6th annual free event offers explorations of historic site

By Donna Beth Weilenman
Staff Reporter

The Mare Faire is back Friday through Sunday, but this fair won’t have daredevil rides or livestock shows.

Instead, the focus is on the Mare Island Shoreline Heritage Preserve’s history, culture, geology and natural setting, said Myrna Hayes, volunteer preserve manager.

“The Mare Faire was founded in August 2008 for the 150th anniversary of the Navy’s oldest cemetery in the Pacific,” Hayes said. That cemetery is within the preserve’s borders.

Visitors to Mare Faire will learn how history shaped Mare Island, and how nature has been changing that history.

They will have the opportunity to see osprey, sometimes called “fish eagles,” that have made their home on the island.

They’ll get to take birdwatching, nature and history hikes, led by volunteer field guides. They also may join three work parties that will be working throughout the weekend to improve trails and the reservoir, and painting the fence at the historic Navy cemetery.

During afternoon outings, visitors will get to “meet the bees” and sample local honey, Hayes said.

In collaboration with Bay Area Bee Company keeper Rokas Armonas, the preserve has a new “bee experience camp,” she said.

The fair also has a cross-country walk with the preserve’s botany enthusiast, Archie Wessels, who will teach participants about seed pods and fruit of the late summer season.

Hayes herself will show visitors where they may pick blackberries and how to make jam with those berries.
Napa Solano Audubon Society field guide Wally NeVille will lead a birdwatching outing at noon Friday, and Hayes will guide the Wine and Walk tour later that evening.

Mare Island Historic Park docent Peggy O’Drain will take visitors on a tour of the Naval Cemetery, and Dr. Thomas Snyder, retired captain of the U.S. Navy Medical Corps, will give visitors a tour of the former Naval hospital on Mare Island.

Visitors may dine on barbecue, served at noon both Saturday and Sunday at the Preserve’s visitors center, where Vallejo resident Lowell Fisher will be playing harmonica music.

The Society for the History of Navy Medicine and the Sierra Club will lead hikes at 9:30 a.m. Saturday.

From 6:30-7:45 p.m. Saturday, visitors may watch “Butterflies and Bulldozers,” a documentary about the efforts to protect endangered species and the wild lands of San Bruno Mountain, directed and edited by Ann and Steve Dunsky, Vallejo filmmakers, who will introduce the film.

“Moviegoers are encouraged to bring their own dinner, and to stay for a campfire and s’mores with a lighted trail walk following the movie,” Hayes said.

Inside the preserve’s visitor center, attendees may bid on items in a silent auction and view slide shows on topics ranging from the plants and trees of the Carquinez Strait and Mare Island Strait, to bees and insects of Mare Island and Vallejo and a history show about the Mare Island Naval Cemetery.

The Mare Faire has activities outside the preserve as well, Hayes said.

Those interested may visit the Mare Island Museum from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. They also may visit the last surviving World War II landing craft gunboat (LCS 102, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. The volunteer work party at the Vallejo People’s Garden will be from 9 a.m. to noon Sunday.

Simultaneous with the Mare Faire, Elizabeth Bush and Mark Mattioli will exhibit their art and photography that focuses on Mare Island subjects.

The show, “Mare Island Now,” is on display at the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum from noon to 4 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays through Sept. 7.

The Mare Island San Pablo Bay Wetlands Trail also will be open to pedestrian traffic, as it is daily, from morning until sunset.

Admission to the Mare Faire events inside the preserve, 167 O’Hara Court at Railroad Avenue, Vallejo, is free; admission prices may be charged at off-site places.

“Online maps aren’t yet accurate, because they haven’t found us yet and Railroad is blocked off at 15th Street and Nereus Street,” Hayes said.

The public event Friday through Sunday is headquartered at the Preserve Visitors Center, Building a-167, a former bomb storage magazine building that dates to 1934. All ages are welcome, and the site is disability accessible, Hayes said.

Pedestrian and bicycle traffic only are allowed in the preserve. Dogs on leashes are welcome in the preserve except on the San Pablo Bay Wetlands Trail.

The preserve normally is open from 10 a.m. to an hour after sunset Fridays through Sundays, and on some holidays. The preserve is staffed by volunteers of the Mare Island Heritage Trust.

During open days the public can walk or ride bicycles on a self-guided paved roadway trail with 14 interpretive stops along the 3-mile round-trip route to the top of the Mare Island Hill and beyond. Hayes said donations to the preserve are welcome.

Those interested may visit the preserve’s website or call 707-249-9633.

“The Mare Faire isn’t like most summer fairs with cotton candy and noisy rides,” Hayes said.

“Instead, it is a chance to get out and experience the subtle beauty and the magic and mystery that is Mare Island exploring and learning about Mare Island with experienced guides and presenters over the weekend.”