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Here’s a fun thing happening tomorrow soon. If you’re into classic and exotic cars, a bunch of them will be around town in Mendocino and the area on Wednesday, April 30, 2008.
APRIL 16, 2008
18th Annual 4-Day California Mille 1000-Mile Back Roads Tour to the Mendocino Hotel
The California Mille (MILL-ay) salutes Italy’s famed Mille Miglia (thousand mile) race that ran from Brescia to Rome to Brescia from 1927-1957. Cars that could have qualified for the original event are eligible to apply for entry in the California Mille to Mendocino.
This year’s cars will include some l5 Jaguars, 11 Alfa Romeos, 9 Mercedes-Benz as well as such rarely seen and exotic makes as Talbot-Lago, Nash Healey, Allard, Aceca-Bristol, Hudson Hornet, Kurtis, Cisitalia, Cunningham, and Delahaye. Participants are expected from l5 U.S. states and six nations: Australia, Colombia, Switzerland, the U.K., Canada and the U.S. Three 2008 Mille entries completed last year’s Peking-to-Paris marathon.. The 1000-mile route will take the Mille west on California Street, into the Presidio, and across the Golden Gate Bridge, then northeast to the wine country. A number of the guests are staying at the historic Mendocino Hotel and Garden Suites and the Hill House Inn where special food and beverage offerings will be made available to the race participants as well as other guests, visitors and locals who wish to enjoy this spectacular car collection. On Day 3, the 180 Mille guests will assemble at the Mendocino Hotel for a gourmet dinner and then return to the San Francisco area.
The California Mille, a not-for-profit event presented by Amici americani della Mille Miglia, is one of series of motoring tours under the direction of Martin Swig. The Mille is sponsored by San Francisco’s Fairmont Hotel, Blancpain Watches, the Lodi Wine Growers, British Motors Jaguar, KSFO 560 AM Radio, Symbolic Motor Car Company, the Nob Hill Gazette and UBS Switzerland.
This review is by Larry Wagner, photographer and avid play-goer.
Don’t miss The Shaker Chair, the current play at Mendocino Theater Company. A new production, having had its World Premier in 2005, is the story of Marion, the level headed type who wears sensible shoes, trying to deal with:
1. her radical friend, Jean, who is incensed by the management of a local pig farm
2. her sister, Dolly, who is distraught over the philandering of her husband, Frank
The play is funny. The dialogue is creative and challenging, with hardly anyone finishing a sentence – but you know what they are trying to say, and the cast is marvelous. Ann Kyle Brown is totally credible as Marion, as she struggles with the meaning of the Shakers’ philosophy and their uncomfortable straight-backed chairs; Ann Woodhead is delightfully devious as she enrolls Marion in her schemes; Michelle Deering, a newcomer to the MTC stage but obviously well trained in drama, displays wonderful talent as the weak-willed, sniffling wife to the callous, Frank (played by Allan Droyan). Incidentally, Frank has the most wonderful comeback line I have ever heard, proving there is no defense like a good offense (and I won’t tell you what it is). He was lucky that in its deliverance he didn’t have every woman in the audience come down on the stage and throttle him.
The cast was rounded out by Michael Rossetti and Monica Lancaster who play eco-terrorists, Tom and Lou. They are appropriately scary.
Kudos to the Artistic Committee for finding this play and to Carter Sears for a wonderful job of directing.
The play is without intermission and you will be out of there by 10 pm. It runs from April 3 until May 4. Call 937-4777 for reservations.
The City of Fort Bragg Promotion Committee has followed the lead of many other communities in creating a “what to do” list if you have from one to three or more days away from home. It’s a good list of what to do.
In brief … “You’ll find redwoods, horseback riding, hiking, mountain biking, whale watching, shopping, surfing, abalone diving, beaches, bird watching, nature photography, and much more all within a few miles of the downtown area and MORE!”
If you want to experience a completely new and different event, plan to attend Arts for the Parks “Walk on the Wild Side” first annual art auction and banquet. On Saturday, April 19, artworks created by internationally known artists will be showcased, and contest winners will receive their cash prizes. Auction tickets are $65/person and include unique hors d’oeuvres of game, fowl and sea prepared by the area’s finest chefs, a free drink, and live music. Pentecost Hall, 822 Stewart St., Fort Bragg. Reservation deadline: April 10. The auction benefits natural/cultural heritage programs in our District State Parks hosted by Mendocino Area Park Association (MAPA). Call 707.937.4700 or mapa@mendoparks.org.
With the advent of Spring comes the opening of the 2008 abalone season on the Mendocino Coast. Beginning April 1st, the waters north of San Francisco Bay are open for abalone fishing. There’s a new tagging requirement for abalone this year, on top of all of the previous regulations. Free divers and shore pickers are now required to tag their catches as soon as they exit the water.
Here are the 2008 California regulations for abalone:
You can find out more on the Web site for the CA Department of Fish and Game, including a video on how to use the new tags.
Have fun, and be safe! Check out our page on Ocean Safety for some tips on remaining safe around the ocean.
Whitegate Inn
800-531-7282
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