The 10th Annual Morro Bay Kite Festival is set for all day Saturday-Sunday, April 23-24 on the Strand Beach at Morro Rock. Free admission and parking. Hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 11-4 Sunday. Bring your kites or buy one there, have a picnic on the beach and watch thousands of kites of all colors and kinds soar over the Strand. Professional kite wrangler demonstrations, vendors, and free basic kites for the kids to decorate, fly and take home.
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The California Mid-State Fair is starting a major renovation of the Main Grandstand Arena. The cattle pens located at the south end of the arena need to be removed. This is a salvage opportunity as all material is scrap metal. High bid will receive the contract for the demolition of the cattle pens. Those interested in obtaining a detailed bid packet should contact Pat Kress, interim CEO at (805) 239-0655 or email to: [email protected].
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The Achievement House is hosting its Fifth annual Charity Golf Tournament at SLO’s Laguna Lake GC set for Saturday, April 23. Cost is $50 per golfer and includes a continental breakfast and lunch. On-course refreshments available. Registration and breakfast is at 8 a.m., with tee time at 9. Lunch will be served when golfers have completed the course. Find the entry form online at: www.achievementhouse.org/works/golf-tournament. The tournament will feature prizes and a raffle, including resort stays, fine dining, event tickets, car care, gifts, athletic memberships and more. Prizes for the best and worst scores, and closest to the pin. There will also be a $10,000 hole-in-one cash prize. Proceeds from the scramble format tourney go toward a new forklift, which will be used to move items from locations, including the nursery, e-waste recycling and thrift stores.
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Pismo Beach author, Kathy Pycior, will sign her book, “Running Across America: Our Ten-Year Quest,” from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, April 23 at Coalesce Bookstore, 835 Main St., Morro Bay. A Southern California native, Pycior grew up with an outdoor lifestyle, camping, fishing and hiking. She excelled at P.E. in school and took up running in 1978. She met Don in 1980 and soon started a running streak that earned her a Guinness World Record in 2006 for “the longest running streak by a female.” Their marriage and running career spanned three decades, until Don died in 2012. The book chronicles that world recording streak.
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The Central Coast Watercolor Society’s Annual General Meeting is set for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 26 at the United Methodist Church, 1515 Fredericks St., SLO. The meeting starts with a potluck supper. Bring a dish to share, drinks and a couple of paintings to show. A 1-night juried member show highlights the evening, with all in attendance doing the judging and awards for the top three. Free and open to the public. See: www.ccwsart.com
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FARMstead ED is hosting a Central Coast Cheese Dairy Tour set for Sunday, May 15 in Paso Robles. The tour highlights three dairy farms (goat and sheep too) and creameries to tour, and taste their cheeses. Tour visits Central Coast Creamery, Stepladder Creamery in Cambria. And Rinconada Dairy in Santa Margarita. Lunch and a luxury coach will be provided. Tickets are $145 per person and available online at: www.farmsteaded.com or by calling (805) 226-2081. Space is limited. Tour is sponsored by Travel Paso, see: www.travelpaso.com.
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The Central Coast Aquarium in Avila Beach will host a beach, estuary and trail cleanup, and a marine life festival featuring seven educational and wildlife organizations from 9:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday April 30 on the Aquarium’s front lawn. Participants will enjoy a Thank You barbecue at noon hosted by the SLO Fire Department. In addition, there will be live music and fun activities for the kids throughout the day. All cleanup participants will also receive a half-off, same-day aquarium admission.
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St. Joseph’s Festival takes place Sunday, May 1 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at St. Joseph’s church in Nipomo. The theme of the event is to recognize more than 40 nonprofit groups providing services in health awareness, public safety, social services and community involvement. The festival includes live music, food booths, a blood drive, bone marrow registry, and other services. Entertainment provided by Unfinished Business, Dueto Elegante, and DJ Jimmy. It’s a great opportunity for both adults and children to learn about the many services that are provided and is a fun family event. For more information on this event call Brook McMahon at 805-929-1922 ext 104.
