and in a joyful way.” Agenda
Each day begins with a pancake breakfast, including eggs See ART FAIR, page 6
(650) 813-9131 State–of–the–art facility located at 4000 Terman Rd (cross street Arastradero) in Palo Alto
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The Bowman faculty includes trained Montessori teachers, interns and teaching specialists who teach cultural, music and after–school enrichment programs. During the core school day our low student– to–faculty ratio enables us to place a strong focus on the child and deliver individualized teaching to each student.
August 21, 2013 N TheAlmanacOnline.com N The Almanac N 3