“Art Fest,” a new exhibit by the Sausalito Historical Society, opens on Wednesday, April 26 in the Exhibit Room on the 3rd floor of City Hall with a reception from 6 - 7 p.m.

“Art Fest” is a retrospective look at the posters, T-shirts, programs, and various Festival ephemera and memorabilia collected over the years.

The roots of the Sausalito Art Festival stretch back to September 6, 1952, when a small event took place at Shell Beach, where the Spinnaker Restaurant stands today. Originally called the “Sausalito Art Fair,” over time the “Fair” became a “Festival” and its location moved to the Casa Madrona Hotel, then to a parking lot at Bridgeway and Anchor Streets, then to the Central School grounds in the early 1960s, and finally to its most recent location near the Bay Model and Marinship Park.

The Festival's producers have shifted from local artists, to the Sausalito Artists and Merchants Association to the Chamber of Commerce to the Sausalito Art Association, to the City of Sausalito, and finally, the Sausalito Art Festival Foundation. Local nonprofits and volunteers have always been a big part of the event.