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Meet 3rd District Supervisor Candidate Dan Carpenter in Grover Beach on May 1. Grover Beach residents are invited to meet, greet and question Dan at the Sixteenth Street Park (16th and Mentone) on Sunday, May 1 from 2 to 4 p.m. Attendees can enjoy complimentary refreshments, a great playground for the kids and the music of country troubadour Greg Grewal. The County’s 3rd Supervisorial District includes Grover Beach to the south and runs up to and includes the southern half of San Luis Obispo to the north.
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American Honey Queen, Kim Kester, will be visiting farmers’ markets in San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay to teach market-goers all about honey and bees. Kester represents the American Beekeeping Federation and more than 200,000 beekeepers nationwide. An agriculture master’s student at Iowa State University, Kester buzzes around the nation and will give cooking demonstrations, pass out special materials to kids, and show live, bees in a hive from 3-4:30 p.m. Thursday, April 28 at Spencer’s Fresh Market, 2650 Main St., Morro Bay; and in SLO from 9-10:15 a.m. Saturday, April 30 at World Market, in the Embassy Suites parking lot, 325 Madonna Rd., SLO. Bees are important to agriculture, and experts say many food crops would disappear without bees to pollinate them. California also has the Guinness World Record for honey production. In 1976, a beekeeper in Santa Cruz extracted 404 pounds from a single hive. For more information on the SLO County Farmers’ Market Association’s weekly events — also held in Arroyo Grande — see: SLOCountyFarmers.org.
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The Cayucos Library’s First Monday Mini-Book Sales will kick off from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, may 2 with paperbacks going for 25-cents each or five for $1. There will be bargains on cookbooks, coffee table books, fiction and non-fiction as well as CDs and DVDs at $1 each. Proceeds support the Cayucos Library and the Friends of the Cayucos Library’s community programs. The next sale is June 6 when they’ll have children’s books. The Cayucos Library is at 310 B St., behind the Cayucos School and across from Hardie Park.
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The San Luis Obispo Botanical garden has several special events planned for May. Dates, times and costs listed. The Botanical garden is located in el Chorro Regional Park, 3450 Dairy Creek Rd., off Hwy 1 across from the entrance to Cuesta College. There’s a day-use parking fee at the gate. See: www.slobg.org for more information.
• Succulent wreath workshop, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, May 10. Jayne Devencenzi leads this hands-on workshop to create a beautiful, living succulent wreath for Mother’s Day. All materials provided. Cost is $60 for garden members and $70 for public.
• Mother’s Day brunch cooking class, 11 a.m. Friday, May 6. Mary Ann Rutshaw shows how to make tasty, beautiful treats. Cost is $15 garden members and $20 public. Class is in the Oak Glen Pavilion.
• Birding at the garden with Morro Coast Audubon Society, 9-11 a.m. Saturday, May 7. Jay Carroll and Eric Wier of the Audubon Society lead a fun, family-friendly birding walk through the Botanical Garden grounds. Cost is $5 members and $10 public.
• Getting to know your palms, 1-2 p.m. Saturday, May 14. Cal Poly botany professor, Dr. Jenn Yost, lectures on the diversity of palm plants — biology, conservation, and more. Free docent led tour at 2 p.m. Cost is $5 members and $10 public.
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American Legion post No. 66 in SLO is holding a benefit pancake breakfast set for 7 a.m. to noon Sunday, May 1 at 1661 Mill St., SLO. Tickets are $4 at the door and proceeds support local veteran’s programs and youth scholarships, youth programs, ROTC, Cuesta automotive and nursing scholarships.
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As pickleball players in Morro Bay await a court of their own, a big tournament is being held in Paso Robles Saturday-Sunday, May 14-15 at Paso’s Centennial Park, 600 Nickerson Dr. Unofficially known as the “Wine Country Spring Tournament,” the tourney will include age and skill level classifications in men’s doubles, and women’s doubles on Saturday, and mixed doubles on Sunday. With 13 courts there is room for more than 150 players to compete. Calcareous Vineyard will host a private tasting and specially prepared 3-course sit-down dinner with wine pairings in their tasting room on Saturday night. To register for the tournament and for more information about the event and the dinner, see: pickleballtournaments.com/welcome.pl?tid=575. Email Dave Bones at: [email protected] or call (805) 591-7051, or contact tournament director Jan Passama, at: [email protected] or (510) 786-8723.
