Two top Southern California real estate developers and a leading Republican political figure lead GreenWave Energy Solutions LLC, company President Wayne Burkamp told the newspaper.

One of five GreenWave members is former state Assemblyman Tony Strickland, who lost his bid last year as the GOP nominee for state controller. Strickland is the Republican candidate expected to run to replace termed-out Tom McClintock in a heavily Republican state senate district.

GreenWave, whose federal wave energy preliminary permit application covers waters from Little River to Fort Bragg, where it abuts the PG&E claim, was the topic of puzzled speculation at Saturday’s day-long wave energy event in Fort Bragg. While PG&E sent a team to the event and every federal and state agency now involved was on hand, GreenWave has yet to be seen locally. Many of those attending the event have been frustrated in efforts to find out who or what GreenWave is.

Rachel Binah, a leader of anti-offshore oil and gas drilling forces for two decades, asked during her presentation that Mendocino County dig up some information about Green Wave.

John Innes, of the North Coast Fishing Association, said the mysterious filing by GreenWave resembled many of the limited liability companies (LLCs) that filed for wind energy permits, which he handled in a previous job. He said those LLCs often acted as fronts for others. The devices ended up abandoned when the shell corporations departed. Innes speculated that a good reason why Green Wave has not come forward locally could be that it, too, is a shell corporation.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, known as FERC, has also questioned whether GreenWave’s lack of identifying information in their October filing could mean the company is banking their claim with the intent to sell to someone else later.

FERC found the filing “deficient” and has asked the firm to submit more information about the company’s origins and makeup, as part of the federal agencies’ efforts to avoid “banking” or speculative claims.

Burkamp said GreenWave Energy Solutions LLC is not a shell corporation or a subsidiary of any other company.

“No, we are a completely independent business people. We have diverse talents and interests,” Burkamp said.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, known as FERC, has also questioned whether GreenWave’s lack of identifying information in their October filing could mean the company is banking their claim with the intent to sell to someone else later.

FERC found the filing “deficient” and has asked the firm to submit more information about the company’s origins and makeup, as part of the federal agencies’ efforts to avoid “banking” or speculative claims.

Burkamp said GreenWave Energy Solutions LLC is not a shell corporation or a subsidiary of any other company.

“No, we are a completely independent business people. We have diverse talents and interests,” Burkamp said.

GreenWave members

Burkamp said GreenWave started about a year ago as a limited liability company with five members who are interested in the blossoming field of alternative energy.

He said the members are Burkamp, Strickland, engineer Bill Bustamante, developer Dean Kunicki and developer Gary Gorian.

Internet searches showed that Kunicki and Gorian are well-known developers in Southern California. Kunicki has been involved in non-profit organizations such as the Red Cross and was elected last year to the Ventura County Board of Education.

Gorian, whose name is on California state LLC filings for GreenWave, runs Colton Lee Communities of Thousand Oaks, whose projects range from apartments and pre-fab housing to planned communities. Gorian is also on the board of directors of Casa Pacific, a temporary home for children in crisis.

None of the five men had visited the Mendocino site by Jan. 18, the filing having been made Oct. 23, 2007.

A FERC preliminary permit, which GreenWave has filed for waters off the town of Mendocino, acts like a mining claim or development agreement, whereby real estate is held for a certain time period for a certain use.

Burkamp said the skill developers use to navigate the political process would be key to developing wave energy, where the regulatory process is still being defined.

“We basically had the idea that we could develop these sites, and this was the right team to do it,” Burkamp said. “We could possibly streamline the development process with the help of our political arm (Strickland).”

Tony Strickland

Strickland wouldn’t have to stray far from his history to battle through wave energy regulations, as he has been one of the most strident foes of business regulations in California.

Strickland has been running California Club for Growth, an anti-tax and anti-regulation supply-side economics fund-raising organization that works to push Republican candidates to the right on fiscal issues. One recent statement attacked former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee for suggesting restrictions on CEO incomes.

As former chief of staff for the influential McClintock, Strickland is part of a small circle of powerful Republicans in the Simi Valley/Thousand Oaks area.

When Strickland termed out in the 37th Assembly District, his wife, Audra Strickland, replaced him as Republican assemblywoman in that seat.

