2022 Press Releases
Topics of Interest Quick Find Links:
- MEDIA: Festival Images for Print & On-line Publications
- Palo Alto Festival of the Arts Returns to Downtown!
- Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center Welcomes You to the 39th Palo Alto Festival of the Arts!
Palo Alto Festival of the Arts Returns to Downtown!
PALO ALTO - "We're back!", says the director of the Palo Alto Festival of the Arts. After a two-year hiatus, this celebrated fine art festival returns to tree-lined University Avenue, August 27 & 28 from 10am-6pm. A stunning showcase of art spanning all mediums will be on display throughout the nine-block festival. Participating artists will be coming from all over.... from studios located on the Peninsula & throughout the Bay Area to as far away as Georgia. Many will be offering unique and one-of-a-kind art pieces perfect for that empty wall space or entryway table to wearable art you cannot resist.
Festival attendees will have two full days to become immersed in some exceptional artistry-both visual and performance-while the human senses are bombarded from all sides. Tasso Street will provide again the "canvas" for the Italian Street Painting Expo, where 100- square-foot and larger chalk pastel “paintings” will be created right before your eyes – on the asphalt.
Wide variety of entertainment, with ongoing performances - two stages, street corner concerts, and a "Play Me" piano-under the Chopin & Chandeliers tent-sponsored by Stanford Medicine are all part of the weekend experience. The Kids’ Art Studio, always a popular destination for accompanying tiny artists, will again offer free "make and take" art activities.
And, what's a festival without plenty of tasty foods and beverages within easy walking distance. For the wine connoisseur, enjoy a variety of wines each showcased at one of four wine booths, or maybe a morning mimosa to start the day. And for craft-beer aficionados your taste-buds won't be disappointed. A perfect pairing to go along with the fine art.
This year's 39th annual multifaceted arts celebration is hosted by the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce and the festival's Art Lover Patron — Stanford University, by supporting artists and a community that connects with art.
Experience the difference at one of Northern California’s most popular fine art festivals. A vibrant and creative atmosphere with an imaginative and aesthetically beautiful array of art.
Festival-goers will find this admission-free event surrounded by convenient parking or better yet, take public transit with drop-off locations within close proximity of University Avenue. Also, please be kind to your pets and leave them at home.
For public transit information: www.511.org.
Visit paloaltochamber.com/festival or call 650-324-3121 for more details.
Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center
Welcomes You to the 39th Palo Alto Festival of the Arts!
PALO ALTO - Palo Alto, the Birthplace of Silicon Valley, is one of the nation’s most desirable and exciting places to live and work. With its proximity to Stanford University, deep ties to technology firms, highly rated schools, beautiful public parks, libraries, open space and community centers, Palo Alto serves as a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship, while preserving traditional values of family and neighborhood life.
For over 100 years, the Palo Alto Chamber has been an important connection to this exceptional community for visitors and residents alike. Today our members span the spectrum of 21st century businesses in the mid-Silicon Valley region, from local-serving retailers to global industries.
Our members take pride in their civic contributions and sponsorship of community-building events, like this festival, to ensure the vitality of the community as a whole.
Special thanks to our Art Lover Patron, Stanford University.
Enjoy!
Charlie Weidanz, CEO
Visit the Palo Alto Festival of the Arts, hosted by the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce, University Avenue,
August 27-28, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
This admission-free event can also be stress-free if you take public transportation. For those who must drive, free parking will be available.
Also, please be kind to your pets and leave them at home. Only service animals are allowed.
For public transit information: www.511.org.
Visit paloaltochamber.com/festival or call 650-324-3121 for more details.
Wanted…Adoptive Art-Lovers
Palo Alto - “I’ve often thought of my art as my children that are being adopted into loving homes. By meeting these new guardians of my work in person at festivals—like the Palo Alto Festival of the Arts, I know my creations will be finding caring ‘parents’.” says mixed media artist, Ash Beheshti of Southern California.
Beheshti considers himself primarily a festival artist rather that a gallery artist. What he loves about doing the festival circuit is the opportunity to travel the country and meet thousands of wonderful people who attend these art festivals.
