Zinefest opens Labor Day

By Estella Fuentes
The Guardsman

…………San Francisco’s ninth annual Zine Fest will be held this upcoming Labor Day weekend at Golden Gate Park’s county fair building.

This year’s fest will showcase a wide range of works presented by 120 exhibitors. Organizers expect that at least 2500 people will show up and enjoy comic books, artist trading cards and much more.

“All is fair in love and creativity,” cartoonist, Josh Barone said.

Barone will be exhibiting his comic book “National Security State,” during his first appearance at Zine Fest.

Spectators can attend do-it-yourself workshops, panel discussions with special guests, an art show and a reading room featuring ‘zines by all the exhibitors. The featured workshops are bookbinding and screen printing.

“Zine Fest really has something for everyone,” event organizer, François Vigneault said. “Every subject and style is represented, from the political to the personal, from hilarious comics to deeply moving stories.”

This year’s special guests were chosen by organizers because their work has made an impact in the small-press world. Organizers only picked three to emphasize the importance of these artists’ work in the do-it-yourself community.

V. Vale has founded and published ‘zines in the Bay Area for decades. His more well-known projects include “Re/Search” and “Search and Destroy.”

Artnoose is a prominent local artist whose bimonthly ‘zine “Ker-Bloom!” has been printed by letterpress for the last 14 years.

Jesse Reklaw is a local cartoonist and creator of “Slow Waves,” which is printed in six alternative news weeklies. He recently self-published the 384-page diary comic “Ten Thousand Things to Do” and designed this year’s Zine Fest flyer.

To fund the fest, organizers will host events around town prior to Zine Fest weekend. The second annual Zine Fest Benefit Show will be on August 26 at 10 p.m. at Amnesia, 853 Valencia St.

They will also host a “comics reading” at the Cartoon Art Museum, 655 Mission St. The reading will include John Porcellino, Ed Luce, Jamaica Dyer and Jesse Reklaw.

Zine fest started in 2002 as a do-it-yourself event where local Bay Area artists could share their work with mainstream culture. It was also used as an opportunity to expose the general public to new creative ideas of self-expression.

Zine fest will be Sept. 4-5 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is free. For more information visit Blog.sfzinefest.com