Discover art and play along the path where the ocean meets the cliffs at Dinosaur Caves Park in Shell Beach, CA.
Art in the Park takes place every first Sunday of the month from May to October. The outdoor arts festival accommodates all ages, and features an array of artists showcasing glass art, textiles, sculpting, painting, photography, and other individually made products.
The festival also provides BBQ catered by Alex’s BBQ, coffee and pastries, live music and children’s activities.
After coming back to the Central Coast from traveling through Australia in outdoor markets selling her hand-made jewelry, Event Coordinator Shannon Len started Art in the Park.
“Art in the Park is a great opportunity for artists to showcase and market their work and directly work with customers,” Len said. “It’s also a great family event to share art with children and view art in a comfortable way instead of in galleries.”
Since beginning four years ago, Art in the Park visitors has doubled each year, and now sees about 6,000 to 10,000 people per event, Len said.
“Some people come out to support their friends who are selling,” said Len. “Art in the Park is an easy venue for students to sell their work since many of them don’t do art full-time.”
Vincent Shay is a part-time freelance photographer and videographer who mainly captures outdoor living and documentary shots, and is also a freelancer for DEEP, a surf publication.
Shay, 38, had a booth at Art in the Park for three events and said he will do it again next year. Shay sold photographs from his travels to Indonesia, Panama, Costa Rica, Hawaii, and all over California.
“I participated in Art in the Park to get my name out there for photography again,” Shay said. “I am doing a lot of video work for the last six years, but hadn’t done too much in promoting myself. My goal was to promote my name out in the public and it worked great. I didn’t care if I sold too much.”
Shay has been a photographer since he was 17 years old, but didn’t get serious until he was about 23 years old when he submitted a photo he took in the San Luis Obispo County Kodak contest and won and became a National Finalist.
“I just love to capture a ‘moment,’ like many photographers,” Shay said. I have been a photographer since I was 17 years old and every little ‘click’ of the shutter gives me a sense of fulfillment. It’s only when you get a really great photo that I stand back and say to myself, ‘Did I actually take that?’ That is a great feeling for sure.”
For more information about Art in the Park and for directions, you could log on to the event Web site at www.artintheparkshellbeach.com.
Art in the Park is always looking for new and upcoming vendors to showcase their work at the event. Interested vendors could apply by going to the Web site and click on Vendors. Vendor fees range from $55 to $75.
All vendors who apply must be approved by a small jury, including Len, to ensure that all art and products are hand-made by the vendor.
“People seem to have a great time while attending the events,” Shay said. “Shannon was great. She always made me feel a part of the event and not just another artist or a cog in the wheel. As a patron, one would see some great art and get to meet some cool people.”