“As a “people person”, I’ve always felt that these venues offer the best setting for artists and collectors to come together and make magic happen. Whether the buyer is a seasoned collector, or just a casual lover of art, these festivals create a relaxed, fun, and no-pressure environment to enjoy or purchase art from a wide selection of talented artists who have come together to share their creations with the world,” says Beheshti.
Beheshti is a visual storyteller. He tells his stories by painting on canvases and capturing images using his camera. His inspiration comes from the world around him as well as the world inside his head. As a self-taught artist raised in the Bay Area, he’s experimented with a vast array of styles, techniques and materials to create original art.
His preference and expertise, however, is in the usage of mixed media to construct, shape and color his images. His paintings often start with a carefully selected collage of newspaper clippings, magazine pages, old sheet music and vintage photographs placed on canvas. Then, by using acrylic paint and heavy coats of gesso, he manipulates the lines, the shapes and the colors into the final image that was at one time conceived in his imagination.
Check out Feature Artist: Ash Beheshti to learn more about his amazing body of work.
Visit the Palo Alto Festival of the Arts, hosted by the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce, University Avenue, August 27-28, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
This admission-free event can also be stress-free if you take public transportation. For those who must drive, free parking will be available. For public transit information: 511.org.
Also, please be kind to your pets and leave them at home. Only service animals are allowed.
For more details, visit Palo Alto Festival of the Arts website or call 650-324-3121.
Sharing Beauty from Coast to Coast
Palo Alto – New Jersey metal artist, Eugene Perry, has been invited to prestigious art shows such as Artexpo New York and Art Basel Miami, and has received major commission work from collectors, interior designers and building architects across the nation.
Originally from Liberia, West Africa, Perry moved to the United States in 1986, at the age of ten, where he lived with his family in West Philadelphia. He then relocated to Willingboro, New Jersey, where he finished school.
After quickly learning the welding trade and obtaining certification, he began applying his skill as a welder along with his creative abilities to produce works of art for the art connoisseurs of the world.
“By using different techniques— cutting, grinding and welding— I was able to sculpt metals of bronze, stainless steel and Corten steel,” said Perry. “I would then weld the pieces together and grind them at the seams to create uniform and striking shapes.“
Perry looks forward to continuing his craft and his passion of creating innovative modern and sophisticated sculptures that will grace the homes of people who will enjoy them for many years to come.
Check out Feature Artist: Eugene Perry to learn more about his contemporary works of art.
Visit the Palo Alto Festival of the Arts, hosted by the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce, University Avenue, August 27-28, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
This admission-free event can also be stress-free if you take public transportation. For those who must drive, free parking will be available. For public transit information: 511.org.
Also, please be kind to your pets and leave them at home. Only service animals are allowed.
For more details, visit Palo Alto Festival of the Arts website or call 650-324-3121.
From Mom Came a Lifetime of Inspiration
Palo Alto – “As a child growing up in Arizona, I was strongly influenced by my artistic mother, who took me with her to paint in the desert even from a very young age,” stated Scotts Valley artist, Shirley Lehner-Rhoades. “Our outdoor excursions together had a big impact on the ongoing development of my painting style.”
Following her studies in art school, she worked as a graphic designer, which eventually led to an opportunity to start her own graphic design business.
Years later she sold her business as she felt drawn to teach others the joys of being a fine artist. Working with students allowed her to elevate their skills, while at the same time expand her own vision and style. To her delight, it provided her with more time and opportunity to pursue her own painting interests.
Currently Lehner-Rhoades enjoys painting horses and landscapes, which she does by going on equine photo-shoots and outdoor paint-outs; destinations being—the Arizona desert, California mountains and beaches and the prairies of Oregon. This is where she finds the most inspiring and exciting subjects to paint.
Lehner-Rhoades is excited to be a returning participant in this year’s Palo Alto Festival of the Arts. “Showing my artwork in outdoor festivals is a fun and rewarding way to network with other artists and art lovers,” said Lehner-Rhoades.“
Check out Feature Artist: Shirley Lehner-Rhoades to learn more about work in watercolor and oils.
