Kings Mountain Art Fair returns for 62nd year

Kings Mountain, a small, unincorporated community near Woodside, is difficult for Cal Fire to reach because of its remote location. To fill that gap, neighbors formed a volunteer brigade 63 years ago. Today, 10 residents serve as firefighters, responding to about 400 incidents each year, Fire Chief Hank Stern said.

“In addition to training and responding to calls as volunteers, most volunteer departments are also responsible for a good portion of their fundraising to support their equipment, training, vehicles, apparatus and station,” Stern said. “Because we have the support of the Kings Mountain Art Fair, we can devote almost all of our time to the services we provide to the community.”

What began as a small group of women selling hand-sewn crafts has grown into a juried showcase featuring 130 artists from across the country, the vast majority of whom return year after year. Their work is displayed between — and even directly on — the Kings Mountain redwoods in a striking blend of art, landscape and community support.

Kings Mountain resident Erin Baumgartner said that everyone on the mountain has something to contribute, especially given their vastly different skill sets and available hours. Because she has young kids and often can’t volunteer her time at the fair itself, she helps out beforehand by doing PR, she said.

“What I’ve heard from the artists is that you can just tell people are having a good time. The people making the food, the people running the shuttles, the people working the information booth — nobody’s at work, everybody is doing it because they want to be there” Baumgartner said. “I think that atmosphere is compelling.”

Work on the grounds ramps up about a month before Labor Day, with more than 30 chair people taking on the responsibility to organize and recruit volunteers for their teams, said Executive Director Bev Abbott. But preparation takes place year-round — one resident plays her part by buying and nurturing small plants in early spring so they are in full glory in the fall, Abbott said.

For artists, the festival’s woodsy backdrop is as much of a draw as the crowd, said stained glass artist Haven Livingston, now in her third year at the fair. A former field biologist who spent decades studying intertidal organisms along the Pacific coast, Livingston often brings the natural environment into her designs. Many of the fair’s attendees share that connection to the landscape and respond to her work, she said.

“The setting instills in people this sense of being at summer camp,” Livingston said.

Kings Mountain resident Xuan Ho began selling her work at the fair a year after moving to the area in 1998. She had only recently discovered mosaics — inspired by Antoni Gaudí’s architecture during a trip to Barcelona — when her new neighbors encouraged her to apply to the fair’s “Mountain Artists” section, which showcases locals outside the competitive jury process.

On the third day of her first year at the festival, performing artist Neil Young bought one of her pieces for his wife, Ho said. That was a huge motivation for her to continue, and she’s been involved in the art fair ever since.

In 2009, one attendee came to Ho’s booth and sat on a mosaic table she was selling. Ho realized there was a need for some place people could rest while they enjoy the art, so she proposed to create mosaic benches with other volunteers. In addition to the five benches they made that year, they’ve since added numerous mosaic signs and murals around the community center.

Next year, Ho is retiring from the four to five art fairs she usually attends annually. However, she’s keeping the Kings Mountain Art Fair on her calendar — it’s her local and beloved art fair, she said, and the people have the best spirit.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, about 65% of firefighters in the United States are volunteers. A survey the agency conducted in 2020 found that there has been a sharp drop in the total number of firefighters due to a decline in volunteers.

“Volunteer departments across the country are becoming increasingly challenged, because of the amount of training that’s required” Stern said. “Some people take emergency services for granted, and so we like to be very proud of the services that we provide. Having people come to the art fair and support us is a really important part of our jobs.”

Go to kingsmountainartfair.org for more information.