Join the East Bay Vintner’s Alliance (EBVA) on August 2 from 1 to 5 p.m. as it hosts “Urban Wine Xperience” on the Ferry Lawn at Jack London Square in Oakland. Over 20 urban wineries from the EBVA will pour a wide array of white, rose, red and dessert wines for you to taste and enjoy.
Photo by Robert Redmond
Published: August, 2014
Time for Some Urban Wine
Join the East Bay Vintner’s Alliance (EBVA) on August 2 from 1 to 5 p.m. as it hosts “Urban Wine Xperience” on the Ferry Lawn at Jack London Square in Oakland. Over 20 urban wineries from the EBVA will pour a wide array of white, rose, red and dessert wines for you to taste and enjoy. In addition, local eateries and food purveyors will team up with the various wineries, creating delicious bites that pair beautifully with the EBVA’s wine portfolio. There’s no need to travel to wine country when you can experience the ultimate wine tasting in your own urban backyard. Tickets are $45 for nonmembers in advance. Visit www.eastbayvintners.com for more information.
Beaverfest!
Free family fun for the entire family is what you will find on Saturday, August 2 at this unique Bay Area landmark event. The Seventh Annual Beaver Festival in historic downtown Martinez features live music, wildlife exhibits from seven counties, children’s activities and beaver tours. Learn how and why every city should co-exist with beavers. The first 100 children earn a Wildbryde charm necklace. Everyone will find something special at this one-of-a-kind celebration of local nature and its most famous grassroots civic success story. The event takes place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Beaver Park on Alhambra and Marina Vista Avenue in Martinez.
Saturday in the Park
The Greater Vallejo Recreation District (GVRD) is celebrating its 70th Birthday on Saturday, August 9. You are cordially invited to help celebrate GVRD’s rich history and contributions and to thank the community for supporting the district throughout the years. There will be entertainment, including the Jimi Hendrix tribute band Purple Haze, food (for purchase), and a kids corner. And the best part of all—admission is free. The event takes place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Blue Rock Springs Park at 650 Columbus Parkway. For more information, visit www.gvrd.org.
51st Annual Benicia Peddlers’ Fair
The Benicia Peddlers’ Fair is one of Northern California’s oldest and most popular antique and collectibles street fairs. For over 50 years, customers and vendors throughout the region have come to enjoy Benicia’s wonderful weather and beautiful waterfront setting. This outdoor event began in 1963 with a few collectible and antique stores displaying their items on tables outside St Paul’s Church. It has grown into 300 select antique and collectible dealers from all over the country and 20,000+ loyal fans. The fair now spans the entire 11 blocks of First Street in the historic town of Benicia, with beautiful views of the Carquinez Strait. The show offers connoisseurs and new collectors alike an opportunity to examine and purchase items that include period furniture, decorative antiques, vintage textiles and fashion, pottery, porcelain, pink and blue depression glass, paintings, prints, jewelry, clocks, watches and much more. The fair gives the public a rare opportunity to ask questions from knowledgeable dealers and witness firsthand some items of rare historical value. This year’s fair will be held on Saturday, August 9 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Indy Cars Roar into Sonoma
Open-wheel cars. All-star drivers. Twelve turns and 85 laps to make it to the front of the pack. The excitement of Indy Car racing returns to the serpentine Sonoma circuit August 24 through 26 for the GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma. Fans enjoyed a new era of Indy Car racing in Sonoma last year, complete with new cars, new engines and a newly revamped circuit. The combination led to the best race ever seen in Sonoma, with Ryan Briscoe taking the checkers. Briscoe became the seventh different driver in eight years to win in Sonoma. Be there to enjoy a full weekend of racing, including the return of the SCCA World Challenge Series and Formula Car Challenge. You’ll also be treated to an expansive vendor midway, charity auction and an entertaining pre-event show on Sunday, highlighted by the Patriots Jet Team air show. For more information and tickets, visit www.racesonoma.com.
New Music Center in Sonoma
A new 250-seat cathedral-like recital hall specifically designed to accentuate instruments, organ and voice in a small, intimate setting will open in Sonoma on August 23 with a weekend of free concerts for the community. Located in the Green Music Center (GMC) of Sonoma State University, Schroeder Hall’s gently-curved stone exterior and distinctive, swooping roofline punctuate the south perimeter of the GMC grounds. The hall will also house a 1,248-pipe Brombaugh Opus 9 organ. The grand opening festivities will feature nearly a dozen free concerts throughout the weekend that showcase Schroeder Hall’s many acoustical attributes, as well as talent from the campus, community and beyond. For more information, visit gmc.sonoma.edu.
Historic Houseboat Tour
Enjoy a delightful afternoon of strolling and storytelling, dancing, reciting and philosophizing with Sausalito artist and author of the Sausalito Wooden Boat Tour guide book, Victoria Colella. Look out over Richardson’s Bay and Mount Tamalpais as your guide gives an overview of Sausalito’s nautical history. Understand how wooden boat building has influenced the development of the town as you move from dock to dock. Then enter into the old shipyard to follow the path of the gantry cranes where the Liberty Ships were assembled during WWII. Visit the “cathedral of wooden boat building” known as the Spaulding Boatworks. The tour finishes up with a fine table of tea and cookies at the old boat lettering shack at Sausalito’s working waterfront. Public walking tours are on Saturdays and Sundays from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. year round. Tickets are $50 per person with children under 12 half price. Book directly from the website at www.sausalitowoodenboattour.com.
