Thousands of residents and visitors alike will flock to the foot of First Street this weekend for the two-day Benicia Waterfront Festival, an event full of upbeat music, craft beer, wines and special children’s activities.
A Benicia Main Street production, the Benicia Waterfront Festival was revived last year. Executive Director Nancy Martinez said she was pleased at the reception the new version of the festival received.
The original festival began in 1989 and was a three-day event, Martinez said. However, the atmosphere became less family friendly through the years, and the Main Street board of directors decided in 2006 to replace the festival with one that focused on jazz music, she said.
The jazz festival had its following, but didn’t attract the growing numbers of the previous celebration, she said.
So the board considered a new vision for the Benicia Waterfront Festival. It deleted boat races and shortened the event to two days, Martinez said.
The new festival, which debuted last year, started at 11 a.m., giving visitors time to browse in stores as they walked down First Street to the waterfront. It also concluded earlier, at 6 p.m., so attendees could patronize the Benicia downtown restaurants for dinner and stop by shops that stay open later both days.
At this year’s festival, adults can choose from a selection of Benicia’s own Henry Wine Group’s reds and whites poured by Soroptomist members for $5 a glass.
Rotary Club members will be pouring craft beer from DBI, another Benicia distributor, for $7. Employees of The Rellik Tavern will pour domestic beers at $5 and $6 a glass.
“We have adorable beer samples,” Martinez said. But these “samples” aren’t skimpy, little tastes. For $5, adults can get a souvenir cup containing four ounces of beer, she said.
The festival has a variety of gourmet foods, too, she said. Dibrova Sausage will be selling a variety of meats. Out of This World Concession will be there, too, as will AECO, serving turkey, potatoes and alligator meat.
Barber’s Que, which vended at the Fourth of July Picnic at City Park this year, will return with its varieties of barbecue. All Show will serve gelato and Italian ices, and Bite Me Cookie Company will sell its treats.
“What’s a festival without kettle corn?” Martinez asked. So J and J Kettle Corn will set up its stand. Shoppers also can buy olive oil and balsamic vinegars by Om Oliva, and Dalton’s will sell its licorice candy.
Northgate Church and its volunteers will have a separate arts and crafts area with activities designed especially for children, who also can play in a jumpy house at the festival.
And each day will be filled with live music.
Opening at 11:30 a.m. Saturday and performing until 1 p.m., Bohemian Highway will play classic hits from the 1960s to the 1980s.
Fast Times 80’s will perform from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., playing songs from its namesake decade.
From 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., Petty Theft will play music popularized by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
House of Floyd of San Francisco will open the entertainment at 11:30 a.m. Sunday and will play Pink Floyd music until 1 p.m.
From 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., the Kevin Russell Band will play a blend of rocking blues and classics, and from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., Tortilla Soup will perform its blend of rhythm and blues, funk, soul, Latin, oldies and other music styles.
Weekend passes are $15. Daily admission is $10 for adults and $5 for those 65 and older. Children younger than 12 are admitted free when accompanied by a paying adult.
Tickets are available at the gate, at the Benicia Main Street office at 90 First St., and online at www.beniciamainstreet.org.
The Benicia Waterfront Festival takes place from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday on the First Street Green at First and East B streets.
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