2010 Sausalito Art Festival
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 compete for the Festival's awards.
Dates and Festival Hours for 2010:
Friday September 3rd 6:00 PM -- Gala Premiere
Saturday September 4th 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday September 5th 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Monday September 6th 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Ticket Prices for 2010 (unchanged from 2009):
Gen. Admission (ages 13-61) -- $20.00 per day ($30.00 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 at TicketWeb.
The Top Twelve Things Visitors Should Know
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 local knowledge that can make your visit more fun. Here's our Insider's Guide to the Festival.
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 is expensive, but the parking shuttle buses are comfortable and air conditioned. The closer you park to the Festival grounds, the more you can expect to pay, so pass on the $20 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. Of course, you may want to ride your bike to the event because...
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. Of course, instead of a bike you may want to try out...
5. Special ferries sail from San Francisco directly to a Festival pier. You can buy a combined ferry and Festival ticket. Golden Gate Transit buses also serve the area.
6. 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) but the 2009 Festival was hot and sunny, and that's the typical pattern. Wear sunscreen and keep yourself hydrated.
7. Art prices run from a $5 necklace to a $5,000 sculpture. The variety -- and the talent -- are amazing.
8. Music plays almost all day on three different stages. The main stage and seats are under a large tent, which fills up early for the "big name" performers. If you plan to see the most popular performers you may want to do your art walk early in the day and then stake out your favorite spot. You can still stand at the edges of the tent and see the stage, but standing inside blocks the view of those seated behind you.
9. The Festival opens one hour later this year. The festivities begin at 10:00 AM each day.
10. Be prepared to stand in line for County Fair style food. The food booths are run by local service organizations, who use the money they earn to support their programs. Mid-day lines can be long and slow. If you want to avoid the lines or have special dietary needs 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. Or you can visit some of our great Sausalito restaurants before or after your day at the Festival.
11. There's no hand stamp for in-and-out visits so you can't leave and come back.
12. Be prepared for traffic in Sausalito, and Sausalito parking rules are aggressively enforced. Although many visitors use mass transit, the influx of cars will clog city streets. Take a deep breath and enjoy the beautiful setting, because Sausalito speed limits and parking regulations are aggressively enforced. This is not a town where you can ignore the parking restrictions on the signs and get away with it. The Festival lots are much cheaper than the parking ticket you'll get by being "creative."
What is the Sausalito Art Festival?
The Sausalito Art Festival is a three-day outdoor art fair with 270 exhibiting artists, three music stages and lots of food booths held along the waterfront in northern Sausalito, California, just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. The Festival is held in Marinship Park by the edge of the Bay and in the Bay Model Visitors Center, and overflows into a series of adjacent lawns and parking lots. The site's design includes access for people with disabilities.
There's a great lineup of internationally recognized bands and musicians each year. You can find the entertainment schedule for 2010 here.
Last year over 1,200 artists from around the world competed for the 270 exhibition slots, with 15 artists coming from overseas and 38 different US states represented. So when you walk around the show you're seeing just the winners from a very competitive process.... even before the ribbons and trophies are handed out from the on-site judging. The Artists of OurSausalito.com includes past winners of major Sausalito Art Festival categories, and a list of the 2008 winners is here.
Artists display their work in booths, and most of what you'll see is for sale. Media include oils, watercolors, collage, sculpture, jewelry, metalwork, stained glass, and just about anything you can think of. Prices range from just a few dollars for some small items to thousands of dollars for paintings by top artists.
Hotels and Restaurants for the Sausalito Art Festival
If possible, you want to stay at a hotel in downtown Sausalito if you're coming from outside the area, and book your room well in advance. Some local hotels have a mix of great and not-so-great rooms, so booking sooner is key. Our list of the best local hotels is here, and each entry has a link to a page about the hotel and reservations links.
Another option: Stay in a hotel at Fisherman's Wharf and take a Blue and Gold Ferry to te event. Although both ferry services serve downtown, about 5 blocks from the event, Blue and Gold has a special schedule with ferries going directly to a special pier at the Art Festival.
2010 Entertainment and Special Events
Musicians and bands performing at the 2010 Sausalito Art Festival
Disabled Access
Handicapped visitor access ramps are located throughout the Festival grounds and in the Bay Model Visitor Center. The event is held on a grass covered site and if the weather doesn't cooperate or an area becomes muddy those in wheelchairs may require assistance.
Wheelchair access is NOT available at the dock of the festival site, but is available at the regular Sausalito Ferry Terminal. Passengers desiring this service can take the Downtown Sausalito Ferry and transfer by way of the free festival shuttle. Shuttles run from 9:30 AM to 7:00 PM.
Event Map
Note: This map is from last year's event and is the easiest online map to read -- the layout is largely unchanged for 2010. You can see this year's map here.
Double Click on the image below to see a larger map of the event area.
How Do I Get There?
Our guide to getting to the Sausalito Art Festival is here.
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?
In addition to the Sausalito Chamber of Commerce, here's where finds raised by the festival have gone over the last few years:
| Over $200,000 earned by The City of Sausalito |
| Over $100,000 to Sausalito Art Festival Artists Achievement Awards |
| Over $300,000 to Community Grant Awards: |
|
Antenna Theater |
| Over $100,000 in Educational Funding: |
| Bay Model Association Sausalito Art Festival Scholarship Fund Sausalito Marin City School District Sausalito Woman's Club Scholarship |
All Contents Copyright (c) 2008-2010, OurSausalito.com. All Rights Reserved.
Editors, You are doing such an incredibly wonderful job updating the Festival events - even highlighting the winning artists from Sausalito...Thank you!:)
Posted by: Sausalito Homeee | 09/06/2009 at 09:18 PM
Thanks so much for your note -- we appreciate it very much! We're going back again tomorrow for the closing day, and it should be great fun.
Posted by: Editors | 09/06/2009 at 11:00 PM