The Redwood Mountain Faire, a San Lorenzo Valley tradition in the 1980s and ’90s, returned last spring after a 14-year hiatus, thanks in large part to Julie Hendrix.
Hendrix listened to a younger generation asking her why the Valley Women’s Club had not revived the fair. They remembered a time when all the people of the valley would gather as a community to help neighbors, while enjoying food, fun, music and art.
Growing up, Hendrix’s family moved from Asia to Europe and then to the United States. She never had a sense of community, she said, until she moved to the San Lorenzo Valley, and she wanted be a part of building a community for others.
“I wanted to put this fair on for the next generation,” Hendrix says. “I’m just the person who got the train rolling last year. It’s all about the people on the steering committee and the Valley Women’s Club and the volunteers, and it’s all for them.
“As the next generation gets on board, I’ll cut loose, because my job will be finished, and I’ll be the loose caboose. There are some cabooses who push. They are small engines.”
Speaking of trains, this year’s festival will be at Roaring Camp in Felton, the same as last year.
“One of the main reasons we try to do something for the community is that many years ago, I was sued by someone, and my story came out in the Press-Banner,” she remembers. “It was just before Christmas, and we weren’t planning anything because of the lawsuit — no tree, no presents.”
But the community rallied around the family after their story was published.
“We started getting checks in the mailbox from people who wanted to help us,” Hendrix says. “One gentleman sent a $200 check, and when I called him to thank him, he said, ‘Do you need more?’”
She remembers another time when a woman stopped her on the street in Boulder Creek.
“She gave me $5, and she could barely afford it, saying, ‘You’re fighting for all of us.’”
The fight was over “some timber-harvesting oddities that were occurring, overcutting,” Hendrix explained. “We just wanted to make some improvements to the ways rules were implemented.
“We never tried to stop timber harvesting, but it should be done correctly, with the least amount of damage to the environment. I’ve gotten to see first hand what happens when they don’t do it right.”
Behind the family’s house, several irresponsible timber companies had savaged the land through the years, she explained.
“When these donations came in at Christmas, my husband and I decided that if we could ever help anybody else, we would do so,” Hendrix said. “In 1997, the community kept us alive. Sometimes, you can do so much for so little. It’s very simple to help people. Maybe just encouragement. Our goal is to help the community.”
Steering committee member Nancy Macy said last year’s Redwood Mountain Faire, the first in more than a decade, was a “success in many ways.”
“Almost 2,000 people were there enjoying music, admiring beautiful treasures, eating wonderful food, sipping special beverages, learning about nonprofits in our community, finding shade under huge oak trees, listening to the train, watching their children have a great time and just enjoying the event and the generations of people it brought together,” she said.
This year, participants can again visit with local artisans and listen to music, including the Velveteens, a group of local women singer-songwriters and instrumentalists who have joined forces for a special performance. Sherry Austin, Mary McCaslin and Patti Maxine are some of the community legends who will entertain with their folk-Americana-country renditions. The Velveteens will sing at 12:15 p.m. Sunday.
The fair distributed $15,000 to local charities last year.
At a glance
What: Redwood Mountain Faire
When: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. June 4 and 5
Tickets: Adults, $18 in advance ($20 on fair day); students and seniors, $13 ($15); children 10 and younger, free
Parking: $5
Info: www.redwoodmountainfaire.com.
