by Noella Noelophile®
(Artwork courtesy of Hilary Gross, and used with permission.)
More than 40 talented artists greet you. The scent of freshly-brewed coffee fills the air. You walk along, admiring handcrafted ceramics, jewelry, wooden Christmas ornaments and innumerable other unique gift items. Gingerbread, popcorn and chocolate brownies tantalize you as you walk by a refreshment area. Music from a topnotch local band fills the air.
Further along, a beloved local crafting group, the Muir Beach Quilters, invites you to inspect their handiwork. As you browse their intricately-created quilts (wouldn’t that one look fantastic in your bedroom?), you notice that they’ve also made gloves and scarves. Meanwhile, at a nearby table, a member of the Muir Beach Volunteer Fire Department patiently answers questions from a wide-eyed five-year-old who wants to be a firefighter when she grows up. The five-year-old beams as she tries on a “MBVFD” logo cap.
(Artwork courtesy of Debra Allen, and used with permission.)
Sound like a highly tempting Christmas shopping experience? That’s only because–it is. The Muir Beach Holiday Arts Fair. a Christmastime tradition for more than forty years, returns to the Muir Beach Community Center, the first weekend in December.
Admission is free, and the show is happening both Saturday, December 3rd, and Sunday, December 4th.
Started in 1972, the Muir Beach Holiday Arts Fair was initially an informal event, according to their website. Held at a local resident’s home, this first fair was envisioned as a big community party.
(Artwork courtesy of MB Quilters, and used with permission.)
Along the way, though, the fair would evolve into the Muir Beach Quilters Fair. And it would serve as a vehicle for accomplishing their threefold mission.
The first aim, as written in their mission statement, was simply to host the aforementioned party for the community.
But in addition, the Arts Fair would become an annual showcase for local artisans’ work. And the third goal: to raise money for a community center.
(Artwork courtesy of Craig Eichenbaum, and used with permission.)
Today, that community center, built in 1978, hosts the Muir Beach Holiday Arts Fair. After the Muir Beach Quilters discontinued their event following the 2013 show, local residents stepped in to continue the tradition.
And today, the Fair has two goals.
First, to raise money to for Muir Beach’s local community district. All year long, community events, including concerts, a children’s Halloween party and summer and winter solstice celebrations, are funded by proceeds from the Muir Beach Holiday Arts Fair.
And secondly, the original objective: to showcase the work of the gifted local artists and artisans, giving them a chance to sell their work and make some extra money during the Christmas season.
(Artwork courtesy of MB Garden Club, and used with permission.)
Of course, the festive atmosphere continues. And so does a sense of “giving back”.
If you stop by “Cafe Q”, you’ll be treated to a free coffee or tea. Community groups, such as the MBVFA, Quilters & Garden Club get offered a free table at the Fair. And you’ll see a Junior Artisans’/Kids’ table, where the youngest creatives get a chance to sell their handiwork.
All this, plus the breathtaking views of the area, three miles from Muir Woods, might just add up to a great start for your California Christmas season.