Visitors, vendors and volunteers turned out this weekend for the
15th Taste of Morgan Hill, new in some ways, comfortably familiar
in others.
“Fabulous,” said Shelley Hanes of visitors to her Morgan Hill
Art Guild show. “Terrific,” said Lou Mirviss and Bonnie Williams of
their Classic Car Show. “A great success,” said Sunday Minnich, who
organized the Taste for the Chamber of Commerce. Minnich said the
200 vendors were plea
sed by Sunday night, though visitors were a bit slow in making
purchases on Saturday.
Visitors, vendors and volunteers turned out this weekend for the 15th Taste of Morgan Hill, new in some ways, comfortably familiar in others.
“Fabulous,” said Shelley Hanes of visitors to her Morgan Hill Art Guild show.
“Terrific,” said Lou Mirviss and Bonnie Williams of their Classic Car Show.
“A great success,” said Sunday Minnich, who organized the Taste for the Chamber of Commerce.
Minnich said the 200 vendors were pleased by Sunday night, though visitors were a bit slow in making purchases on Saturday.
“It’s as if Saturday was for looking and Sunday was for shopping,” Minnich said.
Though the weather was a bit warmish both days, there was plenty of interest in the start-to-finish musical entertainment on two stages and in the Kids Zone.
The Kids Zone has always offered rides and activities for little ones, but this year older kids were treated to attention with a climbing wall and an apparatus that looked like a cross between a bungee jump and the bouncy seat with which infants amuse themselves in doorways. Young teens found it amusing too. And the petting zoo was popular.
Quilting was evident from the Piece By Piece Quilters giving away their annual quilt in front of BookSmart (after collecting donations for the Saint Louise Breast Care Center). The needleworkers made the quilt, called Lady of Hope, from a pattern in the June McCall’s Quilting magazine, as they do each year, according to Noni Gamino, who has been quilting for five years.
At the other end of the festival, the Harvest Quilt Show at the Community Center, produced by the South Valley Quilt Association, was entirely cool in more ways than one. Besides being a convenient place to get away from the heat, visitors could visit several rooms packed with enough kits, fabric and quilting items to thrill any quilter, budding or practiced.
The Hiram Morgan Hill Room was hung with dozens of quilts on display, from small to large, traditional to modern, appliqué to piecework to painting on fabric, from craft to honest-to-goodness art. Pushing the limits was Don Jensen’s wood quilt.
Organizers said they were pleased that so many people stopped by to visit and take in the quilts and would definitely want a repeat performance next year.
Interim Police Chief Bruce Cumming and his wife entered their 1939 Chevrolet Coupe, along with 70 other cars on Sunday and 165 on Saturday.
Mirviss said the car show’s 13 sponsors helped underwrite prizes, food and treats for owners who came as far as Merced.
“Logistically this was the best show – ever,” Mirviss said, “but 165 is about as big as we want to get.”
At Art in the Alley, Hanes’ Art Guild threw open their yard and studio, offered places for sitting – welcome for tired feet – and a wide variety of art, from photography to painting to ceramics. Three teens were intently observing a colorful rendition of Alice and her Wonderland friends; others were talking to artists and still others were enjoying just sitting in the shade.
Nonprofits were successful, too, with the Friends of the Library signing up 76 new people for library cards by Sunday afternoon. Political parties registered dozens of new voters and candidates for mayor, council and school board held forth, meeting the public and handing out information at the Morgan Hill Times booth.
While police patrolled the streets, there was little for them to do, Morgan Hill Police Lt. Joe Sampson said Monday.
The event was “a very pleasant event, from the beginning with the street dance until the close of the event on Sunday,” Sampson said. “It was a very successful weekend, with only two significant calls.”
The first incident was a fist-fight between two adult males behind the bandstand; the second was a “verbal disruption.”
From bikers wearing tattoos to two nicely dressed couples obviously on a double date, dress was varied; most people sported tank tops and shorts, hats and caps, accommodating temperatures hovering around 90. Dogs were well-behaved and hot.
The Taste stretched from Main to Dunne avenues in the downtown along Monterey Road and side streets.
Last year’s Taste drew about 55,000 people and this year was about the same, Minnich said, though final crowd estimates are not yet in.
Proceeds from the event help cover the cost of Chamber programs and help the nonprofit organizations who helped out at the Taste. The Boy Scouts corralled the trash, Live Oak High School’s Future Business Leaders of America handled the Chamber souvenir sale, the school’s Future Farmers of America ran the highly popular petting zoo for the Kids Zone and the Lions Club members who help set up and tear down.
Minnich said she particularly wanted to thank the Taste’s sponsors and the planning committee.
“Sponsors are what keeps the festival free,” she said, “and the committee is a well-oiled machine. It’s a huge, team effort.”
