Mouthful: Renaissance time in Sebastopol

Much Ado: It’s renaissance weekend in Sebastopol, with Much Ado About Sebastopol taking place in Ives Park from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. If you’ve never been, this year is a perfect time, as hopefully cooler autumn temperatures will make it easy to wear those elaborate renaissance costumes. It’s a great festival, one of the best of the fall, and for a good cause; proceeds benefit public schools in Sebastopol.

Advance tickets are $8 (students and seniors, one day admission) to $14 for adults. Prices increase by $2 the day of the event.

If you typically visit Dominique’s Sweets at the Sebastopol Farmers Market, she will not be there this Sunday. Instead, she will be serving her delicious meat pasties and apple pastries at the faire.

For tickets and complete details, visit muchadoaboutsebastopol.com

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Petaluma Bounty Harvest Party: On Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Petaluma’s Bounty Community Farm (55 Shasta Ave., Petaluma) hosts its Fifth Annual Harvest Party, a free community event and potluck.

From 10 to 11:45 a.m., you’ll have an opportunity to make bouquets, press apples, share your skills with others and learn from them and participate in farm Olympics.

If you’d like to press juice (apples or pears), bring the fruit, a bucket for washing it, knives, a cutting board and juice containers.

From noon to 1 p.m., it’s lunch time, with live music. Please bring a dish to share and your own tableware, including a reusable plate, utensils, cup and napkin.

From 1 to 2 p.m., there will be a tasting of farm produce. If you’d like to offer some of your home grown produce for tasting, bring it along.

For more information about the event and the organization, visit petalumabounty.org.

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September Grains at Shed: As part of an ongoing month-long celebration of grains, Healdsburg’s Shed (25 North St., Healdsburg) welcomes baker Chad Robertson of Tartine Bakery in San Francisco on Saturday, September 13, from 1 to 3 p.m.

The focus of the event is a conversation with Lora Zarubin, a writer, chef and baker; cost is $20. A question-and-answer session, a book signing and a tasting of bread and butter will follow the conversation. Cost of the presentation, which takes place upstairs in the “grange,” is $20 per person.

On Friday, September 12, from 5:30 to 7 p.m., Samual Fromartz, author of “In Search of a Perfect Loaf: A Home Baker’s Odyssey,” and Mike Zakowski, the Bejkr of Sonoma, discuss handmade, wood-fired bread, rare and ancient grains and the world of competitive baking. The evening includes a sneak peak of a new film, “Bread and Baker,” which features Zakowski, a tasting of some of his breads and an opportunity to purchase Fromartz’s book. Cost is $10 per person.

For a full schedule of events at Shed and to purchase tickets, visit healdsburgshed.com.

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Pizza and Pinot: Vignette, one of the newer tenants at The Barlow, is now offering a special on Wednesdays. All day, every Wednesday, a pepperoni pizza and a glass of La Follette Pinot Noir will cost you $20. Don’t love pinot? Beer lovers can enjoy Peroni, an Italian brew, for the same price.

The sweet little eatery, which opened in July, has a Grand Opening Celebration in the works, possibly near the end of September. Stay tuned for details.

Vignette is located at 6750 McKinley St. near Morris Ave. in Sebastopol. It is open from noon to 9 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and noon to 10 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.

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Heads Up, Bat Lovers! On Sunday, September 14, CornerStone Sonoma (23570 Arnold Dr., Sonoma) hosts Wine Country Optics Fair and Natural Festival from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The event, sponsored by Sonoma Birding, features experts from nature organizations throughout the Bay Area, along with optics experts from such companies as Nikon, Opticron, Leica and others.

The best part may be the opportunity to see live owls, hawks, and, best of all, bats.

If you’re looking for information on scopes and binoculars, this is an event for you.

This informational event and parking for it are free.

There will also be delicious foods and live music.

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Petaluma Winegrowers Gala: On Saturday, September 20, Keller Estate Winery, located above Lakeville Highway east of Petaluma, hosts a gala showcasing the beautiful wines of Petaluma Gap, paired with foods from Amber Balshaw of Preferred Sonoma Caterers.

The event includes live auction and a raffle offering an instant wine collection of 100 Petaluma Gap wines.

Tickets for the cocktail-attire fete are $150 per person.

The event begins at 4:30 p.m.; complimentary van service will begin at Petaluma Arts Center at 4 p.m.

Proceeds benefit the Petaluma Museum, which launches a new exhibition on September 21.

“A Celebration of Wine and Community” focuses on the chronology of grape growing and wine production in Petaluma and features vintage artifacts from several public and private collections. The exhibition runs through December 29.

For tickets to the gala and for more information about the museum, which is currently closed to prepare for the new exhibition, visit petalumamuseum.com.

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Got Apples? Slow Food Russian River has expanded its efforts to support our apple industry with a community press, operating on weekends this fall. The service is free and assistants are on hand to help.

Here’s how it works. The press, located at the Luther Burbank Gold Ridge Experiment Farm (7777 Bodega Highway, Sebastopol) is open on Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Reservations are required so that no one has a long wait and apples are limited to 100 pounds per household per weekend.

A five-pound bucket holds about 20 pounds of apples so feel free to bring five buckets full of apples.

To make a reservation, go to slowfoodrr.org and follow the prompts to the Community Apple Press booking page, where you’ll fill out a form and await an email confirmation. Then show up at the appointed time with your locally-grown apples and plastic containers to carry your fresh-squeezed juice home.

The press will not operate next weekend, September 20 and 21, when the farm hosts an open house celebration.

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More West County News: Fork Catering has closed its little cafe in downtown Sebastopol and will soon be taking over the lovely little roadhouse on Highway 12 most recently known as Stillwater Kitchen. Expect an opening for breakfast sometime soon. Stay tuned for details.

As of press time, Cittaslow Sebastopol was still looking for volunteers for this weekend’s paint fest, when McKinley St. will be decorated with designs chosen by popular vote. Volunteers will help close and clean the street, monitor the barricade, draw the design in chalk, monitor a paint station, clean brushes, paint, supervise kids, monitor sign-ups and hand out food.

The project takes place from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. For complete details and to sign up, visit cittaslowsebastopol.org.

Michele Anna Jordan has written 17 books to date, including “Vinaigrettes and Other Dressings.” You’ll find her blog, “Eat This Now,” at pantry.blogs.pressdemocrat.com. Email Jordan at michele@saladdresser.com.