Zebra grazes at Safari West

Cheetahs, rhinos, zebras and exotic birds will be among your celebratory companions at Safari West’s annual New Year’s Eve celebration, Romp with the Beasts. For the second year, guests can dine and dance surrounded by 400 acres of natural habitat that feels more like the wilds of Africa than the hills of Sonoma County.

A family-friendly celebration that’s also got enough pizazz for single folks, Romp with the Beasts puts you in good company with other wildlife fans and nature lovers. Safari West, once a private animal rescue facility, is open to the public as a nature preserve where animals roam freely unfettered by zoo-like enclosures. One current project of owners Peter and Nancy Lang is an attempt to breed rare and endangered bird species.

Get up close and personal with Safari West giraffes

Dancing and dining are the featured activities of choice, but you can also commune with nature if that’s more your style. Tent cabins with heat and electric blankets are available if you want to skip driving and stay onsite.

The fee is $100 a night for the evening’s entertainment; cabin prices vary based on size and number of occupants.

Breakfast comes complete with mimosas, and you can even sign up for a jeep safari to commemorate New Year’s day with some unforgettable photographs. Ready for your close-up – with a giraffe?

Giraffe Love at Safari West, Santa Rosa

Whether or not you’ll be spending your actual Turkey Day with friends and family, chances are at some point during the long weekend you’ll want to get out to enjoy the predicted gorgeous fall weather. Here are a few ideas to get you going:

1. Dine on the Serengeti: At Safari West, you can join owners Nancy and Peter Lang for a festive African-inspired feast surrounded by exotic beasts and birds. The 400-acre sanctuary makes for a great visit; you’ll feel like you’re on another continent while staying close to home.

2. Go wine tasting. The fall harvest is still in full color in the Sonoma Valley, with deep reds and burnt oranges everywhere you look, and starlings sweeping in flocks over the just-picked vineyards. Many have festive extras such as holiday craft sales going on, and some wineries and tasting rooms, such as Cline and Roche, are even open on Thanksgiving itself.

Petaluma's Lighted Boat Parade

3. Launch your holiday season. Tree lightings and other winter fests abound in and around the historic towns of the Sonoma Valley this weekend. Healdsburg, Petaluma, and the town of Sonoma all have holiday-related festivities going on, starting Friday. In Petaluma, Santa even arrives via Riverboat.

Off Square Glassblowing Studio Opens in Sonoma

Fans of glassblowing and the famous works of Dale Chihuly will want to check out Off Square Glass Studio, which opens tomorrow in downtown Sonoma. The grand opening party from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m will include glass blowing demonstrations, refreshments and a gallery sale.

A joint effort of renowned glass artists Alex Leader of Leaderglass and Daniel Reilly of Daniel Reilly Glass. Leader, who lives in Sonoma, is excited to open his first local studio and to team up with Reilly, who was looking to relocate his studio to the North Bay. The name, Off Square Glass, refers to the studio’s location just off the historic Sonoma Square.

Address: 254 First St. E., Sonoma, CA. For more information about Off Square Glass Studio, call (707) 938-4555.

Fall is the Perfect Time to Flee to Sonoma

The cold winds of November are chilling the coastal valleys of Sonoma County, but that just makes these orchard-covered hills and vine-draped valleys that much more picturesque. Thing is, the average tourist doesn’t know that, which means the crowds thin — and the prices drop — this time of year, making it the perfect time for a romantic weekend getaway or family escape.

The small towns and country byways of Sonoma have all manner of accommodation, from the highest end spa resorts, like the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn, to romantic hideaways like the Inn at Occidental and Applewood Inn & Spa to rustic cabins like the many tucked along the Russian River in Monte Rio and Guerneville. Whichever way your taste runs, this is the time of year to find bargains and renew old friendships. So check the web page of your favorite inn, hotel or resort and see what’s cooking for harvest time. Or better yet, hit the highway and come on out to the country. You’re bound to find something special to savor.

