Yosemite Sierra Visitors Guide 2008 - (Page 40) Madera County Arts Natural and cultivated works of art surround you in Madera County. In the lowlands, you’ll delight in the hills studded with stunning oaks, miles of spring wildflowers and the tidy rows of vines heavy with grapes in the fall. As you climb into the Sierra Nevada, the majesty arts of towering pines, lush meadows and brown-eyed deer will greet you. And the glories of Yosemite National Park are known to all. With all this beauty, is it any wonder the county is chock full of man-made art? The Madera County Arts Council is a great place to go for information, it maintains an extensive calendar of events in the county’s communities. The headquarters, at Schnoor and Cleveland avenues in Madera, is also a gallery. (maderaarts.org) Along Highway 41, the main route up to the mountains, you’ll find galleries galore. You can even stop in at a wayside chain saw carving workshop famous for its wooden bears. The creekside town of Coarsegold is famous for its little shops, offering everything from deliberately rusted garden ornaments to exquisite antiques. On Memorial Day and labor Day weekends, the village hosts peddlers and antique fairs. If you can’t find something to buy at the fairs, you aren’t shopping hard enough. Thousands of people search for treasures in a relaxed and festive atmosphere. At Coarsegold’s Historic Museum, the goldpanning past comes into focus. Artifacts go back to the 1800s, and one of the buildings is an adobe structure used more than 100 years ago as a wagon way station. Reflect (above) Karl Bralich© - At Elephant Rock (right) Nancy Robbins© - Summer runoff cascading down the Tuolumne River Arachnophobia aside, the Tarantula Festival crawls into town in October, with races, costume contests and cooking contests. Coarsegold’s annual Christmas Faire gives locals and visitors alike a chance to enjoy the season Mountain-style. Just up the road and over hulking Deadwood Mountain, Oakhurst is snuggled into the mountains and is home to a plethora of arts groups, cooperatives and galleries. Check out sierraarttrails.org to see what the artists have for you. On the list spring to autumn is the Sierra Saturday Art Hop, where galleries host art makers creating art. The group also 40 YosemitesierraVisitorsBureau-(559)83-43 http://maderaarts.org http://sierraarttrails.org
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