The Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens hosted its 29th anniversary Art in the Gardens event, celebrating local art on the 47 acres of coastal gardens.
Stretching over August 6 and 7, the event showcased four local bands and over 30 artists. The event, hosted on the botanical gardens’ event lawn, also had local food vendors including Cowlicks Ice Cream and Taqueria Ramirez.
“The vendors are very happy, the musicians enjoyed it, and the advantage of having all the artists and music and so forth in one area of the garden, rather than the whole garden, is that people can also get away and go to the garden and have a little quiet time,” said Mendocino Coast Botanic Gardens Director Molly Barker. “People are just having a lot of fun.”
Tickets sold out for both Saturday and Sunday, Barker said. More people likely could have fit into the event, but with limited parking it wasn’t possible to fit more attendees. But splitting it over an entire weekend allowed more people to visit the gardens, she said.
Before the pandemic, Art in the Gardens was a one-day event, but after cancellation in 2020, the Botanic Gardens split it into two days to allow people to spread out more. It’s a feature attendees appreciated, Barker said, and something they’ll continue doing moving forward.
Artists of all kinds set up tents at the event. Some sold jewelry, hand-thrown mugs, or specialized dog accessories. The garden’s 2022 featured artist, Button Quinn, displayed her paintings inspired by the Mendocino coast.
Festivities lasted all day long and event goers spent their time eating from local restaurants or purchasing unique art pieces. The vendors commit 25% of their earnings from Art in the Gardens to the Botanical Gardens, making it one of the largest fundraisers each year for the nonprofit.
“We’re working on different ideas to accommodate more people in the future, but it was a great time,” Barker said. “It was sold out and I think people are genuinely having a great time.”
Note: Lucy Peterson covers local government and policy for The Mendocino Voice in partnership with a Report For America. Her position is funded by the Community Foundation of Mendocino, Report for America, & our readers. You can support Peterson’s work with a tax-deductible donation here or by emailing [email protected]. Contact Peterson at lucy@mendovoice.com or at (707) 234-5291. The Voice maintains editorial control and independence.
