Summer Solstice Today!

Summer solstice is the longest day of the year!  

What:  Family summer solstice in Alameda County, CA

When:  Tuesday, June 21st

Where:  Summer solstice will be celebrated in two spots for families.

* Tilden Nature Area has a summer solstice celebration from 6:30-9:00PM.  The event will be hosted by naturalist, Bethany Facendini.  Activities are the following:  a 1.5 nature hike, a campfire, and crafts for children.  Reservations required, please call tilden park for availability.

*  Crab Cove interpretive center, Alameda, also has a summer solstice event.   The activities at this event are for children 3 to 8 and their siblings.  This event will be hosted by supervising naturalist Sharol Nelson Embry.  The event will feature games, songs, stories, and a hike.  This event does not require a reservation.  The address of the event is 1252 Mckay Ave, off Central Avenue in Alameda.

Summer solstice websites:

For information on defining summer solstice, see:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/summer_solstice

news.discovery.com/space/what-is-the-summer-solstice.html

news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/06/100621-summer solstice-2011

Also, for more information on upcoming summer events in the San Francisco Bay Area, take a look at

www.insidebayarea.com 

Best Pizza in California

Best pizza in California?  My vote goes to Zachary's Pizza in Oakland.  Their deep dish stuffed chicken pizza is legendary in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond.  Always fresh.  Tons of tomatoes.  Lots of gooey cheese.  Fantastic.  Definitely the best Chicago-style pizza on the West Coast.  It is also employee-owned, and they have great service.  Though you should be prepared to wait for a table for a long time if you come anytime after 5pm.

Folks can talk about new artesian pizza-places all they like, but Zachary's takes home the blue ribbon for great pizza out west.

For another take on the best pizzas in Berkeley, check out http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/inberkeley/detail?entry_id=90745&tsp=1

Note - I obviously disagree with their ranking of Zachary's.

Sunset Magazine Weekend

Sunset Magazine is having its open house weekend this weekend, June 4 and 5 from 10-5.  Sunset's offices are in Menlo Park on Middlefield Road.  

For details, see the Sunset Celebration Weekend website.  Sunset opens up its test kitchen, which is great to see.  They have food booths and wine tasting.  Sunset Magazine's food editor, Margo True, discusses her book The One Block Feast.
















Sunset's exhibits feature information about:

• Urban homesteading
• Chicken coops (seriously fun!)
• Making cheese
• BBQ demonstrations
• Sunset test kitchen tours
• Gardening tips and examples

This is a great event, despite the rain the Bay Area has been experiencing this weekend.  I went yesterday, and the rain didn't do anything to stop the fun.