Consultant Previsic Mirko

To choose the locations off San Luis Obispo (where GreenWave filed a second preliminary permit application on the same day) and the town of Mendocino, GreenWave hired Previsic Mirko, whom Burkamp characterized as a top expert in wave energy.

“We learned that these are the only two spots left with excellent potential to produce wave energy,” said Burkamp.

Mirko indeed has long been involved in important wave energy studies on both coasts of the United States, including the 2003 California state study that has been used as a text by all those involved in the issue. Mirko has helped alternative energy startup companies and been in on the invention of wave energy devices and is considered one of the top names in the field. Mirko is a consultant and not a member of the LLC, Burkamp said.

GreenWave has not issued any press releases and has had no involvement in any local public forums. Burkamp said he had hoped to attend the wave energy forum on Saturday in Fort Bragg but said it is too early in the process for specifics.

“We are at a preliminary stage of the process. There will be a time for us to hold public forums and do the things you suggest,” Burkamp said.

Where’s the money?

FERC is also requesting that GreenWave reveal where it would get the money to undertake the wave energy project and has asked the group to discuss what type of technology it would use.

Burkamp said GreenWave has sources for the financing and is leaning toward the Pelamis sea-snake design at this point.

“We have a number of sources for the funding … Again we believe the process is too early for us to finalize who our sources are, or to select the device that generates the wave energy,” said Burkamp.

Burkamp is an attorney with the San Francisco law firm Armstrong Teasdale. He specializes in real estate and also does corporate securities work.

A frustration in finding information about GreenWave has to do with ongoing problems with the FERC Website, which extends to several other filings. County officials, local activists and even a leading official from another federal agency complained about spotty searching of filings on the FERC Website.

Until the end of summer, new filings were reliably posted on the FERC Website, but none has been posted in the “new” area since October. Some searches work on the FERC Website and FERC has not answered requests from this reporter that all new wave energy filings be provided.

GreenWave’s filing, along with that of the county of Sonoma and a new filing by California Wave Energy partners off Cape Mendocino, rumored to be both wind and wave energy, have not appeared on the Website. A map prepared by the Department of Interior contained all the filings except the filing by California Wave Energy Partners, another LLC.

A phone call quickly revealed California Wave Energy Partners is a subsidiary of Ocean Power Technologies of New Jersey, which along with competitor Finavera are the leading wave energy firms.

Ocean Power Technologies has made headlines in recent days with the dramatic decline in its stock price.

By FRANK HARTZELL Of the Fort Bragg Advocate-News

Wonderful stay here - go during the week and save yourself a bundle! I did! Book for one night and you’ll get a coupon slipped under the door for 99.00 for another night! Shoulda done that!

The bed was heavenly - comfy - lovely linens. The room was beautiful and the breakfast wonderful!

There’s a hot tub that I didn’t use - I missed a fantastic trip for my birthday and ended up booking this place instead.

It was one of the best birthdays ever! Quiet solitude - beautiful surroundings.

I would love to return - this time for a ROMANTIC getaway!

My friend loved the complimentary bottle of wine they give you upon check in!

CaAnn, San Francisco, Ca

Porcini Mushrooms

About 80% of Mendocino county’s wild mushrooms come from national forest lands, such as those prominent in Mendocino County. Some of the many mushrooms you will find here are Candy Caps, Black Trumpets, Porcinis, Morels, Oyster Mushrooms, Portobello, Yellow Foots, Hedgehogs, Golden, White & Black Chantrelles. Mendocino County in an average year produces and sells 300,000 to 500,000 pounds of mushrooms.

Of the 3,000 mushroom species found in Mendocino County about 500 are edible, 100 have the texture or presentation a chef can use and 20 are readily identifiable as most often used for cooking. The 2 most often exported from Mendocino County are Matsatake Mushroom (during Japanese New Years) and Horn of Plenty Blacks. Eric Schramm of Mendocino Mushrooms reports that he ships about 60,000 pounds of wild mushrooms per year.

Fall and Winter are peak seasons for foraging. A walk in the forest and you will no doubt see wild mushrooms, but don’t pick them unless you are an experienced harvester. Only a few mushrooms are deadly, but many can make you ill. Our seasonal downpours encourage the wild mushrooms to be found in fields, meadows, forests, and along the coastal wilderness. Mushrooms lie dormant throughout dry weather as mycelium. This microscopic form responds to the rains, feeding and fattening on earth’s organic matter until a cap poised sumptously, on a stalk pokes above the ground.

