The Fall 2013 Long Beach Patchwork Indie Arts & Crafts Festival returns to Marine Stadium in Long Beach this Sunday. This semi-annual arts & crafts fair consists of a series of Sunday fairs at four different locations: Long Beach, Oakland, Santa Ana, and, new this year, Phoenix. To envision Patchwork Fest, imagine an arts & crafts fair, but catered to a modern trendy crowd. As I describe it to others, imagine an art fair full of hipsters, but in a non-offensive way. The many local vendors set up their booths here, selling their wares, merchandise, apparel, accessories, foods, desserts, music, and so on. Patchwork Fest emphasizes supporting the local community, a perfect precursor to Small Business Saturday that arrives in less than two weeks following Patchwork Fest.
Completely free to attend to the public, Patchwork Fest openly welcomes pets, and boasts a free bike valet for visitors. Aisles upon aisles will feature over a hundred different local vendors all selling their various goods and/or services. Check out the few music booths around the area, which will host local musicians. Visitors who get hungry can enjoy fresh eats from the various food trucks that will serve at the back aisle, or can browse through the various food booths in the fair.
As a FREE event open to all ages and all pets, Patchwork Fest presents a welcome opportunity to support the local community. Commuting visitors should look for parking in the surrounding neighborhoods, as Marine Stadium’s parking lot will remain closed to traffic due to the setup of the fair. If you cannot make it to Patchwork Fest this weekend, fret not – you can catch the Orange County edition in Santa Ana in two weeks. Come experience what makes Patchwork Fest a repeat success, and support local businesses while having fun this Sunday.
