For 36 years Gloriana Musical Theatre has entertained Mendocino County audiences with blockbuster Broadway musicals like “La Cage aux Folles,” musicals for young performers, and special productions including their rousing Rock ‘n Roll Reviews. Audiences were amazed by the vocal and acting ability of the Gloriana Young Performer’s 2012 spring production of “Fiddler on the Roof, Jr.” Throughout the year, the company offers workshops to improve technical and acting skills and provides an annual scholarship for students furthering their education in the performing arts. August 20, an acting workshop for singers will be offered in late August.

Opening Aug. 3, 2012, Gloriana will showcase the up and coming talent that thrives in our county both on the coast and inland in their production of RENT, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award for best Musical. Opening Nov. 9, 2012, look out for the hilarious, moving, glamorous Way Off!Broadway 2: An Evening at the Palace. Presented in a cabaret setting, the production pays tribute to the 100th anniversary of New York’s premiere Broadway theatre – the Palace Theatre.

WHERE:
324 N. Franklin St., Fort Bragg (google map)

MORE INFO:
Gloriana.org

Glassblowers come from all over Northern California to demonstrate their art of lampworking at Pacific Glassworks in downtown Fort Bragg. Lampworking is the softening of glass rods and tubing by heating it in the flame of a torch. The softened glass is then formed into a finished piece by blowing it, manipulating it by hand and shaping it with hand tools. Every weekend guest artists demonstrate this art, creating hand blown and spun glass sculptures. Depending on their area of expertise, the guest artist will make custom pieces made to order. Special one-of-a-kind sculptures are on display.

The shop features several local artists’ work in fused glass and brilliant dichroic glass jewelry. Fused glass is made by layering sheets of glass in a kiln, fusing the layers of glass together. Dichroic glass is a coating of up to 30 layers of metal oxides vaporized and then condensed onto glass in a vacuum chamber. When layered and fused with a rainbow of cathedral glasses, dichroic glass reflects and refracts light in a full spectrum of colors that shift further with a change in perspective. The result is a creation of sparkle that changes when exposed to different lights.

Visit the shop and see amazing shapes formed out of molten glass in a torch flame at temperatures of 2000-3000°F.  Learn how the pieces are formed and manipulated info jewelry. Have a glass ring custom made for your collection. Lessons are available by appointment only. Enjoy the full glass experience of beautiful shapes inspired by the Pacific Ocean at Pacific Glassworks!

WHERE:
401 N. Main Street, Fort Bragg (google map)
in the Depot Shopping Mall in downtown Fort Bragg

MIRE INFO:
(707) 964-2245

The Pacific Star Winery is a great place to take in the ocean and enjoy traditional and unusual Mendocino County wines. The building actually sits atop an active fault line, “Pacific Star Fault,” which was named in honor of the winery upon its discovery in 2006. The fault’s activity over eons and the pounding waves of the Pacific have chiseled this dramatic shoreline. The cellar and tasting room sit over sea caves where the crashing waves below help to naturally filter the aging wine from its sediment. Because of its proximity to the ocean, salt from sea air gathers on the oak barrels and accelerates osmosis, creating uniquely viscous and dense wines.

Bring a lunch and picnic on the edge, as the waves crash and break on the rocks below. Guests are invited to experience the spectacular land, view and the wine. In the spring and fall, this is a great place to see California Gray whales pass by on their migration route. Even if you’re not a wine enthusiast, the winery welcomes you to share in the experience. The owners and staff of this truly impressive stretch of the Mendocino Coast believe that this precious land should be shared with all. The winery has tasting daily—excluding major holidays—in two tasting rooms open from 11 a.m. to
5 p.m. At the winery and picnic area.

The winery has a comprehensive website where visitors can view photos of the winery and its beautiful location, learn more about its unique wine making processes, event planning, join their Wine Club and purchase wine.

WHERE:
33000 North Highway 1, Ft Bragg (google map)
Tasting Room – 401 N. Main St. in Fort Bragg (google map)

MORE INFO:
(707) 964-1155
(707) 962-9463 – tasting room
PacificStarWinery.com

Enjoy the gracious spaces of the Weller House Inn, with nine carefully decorated Victorian rooms, and an elegant garden. Guests can view the Pacific ocean and watch for whales from the observation deck of the reconstructed water tower, which is the highest building in Fort Bragg.

The 900 square foot ballroom is beautifully paneled in virgin California redwood, and is available for dance and music workshops and retreats.  It provides the perfect space for Argentine tango dances and classes. Weekly beginners’ classes and practices are held every Wednesday evening year-round, and nearly every month there is a tango intensive with visiting instructors. For the aficionado, the Dancing Fools Tango Festival is held in the first week of April; check the WHI Tango website for a schedule of upcoming events.

The Weller House Inn is an ideal setting for weddings, receptions, family reunions, club gatherings, yoga retreats, dance events and other group events. Make it your personal get-away to rest up or have an active holiday exploring nearby attractions on the Mendocino Coast.

WHERE:
524 Stewart St., Fort Bragg (google map)

MORE INFO:
(707) 964-4415
WellerHouse.com
WHI-Tango.com

Every year after a sleepy winter, the northern coast of California awakens with a surge of humans piling into their cars in the early morning chill. The treasure hunt for those bottom anchoring delicacies—abalone or sea snails—has begun. For over five decades, Northern California has allowed only recreational abalone harvesting. This non-commercial regulation combined with the abalone’s preferred habitat of rocky shores and strong currents, makes Northern California the home of one of the densest populations of abalone in the world. It’s no wonder that during the open season from April to June and August to November, recreational divers from novice to expert swarm the area for their fill of the legendary Red Abalone. After a full day of braving frigid waters, entangling kelp forests and murky waters, free-diving abalone divers will tell you there is nothing that beats the rush of coming back to shore laden with the fortune of a delectable abalone foot and its ornamental, iridescent shell.