Defination:

A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name “mushroom” is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus, hence the word mushroom is most often applied to fungi (Basidiomycota, Agaricomycetes) that have a stem (stipe), a cap (pileus), and gills (lamellae, sing. lamella) on the underside of the cap just as do store-bought white mushrooms. However, “mushroom” can also refer to a wide variety of gilled fungi, with or without stems, and the term is used even more generally to describe both the fleshy fruiting bodies of some Ascomycota and the woody or leathery fruiting bodies of some Basidiomycota, depending upon the context of the word. Forms deviating from the standard form usually have more specific names, such as “puffball”, “stinkhorn”, and “morel”, and gilled mushrooms themselves are often called “agarics” in reference to their similarity to Agaricus or their placement in the order Agaricales. By extension, “mushroom” can also designate the entire fungus when in culture or the thallus (called a mycelium) of species forming the fruiting bodies called mushrooms.

Other Uses:

Mushrooms can be used for dyeing wool and other natural fibers. The chromophores of mushrooms are organic compounds and produce strong and vivid colors, and all colors of the spectrum can be achieved with mushroom dyes. Before the invention of synthetic dyes mushrooms were the primary source of textile dyes. This technique has survived in Finland, and many Middle Ages re-enactors have revived the skill.

Medicinal mushrooms:

Currently, many species of mushrooms and fungi used in folk medicine for thousands of years are under intense study by ethnobotanists and medical researchers. Maitake, shiitake, chaga, and reishi are prominent among those being researched for their potential anti-cancer, anti-viral, or immunity-enhancing properties. Psilocybin, originally an extract of certain psychedelic mushrooms, is being studied for its ability to help people suffering from mental disease, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder. Minute amounts have been reported to stop cluster and migraine headaches.

Mushroom Glossary

Here are a few mushrooms, some more common than others, getting widespread culinary respect:

Black trumpet (Craterellus cornucopioides) A chanterelle with slim dark stem and tulip- or trumpet-like cap.

Candy cap (Lactarius fragilis) A small mushroom found mainly in the West with golden to reddish-brown caps and a slightly sweet, maple flavor that benefits desserts.

Chanterelle (Cantharellus cibarius) Also known as girolle or pfifferling, it has golden ruffles that flare upwardly along the stem like a tulip or trumpet.

Maitake (Grifola frondosa) Also known as hen of the woods, these are beautiful classic-shaped, gray-brown mushrooms with an earthy flavor.

Matsutake (Tricholoma magnivelare) A white to yellowish gilled mushroom with brown fibrils and cinnamonlike spicy pungency that is prized by the Japanese.

Morel (Morchella esculenta) Light green to black, with a honeycomb cap (a “peach pit on a stem,” says Eric Schramm), these coveted mushrooms thrive where there have been forest fires, thus their affinity for smoky flavors.

Oyster (Pleurotus ostreatus) There are many varieties of this multilayered mushroom named for its oysterlike shape. One is the king, which has a texture that is scalloplike. The cultivated blue is almost purple and the golden has a sweet nutty flavor.

Porcini (Boletus edulis) Also known as cèpe (French), steinpilz (German), or gamboni (Mendocino County), the porcini has a fleshy cap and stem with a spongy layer instead of gills.

Portobello (Agaricus bisporus) Found all over the country, these trendy giants (with a name developed by marketing folks) are not wild, but are mature cremini (a darker-capped version of the white button) that are allowed to grow longer and develop their meaty texture and large size.

Shiitake (Lentinus edodes) Parasol-shaped, this mushroom, long popular in Asian cuisine, has a smooth, dark brown cap with gills and a tough stem.

Board of Forestry Approves New Management Plan

Sacramento, January 9, 2008. In an action that culminated 8 years of controversy and litigation, the Board of Forestry voted 8 in favor and 1 abstention to approve a new management plan for Jackson Forest that is a milestone in moving Jackson State Forest towards management in the broad public interest.

At the meeting, the Board accepted several amendments that brought the management plan into full conformance with the consensus plan for the forest developed by the Mendocino Working Group.

