The Sam and Alfreda Maloof Foundation for Arts and Crafts in Rancho Cucamonga is opening its gates this weekend for the 24th Annual Mexican Folk Art Weekend, a free, two-day event showcasing handcrafted pottery, alebrijes, copper, silverware, textiles and other folk art from Mexican artisans and local artists. The event runs Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the foundation's site at 5131 Carnelian St.
Admission is free and no reservations are required, according to the Maloof Foundation. Saturday's schedule also includes a member and donor preview from 10 to 11 a.m., and a tour that day is set to feature alebrijes and Mata Ortiz pottery drawn from the Maloofs' own personal collection, per the foundation's visitor information. The weekend will include artists' demonstrations and free family activities, according to a news release cited by the Daily Bulletin.
A Tradition Rooted in Friendship
The festival was kickstarted by Sam Maloof and Nick Brown.
María Sabina Ángeles Mendoza is the daughter of Jacobo and María Ángeles.
Craft Traditions
She has described the craft passed down through generations in her community in an interview with Sixty Inches From Center, saying, “our community's tradition is working with Copal wood, to carve, shape and paint what we call “monos, tonas and nahuales”.” She has also linked wood carving and hand painting to tonas and nahuales, per the release.
This weekend, Ángeles Mendoza will exhibit and sell her own work, and will offer a paint-your-own-nahual station for a fee, along with a kit for sale so visitors can paint a nahual at home, the Daily Bulletin reports. Inland Empire artists will also exhibit, demonstrate and sell paintings, ceramics and printwork throughout the festival.
A Long History of Big Crowds
The event has drawn substantial crowds in past years. When the Daily Bulletin covered the 15th annual Mexican Folk Art Weekend in 2014, an organizer said more than 1,000 people had attended the prior year's festival. That 2014 report also noted that half the artists showcasing their work that year were returning participants while the other half were exhibiting at the event for the first time, and it described the weekend as including a tour of the historic Sam Maloof house and a free Mexican lunch.