Visit the Palo Alto Festival of the Arts, hosted by the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce, University Avenue, August 27-28, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
This admission-free event can also be stress-free if you take public transportation. For those who must drive, free parking will be available. For public transit information: 511.org.
Also, please be kind to your pets and leave them at home. Only service animals are allowed.
For more details, visit Palo Alto Festival of the Arts website or call 650-324-3121.
Fermentation—Joy—Effervescence—Magic!
Palo Alto – More than ten years ago, artist Sarah Sangster landed in the whimsical, colorful world of abstract and figurative painting quite by accident—through a three day workshop called Painting From the Soul.
Having trained as a lawyer, she had never picked up a paint brush in her life but she quickly embraced and was exhilarated by the unlimited world of art.
“Painting has allowed me to let go of my natural structure and consistency and to express the world in a more dynamic and evolving way, she said. “In my creative life, I can express the chaos and whimsy around me: sometimes taming it and sometimes letting it run free.”
“I hope the abstract works I paint are more compelling because I resist telling the viewer what they are supposed to see, but rather show them a journey they might take.”
Sangster has always lived in Northern California where she is surrounded by amazing color and light. Critics and collectors alike comment that you can often see this vibrancy reflected in her work.
Recently, inspiration came to her through the wondrous magic of fermentation. As the sugars and yeast in beer react to each other, particles in the brew begin spinning wildly in the container; sometimes even exploding out of the container and spewing everywhere.
As I have played with the concept, my paintings have taken off into more wild and colorful renderings of fermentation and effervescence. I paint to reflect the joy and color and movement around me. Sometimes this is controlled, but usually it is absolutely allowed to explode forth unfettered.
Enjoy the website of Feature Artist: Sarah Sangster while learning more about Fermentation. Joy. Effervescence. Magic!
Visit the Palo Alto Festival of the Arts, hosted by the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce, University Avenue, August 27-28, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
This admission-free event can also be stress-free if you take public transportation. For those who must drive, free parking will be available. For public transit information: 511.org.
Also, please be kind to your pets and leave them at home. Only service animals are allowed.
For more details, visit Palo Alto Festival of the Arts website or call 650-324-3121.
When Madonnari Create…Art Explodes!
PALO ALTO - Yes! Italian Street Painters return to this year’s festival for the fifteenth year. Each masterpiece will have been carefully choreographed—numerous hours of painstaking preparation; then slowly revealed over the two-day event. The anticipation alone brings festival-goers back a second day to watch these talented artists create 100 square-foot images or larger.
This year, the Italian Street Painting Expo will amaze the public with a variety of themes which will reflect each artists’ passion of this unique art form. Replicas of work from “old masters” to “anamorphic” styles, (artwork that appears three-dimensional from a distance or as seen through the camera lens) will cover one full block on Tasso starting at University.
This Italian tradition dates back to the 1500s where street painters became known as Madonnari for creating images of the Madonna on public streets. It has since flourished throughout Europe and the United States bringing many more innovative artists to the scene to try their hand at chalk painting or “pavement art” as it’s known in England.
The word “canvas”—as the public knows it—takes on a whole new meaning if you're a street painter. In fact, this art form—using only chalk pastels—is traditionally very fleeting. Hours and hours are spent creating these works of art; only to have them washed away in a single hour, as if they had never been.
The Italian Street Painting Expo, presented by the Palo Alto Weekly, gives the opportunity for two local non-profits to raise much-needed funds to implement community service programs. Monies raised from the Kids Chalk-a-Lot area (toward the end of Tasso) will benefit Youth Community Service; and monies raised from sponsored artists’ street paintings will benefit Ada’s Cafe. Be sure to stop by and help support both worthy organizations.
This year’s Featured Artist: Ever Galvez is classically trained in painting, drawing, conceptual art, sculpture and traditional animation. Galvez, an award-winning chalk painter, is also a fine artist with more than 15-years’ experience.
Festival weekend, he will be bringing his talents from Southern California to create an enormous 200 square-foot 3D image at the corner of Tasso & University. His visual imagery, always a crowd-pleaser, will be sure to bring enjoyment & lasting memories to all observers.
