By: Emily Wu, Staff Writer

The Millbrae Art and Wine festival took place from August 31st to September 1st, showcasing local vendors with their crafts and businesses. The annual festival was located on Broadway, downtown Millbrae and featured handmade goods, bags, jewelry, clothes, and collectibles.

One of the highlights that people look forward to is the variety of food stands. “My favorite booth was the one selling crab sandwiches,” Elijah Cabatic (11) said. “The crab sandwiches were very good and the garlic fries were decent.” 

In addition to the savory options, the Treats by the Bay Food Truck was a favorite with its excellent sweets. “I loved their ‘Vietnamese affogato’ which was just a cup of vanilla soft serve with a shot of Vietnamese coffee poured over it,” Abigail Chai (12) added. “It was super refreshing and a fun treat to have during the day.”

At the same time, it wasn’t just the excellent food booths that attracted Art and Wine festival goers. This year’s festival featured returning booths alongside new vendors and products. As usual, the crochet stands are always attracting a cluster of people. “My favorite booth was the crochet booth,” Mikayla Ho (9) recounted. “There were so many uniquely crafted figures. They sold crocheted dolls, characters, wallets, purses, and so much more.” Beyond the popular crochet stands, other booths ordered a range of interesting finds, from handcrafted jewelry to vintage posters and signs.

Despite the diverse array of food and artisan products being a big hit for the crowds, students also observed a noticeable difference in the energy at the event compared to past years.

Students recalled that past years had provided and offered them more entertaining and enjoyable experiences. Sara Meng (11) mentioned, “A lot of people but the stalls felt empty.” Continuing on this note, Madison Lin (9) stated, “I think last year was funner because there were more booths.” 

It has been noticed that there have been fewer booths this year. “The festival this year was overall just underwhelming with the amount of stalls there were, and the majority of the stalls were all selling either the same or similar stuff.” Suri Rastani (9) stated. 

Although there have been opinions about the lack of energy at the fair, some people thought that there were reasons behind it. “When I volunteered at the Arts and Wine, they had lots of internal disorganization because the lead from last year left so lots of businesses and organizations missed out on the opportunity from how out of order everything was. There was a noticeable shift and energy of the event was mainly due to this but they will probably have all of their stuff worked out for next year,” Amelia Naughten (11) recalled. Even though there were some challenges that made the atmosphere feel empty, crowds were still able to enjoy their time at the festival. 

 “Overall, I would say that the Art and Wine festival still found a way to prove to be a big attraction to the Bay Area,” Mikayla Ho (9) said. As always, the festival remains to be a lively and exciting event that brings Millbrae and surrounding communities together.