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The Paso Robles Youth Arts Foundation will be taking sign ups starting May 16 for its summer camps in June, July and August. Each week-long camp is $125 per student and includes art pieces or a T-shirt, pizza party and a group photo. Camps run from 9 a.m. to noon and are available for ages 6-18. Fine arts camp for 8-10-year olds is set for June 20; and for 6-8-year olds on June 27. Music camp for kids 12-18 is July 11-15; and drama camp for 6-10-year olds is Aug. 1-5. Space is limited. For information see: www.pryaf.org/summer-camp-fundraisers or call (805) 238-5825.
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Congregation Beth David, 10180 Los Osos Valley Rd., SLO will host a Holocaust Remembrance Day, or Yom HaShoah, at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 4 to commemorate the 6 million Jews and 5 million other souls that perished in the Holocaust. Everyone is invited to a memorial program featuring Julius Royal, a survivor of the last years of the war in Hungary. Royal’s father, an engineer, was shot by Soviet soldiers, and his mother, a physician, was sent to and survived Auschwitz. His amazing story tells of the family housekeeper and non-Jewish friends who helped him survive. He is also a veteran of the fight against the Soviets in the Hungarian Revolution, which happened 60 years ago this year. Cal Poly associate professor of modern European history, Molly Loberg, moderates the discussion, music by The Canzona Women’s Ensemble, performing “Even When He is Silent” and “Reflections from Yad VaShem.” The Bell Choir performs as well. The event includes a candle-lighting ceremony for the victims and Rabbinic teachings on genocide events throughout the world. For more information call Lauren Bandarithe JCC-Federation of SLO executive director (805) 295-0890 (cell), or email: [email protected]
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Renowned clarinetist, Gregory Smith, will lead a free master class at 11 a.m. Thursday, April 28 in Rm. 218 of the Davidson Music Center at Cal Poly (Bldg. 45). The class is free and open to the public. Several student clarinetists will perform and be critiqued by Smith, who plays with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and is a music professor at Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of the Performing Arts. The master class is sponsored by the Music Department, College of Liberal Arts, and the Tevis Fund for Visiting Artists. For more information, call 756-2406.
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The Central Coast’s finest food, wine and beer will be on tap at the “Flavor of SLO,” set for 1-4 p.m. Saturday, April 30 at the Jack House and Gardens on marsh Street in SLO. Tickets are $45 in advance, and 75 student tickets — with valid ID and presale only — for $35 or $50 at the door and available online at: www.flavorofslo.com or email to: [email protected]. There will be about 30 vendors to sample and music is by Rio Salinas Band featuring Louie Ortega. Flavor of SLO is a fundraiser for the United Way of SLO County and is organized by the Rotaract Club. Sponsored by the City of SLO, Left Coast TShirt Company, Heritage Oaks Bank, Judy Kambestad in honor of Katchy Andrews, The Mortgage House, and Madonna Inn. Additional sponsorships available.
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You think you’re a great fisherman? Here’s a chance to prove it and claim some nifty cash prizes. Virg’s Landing in Morro Bay is once again sponsoring Capt. John Rowley’s “Biggest, Baddest Lingcod Competition” an annual fishing tournament set to start opening day of fishing season, May 1 and run through the end of the year. There’s $10,000 in total prize money, and the angler whomever catches the biggest fish every week on a Virg’s fishing excursion will be entered into a “fish-off” in December.
Virg’s Landing offers half-day trips, three-quarters day trips and full day trips all season (weather permitting of course). See the website at: www.virgslanding.com to more information and to book trips.
Rod rentals and a full tackle and outfitters shop is located at 1169 Market Ave., just a block up Beach Street from the Embarcadero.
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Hundreds of elementary school student jump-ropers and their families from all over SLO County are invited to the Cuesta College gym from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 30 for the 8th Annual Jump-In Competition, sponsored by the YMCA. All Central Coast families are invited to come learn about the Y’s summer programs, and there will be information stations and activities promoting healthy eating and active living. There will be a raffle giving away a scooter, T-shirts, and even a free week of YMCA summer camp. The event is sponsored by Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center and is free to the public, parking is $2. More information can be found at: sloymca.org.
