Saturday at the annual Olive Festival there will be one event for people of all ages. Though children are anticipated to be taking advantage of the free paint party put on by ARTI-Culture, adults are welcome to join in the experience too. Established in Hollister, ARTI-Culture is an art based business that is volunteering their time and services to give back to the community by providing an opportunity to express themselves and decorate rocks at the festival this year. When asked why, Joel Esqueda, owner of ARTI-Culture, said, “They (the Olive Festival ) are part of the community. We want to be supportive of other community opportunities.” ARTI-Culture co-owner Rolan Resendiz seconded this sentiment saying, “This is our way of saying thank you to the community.”
Esqueda wants people of all ages to realize that anyone can be creative and that no skills are needed to participate, “It’s all fun. The paint parties that I lead are step by step. For the rocks I’ll have examples out there for inspiration for people to freely express themselves.” ARTI-Culture will provide all supplies needed to create your own rock, plus protective gear to keep your clothes clean. As Resendiz explained, “It gets messy, but we’ll bring aprons.”
This will not be the first time ARTI-Culture has had a painting party dedicated to designing rocks. Wanting to recreate success other cities have had with similar projects, ARTI-Culture has already been creating these pieces and strategically leaving them around Hollister. People are encouraged to then pick them up and move them to a new location around the county. This is all done in an effort to promote art and bring joy to residents living within San Benito County.
Local non-profit organization R.E.A.C.H. San Benito Foundation learned of these rocks and approached ARTI-Culture about bringing this program to the Olive Festival for free this year. “R.E.A.C.H. wanted to pick up our San Benito Rocks and we wanted to support them,” Resendiz stated. Both men have a personal connection with R.E.A.C.H.’s mission of improving local opportunities for “Recreation, Exercise, And Community Health.” Evidence of this can be seen as ARTI-Culture has worked with both the Hollister School District and local children on probation to create art opportunities. As Resendez stressed, art is, “a positive, expressive outlet,” that all people can enjoy.
This weekend while you are sampling award-winning olive oils, delicious food, and enjoying live music, you can also head over to ARTI-Culture’s booth to create a San Benito Rock to share with a loved one or place somewhere out in our community.
Tickets for this Saturday’s Olive Festival can be purchased online at http://bit.ly/2v6Kacf. Tickets can also be bought in person at San Benito Bene and Postal Graphics. All other information about the event can be found at www.sanbenitoolivefestival.com.
Arti-Culture has events and events and classes throughout the year. https://www.arti-culture.com/ or https://www.facebook.com/ARTICultureHollister/. 831-205-9954.