Holiday shopping can seem overwhelming, but if you’re looking for a one-of-kind, hand crafted and locally made gift, forget online shopping and head to Point Arena on Saturday, December 10 when the Point Arena Merchant’s Association (PAMA) hosts Hometown Holidays. This special event is when many of the businesses stay open late and create a magical holiday event.

The Coast Highway Art Collective has participated in Hometown Holidays for many years, transforming its gallery space into a holiday wonderland, filled with gifts for everyone on your list. The collective members are excited to host an opening reception for their Winter Magic Holiday Gift Fair on Saturday, December 10 from 11:00am to 7:00pm, featuring live music, meet the artists and all that art. Everyone in the community is invited.

The members of the collective have been creating very special items for this event, including many handcrafted ornaments for the Christmas Tree. They will be displayed in the center of the gallery on the holiday tree. Visitors will find art in several mediums, including painting, ceramics, textiles, photography, wood work, metal, jewelry and mixed media. Guest artists for the month of December include Shawn Quinlan, Misfit Stockings, Nicolette Kaliebe, leather, and Emma Hurley, clothing and ceramics. Collective members bringing in special items are Elizabeth Beronich Solomon, handmade toys; Chris Grassano, painting; Rozann Grunig, photography; Jacqueline Mooney, Wildfire Fusion fused glass; Scott Sewell, photography; Deborah Threlkel, Abalone Queen; Andrea Allen, Chinese Brush Stroke painting; Perry Hoffman, ceramics, photography, painting and more; Ling Yen Jones, finely crafted jewelry and Linda Green, ceramics.

Music for the opening reception will be provided by Bards of a Feather from 2:00pm to 4:00pm, the musical duo of Sharon and Jim Lieberman. They play acoustic guitar, mandolin, tambourine and fiddle and specialize in old blues tunes from the 1920s to folk tunes from the 60’s and 70’s. Their repertoire includes music they learned on the streets of Mexico when they lived there in the 1970s, as well as works from some French songwriters the couple fell in love with. From 4:00pm to 7:00pm, Blue Velvet, featuring Bryn Harris, Tom Merline and Keith Abrams perform. It promises to be a memorable evening!

The show runs from December 2 through December 24. The Coast Highway Art Collective is located at 284 Main Street, Point Arena, the little red building with the big yellow sun, located next to the Redwood Coast Credit Union. Regular hours in December are Friday through Sunday, 11:00am to 4:00pm. Visit the website at Coast-Highway-Artists.com for information about the collective’s artists, upcoming events and how to join.