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Morro Bay Presbyterian Church, 485 Piney Way (corner of Anchor Street), is hosting a Mother’s Day Tea Party from 1-3 p.m. Saturday, May 7 featuring local family therapist and Tolosa Press contributor, Susan K. Boyd and harpist and recording artist, Penny Beavers. Cost is $7.50 a person, 10-under free at the door. All women are welcome to come enjoy the splendor of a most genteel gathering to enjoy fine teas, visit and listen to the magical melodies of the harp.
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With April designated, “Sexual Assault Awareness Month,” RISE is hosting the 14th Annual Walk a Mile in Her Shoes fundraiser, set for Saturday, April 30 in Paso Robles and SLO’s Mission Plaza. The event is a fundraiser for RISE, which helps women dealing with domestic violent, sexual assault and worse. Men from all walks of life will participate in a 1-mile walk through Downtown Paso and SLO wearing women’s high-heeled shoes. Both will have live music, non-profit awareness fair, Goofy Grins photo booth and family-friendly activities. The Paso event is from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and JD Project will perform. The SLO event is from 10-1 with The Kicks and special Star Wars guests from the 501st Legion and Rebel Legion. Registration is $20 per person or $15 for students and includes a goody bag and use of RISE’s high heels. Registration available at the events but pre-registration online is encouraged. See: www.WalkAMileSLO.org to register and to donate.
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Fans of vintage automobiles can catch a glimpse of some vintage sports cars and racers when the 26th Annual California Mille, a Vintage Car and Classic Car Tour conceptualized after Italy’s famed Mille Miglia (1,000 mile), open road race comes through the Central Coast stopping in Morro Bay on day two of the 4-day run. They will be at the Inn at Morro Bay Tuesday, April 26 and depart early the next morning. Some 67 cars from around the world will take part in the Calif. Mille with all cars made before 1957 and some made in the ‘30s. But a 2016 Ferrari will be leading the procession. The Inn will be closed to the public for this private gathering, but the parking lot will be filled with these rare and beautiful cars for viewing.
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Los Osos Friends of the Library are hosting several free public events at the library, 2075 Palisades Ave. Call 528-1862 for more information. An adult book reading and discussion group is held from 6:30-8 p.m. the third Thursday of the month (April 21). April 28 at 6:30 p.m. is Poetry Night with the theme “ocean” with poets Dian Sousa and Don Wallis starting the night off. Bring your poems to read during open mic. The Allegria Winds quintet with flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and French horn performs at 3:15 p.m. Saturday, April 30. Free, music for all ages. A “read together” event is set for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 5. Enjoy a community theater reading of an Agatha Christie’s spy thriller. And a traditional West Java percussion music concert with Gamelan Erunais set for 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, May 7. Free.
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Have fun and make a difference at a fundraiser for the 5Cities Homeless Coalition at 5 p.m. Thursday, May 5 at Fin’s Seafood Restaurant in Grover Beach to celebrate ¡Cinco de Mayo! Savor some of Chef Carlos’ favorite dishes, enjoy live music, entertaining games and a raffle (including a trip to Puerto Vallarta). Take-out start at 5:30 p.m. Entertainment includes Mariachi, “El Tapatio,” and dancing with local favorite, Sound Investment. Menu includes cheese chile rellenos, enchiladas, chimichangas, ceviche, chile verde, Carlos’ signature fish tacos and more. Minimum donation $25 (non-alcoholic drink included). Shark Bar specials on cervezas y vino for $5 and Cadillac Margaritas for $10. And specialty desserts for sale. Call 574-1638 for advanced tickets or at the door.
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Left Coast Art Studio, 1188 Los Osos Valley Rd., Los Osos, offers ongoing children’s classes including, knitting and tinkering, and for adults, mosaic mornings and open studio hours. There are many projects to choose from and the studio is available for birthday parties and craft get-togethers. Call or text (805) 459-6080 or email to: [email protected]. Workshops are: Ancient Art of Soap Making 6-8:30 p.m. Friday, April 29 with Lindy Laroche of Poppy Soap Co.; Succulent Wreaths 3 p.m. Saturday, May 7 with Steve Super of Steve Super Gardens; Jewelry Making Wednesday, 6-8 p.m. May 11 with Cindy Sassaman of Sweet Bella Jewelry; and Natural Skin Care 6-8 Friday, May 20 with Lindy Larouche of Poppy Soap Co. See: www.leftcoastartstudio.com for more.