ENCINITAS ---- Hundreds of people spent a sunny Saturday exploring some of Leucadia's most beautiful gardens, browsing an outdoor marketplace and watching dance performances at the second annual Encinitas Garden Festival.

Festival committee chairperson Nan Sterman estimated that "many hundreds" of people attended the one-day festival billed as a celebration of gardening, horticulture and community at Cottonwood Creek Park. More than 90 volunteers helped put on the festival, which was supported by the city of Encinitas, the Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Encinitas MainStreet Association, and Leucadia 101 MainStreet Association.

Sterman said this year's festival was "completely reorganized from last year" and featured more vendors at the Gardener's Marketplace, more food vendors and an expanded dance program by the Patricia Rincon Dance Collective.

Once again, the highlight of the festival was the self-guided walking tour of local gardens. Double-decker buses departed from the park every 15 minutes and made several stops throughout Leucadia, where 27 gardens and one greenhouse were on display. The gardens, most of which were on Hymettus, East Glaucus, Hillcrest, Wilstone and Eucalyptus streets, varied from a "zen" garden featuring a variety of desert plants to a raised bed vegetable garden to a banana grove.

"We want to make sure there's something for everyone," said Sterman.

At Cottonwood Creek Park, the Gardner's Marketplace featured dozens of vendors selling hundreds of varieties of plants, birdhouses, wind chimes and other decorative garden items. There were also several educational exhibits by organizations such as the Encinitas Community Wildlife Habitat Project and the San Diego Turtle and Tortoise Society, as well as food vendors.

Dozens of people sat on the hillside to watch performances by the Patricia Rincon Dance Collective, which featured over 50 costumed dancers performing modern, hip-hop, classic and salsa dances throughout the afternoon. Dancers from the Collective also performed at seven garden sites throughout the walking tour.

"Bringing arts to Encinitas is really my mission," said Patricia Rincon. "We're trying to develop an audience."

Patti Keyes of La Jolla sat on the hillside, enjoying a slice of pizza from Leucadia Pizzeria as she watched the dancers in colorful costumes twist and turn on the stage below. Keyes said she enjoyed the atmosphere of the festival.

"I just love the theme of the whole thing," said Keyes.Ý "The combination of movement and nature, that's what really sparked my interest."

Over at the marketplace, Encinitas resident Meleah Ashford enjoyed some Jamaican jambalaya from Jamroc 101 CafÈ as she learned how to control the "bad" snails in her garden at the Mary's Good Snails booth.

"I try to do organic gardening," she said.

Ashford said she hoped to buy some vegetables to plant in her garden, and that she was enjoying the spectacular spring day.

"It's absolutely gorgeous," said Ashford.

Diana Scott of Carmel Valley and Barb Welch of Rancho Santa Fe perused the marketplace, although Welch said she probably wouldn't be purchasing any plants.

"I'm better with plastic flowers," she explained with a laugh.

Both women, who said they came to Encinitas specifically to go on the garden tour, agreed that their favorite stop was English designer Ingrid Rose's Mediterranean style garden on Hymettus Street, although they also enjoyed dancer Coco Campbell's performance at one of the other gardens.

"She danced at the koi pond," said Scott. "It was very beautiful, very yogalike."

Molly Cook and Pam Wagner of Encinitas said their favorite garden was the meditative garden on East Glaucus Street, and that the enjoyed the entire walking tour.

"It was great," said Cook. "Very well organized, beautiful gardens."

After stepping off the double-decker bus, the women stopped to watch a salsa performance before heading back up to Leucadia for lunch.

"It's nice to come back and see them dancing," said Wagner. "This is such a great way to get the summer going."