The Board agreed to limit timber harvesting during a 3-year interim period to that needed to fund the operations of Jackson Forest, and not to generate surpluses. It also agreed to give a newly-formed Jackson Advisory Group the authority to review essentially all timber harvest plans during the interim period. These were the final keys to getting the agreement of the Campaign to Restore Jackson State Forest to support the new management plan.

At the same meeting, the Board also approved the supporting Environmental Impact Report for the management plan. The vote was 8 in favor, 1 opposed. This EIR had been in process since July 2003, when the previous EIR was declared invalid by the courts.

Attention will now turn to the next phase of reforming the management of Jackson Forest. During this phase, the new Jackson Advisory Group will work with the public and Jackson staff to develop a consensus long-term landscape plan for the forest.

Jackson Advisory Group Charter Approved
Nominations solicited

Sacramento, January 9, 2008. The Board of Forestry approved a charter for a new Jackson Advisory Group. The charter provides the advisory group with broad authority and support to develop a long-term landscape plan and associated timber harvesting, forest and stream restoration, and recreation activities.

The California Department of Forestry released a request to the public to submit nominations for the Advisory Group. The deadline for submitting a letter request and resume is February 8, 2008. The Director of CDF will select the members and present them to the Board of Forestry for confirmation.

The advisory group will have up to 14 members. It’s membership will be a mix of people with science skills, timber management knowledge and interests, conservation and environmental concerns, and recreation knowledge. It will have a preponderance of people from the local Mendocino area. All members will represent the public interest, regardless of their affiliations.

The advisory group will work with the public and Jackson staff to develop a consensus on a long-term landscape and plan and operations in support of the plan.

By the end of a 3-year Interim Period, the advisory group will recommend changes to the new management plan to reflect the group’s vision for the future of the forest.

Establishment of the advisory group was one of the key recommendations of the Mendocino Working Group.

Help Restore Our Publicly Owned Redwood Forest

Pomo girl photographed by Edward S. Curtis in 1924 

The Pomo People: The Pomo people are a linguistic branch of Native American people of Northern California. Their historic territory was on Pacific Coast between Cleone and Duncans Point, and inland to Clear Lake. A separate group speaking a language of the same family, called the Northeastern Pomo, also lived near Stonyford. 

Location: Pomo is a word believed to be derived from Poma, the village name given by anthropologists at the beginning of the century. The Pomo originated in California and were divided into three regions, the coast, the valley, and the lake regions of northern, central and southern California. They inhabited Mendocino, Sonoma and Lake counties, They also resided in the Russian River Valley and still reside in these areas today. The northern Pomo are named the Bokeya, the central are the Yokiya, and the southern Pomo are the Kashia.  

Language: It is believed that there were originally seven different languages but only three are still spoken including Hokan. 

History: In the early 1800’s, the Pomo had become close allies with the Russian fur traders and constantly traded items between the two camps. The Russian fur traders believed having Indians on their side was to their advantage. The Pomo were forced into Spanish missionaries or onto Indian reservations. During the 1830’s & 1840’s, they were subjected to numerous raids by the Mexican camps who attempted to secure slaves. There was also dramatic increases in the number of people who contracted smallpox and other deadly diseases. In 1857, the U.S. government set up a reservation for the Pomo Indians at Fort Bragg, California. Ten years later it was deserted and the Pomo were sent to live on other reservations throughout California.  

Daily Life: The daily life of the Pomo was all based on simplicity. The men were often naked and the women wore short, thick kilts and shirts made of deerskin. One source of warmth during cold weather came from rabbit robes. Their houses were shaped like an leeiptical circle and consisted of three layers held by poles. Their daily diet included acorns, berries, fish and meat. The Pomo had two ceremonial rituals including the “Ghost Dance,” during which the dead were recognized and the “Far South,” which was a rite of passage for children of the tribe.          

Because the Pomo Indians lived in a variety of environments, there was a large variety of food available to them. The communities living inland made journeys to the coast for sea food, and the coastal communities make journeys inland to gather foods not found in their local environment. The Pomo Indians ate nuts from acorns, chestnuts, buckeyes, pepperwood, and conifer trees. They also ate wild grapes and berries. “Almost all species of mammals, birds, fishes, etc. were utilized, chiefly as sources of food.” The hunting of game was done using a variety of tools. They used snare, nets, spears, clubs, Bola (used in taking geese), sling and clay balls, and the bow and arrow. They used a V-shaped fence for corralling deer, and they would smoke out, or drown out ground squirrel out of their burrow.  

