"W" stands for wine and "w" also stands for WOW....what a great festival and what a great concept! And to think that we almost missed it! We had been planning to go for a couple of weeks, and then when the weekend rolled around-we forgot! Luckily, on Sunday we remembered our plans and that the festival was both Saturday and Sunday. So, we decided to head to the festival in the afternoon to check out all the fuss. We didn't actually arrive until just before 3pm, but we had plenty of time to enjoy before it ended at 6pm. When we first arrived, we stood with our mouths hanging open, gaping and the enormous crowds wandering the streets of Downtown Sunnyvale. Now, Downtown Sunnyvale is not exactly the most happening place in the Bay area, but on this particular occasion, it was.
We soon discovered that we had entered the festival right next to the booze ticket line-the busiest place on the street(for obvious reasons). We decided to wander around for just a bit before getting our drinks to get a general feel of the festival. Hundreds of tents rested on either side of each street, and it continued down a couple of streets. It was much larger than I thought it would be-and much more crowded! After wandering for a bit, we decided to head back to the ticket booth to get our booze. We waited in line for a few minutes and discovered that the prices were pretty steep. First of all, we each had to buy either a wine or beer glass for $5 each to put our drinks in (duh!). Then we had to purchase tickets for each drink which again costs $5 each. So, for $20 we got two wine glasses, and two drinks. Not the best deal, obviously, but now we have two more wine glasses that say Sunnyvale Wine and Art Festival-la di da!! So, after we got our tickets we turned around to the Rabbit's Foot Meadery right behind the booth. Rabbit's Food Meadery is an award-winning honey wine, ciders, etc. meadery hidden in Sunnyvale, California. It was by far the most popular booze booth in the place, and we each got a glass of mead. I had been to the meadery before to have a tasting, and the stuff is absoultely delicious. It is so different from anything else I have had, and taste so good that you don't even notice you are getting drunk! The only issue is that it is quite sweet, especially the rasberry meand I had, and so I probably coulnd't drink it in large quantities at any given time.
We got our glasses filled and proceeded to meander through the fair looking at all the various art for sale. Some of the art was truly amazing, while others were, urm, how can I say interesting! But it was great to see all of the creativity and hard work on display. Granted, it was on display to a lot of tipsy people spending their money on overpriced drinks, but I hope the vendors faired well! They also had live mucis playing the whole time, and all sorts of food on sticks cooking and filling the air. We decided to avoid the kebabs and darted into Gumba's Italian Restaurant for some pizza. After that we rolled home on the bus around 5pm to relax after a long, sun and wine filled Sunday. All in all, the Festival was great and we will definitely attend it again next year if we are still around!
