Recreation
LAKE COUNTY – The annual Heron Festival and Wildflower Brunch, presented by the Redbud Audubon Society and the Clear Lake State Park Interpretive Association, will be held April 27-29 at Clear Lake State Park in Kelseyville.
The event is a fun, family-oriented weekend that features pontoon boat tours, birding and nature walks, an art show, exhibits, nature talks and children's activities.
Friday night kicks off with an opening reception for the Heron Festival Art Show. Guests are welcomed to mingle with artists and enjoy wine and hors d'oeuvres from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Main Street Gallery, 325 N. Main Street, Lakeport. The bird and nature art will be on display at the gallery for the entire weekend of the Heron Festival.
The Spring Wildflower Brunch will be held on Saturday, April 28, from 9 a.m. to noon, and features "Fill Your Own Omelet" dishes. The cost for brunch is $12. Advance brunch reservations and payment are requested and may be made online by visiting www.heronfestival.org or by calling (800) 525-3743.
On Saturday and Sunday, pontoon boat excursions will take visitors along the shoreline of Clear Lake to view nesting herons, egrets, grebes and other shorebirds. The 90-minute boat trips will be offered from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Experienced Audubon birding guides will accompany each boat to share information about the birds and wildlife seen on each trip.
The excursions will leave from the Clear Lake State Park marina. A donation of $15 per person is requested for the pontoon boat trips. Advance reservations are required and may be made online by visiting www.heronfestival.org or by phone at (800) 525-3743.
On Saturday and Sunday, the Visitor Center at Clear Lake State Park will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It features interpretive displays of Lake County's natural and cultural resources. These include an erupting volcano, a Pomo Indian village, a mountain lion cave, and dioramas of the woodland and riparian habitats in the park. The gift shop offers educational and entertaining nature items.
The Visitor Center Auditorium will feature speaker presentations, slide shows, and videos on local birds and wildlife. Topics will range from the weekend's featured herons and wildflowers to bats and hummingbirds.
Nature and bird walks will be given by local park docents and Audubon guides who are specialists in the park's birds and wildlife. A self-guided "Habitat Hike" will be available for families. A nature fair with numerous outdoor exhibit booths will present conservation and nature displays, nature-related artists, and educational materials.
On Saturday evening, campfire activities aimed at kids and parents will feature bird and nature stories around the campfire and an evening wildlife walk in the park with flashlights.
During Heron Festival weekend, admission to Clear Lake State Park is free. Except for the boat rides and brunch, all other festival activities also are free. Camping sites are available through the State Park reservation system. Local resort, motel, and bed-and-breakfast reservations are available through www.lakecounty.com or by calling (800) 525-3743.
For more information on all festival events, call (800) 525-3743 or visit www.heronfestival.org.
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NICE – The third annual Festival of Tulips will be held March 31, from noon to 4 p.m. at Tulip Hill Winery in Nice. The event will feature wine, food, and entertainment set amid the winery's gardens blooming with 30,000 tulips imported from Holland.
Entrance to the Festival of Tulips includes a Tulip Hill wine glass for unlimited tastings, sumptuous hors d'oeuvres from five upscale Lake County restaurants, live rhythm 'n' blues music by Bill Noteman and the Rockets, winery tours, lectures, and ballroom dance and other demonstrations.
During the event, tours of the winery will be given to attendees once per hour beginning at 12:30 p.m. with the last one at 3:30 p.m. The tours, given by a member of the Tulip Hill collective, will take eventgoers from the crush pad to the cellar to the bottling room and everywhere in between.
In addition, the tour guide will give an overall view and explanation of the winemaking process – from the grape to the bottle. Grapevine pruning also will be demonstrated throughout the day.
A raffle will be held on the day of the Festival of Tulips for a gift basket of Tulip Hill wine and other Lake County products that are sold in the winery's gift shop. There also will be special deals on wine and wine-related products during the festival, and the gift shop will be open, as well.
Last year, guests of the Festival of Tulips came from as far south as Palm Springs, as far north as Oregon, as well as from Lake and nearby counties.
Tulip Hill Winery opened in 2004 on the site where the Bartlett Springs Water Bottling Plant once operated. The first owners of Bartlett Springs began bottling as early as the 1870s, claiming the mineral water cured all sorts of ailments, including their own.
Revered in Europe as well as the United States, the famous plant, which had changed hands over the years, closed down in the late 20th century. It wasn't until the Brown family arrived that the historic site would once again have a purpose – this time for wine.
According to Loretta Byrne, chief operations officer of Tulip Hill Winery, "When the Brown family discovered the property, they fell in love with the area. They completely landscaped the grounds and remodeled the facilities to become the winery and tasting room."
Tickets to the Festival of Tulips are $30 per person and may be purchased over the phone or at the winery on the day of the festival; tickets purchased in advance will be sold at the discounted price of $25 per person.
Tulip Hill Winery is located at 4900 Bartlett Springs Road. For more information about Tulip Hill or the Festival of Tulips, call (707) 274-9373 or visit www.tuliphillwinery.com.
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