UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Lake County Wine Studio is hosting a wine release party and artist show event with Stephen Dilley of Lavender Blue Wines and artist Diana Constable on Friday, Aug. 1, and Saturday, Aug. 2.

The show runs from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday and 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday.

The $12.50 ($10/per person for studio club members) wine sampler and appetizers will showcase Lavender Blue Viognier with a pasta and seafood salad, Cabernet Sauvignon with Farmhouse White Cheddar, Petite Sirah with Chévre, bacon, caramelized onion and sweet cherries in Phyllo shell and the Tawny Syrah with dark chocolate and Marcona almond bark.

Known for her colorful and impressionistic paintings, Diana Constable has been painting all of her life, starting in oils and learning to paint like the old masters.

She now works with acrylics as they give her much more flexibility and allow her to experiment with bold, vibrant colors.  

Relating to the 19th and early 20th century painters such as Matisse, Van Gogh, Vlaminck and Monet, she paints with a vivid palette and brusque brushwork recalling both Fauvist and Impressionistic traditions.

Constable majored in art at the University of Illinois and Texas Woman's University. She moved to California in 1980 and continued her painting education at the College of Marin and studied under several well-known artists in the Sonoma/Marin area, and also traveled abroad to attend painting workshops in Southern France and the Italian Riviera.

After achieving success as a horticulturalist and in telecommunication sales in the eastern U.S., Stephen Dilley moved to California to earn his professional certificate in winemaking at Fresno State University and established his business in Lake County to make fine wines.

Citing the uniquely different and exceptional growing conditions for wine grapes in Lake County, Stephen enjoys working with wine grapes from the area's various microclimates and sub-appellations.

Lake County Wine Studio is a gallery for display of arts and a tasting room, wine bar and retail shop for the fine wines of Lake County. Artist's shows are held on a monthly basis with art and wine receptions held the first Friday and subsequent Saturday of each month.

The gallery is located at 9505 Main St. in Upper Lake. It is open Monday from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 7 p.m.; and Friday, from 1 to 8 p.m.

The Constable art show will be on display for the full month of August.

For more information call Lake County Wine Studio at 707-275-8030.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Sons In Retirement (SIR) Branch 168 will hold its monthly luncheon meeting at Konocti Visa Casino on Friday, Aug. 8.

The guest speaker will be Carol Cole-Lewis, founder and coordinator of the Time Bank of Thrive Lake County.

In January 2011, she and Steven Elias started the time bank as a way to promote community and build the local economy through an alternative currency.

The time bank now has 430 members who have exchanged almost 9,000 hours.

Sons In Retirement is a social organization for men of retirement age who are pursuing the goal of enjoying their later years.  

It has 142 branches with 18,000 members throughout the state.

Branch 168 holds a luncheon on the second Friday of each month at the conference room at Konocti Vista Casino.  

Among the many activities SIR is involved in are golf, travel and special events such as Christmas dinner dance, the annual picnic and the Valentine’s Day sweetheart’s luncheon.

Anyone interested in learning more about SIR activities can call one of the following members: golf, Jim Cary, 707-998-3004; travel, Bob Specht, 707-279-0187; special events, Frank West, 707-263-7144.

Anyone interested in learning more about Sons In Retirement in general are encouraged to contact Larry Powers, chair of the membership committee, at 707-263-3403 or to visit the state Web site at www.sirinc.org .

SACRAMENTO – Total attendance at the California State Fair grew by eight percent this year representing the highest attendance levels in six years, fair officials reported.

More than 750,000 guests came to see “The Best” of California on display during the 17-day State Fair (July 11-27).

For the first time in more than 10 years, State Fair attendance levels exceeded 70,000 visitors on four separate days, three weekend days (7/19, 7/26 and 7/27) and the second Tuesday of the Fair (7/22) which was Wells Fargo Kids Day drawing 75,957 guests.  

Additionally, the California State Fair became the most “liked” fair in the Western United States on Facebook with a new fan level of 108,196.

A combination of expanded programming and entertainment that attracted a diverse group of individuals, positive social media messages by Fairgoers who helped spread their excitement virally, a strategic shift in the marketing campaign that focused on the best of California and the iconic blue ribbon, the addition of professional soccer games, and a doubling of advance ticket sales were some of the factors contributing to the overall increase.  

