Harvest Festival

The first weekend in November Andy and I went to Del Mar for the Harvest Festival. This event had been billed as the largest craft fair in Southern California and boy did the event live up to the hype!

One of the Arenas

Every man I've ever known has been less than excited by tole painting, wooden vinyl signs, and various other handicrafts and knickknacks. Andy is no exception however, he gamely accompanied me and oood and ahhed at the socially appropriate times or when prompted to by me. He was a good sport.

As we were purchasing our tickets a woman in the next line over asked if we had coupons for 2 dollars off admission (we didn't) and she gave us some so we saved $4 before we even got in. :)

When attending an event of this scale, it is important to maintain stamina. After purchasing smoothies we were ready to browse all the Festival had to offer. The event was housed in two large arenas and their accompanying courtyards. There were booths for literally miles. It was Awesome!

Andy and some famous Horses

After browsing for hours and ranking our favorites, we had narrowed it down to 3 items for possible purchase.
1) A sign that spelled our last name out in pictures
2) A bank made from old apartment mailboxes
3) Something Celtic (Always a favorite of mine)



The best part of craft shows for me is talking with the artists about their art. I am not crafty so I have to admire and purchase instead of participate. Andy was born artistic and crafty so many times as I admired someone's handiwork he would say, "I can make that for you." I take these claims seriously, as he has often times made me something after I have admired it.  Maybe it is his DNA, I don't know, but there is not much Andy cannot do.

I was rooting for the bank, because it was unusual, and I thought it would be a good conversation starter. Andy correctly pointed out that it is rare for anyone to come over so I needed a stronger reason to buy "an old mailbox".

The Loot

 This picture does not do these justice. Each symbol is made from folded Japanese paper. The woman who made them explained the process and showed us how she folds the paper. She told us about herself and how she got into Japanese paper folding and she showed us other paper materials she was working with.

She was fascinating to speak with. The patterns which originally drew me to her booth were classic quilt block patterns. Her work was beautiful. It is very intricate and it was affordable. I could not believe that her pieces were not priced higher so we snapped up the three pieces shown here.

As we headed home from the Festival we stopped at Torrey Pines State Beach. It was practically deserted as it was overcast and we were able to find a parking place on the road, where is is free. We watched the sunset and went home to have some dinner. There is something about the ocean that is very restorative and calming. I always enjoy going even if it is only for a short time.