SOFA Fun: The only couch potatoes you'll find at the 9th annual Winterblast Art Party, taking place Saturday from 5 to 8 p.m., are the ones who ride in the Sofa Parade, which is exactly what it says, a parade of couches on wheels.
If you're fond of quirky fun, this is the winter event for you. At the heart of the fete are the more than 35 open studios, but there is so much more, on the street, in alleys and in various nooks and crannies. You want to be everywhere, at once.
Highlights this year include Jeremiah's Disco Party, magic by Ken Garr, belly dancing by Krysta Cook, DJs Domo and Limelight, Frosty the Snowfaman and the Queen of the Winter Faeries, who will be granting wishes. The Hubbub Club and Blackwater Gold will perform.
Foods from SEED, the Bun Slinger, Canevari Ravioli, Undercover Baking Agency and the Spinster Sisters will be available for purchase, as will coffee, beer and wine.
For the best parking, arrive early. For the most fun, stay late.
Admission is free but bring plenty of cash for eating and drinking.
The SOFA Arts District is located just south of Juilliard Park, on South A Street and Sebastopol Avenue in Santa Rosa.
'Tis the Season for Craft Fairs: On Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., the Sebastopol Grange (6000 Sebastopol Road/Highway 12) hosts what may be one of Sonoma County's oldest craft fairs, founded about 25 years ago.
The fair features jewelry, "upcycled" clothing, bottle-cap art, felted fripperies, home-made style condiments and liqueurs, holiday ornaments, wearable art, sweet and savory foods, cards, garden art and so much more.
Nearly four dozen artisans participate in this fair.
A raffle will be held to benefit the California Homemakers Association and Grange scholarships.
Admission and parking are both free.
Beaujolais Nouveau est arriv? Next Friday, Nov. 22, the Santa Rosa French-American Charter School Foundation hosts its second annual Beaujolais Nouveau celebration. It takes place just hours after the official release of the wine at midnight, French time, on the third Thursday of November.
Last year's event sold out, and this year's is likely to, as well. VIP tables for eight already are taken.
If you want to join in the fun, which includes three generous tastes of newest wine of the year, appetizers, desserts, entertainment and dancing, get your tickets tout de suite at srfacs.org. Tickets are $45 each.
There's also a silent auction of unique gift baskets and a live auction.
The celebration takes place from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Mary Agatha Furth Center (8400 Old Redwood Highway, Windsor).
Teen Chefs at Backyard Restaurant: On Sunday evening, teen chefs from Ceres Community Project team up with Ceres' executive chef Bob Hogencamp and Backyard chef-owner Daniel Kedan for a dinner to benefit the project.
Things get started with an "amuse bouche," onion bhaji, with carrot-beet pickles and cilantro lime yogurt. Next comes buttercup squash soup with cumin and apple.
There's a choice of entree - grass-fed top sirloin with garlic potatoes, chard, mushrooms and crispy shallots; pan-seared Bluefin tuna with tapenade, roasted potatoes and kale; or cabbage rolls with tempeh, quinoa and a roasted pepper-tomato sauce, along with a medley of winter vegetables.
For desserts, you'll have to choose between apple-quince tarte tatin with creme fraiche ice cream, flourless chocolate torte with salted caramel-coconut ice cream or house-made seasonal sorbet.
There is a cost of $40 per person for the meal. Two wines, Hafner Family Vineyards Chardonnay and Coturri Winery ros? will be available for $8 a glass; Moonlight Brewing Company beer will be $6 a pint.
Dinner will served from 5:30 to 9 p.m. and reservations are strongly recommended. Make your reservations at 820-8445. Backyard is located at 6566 Front St. in downtown Forestville.
Fibershed Marketplace: On Saturday from noon to 4 p.m., the Dance Palace (503 B St., Point Reyes Station) hosts a marketplace featuring the wool-based arts and crafts from members of Fibershed, who are gathering that day for the second annual Wool Symposium.
The event features an enormous array of natural items crafted from local sheep's wool, alpaca and angora, using natural dyes. From tiny felted bracelets, yarns and purses to sweaters, coats, comforters and more, this is an excellent opportunity to see local wool put to great use.
Admission is free.
Crab Season Opens: The commercial crab season opens today, and fresh local Dungeness crab should be available sometime very soon, possibly even at local farmers markets this weekend.
In celebration of the season, you can sample "The Best Louis Dressing in the World" at the Sebastopol Farmers Market on Sunday from 10 to 11:30 a.m., where "Vinaigrettes and Other Dressings: 60 Sensational Recipes to Liven Up Greens, Grains, Slaws, and Every Kind of Salad" (Harvard Common Press, 2013) will be available for sale and signing.
Yes, it's Ms. Mouthful's newest book, and Ms. Mouthful will be doing the signing and conducting the tasting.
Spinster Sisters, Fisher's Nephew & Provence: On Sunday at 5:30 p.m., Luke Barr, grandnephew of the late M.F.K. Fisher and grandson of Fisher's sister, Norah Barr, reads from his book, "Provence: 1970," at The Imaginists Theater (461 Sebastopol Ave., Santa Rosa).
Barr's reading begins at 5:30 p.m. The book explores the friendship and rivalry between Fisher, Julia Child, James Beard and other culinary titans of their generation who gathered in Provence to explore, in conversation, the future of American cuisine.
Following the reading, guests make the short walk to Spinster Sisters, where chef Liza Hinman will serve up a delicious Proven?l-inspired meal. As of press time, the menu included Ni?ise tapenade and a Swiss chard omelette; roasted leg of lamb with olives and garlic; braised beans with bacon; a gratin of young fennel; tomatoes Proven?l; radicchio and mache salad; quince with Saint Nectaire cheese and pears poached in red wine and served with Fisher's gingerbread.
Tickets are $65 per person, which includes a signed copy of the book.
There are just a few seats left; to snag yours, call 528-7100.
Full Moon Fun at Robert Rue: In celebration of the Full Beaver Moon, which occurs on Sunday, Robert Rue Vineyard (1406 Wood Road, Fulton) is hosting a special "Happy Hour" on Saturday from 4 to 8 p.m.
The party celebrates not just the Beaver Moon but the release of the winery's 2011 zinfandel, which will be available for tasting. In addition, the work of the winery's "artist in residence," Valerie Gardiner, will be on hand to admire and purchase.
Expect yummy appetizers, serene - i.e., not blasting - music, wines by the glass and bottle and miniature wine bottle ornaments, also available for purchase.
Admission is free and open to the general public.
Michele Anna Jordan hosts "Mouthful" each Sunday at 7 p.m. on KRCB 90.9 & 91.1 FM. E-mail Jordan at michele@micheleannajordan.com. You'll find her blog, "Eat This Now," at pantry.blogs.pressdemocrat.com.
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