McClelland’s Dairy becomes McClelland’s Pumpkin Patch from 10am-6pm, Saturdays and Sundays. With three acres of pumpkins to pick from you can find one that is just your size… from mini pumpkins to giant pumpkins. Free admission includes a visit to the pumpkin patch, petting farm animals and watching cows being milked in the parlor. Not only will you find cows here but our farm also has goats and chickens! There is also a farm store featuring other products produced on the farm like free range eggs, European Style Organic Artisan Butter and Lavender.

One of Petaluma’s best restaurants, Water Street Bistro, is providing some delicious snacks and lunch and there is also goat cheese from Two Rock Valley’s Don and Bonnie Debemardi, organic ice cream from Three Twins and a selection of other local purveyors selling their products. McClelland’s delicious butter and eggs will also be available for purchase.

A good time for all!

Event Hours:   Noon – 7pm Friday, 10am – 7pm Saturday & Sunday
General Admission:   adults $8,  children $3,  6 and under free

Enjoy!!

The campground consists of 150 sites with 20 walk-ups.  There are no hook-ups, however there is a dump station, which makes it very convenient.  Doran Beach is the perfect family get-away spot because it is incredibly kid and dog friendly.  Dogs do need to remain on a leash at all times, however they are welcome to play and walk along the beach.  Quiet time ranges from 10 pm until 7 am, which is ideal to take away worries on non-kid friendly parties, etc.

The Coast Guard Station of Bodega Bay is located in Sonoma County in California and is considered a Federal Park/Natural Sanctuary. The Coast Guard Station has two main objectives: surf and rescue as well as law enforcement. Certain areas of the bay can be incredibly rocky and dangerous. It is the job of the 28 – 30 personnel to keep those on the water safe and from harm. Summer is the main recreational time, while winter is mainly for surf training. The training occurs during rough weather and water conditions to train for the worst.

We can often have rough waters outside of Bodega Bay, so it’s interesting to see from their perspective.

This year’s Festival Features:

• A beautiful, juried fine art and craft marketplace!
• Over a dozen restaurants and catering companies serving a variety of foods, with an emphasis on seafood
• 3 stages of excellent entertainment and a large dance floor!
• Great kids entertainment and games!
• An expansive Wine and Microbrew Beer Tasting featuring dozens of wineries and breweries

Click here for the completed entertainment schedule during the two day event.

Here’s an overview from the official website:

The Gravenstein Apple Fair is hosted by Sonoma County Farm Trails and has a long and rich history in Sonoma County. Sebastopol staged it’s first Apple Show in 1910 on Main Street in a tent across from the Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railway Depot.

This small event celebrating the tart but sweet apple called the Gravenstein became an annual bash occurring every August, focused on showcasing apples and apple products during the peak of their season.

The fair annually sported huge custom structures for front entrance gates and elaborate apple displays by local packing plants, canneries and apple drying companies. Processing and marketing apples had become big business.

Sculptors were hired to build ¼ scale buildings and even a locomotive out of whole fresh and dried sliced apples. Those early fairs had a carnival like atmosphere and were attended by people from all over the United States.

Today, the Gravenstein Apple Fair continues the tradition of celebrating and exhibiting apples, combined with fantastic live music on two stages, great food, cooking demonstrations from local chefs, arts and crafts booths, a petting zoo, pony rides and so much more. Visitors experience the feeling of an old time country get-together, you can throw darts at apples, ride in a wagon pulled by plow horses, shop the local artisan booths for handmade jewelry, clothing, pottery and gourmet goodies. There are fun activities, like the Hay Maze for the kids, kid focused performances, bee keeper displays, and a fine selection of local wine and brews for the adults.

What kind of a fair would it be without contests – local home cooks can enter a pie in the Apple Pie Baking contest sponsored by the Sebastopol Chamber of Commerce or adults and children can enter the Pie Eating Contest, the no-hands Caramel Apple Eating Contest, Applesauce Drinking Contest and the Apple Juggling Contest. There is no doubt that the Gravenstein Apple Fair is one of the most kid-friendly festivals of the year, but it’s fun for adults as well. With an incredible selection of food, a wine tent featuring award winning wine from all over Sonoma County and two beer tents, there truly is something for everyone.

The 2011 Gravenstein Apple Fair promises to be an incredible year of music, food, crafts and activities. The Fair has a great line-up of live music, featuring; Gator Beat, Tom Rigney & Flambeau, Mitch Woods & His Rocket 88’s, Solid Air, Country All Stars, Joe Goldmark and the Seducers, The Fondettes, One World Band, Edge of Town, Grandpa Banana Band, and the String Rays. The fair also offers two additional stages with cooking demonstrations and a “Life on the Farm” stage that features live farm shows with activities like milking a goat or shearing a sheep.

