Mouthful: Celebrating Hanukkah

Happy Hanukkah: On Sunday from 4 to 6 p.m., Village Court in Montgomery Village hosts a Hanukkah Festival. The celebration will feature live music, special guests, holiday activities and prizes and, yes, latkes. The fete also features a nine-foot-tall menorah.

On Monday, the celebration, part of several such celebrations throughout the country organized by Sonoma County Chabad Jewish Center, continues at Oliver’s Market in Cotati (546 East Cotati Ave., Cotati), with festivities starting at 5 p.m. Information: JewishSonoma.com.

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Le Cirque Tix: Cornerstone Sonoma (Arnold Dr., Sonoma) is hosting several performances of Le Cirque de Boheme, a 1920s-style circus of French origin, with contortionists, magicians, jugglers, spinners, knife-throwers, and more, all in a conjured atmosphere of Bohemian Paris. Think of it as a mini Teatro Zinzanni, without dinner. (Teatro Zinzanni entertained nearly a million visitors during its 11-year tenure, which began in 2000, in San Francisco at Pier 27/29. Negotiations for its return at a nearby location are underway.)

Most of the upcoming performances are sold out but a few remain, at 1 p.m. on Sunday, December 20, Friday, December 26, and Saturday, December 27. If you hurry, you might snag a few tickets, perfect for anyone aged 4 and above. Tickets for children under 15 are $15; adult admission is $25. A few VIP seats, $50 no matter your age, are available, as well.

Tickets: visit cornerstonesonoma.com and follow the prompts.

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It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Santa: On Saturday, December 20 Saint Nick himself arrives at the Pacific Coast Air Museum by REACH helicopter at about 10:30 a.m.

He’ll be bringing all manner of treats with him and will spend the day chatting with kids, naughty and nice alike.

In addition, there will be arts and craft activities, a petting zoo, an opportunity to have your face painted and an air slide. Drinks and snacks, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, hot dogs, popcorn and cookies will be available and the gift shop will offer special discounts.

The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is at 2230 Becker Blvd., Santa Rosa. Museum admission fees are waived for the day and the event is made possible by the Active 20-30 of Santa Rosa. Information, directions: pacificcoastairmuseum.org.

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Grapevine Trading Company Warehouse Sale: Still looking for special gifts? Consider stopping by the Grapevine Trading Co.’s warehouse on Saturday between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., when a huge array of California Harvest products and accessories will be offered at heavily discounted prices.

You’ll find fruit vinegars, balsamic vinegars, specialty oils including olive oils, spices, rices, peppercorns, chilies, wild mushrooms and a selection of truffle products (the fungus, not the chocolate confection). In addition, there will be supplies such as burlap wine sacks, curly raffia, cellophane bags, antiques, barn-wood fixtures and more. The warehouse is at 959 Piner Place in Santa Rosa.

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Crane Christmas Boutique: This weekend offers a final chance to shop at Crane’s Candy Land Christmas Boutique, located in the Crane Melon Barn at 4935 Petaluma Hill Road in Santa Rosa.

The historic barn is filled with arts and crafts by Sonoma County artisans, fine foods, vintage collectibles and antiques, holiday decor and more. You’ll find children’s gifts, stocking stuffers, pet presents, jewelry, clothing, pottery, dried fruits and nuts and more. Even if you’ve visited earlier this month --the boutique opened on December 4-- you might want to stop by again, as new items are added each weekend.

The boutique is open on Friday, December 19, through Sunday, December 21, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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Take the Cannoli! There is still time to order your Christmas cannoli from Costeaux French Bakery, where they are sold just one day a year, December 24. Although there may be a few for the taking on Wednesday morning, if you don’t want to miss out you really should place an order. Don’t trust that someone will forget to pick up theirs.

The Italian delicacy consists of a crisp pastry shell filled with sweetened ricotta, candied fruit and chocolate, rolled in powdered sugar and finished with maraschino cherries.

The bakery also has Buche de Noel, French Tuxedo Cake, Princess Cake and what may be the best cinnamon walnut break in the world, for French toast on Christmas morning.

To snag your cannoli (six for $25) and other goodies, call 433-1912.

Costeaux Bakery is located at 417 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg.

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Congratulations to Evelyn Cheatham and Friends: This year, 2014, marks the 25th anniversary of Evelyn Cheatham’s Christmas Dinners. It also marks the final one.

For 25 years from a variety of locations, Chef Evelyn Cheatham, founder and executive director of Worth Our Weight Culinary Apprenticeship Program, has delivered bountiful Christmas dinners, with presents, to anyone who asked. Many have gone to children’s homes and women’s shelters and a lot to individuals. In all these years, no one has been turned down.

Cheatham has never accepted a donation from a business or corporation. Everything, from kosher salt to Christmas morning deliveries, is contributed by friends. It’s all about what a small circle of individuals can do, she says. Over the years, she has served more than 12,000 meals, all delivered no later than 1 p.m. on Christmas Day.

One particularly sweet moment came a number of years ago, when an exhausted Cheatham was heading to her car, a single meal for herself in hand. A man walked up and asked if he was too late to get something to eat, not understanding that meals were delivered and not served. Without hesitation, Cheatham handed him her meal and began a personal Christmas tradition of stopping by a Chinese restaurant in Healdsburg on her way home.

If you know someone in need of Christmas dinner this year, you can add their name to the list by calling 544-1200.

Worth Our Weight will serve its final brunch of 2014 on Sunday, December 21. After an annual winter break, it will reopen with a new brunch menu on Saturday, January 24, 2015.

Worth Our Weight is at 1021 Hahman Dr., in Santa Rosa, just south of Montgomery Village.

Michele Anna Jordan has written 18 books to date, including the new “More Than Meatballs.” Email Michele Anna Jordan at michele@saladdresser.com. You’ll find her blog, “Eat This Now,” at pantry.blogs.pressdemocrat.com.