English Estate Art and Wine Fair

Late Saturday afternoon Jon and I got in the car to go to our first visit to the English Estate Art and Wine Festival located at 17806 SE 1st St Vancouver, WA.
Admission to the fair was free as well as parking. The parking was directed by a small team of volunteers that held up big yellow arrows to guide us down a grassy path to an open field. There were lots of cars and another yellow arrow volunteer carefully directed us to the exact spot in the field to park. Walking back to the entrance was best in good walking shoes. It wasn\’t a long distance but definitely a field walk not paved smoothness. Just a \”heads up\” about that.
Fat, fluffy-feathered chickens (I noted mostly Barred Rock and White Leghorns) ambled along the way and throughout the booths. They were obviously hens because they were very tame and well-mannered (I\’ve had rooster experience and it\’s not always the same). I rather expected these feathered ladies might have had names but we were never personally introduced so I don\’t know for sure. Everyone seemed to like them and one booth vendor laughingly told us this particular hen was the most photographed lady at the event.
A portion of the money raised at the fair supported two non-profit organizations: Fort Vancouver Rose Society and the Evergreen Lions. The Fort Vancouver Rose Society was running a wine and information booth close to the entrance. The photo is of a spectacular bouquet of roses from one of the member\’s rose garden.
We arrived about three in the afternoon and there was a nice crowd. Not huge, but comfortably nice. Jon and I tried to visit all the booths. Artists, photographers, jewelry makers and more. Jon bought me two pairs of earrings from a booth called What Women Buy For Themselves. The earrings were Toni McCarthy\’s original  molded and designed creation. Very pretty.
I wish I could have bought something from every single booth. All had the most beautiful and original work imaginable. There were lots of paintings and photography images. I bought a card of an owl peeking out of a tree. Another artist, Jennifer Smith created paintings using very bold and dramatic colors in a blend of fantasy and fun.
This page gives a bit more information about all the fair booths and if you scroll to the bottom you can visit the web pages of many of the booth vendors.
And of course there was wine! But is this sad or what – we didn\’t taste or sample any. The truth was we were not in a wine tasting mode at the time. But we definitely enjoyed the fair and we will return and taste what the winery has to offer on another visit. This time it was just a fun thing to do for a few hours and visit a place we had never been.
One thing we did enjoy was the music. Doug Smith on accoustic guitar was performing during the time we were there. So impressive. His wife (fluitist/vocalist Judy Koch Smith) sang a few songs and played the flute with him. She has a beautiful voice and the two blended perfectly. We did buy a CD – couldn\’t resist. I talked with Judy a bit and she told me that Doug was a GRAMMY winning international fingerstyle guitar champion. One listen and you could see why.
I am sure the other performers were equally as good as we were pretty convinced that the wonderful people who put on this annual event selected only the best. Michael Riopelle, Tom Mann, Doug & Judy Smith, Eric John Kaiser, Marianne Flemming, Dan Dingman, Wade Hendrix, Tanner Cundy and Somewhere Between.
The final photo is the spectacular view from one of the places where one can sit and enjoy good music, good friends, a glass of wine and an amazing sky.