■ Premier Chamber of Commerce event, big as ever, marks 41st year

When the Benicia Chamber of Commerce started its Fine Arts and Crafts Fair 41 years ago, one of the common items were planted cuttings. The event was so small, it fit in the Safeway parking lot.

When Stephanie Christiansen arrived to lead the Chamber in 1988, the fair featured plenty of macrame, decoupage, dried flowers and hand-painted saws.

This year’s event, set for Saturday, will be on First Street between D and G streets, where 125 vendors will start setting up some time after 5 a.m., filling the empty blocks with their tents, Christiansen, the Chamber’s executive director, said.

The show is juried, she said, and the informal panel that examines potential entries is looking for both quality and variety. That’s exactly what the thousands who will wander through the booths will see this year, she said.

“Jewelry is popular,” she said. The fair will have photographers, clothing designers, and the producer of a sushi tool that makes preparing Japanese cuisine easier. Artists will bring their paintings, and woodworkers will show their carvings and assemblies, too, she said.

“We’ll have wine products,” Christiansen said. But that doesn’t mean artistic or crafted bottles of wine. Instead, the items will range from melted empty bottles to furniture made from barrels.

“We’ll have natural soaps and lotions, too,” she said.

For the past few shows, visitors also have seen the growing trend toward creations using recycled and repurposed articles, and this year will be no exception.

“This is exciting,” Christiansen said. “People are being creative.”

No musical acts are scheduled during the show, but saxophone player D. J. Wilkinson will play and sell his CD.

Members of Adobe House are instrumental in helping the vendors set up and assist the Chamber with cleanup once the fair concludes, Christiansen said.

The Chamber has no official tallies of the average attendance at the fair. “We don’t count the attendance, but we understand it’s over 20,000,” she said.

Benicia police, fire and parks and community service departments will work with the fair to assure it runs smoothly, she said. Temporary barriers will be placed from F to B streets, and no vehicles will be allowed between G and D streets from 6 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

“We have compacted the fair,” she said. That is so motorists can drive at the foot of First Street from B Street.

“This event has become one of the most popular art and craft fairs in Northern California, and brings thousands of people to our city,” Christiansen said. “I’m excited. We love it every year.”

The fair will take place on First Street between D and G streets from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

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