Mouthful: Art Trails begins this weekend

Sonoma County Art Trails Preview Reception: Art Trails gets started this weekend and continues next weekend, with scores of studios and galleries open on both Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

If you can’t make it on the weekend, there is a special exhibition at Fulton X Gallery at Fulton Crossing (1200 River Rd., Fulton). The show features three pieces by each participating artist. The exhibit is on view from October 9 through November 2.

Next Wednesday, October 15, there’s a special reception, with artists on hand, from 6 to 8 p.m.

If you are out and about for Art Trails, don’t miss the South A Arts District. This year, Mary Linnea Vaughan, one of Ms. Mouthful’s favorite artists, will not be present, as she is undergoing treatment for a rare form of leukemia. Her work will be well represented; you can see it in Studio H on the first floor of Backstreet Studios, down the Art Alley just off South A st. Special t-shirts, designed by graphic artist Lara Andrea Taber, will be for sale, too, with proceeds going toward the costs of Vaughan’s lengthy recovery.

For a preview of Vaughan’s work, visit maryvaughan.com. For a preview of Art Trails open studios, visit sonomacountyarttrails.org.

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It’s Turkey Time: Slow Food Russian River’s joint project with members of local 4-H clubs celebrates this Sunday, October 12, with its annual 4-H Heritage Turkey Harvest Dinner and Auction.

This year the fete takes place at Shone Farm (7450 Steve Olson Lane, Forestville) from 3 to 7 p.m.

Things get started with a reception featuring Devoto Orchard ciders and wines from the James Family Cellars, along with a selection of charcuterie and salumi, a cheese table with Madame De Fromage Colette Hatch and breads from Della Fattoria Bakery. A silent auction with more than 30 lots takes place during the reception.

Next comes a three-course dinner, served family style, and presided over by Rocky Maselli of San Francisco’s A16; Tony Ferrari and Jonathan Sutton of Hillside Supper Club and Dominique Cortara of Dominique’s Sweets, whose apple pies will wrap up the feast.

Heritage turkey will be featured in the main course. Following dinner there will be a live auction.

Eight of the 175 heritage turkeys being raised this year by nine 4-H members will attend the event and be available for photographs with guests. They will be auctioned off towards the end of the evening but, don’t worry, you won’t be taking home a live turkey.

All turkeys, fully dressed, will be available for pickup the Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

Cost of the dinner and auction is $95 for members of Slow Food and $120 for nonmembers. For tickets, visit brownpapertickets.com.

Those turkeys not participating in the fete are available for purchase; cost is $7.50 a pound. For information about purchasing a turkey and to reserve yours, email cthode@pacbell.net.

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Fall Festival: Speaking of Shone Farm, it’s a busy weekend at this jewel of the Santa Rosa Junior College.

The Shone Farm Fall Festival takes place this Saturday, October 11, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

This free family-friendly fete includes children’s games, apple pressing, wine and olive oil tastings and u-pick pumpkins and vegetables. There are always yummy nibbles to enjoy on the spot, too.

The 365-acre teaching farm, located at 7450 Steve Olson Lane, Forestville, is home to horses, beef cattle, sheep, four acres of olive and apple trees, 70 acres of vineyards, 100 acres of pasture and 120 acres of forest. If you’ve not visited it yet, this is a great opportunity.

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Fall Fiber Fest: This Sunday, October 12, Mimi Luebbermann’s Windrush Farm (2263 Chileno Valley Rd., Petaluma) hosts Fall Fiber Fest from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Throughout the day, there will be local fiber for sale from several vendors.

A series of demonstrations begins at 10:30 a.m., with a look at wool from difference animals, including rabbits, goats, sheep and alpaca. At 11 a.m., you can learn how to card wool and at 11:30 the focus is on natural dyeing.

At 1:30 p.m., there will be a felting demonstration and the final demonstration of the day, at 2:30 p.m., focuses on pattern dyeing on cloth with natural materials. There will also be a sale of used spinning wheels.

Pizza from the farm’s brick oven will be available throughout the day.

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Heads Up, Bat Lovers: On Saturday, October 11, the Laguna Environmental Center Open House has a special theme - bats! And we don’t mean baseball bats.

From noon to 3 p.m., there will be displays and bat-related activities for all ages. You can learn how to build your own bat house, try insect snacks, play a bat-and-moth game, learn bat origami and more.

From 3 to 4:30 p.m., a special presentation, “All About Bats: Myth-Busting These Amazing Mammals” with Rachel Griffiths of Sonoma Wildlife Rescue, explores the natural history of local bats and their benefits to all of us, including keeping the night-flying insect population in check. Griffiths has years of experience rehabilitating injured bats.

The open house, which takes place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and its bat-related activities are free. Griffiths’s presentation is $10 per person, though no one will be turned away for lack of funds.

Reservations are not necessary. All you need to do is show up.

The Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation and Environmental Center is located at 900 Sanford Rd., Santa Rosa. For more information, visit lagunafoundation.org.

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Front Porch Farm Dinner: On Saturday, October 11, Douglas Gayeton, author of “Local: The New Face of Food and Farming in America” (Harper Design, 2014), appears at Copperfield’s Books in Sebastopol at 6 p.m. for a free talk and signing.

Following his appearance, there is a special dinner at Zazu Kitchen and Farm at 8 p.m. If you’d like to make a night of it, call 707-423-4814 to reserve your seats. Cost is $77 per person, plus tax and gratuity.

The Whole Hog Dinner begins with Black Pig salumi antipasti. Next comes young lettuces, Asian pears, goat cheese and lemon verbena vinaigrette, accompanied by Front Porch Farm 2013 Rose.

Next comes Front Porch Farm Cinta Pig, Sebastopol mushrooms, Delicata squash and Lacinato kale, with Front Porch 2011 Red alongside. For dessert, it’s fried Sebastopol apple hand pies with Laloo’s Vanilla Snowflake goat milk ice cream.

Space is limited so call right away. For more information about Front Porch Farm, visit fpfarm.com.

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The Rise of the Giant Pumpkins: Next Tuesday, Cameo Cinema (1340 Main St., St. Helena) hosts a special screening of “Rise of the Giants,” a film that follows the 2013 competitive pumpkin growing season. The screening is a benefit for the St. Helena Farmers Market.

Directors Daria Matza and Mark Devendorf will be the evening’s special guests, along with Tim and Susan Mathison, who hold the 2013 World Record for their 2,032-pound pumpkin.

The screening, with a wine reception and nibbles, is $25. If you’d like to enjoy a three-course themed dinner at Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen following the film, the cost is $80 per person.

All proceeds benefit the market’s educational programs.

Many Sonoma County producers attend this sweet, vibrant market. For more information about the market, which takes place every Friday from 7:30 a.m. until noon from May through October, including its specific location, visit sthelenafarmersmkt.org.