MendocinoFun.com

Here’s a great way to give to a good cause and to have fun!

On Saturday, July 18, from 11 am – 8 pm, Breggo Cellars will hold a Wine-Out to benefit the Cancer Resource Centers of Mendocino County. All tasting fees and 10% of all purchases will be donated to CRCMC. Breggo Tasting Room,  Main Street across from the Music Festival tent;  Breggo Cellars on Hwy 128 in Anderson Valley between Boonville and Philo. With your help, Cancer Resource Center of Mendocino County is able to offer assistance at no cost to those facing cancer in Mendocino County. In Anderson Valley, Breggo is open from 11-5pm.

The 16,000 sq ft tent for the Mendocino Music Festival sits on the Mendocino Headlands, overlooking the Pacific Ocean.Once again, it’s opening day for the Mendocino Music Festival—the 23rd season. As always, the 16,000 square foot tent has been erected on the Mendocino Headlands (you can check out some of the activity using the Mendocino Hotel Webcam), and the musicians are ready. By chance, I was up in the water tower at the Kelley House this morning, helping remove the giant American flag we put up for the Fourth of July shindig. I could hear the orchestra in their final rehearsal before tonight, sounding great!

Looking across Mendocino from the Kelley House Water TowerHeadline performers this year include: Maria Muldaur, Alexander Markov, The Scene, Iva Bittova with Antonin Faijt, Alex de Grassi, and the Joshua Redman Trio. The opera this year is La Boheme. The Piano Series features concerts by Paul Hersh, Gloria Cheng, and Joel Fan.

Father Time and the Maiden, carved out of a single block of redwood, graces the top of the local Masonic Temple.A couple of plugs for events: on Thursday the 23rd, composer Jay Sydeman will be joined by several other modern composers to show off some of their compositions. This event, called MOOT—Music of Our Time, will be in Preston Hall at 3 pm, and it promises to be quite interesting.

The closing night of the festival is the Marion James Memorial Concert, featuring the Festival Orchestra and Chorus. There are 2 pieces being performed: Mozart’s Concerto for Two Pianos, with pianists Carolyn Steinbuck and Susan Waterfall. Carolyn is Marion’s daughter, and she also prepared the 130-member chorus for the second piece: Mozart Requiem. I am singing in the chorus for the Requiem, and it’s going to be beautiful. If you’ve never heard the Requiem, you are in for a treat. I can tell you—the chorus is having a great time with this piece, and that will come across in the performance!

You can check out the full schedule of events on the Mendocino Music Festival Web site.

If you like window shopping, snatching a bargain, or people watching, this is a must attend!

This Saturday, July 11, join the Friends of the Garden for what has become know as the ‘greatest garage sale on the coast’. Sale goods range from garden supplies to antiques and collectibles. The Pack Rat Sale is noted for its quality items, fair prices and friendly service. Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, 18220 N. Highway One, Fort Bragg. For more information, call 707-964-4352.

Even though Memorial Day is really the unofficial start of summer, the Fourth of July weekend is the official start of what I call the “Disneyland Effect.” It’s that time when there are so many people walking around town, they simply start walking in the streets like they’re at Disneyland. It can be a lot of fun if you’re not in a hurry — town is hopping this weekend!

The weekend starts out with a bang. At 9 pm tonight, the fireworks will be blasting out over Noyo Harbor from Pomo Bluffs Park in Fort Bragg. Parking is at Todd Point off Ocean View Drive, and they request a $5 donation.

There are 2 big events on Saturday: the Fourth of July Parade in Mendocino, and the World’s Largest Salmon BBQ in Noyo Harbor. The parade is a big thing in Mendocino, as 5000 people line Main and Lansing Streets to watch. Since the town only has 1000 residents, that’s quite an influx! The Mendocino Coast Chamber of Commerce is the sponsor of the parade. The official judges are located down across the street from the Kelley House Museum, which provides a great viewing area. The lawn slopes down towards the street, so lots of people gather there to watch. The Kelley House also serves food and drinks (including beer) all afternoon. Regardless of where you watch the parade, come on down to Kelley House after the parade — Kevin and the Coconuts (a very popular local band) will be playing, and people will be dancing.

The World’s Largest Salmon BBQ takes place down in Noyo Harbor, where there will be another 5000 people in attendance. The salmon comes from Alaska this year, because salmon fishing is currently banned off the California Coast. This BBQ has been happening for many years, and it’s a big deal. Local celebrities man the grills, too. (Debra DeGraw, CEO of the Chamber, once told me she had to burn the clothes she wore while cooking because she couldn’t get the salmon smell out.)

These are the biggies, but there are many things going on this weekend…. Summer is now in full swing, and there are events all along the coast. The Mendocino Music Festival starts in a couple of weeks for its 23rd season, and I’ll post more about that soon.