Southern Sonoma Country Life

Sonoma County's Second Annual Home Brewers Competition — Saturday May 28th, 2016 Sonoma Marin Fairgrounds, Petaluma

It’s no secret that craft beer in Sonoma County has a cult-like, following. Now in its second year, the Sonoma County Home Brewer’s Competition is a Mecca for craft brew aficionados and aspiring craft brewers alike.

Last year’s event saw over 60 home brewers compete for the title of the Best Brew and one lucky competitor, brewers Jeremy Konen and Joe Monostori, won the glory and their Mojo’s Chocolate Milk Stout was produced at 101 North Brewing Co. Mojo was distributed across Sonoma County and met with fan fare, selling every keg in a matter of a few months.... except for one special keg set aside just so anyone that hasn’t tried the winning brew can buy a pint at the event.

The 2nd annual competition takes place at the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds to accommodate a more spacious layout, more attendees, more home brewers and a lot more beer shenanigans!

The grand prize remains the same — one lucky home brewer will get to brew their recipe at a commercial level under the guidance of 101 North’s brew master Joel Johnson. For attendees, over 60 different home brews expand beer tasting palates. As was seen last year, home brewing allows for inventive and unusual flavor profiles and offers a step outside of the usual tried and true craft brews we know and love.

Attendees may still grab a glass of their favorite local brew in the Heritage Salvage beer garden, aka “Cup’s Yard”.  A $35 ticket price ($40 at the door) allows for unlimited tasting, to vote for the best of the bunch. The public’s vote will determine the top five best of show and a panel of beer experts will determine the grand prize winner. Voting will end at 3:30pm, with tasting continuing on to last call at 5:00pm.

Aside from exploration of home brew from across Sonoma County and beyond, attendees will be able to watch (and sample!) cooking with beer demos from Petaluma's own Laurie Figone, and heralded Beer Chef Sean Paxton. Plus, enjoy tasting and learning how to craft your own yummy beer snacks with Petaluma’s own Sonoma Spice Queen, Wind McAlister.

Sponsors Beer Belly Fermentation Supply of Windsor, will showcase home brewing equipment and demonstrations adjacent to the tasting area, while tNorCal Hops Alliance demonstrates hop growing practices. Wild Garden Farms is back with hop plants and herbs to add to your own home brewing repertoire. Enjoyable distractions abound, should attendees tire from the tedious work of sampling home brews, including music by the Dirty Red Barn Band, a Corn Hole Tournament and Beer Pong sponsored by Northbay Brewery Tours.

What's craft brew without good food? There will be something for everyone to enjoy, from gourmet sausages & hamburgers to Caribbean, Thai, Oysters and Haitian food and sweet treats. Local sponsors, Rocky & Rosie Chicken will be back with their food truck and offering classic beer pairings — chicken wings and delicious chicken sandwiches (which I sampled at Butter and Egg Days and give a thumbs up). Local cheese mongers will be on hand sampling artisan cheeses that pair well with beer, including favorites Valley Ford Cheese Company, Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese, Pug’s Leap Cheese and Nicasio Valley Cheese Company. Ask the cheese experts for recommendations on pairing cheeses on hand with home brews.

This super cool event is produced by Petaluma Downtown Association and is a fundraiser for the Butter & Egg Days Parade. Tickets are currently on sale online at Brown Paper Tickets and also at the Petaluma Visitor Center at 210 Lakeville Street. General admission tickets are $35 and designated driver tickets are available at $15. Ticket prices go up at the door $40 GA - $20 DD, so get them early! Find out more information online at sonomacountyhomebrewerscompetition.com or call (707) 780-2939. Find them @SCHomeBrew on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.

Open House at Bucolic Canvas Ranch — Saturday April 30th, 2016 10 am to 4 pm

Foxes in the Henhouse CD Release Party at Rancho Nicasio — Saturday May 7th, 2016

After a successful Kickstarter campaign, these amazing Sonoma County gals are releasing their much-awaited CD, Fox On The Run, on Saturday, May 7th, 2016 at a party at Rancho Nicasio. Tickets are being snapped up fast and will sell out. Call 425 662 2219 to reserve. 

Come By and Say Hi to Me at the Salsa Judging Table — Great Petaluma Chili Cook-Off, Salsa and Beer Tasting, Saturday, May 7th, 2016

 

I'm in training once again as a returning judge in the line-up for for the 19th Annual Great Petaluma Chili Cook-Off, Salsa and Beer Tasting, Saturday May 7th, 2016. If you've yet to attend this super-fun event, make this your first time. All the merriment, good sport and spicy flavors of this fab afternoon are for a great cause — benefiting Cinnabar Theater Young Rep Company. We are so fortunate in our town to have such a program for our theatrical youngsters. 