Visit Ever Galvez Studio to learn more.
Visit the Palo Alto Festival of the Arts, hosted by the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce, University Avenue, August 27-28, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
This admission-free event can also be stress-free if you take public transportation. For those who must drive, free parking will be available. For public transit information: 511.org.
Also, please be kind to your pets and leave them at home. Only service animals are allowed.
For more details, visit Palo Alto Festival of the Arts website or call 650-324-3121.
Fulfill Your Dreams…Play Me!
PALO ALTO - Join the millions of “wanna-be” to professional pianists nation-wide who couldn’t resist sitting down at a “Play Me” piano and filling the air with melodious music. The Palo Alto Festival of the Arts, August 27 & 28, will offer such an opportunity.
Look for Chopin & Chandeliers' interactive “Play Me” piano located on the plaza—corner of University and Tasso. Surrounded by colorful and whimsical chandeliers, made from recycled plastic bottles, you can’t miss it.
These are not your typical chandeliers as seen in many homes or lavish atriums. Instead, these decorative chandeliers are better known as the art of up-cycling. The process of converting old or discarded materials into something useful and often beautiful.
Presented by Stanford Medicine, festival attendees will be mesmerized by these up-cycled plastic bottles re-created into vibrantly-colored "Chihuly-like" sculptures.
A chance to perform on the tree-shaded outdoor piano will be an unexpected and joyful experience. Who knows who will sit down at the keys? Who knows who will stop to listen? Definitely a YouTube moment.
Visit the Palo Alto Festival of the Arts, hosted by the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce, University Avenue, August 27-28, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
This admission-free event can also be stress-free if you take public transportation. For those who must drive, free parking will be available. For public transit information: 511.org.
Also, please be kind to your pets and leave them at home. Only service animals are allowed.
For more details, visit Palo Alto Festival of the Arts website or call 650-324-3121.
Good Energy—Good Vibes
PALO ALTO - Continuous music throughout as you stroll University Avenue enjoying this artful event. Every other block will have entertainment from street corner concerts to a variety of music from high energy to mellow acoustical stylings at the Waverley and Webster Stages.
Webster Stage will again be showcasing the talented performing artists from the California Coast Music Camp. CCMC offers two separate weeks each July with beginning, intermediate, and advanced classes for adult musicians and vocalists. Each week is designed to help performers stretch musically with renowned instructors who truly know how to teach. And, don’t miss this one-time opportunity—Sunday, 3 pm—to wipe the cobwebs off your ukulele and join CCMC in a pop-up Uke Jam!
Jolt awake Sunday morning— Waverley Stage—11:30 am—with Coffee Zombie Collective. This band's high-energy stage performances will whip audiences into a sing-along dance frenzy. The repeated on-stage mantra is "If you know the words, sing along. If you don't know the words, sing louder!".
Then stick around for all-time favorite—Tom Rigney. Rigney has become one of the premier blues and roots music violinists in the world, and continues to be a prolific composer of powerfully compelling music for the violin, music whose influences come from an extremely wide range of musical styles within the broad boundaries of American Roots Music.
And, bringing the festival to a close will be Mark Fenny, harmonica-extraordinaire. Fenny graces fans with his "Briefcase full 'o Soul", playing for Chubby's All Stars, The Felonius Blues Review, 5 O'Clock Shadow, and with anyone else who can sink their hooks into this phenomenal player! Don’t leave without experiencing this foot-tappin’ performance at the Waverley Stage—Sunday, 4:30 pm.
Street Corner Concerts Performed by:
Stephen Dreyfuss: saxophone—University @ Cowper
Bob Culbertson: chapman stick—University @ Bryant
Visit the Palo Alto Festival of the Arts, hosted by the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce, University Avenue, August 27-28, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
This admission-free event can also be stress-free if you take public transportation. For those who must drive, free parking will be available. For public transit information: 511.org.
Also, please be kind to your pets and leave them at home. Only service animals are allowed.
For more details, visit Palo Alto Festival of the Arts website or call 650-324-3121.