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Don't be disappointed! See below for 12 Insider Secrets to enjoying your day!
Quick links:
Sausalito Art Festival Music for 2011 Artists of the 2011 Sausalito Art Festival
Map of the 2011 Festival Sausalito Hotels
Festival Grounds Construction: Day by Day
Best Sausalito Breakfast Restaurants for before the gates open at 10:00
Best Sausalito Dinner Restaurants for after the Festival closes at 6:00
Weather Alert! The warm sun and the cool fog are jousting for control of Sausalito's weather this weekend. The morning is overcast, mid-day is bright, warm and sunny, and the late afternoon breezes are cool... literally and figuratively. That means that Art Festival visitors need to plan ahead: bring sunscreen and stay hydrated (even if you don't feel thirsty -- trust me on this one). Since you can't bring liquids into the Festival grounds,you'll need to buy drinks inside. You also should dress in layers, with a sweater or windbreaker for when the breeze comes up in the afternoon. Even on a warm day our 4:00 PM breezes by the Bay can be chilly. Enjoy!
Fast Forward SummaryTM: The Sausalito Art Festival, held each Labor Day weekend, is the biggest outdoor art festival in the United States. Artists come from all over the world to show their work.
Dates and Festival Hours for 2011:
Saturday September 3rd 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday September 4th 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Monday September 5th 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Ticket Prices for 2011:
Gen. Admission (ages 13-61) -- $25.00 per day ($40.00 for 3-day pass)
Seniors age 62+ -- $15.00 per day
Juniors age 6-12 -- $5.00 per day
Children under 6 -- Free with Adult
You can buy tickets at the event, or pre-purchase them here through EventBrite.
You can also buy combined event tickets and ferry passes on the boats that unload at a pier adjacent to the Fedtival grounds.
12 Insider Secrets for The Sausalito Art Festival
The Sausalito Art Festival features fabulous art and great music. Like any large event, it has rules to keep everyone safe and to make things go smoothly, and some surprises you'll want to avoid.
1. Pets have to stay home: Only service animals like Guide Dogs are allowed on the grounds. It's far too warm for a dog to wait in the car, so please leave them at home.
2. Strollers are not allowed inside the Festival grounds. Be sure to leave them at home or in your car.
3. Parking prices vary, and the parking shuttle buses are comfortable and air conditioned. The closer you park to the Festival grounds, the more you'll pay, so pass up the $20 close-in parking and take the bus from the $10 lot. Signs on Bridgeway will point the way and are clearly marked with each lot's prices. (See map below.) Don't park on the street in the nearby neighborhoods: residents have passes and if you're in street parking without a pass your odds on an expensive ticket are 100%.
Sausalito Residents: If you live close to the Festival and did not get your residential parking passes email artfestivalparking@hotmail.com or call 415-272-4684.
Sausalito Office Workers: If your office is nearby (as is OurSausalito.com), your building manager will have special parking passes if you need to work that weekend.
4. Bikes get free valet parking. It's hosted by the Marin County Bicycle Coalition, and they're waiting to help you just outside the main Festival entry gates, at the left hand side of the entrance area.
5. The Golden Gate Ferry to downtown Sausalito adds extra crossings each year, plus Special ferries sail from San Francisco directly to a pier adjacent to the Festival. You can buy a combined ferry and Festival ticket. Every year some people are disappointed when they're on "the wrong ferry." Here's what you need to know to avoid surprises:
The two piers where these ferries arrive in Sausalito are one mile apart. The ferry tickets that are combined with a Festival ticket bring you to a pier right next to the Festival. Regular ferries come to the Sausalito pier downtown, where free (comfortable) buses from 9:30 AM to 7:00 PM each day will shuttle you to the Festival.
6. Golden Gate Transit buses also serve the area. The three closest stops are Bridgeway at Harbor (by Mollie Stone's), Bridgeway at Nevada and Bridgeway at Easterby (by the 7-11).
7. Sausalito's hottest days of the year often come in September. The Festival has seen all sorts of weather over the years (do have a windbreaker as a backup). Even if there's a cool breeze, be sure to use sunscreen on these sunny summer days.
