Art and Wine: Police Chief Says 'Drink Responsibly'

With Clayton situated on the outskirts of the East Bay, reaching the town by public transportation is a challenge. So the vast majority of the visitors to this weekend's 16th Annual Art and Wine Festival will arrive by car.

Departing in the car can be the tricky part.

The Clayton Police Department has prepared for the two-day event and will have extra officers on duty. The message from Police Chief Dan Lawrence is clear.

"To be safe, you should have a designated driver," Lawrence said. "The Art and Wine event should be more about admiring the art then it is drinking and getting drunk."

Lawrence said the Police Department has worked closely with the Clayton Community Business Association, the organization running the event, to make sure the downtown festival is safe.

All six entrances will be manned by private security guards and there will be officers inside and outside the event.

One of the challenges is keeping alcohol inside the designated drinking area and not letting drinks from businesses — the , and — be carried into the streets.

There will also be fencing around the festival borders, to make sure people don't venture into the rest of downtown.

"We want to make sure the alcohol being served is in a secure safe environment," Lawrence said.

If people plan to have a drink and drive later, Lawrence said they should monitor their consumption very carefully.

"If we see someone walking to their car and it looks like they have had too much to drink, we'll go up to them and say we recommend them not to drive or else they will be arrested," Lawrence said.

In previous years, visitors at the festival have been mostly responsible about drinking and driving. Lawrence said the number of arrests on suspicion of driving under the influence usually is not much higher than a normal weekend.