Benicia Farmer’s market never disappoints. I always like to stop by Kelly White’s booth “Masquerade Face Painting” at the Benicia Farmer’s Market to watch her meticulously and with a steady hand create eye-popping works of art on the dewy faces of children. There is invariably a line of very patient kids waiting their turn after selecting a design from a bulletin board of photos. She sets up in front of Fox and Fawn, where cupcakes sustain happy shoppers. Her work table is neatly arranged with cans of pristine sable brushes and a paintbox of high intensity colors, metallics, stickers, and jewels. “I’m usually here from 4 until 7:30, painting without a break,” says Kelly who clearly adores her work. A very still and serious little boy beams when he is handed a mirror to see the finished product. He can’t stop admiring the transformation as he views his new face from all angles. Watching from the sidelines, his parents are tickled by his delight. Another client happy and proud of her newly painted face, watches as her little sister gets a swirling blue and silver design brushed on her forearm. See photo.
Standing in his own space next to Kelly is Fred McCarty, singer, songwriter, guitarist, composer, and entertainer who is singing an oldie as he strums his guitar. I drop a dollar in his jar before grabbing a chair to watch Kelly work her magic. Reading his brochure, I see that he studied jazz theory under Chuck Mangione and is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. He performs alone, as a duo, is lead vocalist in three bands, and has appeared with or opened for Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson, among other greats. He’ll play again at the September 22 Farmer’s Market. Still watching Kelly, I am surprised when Fred walks over and thanks me for my tip. Wish I’d put in a twenty.
A few doors up, some kids are sitting on the wall in front of Benicia Plein Air Gallery and staring with horror as a pigeon with a broken wing struggles on the sidewalk. A small crowd has gathered trying to figure out how to help. Shortly, a nattily dressed fellow, Kevin Garrett, approaches the bird, bends down slowly and cups his hands, gently lifting the injured pigeon and placing it in a flower cart. Within seconds the bird falls and lands in the bushes hopping about in a panic. Kevin calls the Lindsay Wildlife Center in Walnut Creek which is closed and asks a friend get a cardboard box. “I’ll take him home, until I can get help in the morning, if he lives through the night,” Kevin says. I thank him for his compassion and learn that he works in the jail in Richmond as a drug counselor and with the mentally ill. It was heart warming to see empathy modeled in such a simple way.
I notice a new vendor in front of the Burmese restaurant in the Washington House building standing behind a table covered in a jaunty red checkered tablecloth and stacked with jars of jellies, jams, and oils. “Nonie Travalini’s Jam, Jelly and Oil” is a family business run by Rachelle Travalini who lives downtown and works a couple days a week at Lucca’s. Rachelle’s recipes, made in small batches, have intriguing names — Pineapple Chipotle, Blackberry Meyer Lemon, and Carmel Apple Pie. This is not your grandmother’s Smuckers.
A new gallery is coming to First Street where Gallery 621 and then Sweetness and Light Flowers resided. Benicia Art Glass Gallery is a partnership between Nourot Studios and Bay Blown Glass of Vallejo. Michael Nourot and his wife textile and glass artist Ann Corcoran birthed the Benicia art glass movement in 1974 when they turned an abandoned warehouse on 6th and H St. into a glass blowing factory and showroom and gave Benicia international exposure. I remember going to demonstrations and watching with awe as graceful vases took shape after many turns in the fire and holding my breath hoping that they wouldn’t drop the molten glass balanced on the ends of their poles. Michael and Anne grew a loyal clientele turning out award winning vessels, glasses, and perfume bottles that made their way into the collections of Presidents and at least one Pope. Their son Nicholas who started designing and producing glass at the factory when he was only six has never stopped studying and innovating taking charge of the business with his mother after Michael’s death in 2015 and forming Nicholas Nourot Glass. Grand Opening Sept. 2, 4-8 pm. Welcome back!
Sarah Beserra is an artist, collector, Dharma practitioner, and former lobbyist.
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Letters From Benicia 