Margaret Contreras
LV Life Editor
Claremont streets were flooded with people from different cities visiting the 42nd annual Village Venture.
The festival took place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday in the Claremont Village.
The annual arts and crafts festival closed the streets for the vendors and guests.
The beer, cider and wine garden was located in front of Shelton Park. People who wanted to taste the drinks were given a wristband once they verified their identification.
“It’s an all hands on deck type of event,” Claremont city council member Jennifer Stark said. “All the businesses in the village and us, we all communicate with each other throughout the planning.”
There was live music playing at Shelton Park by two different bands. Take Four Combo played live jazz and, later on in the day, Relic Radio played classic rock.
In front of the Claremont Lewis Museum of Art, located at 200 W. First St, there was family entertainment. Franklin Hayes Marionettes, Carly Moultrie, Inland Pacific Ballet and Claremont School of Music performed at different times throughout the day.
Hundreds of people were in attendance for this city event. This is the largest event of the year for Claremont with over 400 vendors and 13 food trucks. The central location where the food trucks were lined up was First Street near the train station.
“This year we have a lot more vendors,” Public Information Officer Bevin Handel said. “This event brings a lot of exposure to the city and revenue for our local business as well. They put out their own table or booth in front of their store to draw people in.”
Vendors lined First Street, Second Street, Bonita Avenue, Yale Avenue, and Harvard Avenue.
Besides the vendor, there were local political groups, non-profit organizations, universities, medical providers, private schools for kinds and other types of businesses hoping for a broader exposure to the community that the event would bring.
For many vendors, it was their first time selling and attending the Village Venture. For The Lovely Violet Shop, Katie Carter was very optimistic about the exposure this large event would bring to her products.
“If all goes well, I will come back next year,” Carter said.
For glass artist Lizz Redd it was her second time attending and selling at the Village Venture. Redd was hoping to sell more this year than the previous year.
“I’m actually a bit disappointed I haven’t sold more,” Redd said. “If I sell enough, then yeah, I would come back. But if I don’t, I honestly don’t think I would come next year.”
The Village Venture is an opportunity for people to explore and experience what the heart of Claremont has to offer.
“We have had people attend the festival then later on decide to move to the city because they love what they saw during the event,” Stark said.
Throughout the year on a weekly basis, the city has a farmers market that some of the local vendors also attend.
“Once this Village Venture is over,” Stark said. “We start planning for the next one.”
With such a large scale of the festival, the event is planned throughout the year. Communication is a big factor among business owners, different organizations and the Claremont Chambers of Commerce to make this event a great success.
“What I hope to improve for next year would be enhancing our communication during the planning period,” Stark said. “It improved a lot this year and that’s something that can always improve and work on.”
Margaret Contreras can be reached at margaret.contreras@laverne.edu.
Magaret Contreras is a senior communications major with a concentration in public relations. She is editorial director and LV Life editor of the Campus Times and previously worked as editor-in-chief and a staff writer.
