Mouthful: Museum gala, Earth Day events and more

Studio 54 West: On April 11, the Art Museum of Sonoma County celebrates its new location at the corner of Seventh and B Streets with a grand-opening gala entitled “Studio 54,” in honor of the New York club scene back in the age of disco balls and party divas. The fete resonates with the museum’s opening exhibit, which includes the work of Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol and more than a dozen others.

The tented extravaganza will feature a red carpet and guests are encouraged to wear their best disco attire, though I doubt anyone will be on hand with a ruler to measure men’s lapels. Be prepared to dance the night away to deejay-provided music, view the exhibition and compete for art in a silent auction. Stark and Company will cater the fete.

Things get started at 7:30 and continue until 11 p.m. Admission is $200 for the general public and $175 for museum members. For more information and for tickets, visit sonomacountymuseum.org or call 579-1500 during regular business hours and between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekends. (The museum’s current location will serve as a history museum.)

The inaugural art exhibition opens to the public on April 12 and will be on view through May 24.

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Sunrise Mass: On Easter Sunday, Cline Family Cellars (24747 Arnold Dr., Sonoma) hosts Sunrise Mass at the Adobe Mission located at the winery. Service begins at 6:15, with sunrise at 6:49 a.m. Pastries and coffee will be served after mass and it all wraps up about 8:30 a.m.

Admission is free, open to all and reservations are not required. For more information about the winery, including directions, visit clinecellars.com.

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Easter Options: Costeaux French Bakery (417 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg) will be open on Easter Sunday for brunch from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., though you may want to stop by before the holiday. The bakery has several holiday specials, including hand-decorated shortbread cookies and cookie plates; fruit basket cakes; deep-dish quiche; hot-cross buns and panettone. You can place an advance order by calling 433-1913.

Starting this week, Patisserie Angelica (6821 Laguna Park Way, Sebastopol) will be open Thursday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. They are serving Easter Tea, West County Style, April 4 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Cost is $30 per person and reservations are required; make yours by calling 827-7998.

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Earth Day with Kevin Jorgeson: On Sunday, April 19, Iron Horse Vineyards hosts another of its wonderful Earth Day Celebrations. It takes place from noon to 3 p.m. and includes a walk-around food and wine tasting featuring the chardonnay and pinot noir of the Green Valley Sonoma viticultural area. Participating wineries include DeLoach Vineyards, Dutton-Goldfield Winery, Freeman Vineyard and Winery, Hartford Family Winery, Lynmar Estate, Marimar Estate, MacPhail Family Wines, The Rubin Family of Wines and, of course, Iron Horse Vineyards.

Guest chefs for the day are Daniel Kedan and Marianna Gardenhire of Forestville’s Backyard. Patisserie Angelica will provide desserts and there will be live music by Lonesome Locomotive.

The highlight of the fete is special guest Kevin Jorgeson, who made a world-wide name for himself free-climbing the 3000-foot Dawn Wall of Yosemite’s El Capitan. There will be a video of the ascent and an exhibit of photographs from the adventure.

Attendance is limited to 300 guests so if you want to join in, get tickets right away. Admission is $55 for wine club members, $65 for the general public and $250 for the VIP reception, which includes a tasting of Summit Cuvee and California caviar with Jorgeson and hosts Audrey and Barry Sterling.

For tickets, visit ironhorsevineyards.com.

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Coppola Winery Park Opens: The pool at Coppola Winery has opened for its 2015 season, as of April 3. It will be open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday through May 24 and then daily from May 25 to September 27. It returns to Friday, Saturday and Sunday for October 2 through 25. Hours are the same throughout the season, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Prices range from $12 for a child’s wine family weekday pass to $190 for a weekend cabine, which accommodates four people and a number of amenities.

Reservations must be made on-line, at francisfordcoppolawinery.com.

The winery is at 300 Via Archimedes, Geyserville.

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Hungry Birds: Native Songbird Care and Conservation of Sebastopol. is hosting an orientation for new volunteers on Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon, as they gear up for their 2015 season of rescuing, treating and releasing hundreds of baby songbirds. It is this month’s second orientation.

Volunteers help make it all happen. Tasks include food preparation, laundry and cleaning of indoor cages and outdoor aviaries, all essential to maintain the comfortable and safe environment necessary for the birds’ recovery. Volunteer drives to transport injured birds to the center are also needed.

Veronica Bowers, a gentle soul with a deep love for and knowledge of songbirds, founded the Native Songbird Care and Conservation in 2004. It was officially a program of Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue until 2011 but is now a separate organization supported entirely by donations and volunteer staff. It is licensed by both the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the California Department of Fish and Game.

If you’d like to join in, register at nativesongbirdcare.or or call 484-6502.

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So long, Cafe Europe: Cafe Europe, the sweet little German restaurant in Santa Rosa, is in escrow. If all unfolds as planned, its last day of service will be May 10 and J’s Grill and Cafe, with James Horton at the helm, will open soon thereafter.

Cafe Europe proprietor Herbert Zacher opened his first Sonoma County restaurant in Guerneville in August of 1982 and moved to a location on Fourth St. on the edge of downtown in 1990 and soon relocated to their current home on the corner of Highway 12 and Calistoga Rd., in the corner of the shopping center just north of Safeway.

Chef and partner Robert Buchshachermair, partner and chef, has been a part of Cafe Europe all along.

The reason for the sale is simply that, according to Zacher, who is 72, it is time. Time to smell the roses, perhaps, and to spend more time with their two long-haired dachshunds.

The restaurant serves lunch from 11:30 a.m. to p.m. and dinner from 4:30 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and dinner from 4:30 to 8 p.m. on Sunday.

For reservations, call 538-5255. To peruse the menu, visit clickcafeeurope.com.

Email Michele Anna Jordan at catsmilk@sonic.net. You’ll find her blog, “Eat This Now,” at pantry.blogs.pressdemocrat.com.