Reminder: San Mateo County Fair Invitation

Patch already has articles on San Mateo County Fair that opened in Saturday June 5 and ending Sunday June 13. A reminder for families to come and enjoy life after a long lockdown. Health and Safety guidelines are in place per Dana Stoehr, CEO. Bay Area is slowly reopening. The San Mateo County Fair last year was cancelled due to pandemic. The normal count was 120,000 attendees. The usual pig races, food stalls , concert, meet giraffes , performances, Ferris wheels and rides and fun activities for adults and kids. Agriculture, Fine Arts Galleria winners, Sewing, Quilting are on exhibition. Diversity is celebrated at Fair— LGBT pride, Black history, Pacific islanders, Latin ferias.

The 2021 theme of the San Mateo County Fair is Where Tradition Meets Innovation. The fair has been celebrating for 87 years and had only two cancellations. Free vaccinations will be offered outside the main entrance and you can get free admission and $20 food voucher and free carnival tickets.

For admission, tickets, schedule, parking, transportation, driving directions, behaviour policy inside the fair following state & health guidelines, please click on

www.sanmateocountyfair.com

The author participated in the Fine Arts competition Watercolor category, Fantasy Division. The Fine Arts Galleria theme is Carry the Light.

I’d never enrolled or took a class in watercolor (placing my hand on the Bible). I took oil painting classes at SF Art institute, Workshop magazine that sponsored classes, abstract art in Metropolitan museum, because I thought oil is the hardest medium. To my surprise as of my latest research, watercolor “ has the reputation of being the hardest to learn of all the mediums(oil,acrylic, ink, charcoal, pen, pastels, watercolor)”. Its hard to manipulate and control watercolor because it has a mind of its own.
This is my first time to submit but I knew about this county fair since two SSF residents Shirley Nichols and Elsie Pollastrini used to submit their oil paintings to the fair,and they were usually winners. Elsie Pollastrini sometimes got the “Best of Show”. Elsie, a nice Italian lady gave me materials which she no longer used, her oils looked they were done by Renaissance Old Grandmasters. Her oil paintings were pretty intimidating to compete with. No way I was going to submit.
But this year it’s pandemic, I might as well submit to help arts thrive in our area and for the fun and joy of painting. I submitted online on the evening deadline of May 11. I didn’t expect to win anything; but I got email that I was a winner but no statement on placing. The Director of Fine arts sent me two emails - a follow up congratulations and a reminder to bring your piece for submission and the second mail, an attached PDF map. Because of COVID, only winning pieces including honorable mention will be exhibited. The old rules everyone who submits an entry is included; I like the old rules. I thought I only won honorable mention but that’s good enough. But upon the real submission of my entry, I was informed my watercolor won First Place.

For this competition, an artist has to submit new paintings, so I chose watercolor instead of oil, for oil takes a long time to dry. The gray, neutral, beige colors are out;
For 2021, the trending colors to uplift the spirits are pink, yellow, russet, aubergine. Even the bestselling nail polish is bubble gum pink and lipstick is glossy pink. The Farmer’s Almanac stated that on April 26,2021 a pink supermoon will appear.
What is pink on my yard are the wild primroses that appear every spring. No need to plant or water them, they magically appear. My focal point palette was pink.
My description of piece Pink Supermoon Serenading Primroses—
“On April 26, 2021, the pink supermoon appears serenading the wild primroses in my front and backyard. On the hills are trails with castles , leading to an entrance to the sky , a portal lined with fortresses, you can find a Tesla car atop the fortress roof ready for interplanetary travel.”
You cannot really see the castles or fortresses or the car, you’ve to zoom into painting to see them.

I got a free complimentary admission Etix ticket signed by Dana Stoehr, CEO and Justin Aquino, Fair Manager.

Here’s a serenade to all residents to put Romance on the Menu after the Covid lockdown. By romance I mean exploring a mystery or something unknown. A lesson from lockdown: You don’t need to go Paris Mont-Martre, though I’ve been there or attend Florence Academy of Art, just paint whatever is inside your house or outside your house. Or for writers to go to Parisian cafes to write, just write wherever you are.

Here’s a serenade La Vie en Rose (Life in Pink) to brighten one’s outlook after the pandemic.
Listen to an old classic Louis Armstrong trumpet playing La Vie En Rose https://youtu.be/8IJzYAda1wA
Or listen to modern Laura and Anton https://youtu.be/-NK9zdPj-os

###