Wood-fired pizza is just one speciality of Fresh

Fresh is the brainchild of Lisa Hemenway, beloved in northern Sonoma County foodie circles  as the name behind two favorite local restaurants, Lisa Hemenway’s Restaurant in Montgomery Village, and Lisa Henenway’s Bistro in Town & Country Center. Hemenway kicked off her 20-year cooking career with stints as the Sous Chef and Pastry Chef for John Ash & Co.

Chef Lisa Hemenway Focuses on Fresh

With Fresh, Hemenway takes her signature focus on simple, easy, family-style dining into a less formal setting. Reminiscent of a French Country market, Fresh is like a cross between your favorite country deli and an über-modern Whole Foods-type natural food emporium. But while Fresh will feature a bakery, a deli, and an extensive selection of local cheeses, the menu will go much further. There will be an oyster and sushi bar, a wine bar pouring local vintages, and a wood-fired oven turning out handmade pizzas. All food will be made fresh onsite.

Gourmet take-away may be what sets Fresh apart, but I’m guessing the venue will quickly become  popular for onsite dining as well. The bistro-themed indoor dining room can seat as many as 75, and the deck, tucked away behind the store, overlooks an unexpectedly pretty ravine.

Because Hemenway is so well-connected locally, you can expect Fresh to become an easy all-in-one stop to pick up the latest products from Sonoma’s many local artisanal dairies, growers, condiment makers, and wineries. The grand opening festivities are scheduled for the first week of November, but meanwhile the market is open with a rotating seasonal menu.

CornerStone hosts concerts, weddings, and festivals

Be part of launching something really special: The first ever Napa Sonoma Wine and Food Festival takes place October 15th and 16th. The inaugural event includes wine, food, and fashion, bringing together world-renowned winemakers, celebrated chefs and local designers. A variety of events are planned, including a daylong celebration, “Two Meccas Unite!” at CornerStone Sonoma, from 11-4 on Saturday the 16th.

Meadowood in the Napa Valley and Castello Di Amorosa in Calistoga are also hosting tastings and educational events on Friday the 15th. At Castello Di Amorosa,”Couture at the Castle” will feature dinner and a fashion show that includes celeb guest models flaunting the new resort line from Azadeh. At Meadowood, “Taste with the Masters” is a lunch and tasting with noted local sommeliers and wine buyers, including Larry Stone and Peter Granoff of Ferry Plaza Wine. Tickets to the various events are sold separately.

The Mexican-style popsicles called paletas are all-natural concoctions of fresh fruit, juice and cream

When traveling in Mexico, you can’t miss the neon colors and exotic displays of fresh fruit that mark a La Michoacana ice cream stand. Purveyors of paletas, an intrinsically Mexican treat, La Michoacana shops catch your eye on every main street in every Mexican town from Baja in the west to Tulum in the east.

What’s a paleta, you ask? A super-natural, much healthier version of our American-style popsicles, paletas are all-natural frozen treats made from chopped up fresh fruit and fruit. Often cream is also added to lend a thicker, creamier, less icy texture. In Mexico, the city of Tocumbo in the state of Michoacán is ground zero for paletas, and its where the La Michoacana chain was founded, hence the ubiquitous name.

La Michoacana ice cream parlors are favorite hangouts in every Mexican beach town.

Now Sonoma County boasts its very own Michoacan-style ice cream shop, a rarity north of the border. La Michoacana all natural ice cream all-natural ice cream is located on Highway 12 north of the town of Sonoma; you can’t miss the bright colors and eye-catching exterior as you’re on your way to soak at the Sonoma Mission Inn or visit the wine country of Kenwood.

At a typical shop in Mexico, paletas come in a huge variety of flavors, often in fruit-only and cream versions of the same flavor. (In other words, you can have either just strawberry, or strawberry-and-cream.) Sonoma’s Michoacana is no different; on any given day there will be a wide variety of traditional fruit flavors, along with some more exotic California-inspired combos such as key lime with crushed graham cracker bits mixed in.

Like a Mexican paletería, Michoacana also serves cups of fresh fruit salad and freshly squeezed fruit juice and the juice-water combos known as Aguas Frescas.

Owner Teresita Carr, a native of Tocumbo, is a mainstay of the Sonoma community, and her vibrant personality infuses a friendly personality and welcoming atmosphere into this tiny, bare-bones shop.

