By Elizabeth Chen, Staff Writer
With the absence of a classic Millbrae tradition in 2020 due to COVID-19, the Millbrae Art & Wine Festival has come back better than ever this year! The Millbrae Art and Wine Festival is an annual event that happens every Labor Day weekend in downtown Millbrae. The festival has rides, food, wine, art, jewelry, and stands for fundraising.
Even with the ability to host the event, due to the pandemic, there was, unfortunately, a decrease in booths and many large spaces between different sections of them. The first section, which spanned from Naked Fish to One Martial Arts, included rides like a rocking pirate ship, a large slide and a train that circled around the first block of rides, and carnival games like a water gun race. The next section included a water stand, a Vietnamese food truck, one of the stages which had general performances like singing and dancing, and stands that contained jewelry, candles, bags, and various foods like spicy jerky and pomegranate jam. Following this, there was the second stage which was exclusively for music and is where the MMAG (Mills Music Arts Group) performed. The third section was very packed and contained rows of food including, garlic fries, juice, big turkey legs, sandwiches, juice, smoothies, and crab. The final section, spanning from Sweet Indulgence to the end of Broadway, contained the remaining stands which were very similar to the second section.
The cooks at most of the food stands, although they had masks, were not wearing them due to the heat and standing next to grills, although the majority of attendees were wearing masks. Likely due to the pandemic, many attractions were excluded from the festival. For example, the zipline, hamster balls and ride that went upside down were all no longer present. There also seemed to be a smaller amount of stages and the two stages contained minimal seating meaning that there were crowds of people standing on the sides.
The vendors, organizers, and Millbrae City council members ended up organizing and hosting the Millbrae Art & Wine festival very well and were able to turn the occasion into a reality despite the presence of COVID-19. Here’s to hoping for another great festival next year!