Land: The Pomo Indians did have property lines and personal areas. The entire community usually owned individual trees. Good fishing spots were another community owned area. If other communities wanted to fish these ares, all they had to do was ask. “If a boundary had to be marked, they simply tied a girdle of leaves around the trees along the line, at intervals of about a mile.” Boundaries where agreed upon by community leaders in elaborate ceremonies.  The Pomo were very peaceful, only when property rights were disregarded did village unites go to war. This was a last resort and many warnings were given before force utilized. The Pomo’s wealth came from fifty miles of lakeshore, and over one million acres of land. From this land they mined, traded, and sold Megnasite, or Indian gold. 

Population: Population: In 1770 there were about 8,000 Pomo people, in 1851 population was estimated between 3500 and 5000, and in 1880 estimated at 1450. The 1910 Census reported 777 Pomo, but that is probably low. The anthropologist Alfred L. Kroeber estimated 1,200 in the same year. According to the 1930 census there were 1,143. In 1990, the census showed 4900.  

Today: The Pomo only have a mere fifty acres of tribal land. The decline was caused by a few factors; the treaties signed were never accepted by the state of California, this when the gold rush hit they sold a lot of the Pomo Indians land to anyone willing to buy. Second, was a terrible misrepresentation of the Pomo Indians in court by the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs). This caused a loss of 80,000 acres of land, including the island tribal ceremonial grounds. There are seventy known tribes within the Pomo group.

Did you know that Mendocino County, which has a population of about 90,000 has four microbreweries.

The Mendocino Brewing Company, was founded in 1983 as the Hopland Brewery in Hopland, California, and its brewery is now currently located 20 minutes north in Ukiah.

The formation of the Mendocino Brewing Company in March 1983 marked the entry of one of the first competitors in the modern craft industry. When the brewpub opened in August 1983, it represented the first new brewpub in California and the second such business to open since the repeal of Probition. The companys pioneering stat, occuring before any substantial numbers of consumers had developed the taste for or the knowledge of handcrafted, traditional-style ales, made its early success that much more remarkable. Mendocino Brewing Company, however, was founded and operated with far more zeal than capital, a common characteristic of the craft brewers that would follow in the company’s wake. Craft brewers, particularly during the latter part of the 1990’s, were committed to expansion but lacked the financial resources to support the expansion necessary for survival. Despite its financial weakness, the company enjoyed rousing success during its formative years. The problems occurred later, when the popularity of craft brewing reached unprecedented proportions.

At first, Mendocino Brewing Company restricted its activities to the confines of Hopland. A signal moment in the company’s development occurred in December 1983, when it bottled its first beer at a production facility with a capacity of 400 barrels per year. Red Tail Ale, an  amber ale, became the company’s flagship brand, contributing substantially to the company’s financial health for years to come.

For many craft brewers, the 1990’s offered challenges that stemmed from the industrys own success. The idea of making specialty beers had become widely popular to many entrepreneurs, giving Mendocino Brewing Company a horde of new competition. When it was formed, Mendocino Brewing Company had existed virtually alone in the industry, but the number of craft brewers later proliferated. By 1997, there were nearly 800 brewpubs in operation throughout the country and more than 1,200 microbreweries. Mendocino Brewing Company found itself facing its own financial problems during the decade, as its need to expand outstripped its access to new capital and precititated profound change at the Hopland based company.

Please visit there website for all of there great beers they offer. Mendocino Brewing Company

The North Coast Brewing Company is a pioneer in the craft beer movement, opened in 1988 as a local brewpub in the historic town of Fort Bragg, located on California’s Mendocino Coast.

Under the leadership of brew master Mark Ruedrich, the brewery has developed a strong reputation for quality having won more the 70 awards in national and international competitions.

 The North Coast Brewing Company has received from the World Beer Championships “One of the ten best breweries in the world” from the Beverage Tasting Institute. These exceptional beers are available in 36 states now and also are exported to Europe and the Pacific Rim.

