(Last UPDATED 6/15/2023) Description and review of the annual Kiwanis Art Fiesta, featuring quality art from a variety of artisans. NEW: See “Updates” below for info on the 2023 and 2024 event.
Original Post
Description of the 60th Annual Kiwanis Art Fiesta held June 2nd & 3rd at the upscale Pavilions Shopping Center in the Arden-Arcade neighborhood of Sacramento.
Two friends and I decided to spend a few hours on Sunday, June 3, at the 60th Annual Kiwanis Art Fiesta. The Art Fiesta is held each year at the Pavilions Shopping Center located at Fair Oaks Boulevard near Howe Avenue.
I make a point of attending the Art Fiesta every few years as it is an enjoyable way to spend a few hours – and you never know what treasures you may find.
Charities
First of all, the Art Fiesta is a charity event for Sacramento Suburban Kiwanis Club community service projects. Revenue from the show benefits disabled and disadvantaged children and adults in the Sacramento region. This year the charities benefiting are:
- Just for Kids (helping children with a family member undergoing treatment for cancer)
- Drer Kelly Elementary School
- Wellspring Women’s Center
- Sacramento Crisis Nursery
- Stanford House
- Easter Seals
- Sierra Arden Food Closet
- Kiwanis Family House (housing families with children undergoing treatment at UC Davis Medical Center
SacramentoRevealed.com – All Things Sacramento (from a personal perspective)
Art Fiesta
As it was predicted to be an unusually hot day we decided to arrive soon after the 9:30 a.m. start of the Art Fiesta – and we were glad we did.
We arrived shortly after 10:00 a.m., and easily found a parking space. The Art Fiesta has free admission and free parking – but you can certainly expect that parking will be more of a challenge later in the day.
The Pavilions Shopping Center is a perfect venue for the Art Fiesta. The attractive large outdoor shopping center features plenty of parking, covered sidewalks, lots of trees, and outdoor seating scattered around the clean and well-maintained premises.
As we made our way slowly around the booths we admired the varied forms of art. We picked up a map and the list of the 2018 Art Fiesta artisans. The map and list revealed that 103 artisan booths were scattered around seven of the shopping center buildings.
There were a wide variety of mediums represented including:
- pencil drawings
- water-color and oil paintings
- photography
- jewelry
- wearable art (clothing)
- pottery and ceramics
- art glass
- wood art
- mosaic art
- fabric art
- moss art
- garden art
My friend commented on, and I agreed, that jewelry artisans were very well represented. The Art Fiesta also featured live musical entertainment in the shade near Piatti’s.
The Pavilions Shopping Center is home to several restaurants, and taking a break for a relaxing lunch was also on our agenda. After considering the possibilities (Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Piatti Ristorante & Bar, Café Bernardo, Wildwood Kitchen & Bar) we settled on the Wildwood Kitchen & Bar.
After lunch and some additional shopping it started to heat up, so we decided to call it a day. I don’t believe we covered every booth – but it was close enough.
To Sum Up
To sum up, if you have not attended the Kiwanis Art Fiesta previously you may want to consider checking it out. Any purchase you make at the Art Fiesta is a win-win-win – for you, the artisans, and local charities.
See related blog posts: Annual Sacramento Restaurant Review Recap (2018) Wildwood Kitchen & Bar Revisited
Updates
(6/15/2023) A friend and I attended the 2023 Art Fiesta at the Scottish Rite Center and were quite surprised to find a much smaller event. I also discovered the story behind the move (from the Pavilions Shopping Center) and have good news for the event next year.
It turns out that the new owners of the Pavilions Shopping Center did not want the Kiwanis charitable event on their premises, thus the move to the Scottish Rite Center. The first weekend in June was not available at the new location, and many of the vendors were unable to attend due to previous commitments.
Lastly, the good news – the Kiwanis have secured the new venue for 2024 and going forward, and the vendors have been advised and are expected to be there in full force next year!
(5/26/2023) The 65th Kiwanis Art Fiesta has both a new location and is on a new weekend this year. The event will be held the 2nd weekend of June (Saturday June 10 and Sunday June 11) at the Scottish Rite Masonic Center in East Sacramento. See the “Snapshot” below for additional details.
Comments on the Annual Kiwanis Art Fiesta?
Have you attended the Kiwanis Art Fiesta? If so, what would you add?
2023 Kiwanis Art Fiesta Snapshot:
- Saturday, June 10 (10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.)
- Sunday, June 11 (10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.)
- Scottish Rite Masonic Center, 6151 H Street, Sacramento, CA 95819
- Free Admittance & Free Parking
- Food Trucks in Parking Lot
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