Unique variety at Art in the Park

Scores of folks flocked to check out a unique variety of goods at Creekside Park during Rodeo weekend for Sisters' annual Art in the Park. From whimsical handmade birdhouses to handpicked dessert wines from Depoe Bay Winery, 90 vendor booths spread across the grassy lawn with an eclectic mix of craftsmanship.

New vendor Aaron Ysasaga was showing off pillows at his booth - but not just any pillows, American-made therapeutic bamboo pillows from Saga Brothers Home Comfort, a family-owned business in Portland.

"They are made from shredded memory foam on the inside and the outside is bamboo, which is 10 times as strong as cotton and 20 times more breathable," Ysasaga said.

A special highlight this year for kids and adults were giant life-size board games featuring chess and checkers.

Jax Hats, by designer Adrienne Priess, a new vendor from Bend, creates colorful stylish hats for adults and children out of recycled clothing and hand-makes the buttons out of polymer clay.

"My mother, Jackie, created the company 10 years ago out of Missoula, Montana," Priess said.

Jackie Priess wanted to make a cute hat for her two daughters, Adrienne and Bethany, so using a sweater which had seen better days, she created adorable hats that her kids' friends raved about, and that is how her business began in 2007.

Both daughters created a branch of the family business. Adrienne creates Jax hats in Bend and her sister Bethany produces hats out of Montana.

"I enjoy selling my hats at events, but recently I started selling to some stores in Bend. Hopefully Sisters will be next."

On Saturday, visitors and vendors tapped their feet to musical entertainment featured on both sides of the park.

Singer songwriter Cassia Dawn from Madras and her uncle John Fortune teamed up as a unique duo in The Uncharted Project and played a harmonious blend of melodies including folk, rock, soul and Indie music.

"I grew up with my uncle and we became a musical team over a year ago. He writes the music and I write the lyrics," Dawn said.

Paws Up Bakery was created by Pat Parker and Julie Kremers from Coos Bay. The homemade biscuits are filled with good ingredients for your furry friend, such as pumpkin, peanut butter, coconut flour and flax seed.

Parker originally baked cookies for her miniature pinschers years ago.

"Pat and I both drove school buses for the same school, and were hired the same day. We became fast friends, and one thing led to another and now we are in the doggie baking business together," Kremers said.

The Farmer's Daughter, a business owned by Bob Inabnit and his daughter Jill Lorang from Montana is a family partnership between a farmer and daughter. They work on re-purposing items found around their Montana farm and ranch and turn them into distinctive pieces of art.

"My dad and I have been doing this together for nine years, and we have used a lot of repurposed barbwire," Lorang told The Nugget.

This was event-organizer Richard Esterman's 14th Art in the Park, with a silent auction benefitting the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Oregon.

"The public loved the creative endeavor from a lot of new vendors, and everyone enjoys the relaxed atmosphere of the event," Esterman said.