Tickets for the event available online until 8:30 AM 5/7/16 or at the gate.

Behrens Park, Herzog Hall, Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds, Petaluma, CA

Click here for website

Date Change for Screenagers Movie Viewing — Wednesday May 11th, 2016

SCREENAGERS Growing Up In The Digital Age — Don't Miss This Important New Movie Hosted by Petaluma Educational Foundation in Partnership With Cinema West/Boulevard Cinemas, Grant School & The Film's Production Co, May 11th 2016

 Petaluma Educational Foundation (PEF) is excited to announce hosting a showing of acclaimed new movie SCREENAGERS: Growing Up in the Digital Age on Wednesday evening, May 11th, 2016. The screening takes place at Boulevard Cinemas in downtown Petaluma beginning at 6:30 p.m., doors open at 6:00 p.m.

In partnership with Cinema West/Boulevard Cinemas and Grant School along with the film’s production company, PEF welcomes guests to this community event offering a Question & Answer session with fellow attendees following the approximately 60 minute documentary.

As seen on Good Morning America,  SCREENAGERS: Growing Up in The Digital Age is selling out audiences around the country.  SCREENAGERS is the first feature documentary to explore the impact of screen technology on kids and to offer parents proven solutions that work.

Physician and filmmaker, Delaney Ruston decided to make SCREENAGERS when she found herself constantly struggling with her two kids about screen time. Ruston felt guilty and confused, not sure what limits were best, especially around mobile phones, social media, gaming, and how to monitor online homework. Hearing repeatability how other parents were equally overwhelmed, she realized this is one of the biggest, unexplored parenting issues of our time.  

Director Ruston turned the camera on her own family and others—revealing stories that depict messy struggles over social media, video games, academics and internet addiction.  Examples of stories, include Hannah’s, an 14-year old victim of social media bullying that stemmed from her trying to hide her use of social media from her mom. Issues are different for boys and girls, and the film also follows Andrew’s story, a straight-A student whose love of video games spins out of control when he goes off to college and lands in an internet rehab center.

Interwoven into these stories, are cutting edge science and insights from thought leaders such as Peggy Orenstein, Sherry Turkle, Simon Sinek, as well as leading brain scientists who present evidence on real changes happening in the brain. SCREENAGERS goes far beyond exposing the risks of screen time, but reveals multiple approaches on how parents and educators can work with kids to help them achieve a healthy amount of screen time.

SCREENAGERS with its distributor Indieflix is blazing a new model of distribution, known as a community viewing model, in hopes that parents and educators can start a conversation nationwide about how screen time impacts our lives.  As part of the community viewing model, parents, educators, PTAs and workplace groups can book at www.screenagersmovie.com.  Screenings can be booked on an event-by-event basis, and parents are encouraged to bring their kids to the movie.

Movie Themes

• Use of screens in school
• Boys and video games
• Girls and social media
• Risk of addiction

Stats

• Kids spend on average 6.5 hours a day on screens and that doesn’t include classroom or homework screen time.
• Boys spend on average the equivalent of 1.5 days on video games every week
• Some recent studies show us that screen time increases dopamine production and causes behavior that mimics addiction.

 

Click here for tickets are available through at Eventbright ticketing page.

Numerous local and national media outlets have featured this film. If you would like to see a short trailer for this movie click here.

Visit www.pefinfo.com for more information on the Petaluma Educational Foundation contact PEF Executive Director, Maureen Highland, at Maureen@pefinfo.com- 707-778-4632. Or PEF Student Intern Blake Patrick at 707-778-4632.

Pre-Order Your Limited Vintage Edition Copy of Fog Valley Winter — Coming Late Summer/Early Fall 2016

Fog Valley Winter — Pioneer Heritage, Backroad Rambles & Vintage Recipes from The Tastiest Little Place on Earth is ready to roll onto the presses in time for a late summer/early fall pre-2016 Holiday season release. 

Thousands of hours have been spent in the research, writing, editing, photography, meticulous design & layout of this new book, the second in my Fog Valley series. I hope that you are as excited as I am to welcome it into the world in the coming months. 

Fans of Fog Valley Crush will recognize the familiar landscape of my beat as a roving reporter writing about the food history and farming culture of southern Sonoma County and coastal west Marin. This time, I've taken more roads less traveled and peeled back the layers on the delicious winter food culture of our region from the perspective of the key immigrant groups who settled the area before, during and after the Gold Rush. 

