La Jolla Art & Wine Festival returns this fall

Back for its 16th year, the La Jolla Art & Wine Festival will be held on Sept. 28 and 29 for a weekend of live entertainment, family-friendly activities, and more. This much anticipated event, which draws visitors from across the region to the beautiful La Jolla Village, showcases over 160 artists, and a ticketed Wine & Beer Garden featuring more than 35 international wineries and local craft breweries.

“We are thrilled to bring together such a diverse and talented group of artists, as well as the region’s finest wineries, distilleries, and breweries, in a grand open-air celebration in the village every year,” says Brenda Chand, executive director of the La Jolla Art & Wine Festival. “We look forward to welcoming everyone to this year’s festival and supporting the arts and education in San Diego.”

The La Jolla Art & Wine Festival was founded in 2008 by Sherry Ahern in the wake of the financial crash to help people who had been adversely affected by the financial crash. A nonprofit organization, its mission is to bring needed funds to the city’s public schools, art to the community, and promote La Jolla and its merchants. An astounding 10,000 attended the first festival held on upper Girard, where the farmers market is. It has since relocated on Girard Avenue between Torrey Pines Road and Prospect Street.

Ahern also wanted to help promote Via de Guadaloupe — Mexico’s wine country — which was then a newcomer to the industry, according to Chand. So she invited them to participate in the beer and wine garden alongside local wineries.

Occupancy at the garden was limited to 450 people so there was a queue around the block during the entire weekend; the garden can now seat hundreds. They also charged attendees during the first few festivals, which is a free event today.

This year, the iconic Wine & Beer Garden will feature more than 35 international wineries, local craft breweries, and distilleries and local food vendors, offering a delightful array of tastes and experiences. Whether you are a seasoned connoisseur or simply looking to enjoy a refreshing beverage, the wine and beer garden will provide a welcoming atmosphere to savor and enjoy the festival. Participants include local favorites Pali Wine Co., Bird Rock Fine Wine, Puesto, Boochcraft, IZO Spirits, Solento Tequila and more.

“Geppetto’s in La Jolla has been a sponsor and huge supporter of the event since day one,” states Chand. “The owners — Brian and Danielle Miller — live in La Jolla and had kids at the schools. They helped us start the family art center because we wanted a place where families and kids could do fun projects and learn about art.”

For this year’s festival, the Geppetto’s Family Art Center will offer engaging activities for children of all ages provided by the La Jolla Youth Robotics, The Living Coast Discovery Center, Seaside Arts Center and Science Guys of San Diego. Activities will range from face painting and balloon twisting to interactive visual arts projects and exciting robotics demonstrations.

“The event has tripled or quadrupled since its inception 16 years ago. Everyone looks forward to it because every year we add new things to make the event enjoyable and exciting,” Chand enthuses. “We strive to be inclusive and we like to promote up-and-coming artists so we involve artists and vendors of diverse backgrounds. Many careers have been launched at our event due to the special opportunities it brings for new vendors.”

“We are juried fine art show, so all artists that want to participate must apply via Zapplications — an international artist platform. A jury selects the final participating artists. We sell the exhibit space (booths) to artists and then the artists sell their art to attendees. This year, hundreds of artists applied and we sold out of 160-plus artist booths in a week.”

Art enthusiasts will have the opportunity to explore and acquire new masterpieces from artists hailing from across the United States, Mexico and beyond. At the open-air festival artists will present their works in a diverse array of mediums, including painting, sculpture, jewelry design, fine glass, ceramics, woodwork, mixed media and photography. This year’s featured artist is Roy Kerckhoffs, a renowned photographer and mixed media artist whose work conveys a story of a place with a history, highlighting the beauty that exists in human-made wooden, concrete and steel structures contrasting with soft organic forms from nature.

“The La Jolla Art & Wine Festival is one of the biggest art festivals in California and we expect over 45,000 people to attend over the course of two days,” declares Chand. “We will have 160-plus fine artists, 40-plus vendors in the wine and beer garden — breweries, wineries, distilleries and restaurants — numerous sponsors, 20-plus vendors in the Geppetto’s Family Art Center where everything is free for kids, a gourmet food court, a silent auction — this is online and the link is on our website — live entertainment, live art, roving entertainment by Rosin Box Project and stilt walkers and pet adoptions. The festival is free but tickets are required for entry into the wine and beer garden. We have valet parking available and many parking lots in the area.”

While this is Chand’s third year as executive director, she has been involved with the festival as the art director since 2017.

“Every year brings something new and special — from the unique cool artists, to the fun entertainment, there is something happening everywhere you look,” continues Chand. “I love my job and I love getting to see my team’s hard work come together for such a special cause. Our event helps support art, science, technology and other programs that are underfunded in these public schools. To date, we have raised $1.2 million for the education benefit of 5,000 kids each year.”

So this fall, plan to drive to La Jolla Village for an art and wine weekend adventure and contribute to a worthwhile cause.