State Fair organizers were pleased with these new records, noting that a number of challenges were overcome this year, including impacts of the drought, five days of temperatures in excess of 100 degrees, four wild land fires in the past three weeks on or near Cal Expo’s portion of the American River Parkway, a freeway closure on Wells Fargo Kid’s Day due to the fires, record viewership in California of the World Cup on the State Fair’s first Sunday, and rain on the State Fair’s second Sunday.

“Setting new attendance records during a summer of adverse weather, drought and fires, is a testament to the resiliency of the people of California and to the evolving relevance of the State Fair,” said Rick Pickering, CEO of the California Exposition and State Fair.  Pickering stated that, “The 2014 State Fair’s theme of ‘The Best’ was designed to help celebrate, preserve, and inspire California’s most valuable asset – it’s people.”

2014 State Fair by the numbers:  In addition to the number of attendees, officials estimate the following:

Guest services

• 159,242 cars parked
• 47 lost phones returned to their owners
• 6,000 Bandaids given out by guest services
• 3,864,000 feet of toilet paper used

Social and Web

• 51,921 new Facebook fans since June 1, 2014 bringing the total to 108,196 – the most "liked” fair in the western United States
• 589 social media posts by the State Fair, including 162 Facebook, 361 tweets and retweets and 66 Instagram posts during the Fair
• 756,459 total visits to the CAStateFair.org website since June 1, 2014
• 3.3 million page views on the CAStateFair.org website since June 1, 2014

Food and beverage

• 75,000+ corn dogs eaten
• 40,000+ funnel cakes served
• 7,600 free, personalized Coca-Cola cans given out to guests
• 2.5 tons of whole wheat flour,  1,000 lbs. of cream cheese and 1 ton of cinnamon sugar used to make the Country Fair Cinnamon Rolls
• 2,156 State Fair Brewers’ Festival attendees
• 13,119 wine slushies served in the Save Mart Supermarkets Wine Country
• 12,191 scoops of gelato served by Colossal Gelato

Animals

• 38 animals born in the Baby Barn
• 6,393 livestock animals
• 2,725 yards of manure removed from the livestock area
• 214,710 dollars raised by 58 youth in the Tractor Supply Jr. Livestock Auction

Entertainment

• 2,601 jumps in the Jack in the Box Freestyle Motocross show
• 62,201 monorail rides
• 612 guests hypnotized on the PG&E Center Stage
• 500,000 dollars in horseracing capital improvements

Exhibits

• 3,696 pounds of fresh food harvested from The Farm presented by Save Mart Supermarkets and donated to local food banks during fair.
• 2,500 completed Read to Ride book reports turned in for 5,000 free rides by Butler Amusements
• 10,700 tree seedlings given out to guests in Forest Center
• 14,400 kids completed the passport program in The Farm presented by Save Mart Supermarkets
• 9,000 water efficient nozzles given out to guests by Toro to help save water
• 29 pieces of art sold from the fine art exhibit

The 2015 California State Fair will be held in July and will include three weekends of exciting horse racing.

For more than 160 years, the California State Fair has showcased the best of the Golden State. During the 2014 State Fair more than 750,000 people experienced the best and made memories that will last a lifetime. Initiated by Governor Pat Brown and opened by Governor Ronald Reagan in 1968 the current Cal Expo facilities were dedicated as a place to celebrate California’s achievement, preserve a slice of Americana, and provide a window into the future.

LAKEPORT, Calif – Local author and mindfulness teacher JoAnn Saccato, MA will be the guest on the Taira St. John Show on Wednesday, Aug. 13.

The show begins at 2 p.m. on KPFZ 88.1 FM.

Saccato will be sharing about her recently-published book, speaking engagements and upcoming eight-week course, “Compassion-based Mindfulness for Stress Relief, Personal Clarity and Emotional Freedom,” slated to begin in Lakeport on Thursday, Sept. 11.