MORE INFO:
Sub-Surface Progression, Fort Bragg
(707) 964-3793
www.abdive.com

Fort Bragg Marine, Noyo Harbor
(707) 964-3310
FortBraggMarine.com

At MacKerricher State Park, coastal prairie terraces roll into steep, rocky bluffs and miles of sandy beaches. Wetlands and tide pools offer warm welcomes, where Bishop and Shore Pine forests frame Lake Cleone, an ancient coastal lagoon seasonally stocked with trout. An underwater park, where five ships are rumored to lie, also begs for exploration. The park’s seven mile stretch invites you to meander along boardwalks or stop at the Laguna Point observation deck to overlook waters populated with a resident colony of harbor seals and generations of gray whales on their annual migrations, from mid-December to early April. On the southern coast of the park is Glass Beach, where thousands of pieces of glass, pounded smooth by the surf, can be seen glistening in the sun. You can look, but please leave the glistening glass for the next generation. Miles of open beach await visitors on horseback and tours are available through Ricochet Ridge Ranch. Old logging roads — once bustling with vehicles carrying timber to Fort Bragg — now offer bicyclists refreshing vistas of the sea. After a full day’s adventure, the park also offers Wi-Fi service to reconnect to the world and 148 developed campsites, as well as 10 walk-in campsites where families, hikers and even leashed dogs can rest (reservations are necessary in the summer).

WHERE:
The park, located three miles North of Fort Bragg on Hwy 1, also has many wheelchair accessible regions.

MORE INFO:
(707) 964-9112
www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=436

Mendocino Coast Audubon Society invites you to participate with them in several bird watching opportunities. There are 276 species of coastal Mendocino birds and this is a fabulous opportunity to learn more about them. From beginning birdwatchers to pros, all are welcome for an endlessly fascinating journey into the world of our feathered friends. Field Trips are scheduled on the second Saturday of the month. Local birding hot spots are visited to take advantage of seasonal birding opportunities.

Monthly Bird Walks at the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, led by an MCAS member, are scheduled year round on the first Saturday and the third Wednesday of the month. The first Saturday walk is designed for beginning birders, but locals and visitors with all levels of experience are invited. The third Wednesday walk is an intermediate-level bird walk that normally takes around three hours. Anyone is welcome to join, regardless of experience.  Binoculars will be available for those who need them. Call or go tho the Audubon’s website for times and information.  Admission is free for Botanical Garden members. A checklist containing the 276 species of Coastal Mendocino County birds is available for $1 at MacKerricher State Park Visitor Center, Van Damm State Park Visitor Center the Ford House in Mendocino Village and the Ford House in Mendocino Village.

MORE INFO:
(707) 964-6835
MendocinoCoastAudubon.org

While wandering around the sleepy North Coast town of Fort Bragg, grab a cup of coffee from a local coffee shop and stop by Triangle Tattoo & Museum on Main St., where the big red heart TATTOO sign hangs over the sidewalk. Climb up the bright red stairway where you will feel enveloped by the spirit, history and excitement of Tattoo art.

Founded in 1986, it is one of only a few museums in the world dedicated to the display of tattoo history. This unique collection is fittingly housed in one of the town’s original Victorian storefronts. You’ll see striking, vintage exhibits of tattoo artifacts, flash (designs), tattoo tools and photographs. There is written history about many cultures including the Maori, Japanese, Native American, South Seas, European and American tattoos. There are exhibits of Patriotic Tattoos; In Honor of Tattooed People in the Circus Sideshow; Prison Tattoos; even Tattoos Without Consent. Mr. G and Madame Chinchilla are world famous tattoo artists and historians who are quoted in the New York Times, magazines and books. They are featured on the Discovery Channel’s documentary Tattoo, Beauty, Art and Pain, and have been tattoo consultants for major television. The Museum is free to the public and open seven days a week from noon to 6 p.m. Children are welcome. This is the place to meander and view — from floor to ceiling, filled room to room — for anyone curious about the art and history of tattooing. Be Art with a Pulse!

WHERE:
356 B N. Main St., Fort Bragg (google map)

MORE INFO:
(707) 964 8814
TriangleTattoo.com

Starting at the Pudding Creek Trestle, at The Ten Mile Coastal Trail, part of the vast California Coastal Trail system is located on Northern California’s Mendocino Coast in MacKerricher State Park. The Beachcomber Motel front desk staff provides visiting walkers with the Ten Mile Coastal Trail log book to sign their names and join the ranks of the hundreds of people who have walked this trail. The trail runs along the bed of an old logging haul road and railroad north from the Fort Bragg city limits, seven miles to the Ten Mile River.

A multi-use trail for hikers, bicyclists and horse back riders, the asphalt paved trail traverses coastal bluffs to Ward Ave. Connecting to Hwy 1. An additional three miles north of Ward Ave. leads to the Ten Mile River through a sand dune complex. The trail provides one of the longest unbroken whale watching locations on the West Coast along with diverse activities as nature study, fresh and salt water fishing, tidepooling, seal watching and surfing.

MORE INFO:
Contact The Beachcomber Motel
(707) 964-2402
TheBeachcomberMotel.com