Vintage recipes, a back cover map, historical photos and over 300 pages of winter rambles through a richly layered coastal region are gloriously illustrated and designed in Fog Valley Winter thanks to the fantastic talents of fellow Fog Valley creatives, editor Elaine Silver, illustrator/artist Nicky Ovitt and designer Lorna Johnson. 

Several events and book signings around the region are in the works for late summer and early fall and the run up to the holidays. I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, as the Fog Valley series is a cottage business production for me as author and independent publisher, I so appreciate any and all early pre-orders that will help me to gage how many to print.

If you're a Fog Valley fan and would like to pre-order, you will be the first of the fine folk to receive your copy (copies) hot off the press in the mail in August.  

Click here to place your pre-order.

A million thanks to all who have supported and continue to support my authoring adventures. Here's to many more! 

Not ready to pre-order? Sign up for Fog Valley News (coming soon).

 

 

Wolf House Night Photography Workshop at Jack London State Park, May 21st 2016

Join Jack London State Historic Park on May 21st, 2016 for a unique chance to create light-painted photos of Jack London’s Wolf House.  Discover the art of light painting for digital photography. In this fun and informative class, professional photographer and instructor Ray Mabry will take you through his camera settings, equipment, tips, and techniques to make dramatic and fantastic light painted images.

Learn styles of light painting, set-up and preparation, recommended equipment, camera basics (setting up your camera), light sources and lighting techniques. For more details and a list of what to bring to participate in the class, click here.

WHEN: SATURDAY, MAY 21 from 7:00 to 11:00 pm

WHERE: Jack London State Historic Park, 2400 London Ranch Road in Glen Ellen

Meet in the Museum parking lot to the left.

ADMISSION: $50 per person, which includes parking fee and must be arranged in advance online at www.jacklondonpark.com. Limited to 15 participants so advance registration required.

Note: The event is located on uneven terrain; for more information about access, please call
(707) 938-5216. Prior to all events at the Park, visitors with disabilities who need assistance should contact the Park office at (707) 938-5216.

Plan on A Pizza Pie During Petaluma's 35th Annual Butter and Egg Days Parade — Raise $s for Vital Programs For Vulnerable Kids & Teens

Petaluma-based Pizza Politana is as good as it gets when it comes to fresh, organic, local brick oven pizza. There is only one public event in Southern SoCo that the Pizza Politana team is selling pizzas at this year and that's Petaluma's own 35th annual Butter and Egg Days Parade, Saturday, April 23rd,2016.

Owners Naomi Crawford and Joel Baecker are donating  all of their net profit to their favorite local 501(c)3: THE PETALUMA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION! and here's why:

"Petaluma Community Foundation strategically aligned and coordinated collaborative programming of 8 local youth-serving organizations to maximize resources for our vulnerable children and teens," says Naomi. "This was the first collaboration of its kind and has been skillfully guided by PCF to ensure that our kids are ready for school, parents are actively involved, and youth choose leadership opportunities over at-risk behaviors."

To get an idea of the great work the community foundation is doing for local youth, watch this video (shot and edited by Michael Woolsey and Joel Baecker)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILRlmuUCKwI

Naomi and Joel will be selling pizza pies in the parking lot of the Mail Depot, at 4th and C, from 11am to 2:30pm. There will also be live music, a coffee cart and ice cream.

Cooking From the Spring Garden — A Hands-On Cooking Party and Dinner With Library Wines from Kosta Brown — Support the School Garden Network, May 7th, 2016

 

We're so fortunate in Sonoma County to have an abundance of teaching gardens in our schools. Around the time that my oldest son, Rocco started at Valley Vista Elementary in Petaluma many moons ago (he's now almost 25!), an old patch of grassy area in between classrooms was transformed by an army of volunteers and staff into a wonderland of fruits and veggies. All three of my boys looked forward to garden class each week — fresh air, physical movement and tasty, natural treats. They're all three ultra keen on garden fresh foods in their diets as independent young men today. Dominic, my youngest, has taken this passion for the outdoors one step further — he's headed to U.C. Davis in the fall to study Plant Biology.

When I wrote about collaborative, seasonal dinner parties in my book Fog Valley Crush, many readers expressed a desire to experience this sort of dynamic dining themselves. Well, here's your chance — Cooking From the Spring Garden promises to be as good as it gets! 

 Click here for link to book tickets