Press Release

Every Labor Day weekend for 57 years, the Kings Mountain Art Fair has taken place. Last year, in the face of a global pandemic, the fair transformed for the first time ever into an online event to keep the tradition going during quarantine. This year, the Art Fair will again be hosted online to allow attendees to shop safely from a distance to purchase art and chat live with participating artists online.

“One of the most important goals we have for our fair each year is to host an inclusive, safe and fun event that supports our artists and motivates and involves our whole community,” said Kings Mountain Art Fair Executive Director Bev Abbott. “We can best accomplish this goal this year by hosting an online fair.”

The Kings Mountain Art Fair is 100% run by volunteers. Residents started the Art Fair in 1963 as a fundraiser to help create a volunteer fire brigade after a house fire in the remote Kings Mountain community. The first fair, held in a red barn in the community, featured mostly local artists and raised $50. Over the course of the past 57 years the fair has continued to grow, and is now a juried show with over 120 independent artists. The KMAF has a reputation among artists and fairgoers alike as one of the best art shows on the West Coast. All art at the fair is original and made by the artists who personally exhibit at the show.

Proceeds from the fair go directly back to the community, supporting the all-volunteer Kings Mountain Fire Department, which responded to 309 incidents last year. In August 2020, they worked with Cal Fire to battle the CZU Lightning Complex fire, for which their efforts received a special commendation from the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors. The men and women of the KMFD volunteer more than 200 hours of their time just in training every year, outside of their full-time jobs and family obligations. As an all-risk fire department, KMFD volunteers are trained for the same emergency services as provided by paid fire departments in the county.

“The Kings Mountain Art Fair has enabled the KMFD to obtain high quality fire equipment and apparatus. We recently put into service a new type 1 structure engine which has enhanced our emergency responses by transporting up to six firefighters in the vehicle, along with better capabilities to enable additional rescue equipment,” said Hank Stern, KMFD Assistant Chief.

Proceeds from the fair also support programs at the Kings Mountain Elementary School, a 3- room school for grades K-5 with approximately 70 children. The school is part of the Cabrillo Unified School District and is the smallest public school in San Mateo County.