Don’t miss the Fair, August 13th & 14th at Ragle Ranch Park, 10-6 on Saturday and 10-5 on Sunday. See you at the fair!

Chancellor Ranch offers both beach and trail rides.  I’ve done one of the beach rides, as have many of our guests, and it’s both fun and a great way to experience the beach from a different perspective.

Their wranglers and tour guides accompany you along your ride, and they welcome both children and first time riders as well.

It’s a great time way to spend time on your Bodega Bay Vacation whether it’s for a special event or just for fun.  Have a good time!

The 2011 Sonoma County Fair
Diamond Jubilee!

July 27 – August 14, 2011
1350 Bennet Valley Road
Santa Rosa, CA 95404

Hours

• Gates open daily 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.
• Carnival open daily 11 a.m. – 11 p.m.
• Exhibit buildings open 11 a.m. -10 p.m

The ever-popular Sonoma County Fair kicks off it’s 75th Diamond Jubilee on July 27th and runs through August 14th.  Check out their schedule for a complete run-down of events, there’s definitely something for everyone to do or see.  Food, rides, contests and games, concerts, competitive exhibits, flower shows, horse racing, livestock shows, and exhibits on sustainability.

Click here for a map of the Sonoma County Fairgrounds….just 20 minutes for “At the Bay’s Edge”.

Sonoma and Marin counties—the Normandy of Northern California—are home to the most artisan cheesemakers in California, if not the country. The foggy, grassy north boasts some 22,000 acres of land dedicated to making cheese and fermented milk products. To celebrate this bounty, the Marin Economic Forum (MEF) just introduced the Sonoma Marin Cheese Trail map [PDF], the first-ever guide to local artisan cheesemakers.

Launched just in time for the fifth annual Artisan Cheese Festival, taking place next weekend in Petaluma, the colorful, informative map raises the profile of local cheesemakers, an important element of our vibrant local agricultural economy. Artisan cheesemaking is experiencing a renaissance as both long-time dairy families and new cheese entrepreneurs are milking the trend. The Cheese Trail map includes some outstanding local dairies, such as Bellwether Farms, Pug’s Leap, Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery, and Saint Benoît Yogurt.

“Cheesemaking is a reemerging craft, and it’s happening in our own back yard,” said Vivien Straus, MEF board member and managing partner of Straus Home Ranch, who helped shepherd the map from concept to reality. “Twenty-seven local artisan cheesemakers are included in the map, which tells people all about the cheese, where to get it, and which cheesemakers are open for visits.”

The map relays the history of cheese in the area: Spanish priests first made cheese from the milk of mission livestock in the early 1800s. Later, during the Gold Rush, European immigrants built dairies on the Point Reyes peninsula to supply butter and cheese to gold miners in San Francisco. It also provides some interesting cheese facts (to make one pound of cheese, it takes five pounds of sheep’s milk, seven pounds of goat’s milk, or 10 pounds of cow’s milk), and gives tips on where to buy local cheeses.

“The region as a whole boasts an impressive collection of small cheesemakers. We’ve got plenty of culture here,” said Sue Conley, co-owner of Cowgirl Creamery. “Thanks to the grass, the cows, the farmers, and the cheesemakers for putting cheese on the map in Sonoma and Marin.”

The map provides activities for the millions of visitors to the area, potentially injecting more revenue into the local economy. “With small family dairy farms continuing their rapid decline, with an average yearly loss of five percent, the map encourages the sale of local products and by extension supports the agricultural community,” said Ellie Rilla, Community Development Adviser with the University of California Cooperative Extension.

Two driving tours map out where you can meet some of the cheesemakers, learn about the animals, and see cheese being made. The Marin county tour travels from Novato to Nicasio and Point Reyes and starts at the Marin French Cheese Company, where you can take a tour, picnic, and taste their award-winning Rouge et Noir brie. Try the farmstead cheese at Nicasio Valley Cheese Company and watch cheesemaking or take a class at Cowgirl Creamery in Point Reyes Station.

In Sonoma County, you can stop by the Petaluma Creamery, sample Spring Hill Cheese and then head to Sonoma to try aged Jack at Vella Cheese Company. You can stock up on fresh cheeses and other local food at Epicurean Connection and then head north to Sebastopol to the Matos Cheese Factory and try their St. George, a buttery semi-hard cheese.

“This will put our cheese on the map,” said Carleen Weirauch of Weirauch Farm & Creamery, which produces raw aged sheep cheese as well as organic cow cheese. “Being able to contribute to our community in such a pleasurable way is the greatest reward and stepping into this great tradition is a magnificent, humbling honor