The Poway Arts & Crafts Guild (PACG) is a member of the Old Poway Park Action Committee and is a nonprofit organization. Founded in 1986 to promote the awareness of quality traditional crafts and craftsmanship in the  local community and encourage, inform, and inspire both the beginning and the established craftsperson by providing a form for exchanging ideas and concerns. (Mission Statement). We are contemporary craft artists working in traditional crafts. It’s not about historical reproductions but showing a direct connection to the home crafts and trade crafts of past times.

 

     In 1986 PACG established a cooperative art gallery for local crafters in what is now the Old Poway Village on  Midland Road. The founding members of the Guild had been involved previously in a San Diego cooperative  gallery. After several years it was decided to try a series of monthly outdoor craft fairs for guild members and guest artists. These were held at various locations in the Old Poway area. When the City of Poway acquired the  Old Poway Park property. PACG moved their shows to the site where the train depot was later built. Relocating  several times within the park until their permanent location around the boardwalk. In 2021 the Boardwalk Craft Market evolved into the Artisan Market in Old Poway Park reaching beyond the boardwalk limits. Now artists are on the boardwalk and depending on availability the Carriage Turn. Hours are 8am to 2pm the first and third Saturdays through August. From Labor Day to Christmas the Market is every  Saturday. 

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     The first Boardwalk Craft Market was in 1993 presented by PACG to promote our local creativity. Guild  members and guest artists display, demonstrate and sell their hand crafted items. All artists are juried on  their craftsmanship to ensure the quality of work and products. The purpose was not to provide an outlet for  products but to keep the Park’s Living History emphasis and demonstrate the enduring value of traditional arts  and crafts.  

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     The Boardwalk Craft Market represents a wide variety of traditional crafts. Including weaving, quilting, knitting,  metal smithing, glass blowing, beading, jewelry, basketry, woodworking, decorative painting, candle and soap  making, pottery ceramics and so much more.  

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     A portion of all fees collected support PACG’s Jenna Parke & Voletta Hervy Donation Funds. For the past 16 years PACG has taken requests from local middle and high schools for equipment and supplies that their art  departments may need. The association also hosts the Kristin Osborn Student Art Festival, which allows those student to showcase their work in a public setting at the Old Poway Park.