If you’ve never tried a paleta on a visit to Mexico, now’s your chance. If you stop in at every La Michoacana stand you see whenever you’re surfing in Sayulita or climbing ruins in the Yucatan, now you can have your favorite exotic treat right here at home.

The jazzy Canadian Gypsy lads Le Vent du Nord

In just a few weeks, a world-class line-up of British Isles folk all-stars will descend on the tiny town of Sebastopol for the annual Celtic Music Festival, to be held at the Sebastopol Community Center September 24-26th. Now rechristened Celtic and World Music festival, the lineup features the usual wizards of Scottish and Irish folk, beefed up with the addition of French-Canadian whiz kids Le Vent du Nord.

Days of Sun and Song: The lively Sebastopol Celtic Festival is an annual highlight

Quebec’s answer to the Gipsy Kings, Le Vent du Nord meld accordion, fiddle, guitar, and lots and lots of percussion into a highly danceable brew that turns audiences into whirling dervish dancers.

A bargain when you figure the festival includes multiple performances, storytelling, arts and crafts demonstrations, and numerous activities to keep kids entertained and involved.

Where else can visitors learn to weave, practice clogging, hear Tall Tales from the ancient Celtic bards, and dance the night away to bands direct from Edinburgh, Belfast, and Dublin?

Highlights of the stellar lineup include the multi-instrumental pyrotechnics of Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill, the oh-so-danceable Lunasa, and the rockin’ French Canadian gypsy band Le Vent du Nord.

Tickets are available for single days, the full weekend, or individual evening shows. The best value is, of course, the weekend “combo” pass, which allows you to see two days of shows for $44.

Weekend Brunch Down on the Farm Now at Zazu

Sonoma’s great food options now extend to brunch thanks to new offerings from Zazu and Guerneville’s Boon Restaurant and Hotel.

In the happening Russian River town of Guerneville, Boon restaurant is now serving Sunday brunch from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. An urban oasis on the rural river, Boon eat + drink is an ultra-modern modern  bistro named after the owner’s beloved dog (with a play on the word boon, meaning gift). Dishes Sonoma County ingredients, including some grown right on their own property. Another don’t-miss is savory bread pudding, and salads and paninis are longtime favorites. Prices range from $6 to $13.

Farm-fresh brunch livens Guerneville weekends

Beloved roadhouse Zazu, best known for practically launching the charcuterie craze, is also now open for weekend brunch. Husband-and-wife team John Stewart and Duskie Estes are serving up their fresh-from-the-garden fare, and if the weather’s nice you can take y

our food into the garden as well.

A meldng of Americana and the rustic cuisine of Northern Italy, the new brunch menu includes just-made donuts, a BLT “benedict” featuring fried green tomatoes, polenta porridge with brown sugar, and house-made Black Pig Bacon. Prices range from $4.50 to $14.50

Experience living history amongst the stone ruins at Jack London State Park

The Valley of the Moon Natural History Association is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Jack London State Historic Park this weekend with a rare chance to get behind-the-scenes in the restored Old Winery Ruins of Jack London’s historic house, Beauty Ranch.

On Friday the 24th, listen to live music under the stars and eat a gourmet dinner in the company of other history and literature buffs at the Moonlight Adventure at Jack’s Gala. Dinner will be served in the cottage’s stone dining room, where visitors are rarely allowed. Guests also get a chance to see rarely displayed artifacts in the old winery ruins. A silent auction benefits the park.Tickets are $100 and the full proceeds benefit the park, which needs the funds for restoration and preservation.Reservations are required; call (707) 938-4827 to reserve tickets.

On Sunday the 27th, a  family-friendly daytime event also benefits the park. From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., there will be a barbeque, children’s games, and organic farming exhibits, as well as special tours of the ranch, London’s cottage, and the Wolf House Ruins. Local artisan food by Olive and Vine, Epicurean Connection, Yeti, Grindstone Bakery, Olive Press, and Wild Thyme will accompany wines from Benziger, Kenwood, Buena Vista, Moon Mountain, and other local wineries.

All proceeds benefit the continued restoration efforts at the park.