Photos and story by Catherine Stachowiak
The Kern River Valley Art Association (KRVAA) held it Memorial Day Arts and Crafts Festival, at Circle Park in Kernville, Saturday May 25 through Monday May 27, with about forty vendors in all.
Handcrafted items at vendors included jewelry, tumblers, bottle art, woodwork, iron works, pottery, stained glass, macramé, knives, clothing and handbags, PAH crafts, and tie-dyed creations.
Face painting and puppetry, with children’s beading workshops, were also features at the affair as well as Bob Powers’ historical books.
Food vendors included Cadillac Dogs, and Pizza Barn.
The association held hourly drawings and a silent auction. One drawing Saturday, was for a $25 gift certificate, to the Kern River Brewing Company.
President of the KRVAA, Christopher Buffalo Folsom said, “All the local businesses have put in different things for the drawings. We’re going to be doing the drawings all day today, tomorrow probably half the day, and then we’ll do the silent auction tomorrow.”
Live music was a draw when, Saturday, an unnamed group of musicians got together for a jam session during the festival.
Folsom told the Kern Valley Sun, “I have to remind everybody that this is part of the County Neighbor to Neighbor California Volunteers. They’re sponsoring this specific thing because loneliness is the biggest epidemic in the United States right now. So that’s what we’re trying to fight by giving people a place to go and visit and socialize and be together. And that’s what our Art Center and community center is all about, getting people together.”
