Waterfront event now in third year after 7-year hiatus

Benicians will celebrate their city’s picturesque coastal views Saturday and Sunday during the Waterfront Festival at the foot of First Street.

This is the third year Benicia Main Street has organized the Waterfront Festival since it came “Back with a Splash” after a fatal watercraft accident led to a seven-year hiatus.

In the interim, Main Street organized an annual jazz festival, an event that had its own following but never reached the broad-based appeal of the Waterfront Festival, said Deborah Housman, Benicia Main Street event coordinator.

“We wanted to go back to something with general appeal to the public,” Housman said. “This appeals to a range of ages, and it definitely brings a wider demographic.”

She said Main Street understood the Waterfront Festival had name recognition, even if the new version no longer featured watercraft races. What’s more, she said, the festival has possibilities for growth.

The 2013 return of the event proved successful, drawing 8,000 or more to the city’s downtown coastline. Housman said she expects at least 11,000 to visit the festival this year.

They’ll be coming for live music, craft beers, wine by the glass, a variety of foods and children’s activities, she said.

The Fog City Swampers will play Southern and classic rock at 11:30 a.m. Saturday. Mustache Harbor takes over next, performing what the band calls “yacht rock” at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

In Living Color will play 1990s and contemporary party music starting at 4 p.m. Saturday.

The Pink Floyd tribute band House of Floyd will play at 11:30 a.m. Sunday. The Cheeseballs, starting at 1:30 p.m., will play funk and rock, disco and hip-hop.

Tortilla Soup takes the stage at 4 p.m. Sunday to share Latin funk and old-school hits.

Visitors to the First Street Green also will find a variety of booths where they can shop for handicrafts, jewelry and other items.

Among the new food items offered this year will be clam chowder bread bowls and shrimp salad to go along with more typical festival foods like hot dogs, cheesesteaks, fried corn dogs, shave ice, kettle corn, hot pastrami and steamed artichokes, Housman said.

Also at the festival:

• Aurora Creations will sell stained-glass wildflowers and crystal, including crystal jewelry. Bob Watkins will have paintings and drawings for sale, and CMH Gems will sell gemstone jewelry.

• Corazon will have wine glass holders, wine bottle holders, wooden bowls and baskets.

• Ella’s Boutique will sell crystals, tote bags, shawls, mirrors, dresses and purses, and Elusive Enterprize will have ceramic dish graters.

• Foot Fetish will sell fitted toe rings, anklets, thumb rings and ear cuffs.

• Georgia Galleria will offer fine art paintings, and Island Memories SF will sell 100-percent soy wax candles.

• Harmony Visions will have a booth of wire-wrapped and beaded tableware and jewelry, and Island Goddess will sell handmade dresses, hair accessories and handmade jewelry. Handmade jade bracelets and gifts will be sold at J.P. Designs and Collections, and the Jade Trading Company will sell fedora hats, sunglasses, toys and parasols.

• Jewelry, headbands and hair clips will be available at Judy’s Jewels, and Keeping It Real Jewels will sell custom and designed handmade jewelry and pictures on canvas.

• Look Int. will offer a variety of knitted items, from handmade sweaters for children and adults to cross-stitch pictures for children.

• Mari’s Trinkets will sell Sterling and stainless steel silver jewelry.

• Personal Touch crafts will have jewelry, string puppets, yo-yo balloons, wooden signs, small purses, watches and embellished hats, and Peruvian Treasures will sell silver jewelry with stones from various places around the world.

• Jellyfish natural paperweights will be at the Raphael Originals booth, and Scenxy warmers, bars, travel and other items will be sold at that company’s booth.

• Aprons to luggage tags, pot holders, neck coolers and other fabric items will be sold at Sew Purrfect Creations, and Solid Rock designs will have sand-blasted stone signs and coasters.

• Terry Hughes will have animal art prints and giclees.

• Tibet Horizon will sell Himalayan arts and crafts, including clothing, jewelry, tapestries and bags, and Zeyma Collection will have tie-dye clothing.

• People also can shop for Tupperware, and those interested in health information can get free spinal screenings and facts about chiropractic care and nutrition at Essence of Life Healing Studio’s booth.

Meanwhile, children can play in inflatable houses, and a face painter will add colorful illustrations to the children’s faces.

“This is a summer festival with fun on the Green,” Housman said.

The Benicia Waterfront Festival, on the First Street Green at the foot of First Street, starts at 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday and ends at 6 p.m. both days so visitors can patronize Benicia’s restaurants.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for those 65 and older, $15 for a weekend pass. Children 12 and younger are admitted free of charge. Discounts are available through Benicia Main Street’s advertisements in the Benicia Herald, through its fliers and via a “buy one, get one free” coupon available on the Benicia Main Street website, www.beniciamainstreet.org.

Weekend passes are being sold at Main Street’s office, 90 First St.