The North Coast Brewing Company occupies both the east and west side of Main Street, Fort Bragg. On the west side is the brewing and bottling operation. They offer free tours of the brewing facilities on Saturdays at noon. No reservations are required. There is also a gift shop located on the breweries facilities.

The Tap Room & Grill located on the east side of Main Street, Fort Bragg, across the brewing facilities is a local favorite. It is open every day starting at noon. Check out there website The North Coast Brewing Company 

Anderson Valley Now Brewing Solar Powered Beer.

(February 6, 2006 - Boonville CA) After a final inspection by PG&E, we were at last able to put the finishing touch on our $860,000 state-of-the-art photovoltaic project  -  Throwing the switch and making our own juice (the electric kind). Yep! We’re finally up and running, and those 768 beautiful solar panels (almost 12,160 square feet of them) are creating enough juice to cut the brewery’s entire electrical bill almost in half! Now whenever you savor a Boonville Beer, you can savor the fact that you’re drinking a solar powered beer and helping protect the environment.

The system includes state-of-the-art photovoltaic panels, with a life expectancy of forty to fifty years, paired with new-generation inverters, in a self-contained system. The $860,000 project will include two arrays; a 175′ by 53′ array on the roof of the brewery’s cellar and packaging facility, and an auxiliary 120′ by 24′ ground-based freestanding array. When completed in June of this year, the combined array will contain seven hundred-sixty eight 40″ by 57″ panels, each generating 187 watts per panel, for a combined output of 125,000 watts per hour at 480 volts AC, during the day’s five peak solar hours.
Located in Boonville, California, in scenic, Mendocino County, Anderson Valley Brewing Company (AVBC) opened the doors to its brew pub in late 1987. Since then, we’ve grown a bit, built a new facility, and now brew our world-class ales in copper vessels salvaged from two defunct German brewereries.

We carefully craft our world-class ales using only the finest ingredients; premium malted and roasted grains, hops, yeast, and pristine Boonville water straight from our own unique aquifer, and we never heat pasteurize or sterile filter our beers. Our tradition of carefully crafting inspired, flavorful, ales of the highest caliber has earned numerous awards, a loyal following, and our two-time placement among the World Beer Championships® Top Ten Breweries of the Year. Check out there website Anderson Valley Brewing Company

First Certified Organic Brewpub in the Country. Owned and operated bt the Cooperrider family since 1999, The Ukiah Brewing Company & Restaurant is the nations’s first all-organic brewpub and restaurant. At the brewpub, all ingredients used in the restaurant and brewery must be grown and produced on certified organic farms without the use of artificial or toxic chemicals. A long list of pesticides, food additives and artificial preservatives is prohibited.

  Ukiah Brewing & Restaurant officially released Pilsner Ukiah in cans January 21, 2006 at the restaurant. Pilsner Ukiah is an organic lager and will be packaged in six-packs of 12 ounce cans. ”It makes sense to put our beer in the world’s most popular, portable, environmentally friendly package, ” says brewmaster Bret Cooperrider. “also unlike bottles, cans eliminate light damage and oxidation to our beer.” Pilsner Ukiah is an unfiltered, deep gold lager with bold malt and hop flavor packing a 5.4 percent alcohol content by volume. Check out there website at Ukiah Brewing Company.

FORT BRAGG, Calif. –— Microbrew tasting and whale watching will be the featured attractions of the 26th Annual Fort Bragg Whale Festival March 15 and 16.Along with dozens of microbrews provided by the Fort Bragg Rotary Club, the area’s top chefs will produce their favorite chowders. A marine mammal art exhibit and crafts fair are also part of the two-day festival.

• Jughandle Creek Nature Center on-site naturalist will set up guided whale watching walks by reservations and will provide spotting scopes and educational materials. Contact: Helene Chalfin, 964-4630 or email: jughandle@creek.org 

• Chowder Tasting at Town Hall, Saturday from 11am till the chowder runs out, 4 tastings for $5. Corner of Main (Hwy 1) & Laurel St. in Fort Bragg. T-shirts and tote bags available during this event. Get there early to avoid long lines for chowder! 

