Page 17 - Sonoma County Gazette - June 2018

Day Trips & Dancing into the Night
By Vesta Copestakes
We’re heading toward the longest day of the year (see page 45 Guide to the
Night Sky) when the sun sets at 9pm and the blue glow in the sky darkens to reveal brilliant stars through air dried by hot sun during the day. Is there any place better to play while the days are long?
Sonoma County and all who live here are blessed with everything we need and want to enoy ourselves. It would be wrong to deny ourseves the pleasures that come from living here. The following pages - our community columns (pgs 30- 45 ) - and our CALENDAR Section (Pgs 52 - 71) are full of suggestions for self-indulgence. Choose the ones that suit your style and budget....most are FREE and only require time and gas or bus fare to gett here and home.
LIVE Music - dance - listen - all summer long in communities all over Sonoma County who produce music events for us to enjoy. Why not? Musicians come here to play and many live here among us. They use these opportunities to enjoy creating music for our listening and dancing pleasure. Most of the year, especially in winter, people are reluctant to go dancing in clubs if they have matured past the staying out late phase of their lives. But not in summer. That’s when people of all ages dance in the sun and shade of outdoor concerts.
Little children bounce and swing to music right along with their parents and grandparents becuse most of these concerts are family-friendly. For a full list please go to page 69. Cut out the list and plan your summer of music and dancing. There’s a music style for each and every one of you whther you pull up a lawn chair or take off yourr shoes and dance in the grass.
Just ast week I went east to Kenwod to split the difference with a friend who lives in Sonoma. We decided to trek over to Sugarloaf Ridge State Park. I
told my friend that this was the place Funky Fridays used to have live music every Friday until it became so popular they couldn’t handle parking. It was
a benefit to fund this state park when funding was reduced. Now it happens every Friday at Hood Mountain Regional Park and funds our local park system. More parking and more ammenities, which make it that much more popular! Bill Myers and Linda Pavlak orchestrate this 14-evening live music series running June 1 ~ August 31. Concerts at Hood Mansion off Highway
12 at Pythian Road in Kenwood. Gates open at 5:30 pm with 7-9 PM show time. Adult admission $10. Children 18 and under are FREE. Tickets can be purchased at the gate or in advance. Parking is FREE. www.funkyfridays.info
6/18 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 17