Chris Smith: Route 116 wineries, eateries prepare a thank-you party for first responders and medical professionals

On Friday, the wineries and eateries of Taste Route 116 will feed and amuse and shower gratitude on all of the first responders, doctors and nurses who can break away for the afternoon and early evening.

“We're just trying to say thank you,” said Devin Ruddick of Hook & Ladder Winery, which will host the complimentary reception in partnership with the Forestville Firefighters Association.

Beholden to all who rescued and treated and served locals during the October fires, Hook & Ladder and other members of Taste Route 116 are preparing plentiful tastes and sips for first responders and medical professionals and their families.

There will be bocce and other games, and soft drinks for the kids. The hosts would like a nose count, so if you'll go please register at cellarpass.com.

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CLOVERLEAF RANCH still looks burned and bleak from Old Redwood Highway, just north of Santa Rosa.

But recovery at the landmark riding stables and equestrian summer camp is coming along at a gallop.

Shawna DeGrange and her staff have resumed riding lessons, horse boarding and trail rides. They're signing kids up for camp this summer.

And they invite us to come see Cloverleaf's return to the saddle at an open house from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.

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ARE YOU READY? At the Sonoma County Fairgrounds on Saturday, Sonoma Valley's Julie Atwood and some helpers will have all sorts of information for home and ranch owners eager to be better prepared for the next natural disaster than they were for the last one.

And it will be free.

Atwood and her HALTER program, who've done much to improve the region's response to large animals in crisis or distress, will host Saturday's Home & Ranch Readiness Day.

One of the day's presentations will be “Fur, Feathers & Fins: No Species Left Behind.”

From 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., there will be instruction on making plans for a disaster or other serious emergency.

Expect plentiful help with how to put together a kit of essentials that could make all the difference after the next major earthquake, fire, flood or other crisis.

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SWEET AND OLD travel trailers will migrate back to the Sonoma Coast this weekend for what's become a popular and nostalgic reunion at the Bodega Bay Trailer Park on Highway 1.

Owners of restored vintage trailers would love for you to drop by during the open house from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

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SANTA ROSA AVENUE is where a dream toils to become real at a community center for children, seniors and others whose lives would be enriched by such a place.

The parcel near East Robles Avenue is bare, but members of the Roseland Lions Club own modular buildings that they seek to place there. The Lions envision programs for kids, a garden, a commercial kitchen, a recording studio and all sorts of classes, activities and services.

The Lions need help, and donations of materials and labor and dollars, to complete the project.

Lions invite supporters and potential supporters to a celebration from 4 to 9 p.m. Sunday at Franchetti's restaurant on Dutton Avenue. For more information, email roselandlions@gmail.com.

You can reach Staff Writer Chris Smith at 707-521-5211 and chris.smith@pressdemocrat.com.

On Friday, the wineries and eateries of Taste Route 116 will feed and amuse and shower gratitude on all of the first responders, doctors and nurses who can break away for the afternoon and early evening.

“We're just trying to say thank you,” said Devin Ruddick of Hook & Ladder Winery, which will host the complimentary reception in partnership with the Forestville Firefighters Association.

Beholden to all who rescued and treated and served locals during the October fires, Hook & Ladder and other members of Taste Route 116 are preparing plentiful tastes and sips for first responders and medical professionals and their families.

There will be bocce and other games, and soft drinks for the kids. The hosts would like a nose count, so if you'll go please register at cellarpass.com.

Chris Smith is at 707-521-5211 and chris.smith@pressdemocrat.com.