• Whale Cruises from Noyo Harbor. Call Chamber for referrals, (707) 961-6300 

• Lighthouse Activities and exhibits, Saturday and Sunday from 10-4pm. See tide pool exhibits, lighthouse history, The Frolic shipwreck artifacts, learn from the Audubon Society and Marine Mammal Center of Sausalito, fun for the whole family! And don’t forget the whale watching. 

• Arts and Crafts Fair in downtown, on Saturday from 10-5pm & Sunday from 9-3pm, free admission, at the Fort Bragg Masonic Hall, 428 N. Main St., Fort Bragg.

• Whale Walks at the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens on Sat and Sun at 1pm, Hwy 1, Fort Bragg 

• Guided Whale Walks at MacKerricher State Park Saturday and Sunday, call 964-8898 for more information 

• 4th Annual Marine Art Exhibit at the Mendocino Art Center, featuring the original work of late, honored marine artist JD Mayhew and others, Saturday and Sunday from 10-4pm, located on Little Lake St., Mendocino 
  

• Whale Watching by Horseback, call Chamber of Commerce for referrals, 707-961-6300 between 9-5 on weekdays, 9-3 on Saturday

• Microbrew Beer Tasting and Barbecue at Eagles Hall, Saturday only from 12-5 pm, $30
  

MENDOCINO, Calif. — Wine tasting and whale watching will be the featured attractions of the 26th Annual Mendocino Whale Festival March 1 and 2 in Mendocino.Many wineries will set up tasting stations in inns, galleries and shops throughout Mendocino Village and Little River, while the area’s top chefs produce their favorite seafood chowders in a tasting event. A marine mammal art exhibit, plein-air (live outdoor painting demonstrations) and docent-led walks are all part of the two-day festival.

• Wine Tasting in Mendocino’s shops-Saturday only 12-4pm, $30. Register at Welcome Centers: Crown Hall-Main St, the Ford House-Main St. Event brochures, t-shirts and totes available. 21 & over only
   

• Chowder Tasting in Crown Hall, Saturday from 11am-till the chowder runs out, 4 tastings for $5. Crown Hall located at 45285 Ukiah St., Mendocino. T-shirts and totes available during event.
   

• Whale Watching walks on the headlands and Gray Whale Exhibit at the Ford House Visitor’s Center, Saturday and Sunday. Call 937-5397 for more information and hours Ford House Visitor Center located on ocean side of Main Street, Mendocino.
   

• Jughandle Creek Nature Center on-site naturalist will set up guided whale watching walks by reservations and will provide spotting scopes and educational materials. Contact: Helene Chalfin, 964-4630 or email: jughandle@creek.org
   

• Lighthouse Activities, Pt. Cabrillo Lighthouse exhibits and children’s activities on Saturday and Sunday, 9am-4pm Includes tide pool exhibit, lighthouse history, bird walks from Audubon Society, whale watching, and a Marine Mammal Center of Sausalito rescue demonstration. Docents & naturalists on hand. Parking $3
   

• Plein-air Artists in the Village Weather permitting! See local artists painting on the Mendocino Headlands, Saturday
   

• 4th Annual Marine Wildlife Exhibit at the Mendocino Art Center, 10-4pm, Little Lake St., Mendocino. Call 937-5818 features nationally and locally honored marine wildlife artists including the late JD Mayhew, designer of Whale Festival logo
   

• The Coast KOZT-FM and Mendocino Coast Chamber of Commerce presents a whale film by Eric Christensen, Saturday at Crown Hall, 6pm. Tickets can be purchased at the door.
   

• Whale Watching Cruises from Noyo Harbor in Fort Bragg all day both Saturday and Sunday, call Chamber of Commerce for charter boat referrals, 707-961-6300 between 9-5 on weekdays, 9-3 on Saturday
   

• Whale Watching by Horseback, call Chamber of Commerce for referrals, 707-961-6300 between 9-5 on weekdays, 9-3 on Saturday.Featured wineries:

  -Albertina Wine Cellars
  -Barra of Mendocino
  -Claudia Springs
  -Esterlina Vineyards
  -Fife Vineyards
  -Frey Vineyards
  -Graziano Family of Wines
  -Handley Cellars
  -Husch Vineyards
  -McNab Ridge Winery
  -Meyer Family Cellars
  -Navarro Vineyards
  -Neese Vineyards
  -Scharffenburger Cellars