Silicon Valley Open Studios 2010 is here!

Every year, during the first three weekends in May, more than 320 Silicon Valley artists open their studios up to the public. This free event lets you discover some exciting new artistic talent, or get up close and personal with some of your favorite artists.

You can visit the studios of your choice between the hours of 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday on following weekends:

Weekend One, May 1st & 2nd
Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Gatos, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, San Jose, Saratoga

Weekend Two, May 8th & 9th
Atherton, Belmont, Hillsborough, Menlo Park, Portola Valley, Redwood City, San Carlos, San Mateo, Woodside

Weekend Three, May 15th & 16th
East Palo Alto, Ladera, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Loyola, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale

For more information regarding this event, visit their website or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

Note to self: wine tasting doesn’t have to be a snobby and uptight affair. It can be fun, filled with food and friends and sunshine! Apparently, every year there is a Mountain View Art & Wine Festival. This year’s festival was over the weekend of September 12^th and 13^th and took place right on Castro Street in downtown Mountain View, making it super convenient.

I was really impressed by the scope and size of the festival. There was so much art I hardly even knew where to start looking, but once I did I was immediately immersed in the day. After a few glasses of wine I wanted to take home pretty much every piece I cam across. Luckily, I brought friends to remind me of my common sense.  And I only picked up a couple of pieces, but there is nothing like an art fair to help you decorate your new house, right?

In addition to the great art and wine there was food and music. The food tastings were a lot of fun, but only further wet our appetites for some of the cool restaurants on Castro Street. We popped in about mid-day to help level ourselves out hunger wise and alcohol wise and enjoyed the people watching from our slightly removed vantage. Moving here from the city, I really thought I’d have to give days like this up, but more and more Mountain View is surprising me and turning out to be just as great as the city. I guess, maybe the only bad thing about this would be that since it’s a smaller area you might accidentally make a fool out of yourself while intoxicated in front of people you know instead of complete strangers. But then again, that means there is someone to carry you home.