The six-hour commute from Thomas Mayberry’s sleepy, 10,000-resident hometown of Morro Bay, Calif., down to La Jolla each summer doesn’t bother him much.
The photographer, who has participated in La Jolla’s Festival of the Arts for more than a decade, enjoys visiting the beach community because the people are always so welcoming ” and the festival is one of the most recognized in the state, he said.
“The show has a great reputation,” Mayberry said. “I heard about it in the early ’90s, and I applied and got in and have been doing it ever since. I do a lot of bigger art festival jury shows, and this is my favorite group of people to work with.”
This year marks the 21st annual La Jolla Festival of the Arts, which will be held 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, June 23 and 24, at University of California, San Diego’s East Campus parking lots. More than 190 artists from all over the country will offer works ranging from oil paintings to jewelry and sculptures, according to Susan Liggett, the festival’s marketing director.
Hosted by the La Jolla Kiwanis Foundation, the festival proceeds this year will benefit 35 programs for San Diegans with disabilities. In the past, the event has raised more than $1 million for children and adults struggling with such inhibitors, Liggett said.
“A lot of the beneficiaries have stories about how this has helped someone in their lives, and it really just gives you goosebumps,” Liggett said.
Some of the beneficiaries in the past have included Mission Bay Aquatic Center and Canine Companions.
As well as giving back to the community, the festival’s key goal is to provide a fun and elite art experience for guests, according to the marketing director.
“We get around 300 applicants and we do have to narrow it down, so it keeps the art of a high quality, which is part of our mission,” Liggett said. “We want to not only help the community but to keep it a high-end art festival at the same time.”
Mayberry, whose work includes photos of international landscapes and structures of passageways such as doors and paths, many of which can be purchased at Art.com, has been active in the trade for 30 years and is this year’s featured artist.
A photo of the cave at La Jolla’s Cove was used as the 2007 show poster, which will be for sale on the festival’s Web site and at the event, according to Mayberry.
The photo, like most of his work, is symbolic of a passageway that draws its viewers into the picture, he said, adding that he enjoys photographing coastlines and was impressed by the community’s beaches while working on the project.
Mayberry, who participates in about 20 shows per year all over the state, has established a customer base in the area by participating in the festival and hopes that he will continue to be invited, he said.
“I’ve always done really excellent there and I have a lot of repeat customers who come back ” people who I’ve known for many years who come by and visit,” the artist said. “I like doing the show, I like the people who do it and it’s always a nice area down there.”
The festival promises to be a fun time for any age, with musical performances spread throughout the weekend by Scott Martin, Eve Selis, Fred Bendetti, the La Jolla Symphony and Chorus, Westwind Brass and West of Memphis as well as children’s arts and crafts and food and drinks provided by the Greek Store, Java Addiction and Marble Creamery.
“The atmosphere is great because you get so much more going to the festival than you would just walking into a gallery,” Liggett said. “You get to hear music and sip on a drink, and at the same time you are supporting your community.”
Admission to the festival is $10 for adults, with children age 10 and under free.
For more information, visit www.lajollaartfestival.org or contact the festival headquarters, (858) 456-1268.