Napa Porchfest 2011 - Part 2

Napa Porchfest was embraced by the artists, homeowners and residents of Napa.  As I drove around the morning of the event distributing yard signs, I found porches all spruced up and ready for visitors.  In Spencers' Addition, also known as "The Alphabet Streets", lovely signs sprang up in gardens.

One house had shade tents set up and chairs for guests.  Another had a colorful sign for the artist playing later that afternoon.  Another house had a popcorn machine ready for the crowd.

On Warren Street in Old West Napa (my neighborhood) there were shade structures, chairs, sidewalk decorations, food and wine ready for visitors.  A great young band named Anadel played here.

At our house, John set up monitors on the porch to show the keyboards of the two grand pianos so that visitors could see all the hands in action.  The group, comprised of John, Melissa, Jeremy and Anne - played a program of Beethoven and John Phillip Sousa.  Mayor Jill stopped by to see "Eight Hands Afoot" in action. 

 

There was a lot of interest in the classical piano ensemble - so much so - that visitors arrived a half-hour early to get seats.  Fortunately we had some seats available on the porch, as some guest did not seem to get the message that they needed to bring their own chairs.

People arrived on foot, a few by car, and many on bicycles.  The video spot that John created which included the Eagle Cycling Club and members of the Napa Bicycle Coalition helped get the word out that the best way to get around to the 28 venues in 3 hours was to ride a bike!

Charlotte Watter did an outstanding job as the expert representative of the fictional "Napa Heritage Society".

Other videos for the event can be found at the Napa Porchfest channel on Youtube.

Feedback from the community has been extremely positive.  People were thrilled that this event was FREE, was for local residents, featured local talent, and focused on our own very special neighborhoods.  We definitely plan on having a Napa Porchfest in 2012 - so put July 29, 2012 on your calendar now.