The 22nd annual La Jolla Festival of the Arts kicks off at 9 a.m. Saturday, June 28 on the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) East Campus, with new additions to satisfy a variety of tastes, from chocolate connoisseurs to classic car lovers.
The Torrey Pines Kiwanis Foundation continues to sponsor the festival, donating proceeds from the event to 35 different charities that benefit San Diegans with disabilities.
“We have so many new things this year it is not the festival of the past,” said Teri Wray, event coordinator. “For 22 long years they’ve been doing this and we’ve provided over $1.5 million to those programs, just shy of $2 million.”
People can come in and find their favorite artist or peruse more than 190 renowned artists, who will display their work in a variety of mediums, available for purchase, Wray said.
“It’s a great event with a great cause,” she said.
Artists from across the nation will exhibit their work throughout the weekend.
This year, the festival board received more than 300 artists’ applications, according to Wray.
With only 190 available slots, artisans submitted samples to the festival’s jury, who chose the best pieces.
While wandering the festival, guests can feed both their visual and aural senses, feasting on music and artwork in different categories, including watercolors, oil, acrylic, ceramic, jewelry, photography, mixed media, drawing, fiber, glass and sculpture.
“We have a very nice music list for the weekend,” Wray said. “Eve Selis is going to be there on Saturday and the MarDels on Sunday.”
Restaurant Row is another feature that will continue throughout this year’s festival. With vendors from all over contributing their fare, visitors can find most anything “” from Sushi-iito to Hunter Steak House to Carvel Ice Cream.
This year, Warwick’s Books is sponsoring many events, including book signings and the Art of Chocolate with chocolate critic Clay Gordon.
“First we have book signings by Warwick’s,” Wray said. “On Saturday, Sandra Gulland, who wrote ‘Mistress of the Sun’ will be talking about and signing her new book.”
Inside the Warwick’s Pavilion, John and Jean Silverwood will also speak about their book “Black Wave: a Family’s Adventure at Sea and the Disaster that Saved Them.”
“Also with Warwick’s, there’ll be the Fantastic Four Mystery Panel. They’ll be discussing various mysteries,” Wray said.
A trio of top chefs, including Sam the Cooking Guy, Isabelle Cruz and Brian Malarkey, will speak.
“We’ve got other things this year, including Chalk LaStrada,” Wray said. “This group is the group that started in Little Italy. There’ll be over eight different chalk areas; they will have a children’s chalking area.”
The Art of Chocolate will offer people the chance to sign up for two different chocolate classes. Chocolate critic Gordon will teach students either the origins of chocolate and to discern the good from bad or how to identify really good chocolate.
“We haven’t confirmed the cost of chocolate sampling yet, but we really exploded this year with all the new events and it is going to be really fun,” Wray said. “The other new event is an exotic car display. We’ve got some extremely high-end cars that will be making an appearance.”
Local Autoworks International will showcase a ’67 Mustang Obsidian SG ONE, worth $1.3 million. A separate booth will showcase parts used to put together the original car.
“People can make an offer if they want to purchase the cars,” Wray said.
Other classics will parade inside the festival, including a ’67 Super Cooper, ’68 Shelby worth $200,000, ’67 Stingray Corvette and a ’29 Durant.
The La Jolla Festival of the Arts runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both both Saturday and Sunday, June 28 and 29, at the corner of Genesee and Regents Road.
Tickets are $10, children 12 and under are free and military plus one guest with valid identification are free. Tickets are available at the gate, or online for $2 less. For more information, maps, schedules or to purchase tickets, go to www.lajollaartfestival.org.