Taira St. John, a local psychotherapist, life coach, writer and producer, will interview Saccato, a native of Lake County, on how her book, “Companioning the Sacred Journey: A Guide to Creating a Compassionate Container for Your Spiritual Practice,” came about and how the simple tools of journaling, mindfulness and setting intention can lead to more authenticity, personal clarity and emotional freedom.

Saccato lived in voluntary simplicity for 10 years in the oak woodlands of Lake County with her dog, Shyla (now deceased).

“It was a profound journey that afforded the time and space for a deeper spiritual inquiry,” said Saccato.

The book arose after Shyla's passing, which occurred shortly after they left their chop-wood-carry-water lifestyle.

Saccato foresaw Shyla's decline and knew she needed to find a way that would afford Shyla comfort for her final days.
 
“Holding conscious, loving and compassionate space while losing my best friend and life companion was one of the most difficult things I've had to do, but I wouldn't have missed it for the world,” she reflected. “It was this process that really helped me see the true power and grace of these simple practices.”

“Many of the tools I write about and teach have proven time and again to create more spaciousness, meaning, acceptance, clarity, freedom and joy,” Saccato explained. “Mindfulness, a relatively recent phenomena in the United States, is a documented method to increase your focus skills, reduce stress and develop increased resiliency from stressful situations.”

The Taira St. John Show is broadcast live weekly on KPFZ 88.1 FM on Wednesdays from 2 to 3 p.m. and is streamed through LIVE 365, in real time ( visit www.KPFZ.org for directions).

The show will replay from 1 to 2 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 18.

This show is the second in the new year-long series on the Taira St. John Show on the topic of Love and Awakening. The series is available for free listening or download on www.TairaStJohn.com (see Radio section).

This series follows last year’s Elixir of Lake County: The New Wine Series of Northern California that ended on July 31.

For more information on Saccato, her book and upcoming courses, visit www.companioningthesacredjourney.com or call 707-350-1719.

For more information on Taira St. John, visit http://www.tairastjohn.com .

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake and Mendocino Counties Stand Down/Homeless Veterans Resource Fair will take place at American Legion Post 437 in Clearlake, Sept. 10 and 11, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Several agencies and veterans service groups will be on hand for the fair, including the California Department of Veterans Affairs, Disability Services & Legal Center, Lake County Veterans Service Office, Disabled Veterans Outreach Program, Mendocino County Veterans Service Office, VA Tribal Outreach and many others. Lunch will be provided for all attendees.

Organized by United Veterans Council of Lake County Inc., the event will provide support services to local veterans as well as active duty personnel and their families, and will address the needs of veterans who are homeless.

In preparation for the fair, employees of Paratransit Services, operator of Lake Transit, will be assembling hygiene kits from items donated by the community. These kits will be available free of charge to registered veterans.

Items needed for the kits include shampoo/body wash, toothpaste, combs and brushes, toothbrushes, shaving cream, tooth floss, disposable razors, mouthwash, deodorant, washcloths, hand and body lotion, wet wipes and female hygiene items.

Items can be dropped off with staff at Paratransit Services’ Lake Transit office, located at 9240 Highway 53 in Lower Lake, from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Donations will be accepted through Aug. 24.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The SPCA of Clear Lake's kennels are at capacity with an abundance of cats, kittens, dogs and puppies, so the organization is holding another adoption event.

All of the new adoptable family friends come with their first shots and are already spayed or neutered.

From now through Sunday, Aug. 10, all cats, dogs, kittens and puppies are priced half off. That’s just $35 for a cat or kitten and $75 for a dog or puppy.

The SPCA of Clear Lake is now open seven days a week, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

If you or a friend has been thinking of getting a pet, the staff and volunteers at the SPCA of Clear Lake would love to see you and assist in helping you pick out just the right cat or dog.

Don’t forget that the SPCA also is your place to go for low cost spay or neuter, as well as vaccinations. Contact their friendly staff regarding dates and times.

The SPCA of Clear Lake is located at 8025 Highway 29 in Kelseyville.

Have a question? Please give them a call at 707-279-1400 or visit http://spcaofclearlake.org/adopt-a-pet/dogs/ . The SPCA would love to hear from you.

Brenda Crandall is public information officer for the SPCA of Clear Lake.