Threatening skies overhead were only bluffing at Redding’s 14th annual Beer and Wine Festival held at the Market Street Promenade. Good thing the clouds were in actually, as the temperature was actually just right for the people and food. Here’s a few shots
The lovely Karry receives a pour of Indian Peak Cab from Z at the Uncorked booth. In the dark blue shirt beyond is Kirk Taylor from GM Specialties on Hartnell. Kirk is a terrific Cadillac mechanic, in case you need one. Always fun to see our local friends and neighbors.
A Market Street Chef seasons a steak. It’s too much to write about all the great food, but some standouts for me were the samples at this booth from Market Street Steak House, the little clams from the Woodside Grill at Gaia, the Garlic Cilantro Quinoa from Grilla Bites, and the scrumptious Lentil Salad from Trader Joe’s. I asked if you could buy that salad at TJ’s and was told “you have to make it.” Sounds like a plan.
Along with all the lovely wine, there was something like 27 different breweries represented. Again, some pours that stood out for me was Hop Stoopid from Lagunitas, Mirror Pond from Deschutes, Drifter Pale Ale, and Tumbler from Sierra Nevada. Nice to have all the variations. It occurs to me that some restaurants ought to offer flights of beer, like they do with wine, so you can sample lots of different brews instead of single big pints. Not that big pints are bad…
A good crowd kept circulating. A DJ kept things hopping.
Here are some familiar Reddingites. I love the background, too.
Here are Amber and Tracy, a couple of colleagues of mine. A good time was had by all. Our thanks go to Viva Downtown and all the vendors. I can’t believe we only do this once a year!
Lake Shasta still quite full for Fall 2010
I took these images at Bridge Bay yesterday. The lake seems really quite full for this time of the season. It looks like you could have really lovely day of boating out there.
Sometimes the lake is way down this time of year, making boat launches problematic, and revealing a big bathtub ring effect of lakeshore. Not quite as aesthetically pleasing as these images. But who can complain this year? Not me. It’s supposed to rain here Saturday, so presumably the lake will be further replenished. Abundant water, it’s Really Redding.
Institute of Technology moves to Hilltop Drive
Redding’s Institute of Technology has moved from Redcliff to Hilltop. It should be good to have the student population near the restaurants and shops in the Hilltop retail corridor. The Institute offers these programs:
* Accounting*
* Criminology & Emergency Response Management*
* Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning
* Human Resource Administrator*
* Medical Billing/Coding Specialist
* Medical Office Administration
* Pharmacy Technician
* Professional Medical Assistant
* Vocational Nursing
Below, their former building, which was smaller, but also quite nice.
Education, it’s Really Redding.
Red Bull on Lake Blvd gets a makeover
We noticed that the kitsch art sign we like at Finish Line Auto Body got a makeover since we first featured this iconic Redding advertising last year. Displaying a new flaming paint job and it’s very own special pedestal parking spot. Nice upgrade. It’s Really Redding.
First ever Sundial Music Festival and Rib Cook Off
Erin took a few shots of the event on Saturday at the Convention Center. It looks like there were a lot of vendors. Between her shots and the image at the RS, I saw no musicians as subjects, so we’ll assume the food was the center of attention. Looks tasty.
Erin auditions for the Bachelor TV show
One of Erin’s friends suggested it’d be fun for her to be on the Bachelor TV show. I didn’t know much about the show. She asked me to help make an audition video, and here it is. It was unscripted, and Erin was pretty nervous in front of the camera. That much is clear. Still, she did go on to get further interviews, and they flew her down to L.A. for the finals.
It’s amusing to watch in retrospect. She was held to strict confidentiality, up until they told her a few days ago that she didn’t get the part. I’m okay with that outcome, to tell the truth. The more I learned about the show, the less I liked the whole idea. It sounded like fun at first, but according to Erin they were quite intrusive. The whole thing was a lot more regulated than one might think. Of course, that makes sense. In a reality TV show, casting is everything. And so is the element of surprise, so they have to be quite careful in their selection process. If she had gone on, I think it would have been very much a good news/bad news scenario. Well, we’ll never know, now.
BTW. The Gold Hills Golf Course home shown is still for sale. Happy to show it if you like it.
Local beer and winemaking store set to re-open
The onset of cooler weather lately had me thinking about brewing a batch of handcrafted beer. I went by the local beer and winemakers supply store, only to find it closed. But wait, there’s a sign in the window. Hooray! They are re-opening the store on Sept 11 at “11:00 am Sharp.” Across from the Redding Library. See you there.
A Redding school becomes a nightclub
Here is Redding’s Pine Street School, not long after it was built many years ago.
And here it is now as Coco Loco, a restaurant and nightclub. The rest of the school was converted to offices and one other restaurant as well. The restaurant Pio Loco is in the northwest section of the old school. Thanks to the Shasta Historical Society for the older image.
Homemade SUV
Spotted this homemade crossover vehicle at the Farmers Market on Saturday. It seems to have been fashioned from a Ford Festiva.
Probably gets great mileage for an SUV. Looks really cool too. Obviously the work of creative mind. Maybe Ford should take a look.
The workmanship on this little beauty is first rate. Really nice metalflake paint.
It doesnt’ look that safe, but even if you drive an unmodified Festiva, then driving safety probably isn’t your first priority anyway. Looks like big fun though
A homemade SUV. Now that’s Really Redding.
