A day at the celebration from start to finish

Long before crafters, tired from Saturday's events, have risen to start the second day of the 22nd annual Minden Arts and Crafts Street Celebration, the rumbling, clattering sounds of the huge Town of Minden dump truck maneuvers its way through the alleys and side streets on either side of Esmeralda Avenue to empty the overflowing Dumpsters in preparation for another day.

Esmeralda Avenue, the location of this yearly event, is blanketed in a sea of white Caravan and EZ-up crafters tents, their interesting contents still shrouded from public view by protective drop down curtains. An early riser, town board member Ross Chichester, is already up and down the avenue to get a sense of how the first day of the event had been and, what, if anything, could be done to make Sunday even better.

The first business doors to open to the public were that of The Bank Parlor and Pub, offering an inviting selection of coffees, teas, bagels and muffins to crafters and early risers for the last day of the weekend event. Owners, Cheryl and Steve Boler, had been open at 5 a.m. Saturday morning to offer the same libations, for the crafters and early risers. After being open until 11 p.m. Saturday and staying to the last closing minutes, they were back at it again providing the services needed to get the event up and going.

Next to appear on the street was Barry Jobe and his gallery assistant, Gene Young, setting up a display of artwork for Lone Tree Gallery. The town was coming alive with activity. A walk along the curtained booths revealed one by one, opening up for another day with crafters getting their displays ready for a day of fun with the people who would come to visit, enjoy and hopefully buy some of the products available for sale.

Jill Brown and her husband Dave, proprietors of Aurora "an Oasis of Style," were two of the first vendors to open their curtains for the morning. Aurora sells custom-made Southwest jewelry.

"It takes so long to set all this up," Jill said as she busied herself around the jewelry display cases while her two dogs supervised the action. "My husband and I have retired, well, kind of," she said as she kept on organizing her displays.

From Phoenix, they bought a motor home, a year ago, and now, in their semi-retirement, they make the craft show circuit, picking and choosing as they travel the U.S.

"We picked Minden as one of the shows we do because it is such a peaceful place. It is such a pleasure to be here. I am from a small town and this would be someplace we would eventually love to live," Brown said.

Next to arrive during the awakening of another craft fair day was Roxanne Stangle, owner of Tumblewinds, a business that has been in the same location for 38 years. Stangle has been one of the driving forces behind the Minden Street Celebration for the past 22 years. Going from vendors, to shop owners, to maintenance personnel, Stangle greets everyone with a cheery smile while making sure everything was is in order and running smoothly.

New this year, in the CVIC Hall, the owners and representatives of the seven art galleries in Carson Valley came together for a conglomerate display of the variety of art available in the Valley to promote the Valley as an art destination. Painting demonstrations were provided by Buz Schott as well as Jo Linda Smith

One by one, the protective covers were coming off the booths revealing the contents. Everything from jewelry, to bronze statues, to lotions and skin creams, hand made soaps, custom clothing, water fountains and other curios. The variety was endless. The smells of cooking soon filled the air offering everything from good old downhome barbecue to something resembling "Chinese fast food." Esmeralda Avenue and the final day of the Street Celebration in Minden was coming to life.

An afternoon working in the beer booth turned into a time to talk with old friends and make many new ones. The beer booth became a gathering place as it was located right in the center of Esmeralda and Fourth Street and right next to enjoyable entertainment provided by the Sound Bytes, a duo, Steve Dromensk and Dave Kibler, who whisked the listeners away on a nostalgic trip back to the '60s and '70s with the music of everything from Jan and Dean, Beach Boys and the Ventures to the sounds of Creedance Clearwater, Left Bank and the Dave Clark 5. The audience was provided front row, hay-bale seating and there was "Dancing in the Street."

By 5 p.m. the celebration had come to a close, the sea of white disappeared and Esmeralda Avenue was returned to normal.

n Jonni Hill is a staff writer at The Record-Courier. She can be reached at jhill@recordcourier.com or by calling 782-5121, ext. 213.