No trace of the late-spring rainstorm that caused a three-week delay in the ninth annual Bonny Doon Art and Wine Festival was seen Saturday, June 25, as nearly 500 people gathered in the summer sun at the Bonny Doon Airport Gardens for an afternoon of music, art, food and wine.
The festival, a yearly 21-and-older event, is put on by the members of the Bonny Doon Community School Foundation as a means of raising money for programs at Bonny Doon Elementary School, as well as to create a $100,000 endowment for the school.
“All this goes to the school,” said Elva Hoogner, who owns the Bonny Doon Airport Gardens with her husband, Rich, and donates use of the land. “It’s something we approve of, and it’s fun.”
According to Bill Reisig, vice president of Bonny Doon Community School Foundation, the foundation has worked for six years toward the $100,000 goal, and the estimated $35,000 raised by this year’s festival was enough to “definitely put us over the top, plus a lot.”
The rainout of the original June 4 date might have been a blessing in disguise.
Nine vendors were set to have booths on the original date, which was the same day as the Redwood Mountain Faire at Roaring Camp Railroads in Felton, before the ominous weather forecast precipitated the rescheduling.
In the three weeks that followed, 10 more vendors proved to be available for the new date.
Alissa Bennett, a Santa Cruz-based artist who had a booth to sell her handmade jewelry, said she’d had a commitment June 4 and would not have been able to make it, had the festival not been rescheduled.
“The rain made it possible,” she said.
Reisig said organizers plan to discuss permanently moving the date of the festival later in June, because of both weather and competing events.
“It’s difficult to find one weekend where nothing else is going on,” Reisig said. “We try and make (the festival) unique in every way possible.”
The weekend’s festivities featured displays of the works of local artists and craftspeople, headlined by Boulder Creek-based painter and frame artist Annie Armstrong.
Attendees sampled hors d’oeuvres made by Bonny Doon Catering and locally made wines and beers, all while checking out the artwork, rare classic cars and antique aircraft on display.
“I think it’s really nice,” said Arlene Edminster, a San Jose resident whose grandchildren attend Bonny Doon Elementary. “Good setting, beautiful food, and it’s for a good cause — it’s a great little event.”
Tom DeBey, who recently moved to the Aptos area, attended with Brian Allen, another recent transplant. DeBey said he and Allen had been exploring the area and decided to attend on a lark.
“It’s a good benefit for schools, and Brian’s a teacher, so we thought we’d check it out,” DeBey said.
Organizers are sure to continue the event in 2012.
“We got a lot of positive feedback,” Reisig said. “We had a lot of people saying, ‘See you next year.’”
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