Take to the street for artful fair

KAREN WIGHT

Tucked between plain office buildings and trendy bikini boutiques is

a Balboa street filled with charm and character. Antique stores, art

galleries, floral designers and unique eateries are the trademark of

31st Street, and their owners invite you to join them on Nov. 13 for

an open-air open house.

The festivities will begin at 10 a.m. and continue until 3 p.m. In

addition to the stores and galleries, there will be refreshments

served, compliments of the Cannery Painters, a group of artists

organized by Marilyn Poliquin of Cannery Paints. The painters will

also have their easels filled with canvases, and if you’re in the

market for original art, this is the place to peruse and purchase.

And speaking of canvases, one of my favorite items to give and to

get is the Cannery Painters Cookbook. Each cookbook is covered with a

hand-painted canvas: a celebration of the arts, both culinary and

visual. The new covers will include paintings of flowers, pigs,

chickens, sunflowers, geraniums and food. The recipes are straight

out of the artists’ recipe boxes -- the book is a gift through and

through.

The 2004 edition is filled with a section of new concoctions, so

if you’re lucky enough to already own one, it’s time to get (and

give) the latest version.

The antique stores will have their wares on display. Alta will be

ready for the coffee crowd. Floral designer Oiseaux, a new addition

to the street, will have open doors and, of course, South of France

will have its usual fabulous inventory plus extras for the holiday

season.

Marilyn tells me the Cannery Painters have also been working on

their holiday paintings. I have one of Marilyn’s Christmas creations.

It depicts two children in front of a fireplace with a Christmas tree

in full regalia. I love bringing it out of storage the day after

Thanksgiving and displaying it through the holidays. It reminds me of

the season’s magic. I consider it priceless.

Mark your calendars for Nov. 13 and celebrate the season, do some

shopping and share a nosh with the Cannery Painters on 31st Street: a

true Newport treasure.

* KAREN WIGHT is a Newport Beach resident. Her column runs

Thursdays.