8. Art prices run from a $5 necklace to a $5,000 sculpture. The variety -- and the talent -- are amazing. You can find a list of the 2011 artists here (and the 2010 list is here).
9. Music plays almost all day on two different stages. The main stage and seats are under a large tent, which fills up early for the "big name" performers. As with many music venues, people will stand in front and block the view of those seated in back, so plan where in the big tent you sit (or stand) accordingly. The front tables fill up very early. Lawn chairs are not allowed in the Festival grounds.
10. Be prepared to stand in line for County Fair style food at lunch, and neither breakfast nor dinner are available on site. Many veteran fair-goers take in a hearty breakfast before they come, and stay in Sausalito to enjoy a great dinner at a local restaurant after the fair closes, avoiding the evening traffic. The food booths are run by local service organizations to support their programs, so the money goes to good causes. Mid-day lines can be long and slow. You can pack your own lunch, but you'll need to buy water, soda, wine or beer inside the Festival -- you're not allowed to bring in bottles or cans.
11. There's no hand stamp for in-and-out visits so you can't leave and come back. This rule is strictly enforced.
12. Wear comfortable shoes. You'll be standing in line for drinks and food, and there are not a lot of places to sit down in the art area. There are lots of seats in the main tent for the musical artists, but even those fill up early in the day. Over half the booths are located on the grass of Marinship Park, and any heel thinner than a cowboy boot will be impractical. (One Editor's joke here: "How can you tell the difference between the Sausalito Art Festival and the Sausalito Film Festival? At the Film Festival the flip-flops have stiletto heels!")
Insiders Tip: If you're looking for a place to sit down, go to the back area of the music tent just as one act is completing its performance. When they finish some people will get up and leave, freeing a seat for you.
Disabled Seating: Ask Festival staff if you have any special needs and they'll help you out.
Before and After the Festival: Be prepared for traffic in Sausalito. Although many visitors use mass transit, the influx of cars will clog city streets unless you arrive early in the morning. Take a deep breath and enjoy the beautiful setting. This is not a town where you can ignore the speed limits or parking restrictions and get away with it.
Want to see what the Art Festival area looks like when the event isn't going on? Check out our pages on the Art Festival Construction and on Marinship Park!
Here's the KGO TV preview from last year:
2011 Entertainment and Special Events
Our guide to music at the 2011 Sausalito Art Festival is here. Some musicians make a point of calling the event the Sausalito Arts Festival or Sausalito Art and Music Festival since they argue that the music draws as many or more visitors than the art. This is like arguing about whether sourdough bread or clam chowder is better, when in reality the highest use of each is clam chowder in a sourdough bowl. If you catch our drift.
This excerpt with Janis Joplin's old band, Big Brother and the Holding Company, is from the 2009 Fair:
And here's the same group playing with Janis 40 years earlier:
Getting to the 2011 Sausalito Art Festival
You can buy a special combined event ticket and ferry ticket. This ferry service from San Francisco goes directly to a pier adjacent to the Festival grounds, not to the Sausalito Ferry landing pier in downtown Sausalito.
You can take a regular Sausalito Ferry from the Ferry Building in San Francisco, or from Pier 41 in Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. Regular free shuttles bring fair visitors from the downtown ferry pier to the Art Festival grounds.
You can take a Golden Gate Transit bus to Sausalito and get off at the Bridgeway at Easterby or Bridgeway at Nevada bus stops.
You can drive to the Festival, taking the Sausalito-Marin City exit off highway 101. Be sure to check out our advice about driving and parking above.
You can ride your bike, since there's free bike valet parking.
You can stay in a Sausalito Hotel downtown, and then take the free shuttle from the ferry pier to the Festival.
Google Map Instructions: Use the "+" and "-" buttons to zoom in and out, the arrow keys to scroll the map, and the SAT button to see the satellite view.
Art Festival Parking
We find the Ferries to be a far easier way of getting to the Festival, but here is a map of the Festival parking lots. The closer the lot to Marinship Park (where the event is held), the more money you'll pay -- click on a blue "stick pin" button on the map below to see the charge for parking in each lot.
Google Map Instructions: Use the "+" and "-" buttons to zoom in and out, the arrow keys to scroll the map, and the SAT button to see the satellite view.
Where Does the Money Go?
