21st Annual Big Sur Jade Festival - Day One

Day One of the 21st Annual Big Sur Jade Festival started for me in my bed in Paso Robles. My original plan had been to spend Thursday night at the festival and assist Kirk Brock set up his booth after the Pacific Valley School let out for the Columbus Day weekend and he and the volunteers chalked out the show layout. However, work yesterday and my intense desire to spend one last night in my own bed before uncomfortably sleeping in my car led me instead to get up this morning and come up to the show. I arrived around 9:30 a.m. and immediately proceeded to assist Kirk whom hired me to work in his booth for the show this year filling in for his usual girls who could not make it. What follows is my record of images captured today, the first day of this year's festival. They appear in the order in which they were taken.

Be sure to check out Day Two and Day Three of this event. 

Botryoidal jade from Cape San Martine on a wood burl base.

Mike Burkleo's jade blade knives were my favorite thing at the show this year.

The petrified dinosaur bone handled jade-bladed knife was my single favorite item at the show.

Had I the fundage I would have purchased this item in a heartbeat and forever treasured it.

Note how the jade tang fits all the way up through the two-paneled petrified dinosaur bone handle.

A Mike Burkeo piece held by me with Mike sitting in the background.

The aforementioned and viewed jade blade sitting atop a gorgeous jade bowl sculpture.

Kirk Brock's Rock Solid Jade booth in which I worked throughout the festival this year.

The west-end boys. Note Brian and Anastasia Hendricks' Jade Festival clothing booth at right.

The displays this year were out of sight... this is an area of the show that is rapidly improving from year to year.

Late-afternoon view down onto the schoolgrounds turned showgrounds.

Local Big Sur jade which is a type of nephrite.

The previously-viewed botryoidal jade with late afternoon sun giving new perspective to its texture and structure.

My buddy Mike Lyon's big jade cobble.

All photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).