San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Summer festivals offer entertainment in Monterey
Monterey’s summer festival season starts with artichokes and ends with art, with plenty of music and motor sports in between. Here are the highlights:
With face-painting, wine tasting, art exhibitions, all kinds of live music and a variety of food vendors, the Artichoke Festival goes well beyond “everything artichoke” as it turns 62 this year. Farm tours, cooking demos and an artichoke art contest ensure the beloved thistle is still the star of the show, though. (10 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 12. $15 ages 13 and older, $5 children, $10 seniors and military; winetasting additional $25. Parking $15-$20. Monterey County Fair & Event Center, 2004 Fairground Road, Monterey, 831-633-2465, www.artichokefestival.org)
Pacific Grove’s Chamber of Commerce plans to celebrate Independence Day with free festivities from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on downtown Lighthouse Avenue; check www.pacificgrove.org closer to the date for details. In Carmel, Devendorf Park hosts a free celebration from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., including a Monterey County Pops concert at 2 p.m.; more details to be announced on www.carmelcalifornia.com/ annual-events-in-carmel-by-thesea.htm.
The Geico Motorcycle MotoAmerica Superbike Speedfest roars into the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, where seven racing classes will hold practices and qualifying runs on July 8, followed by two days of competition. A stunt show, bike show and kids zone with free carnival games will also be on hand. (8 a.m. to 6 p.m. July 8-9, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. July 10. Single-day admission $25-$60, free for children 12 and under with paying adult; multi-day packages available. Parking $10. 1021 Monterey Salinas Highway, Salinas, 949-572-9495, www.moto america.com/laguna-seca)
Classical music lovers will enjoy more than two rapturous weeks of strings, woodwinds, voices and conductors’ wands in the 85th season of the Carmel Bach Festival. (Don’t worry: Beethoven, Brahms and all the other usual suspects get their due, too.) Among highlights: Guitar and violin duo Fire & Grace’s perennially popular Pangaea: One World concerts, which include guests artists and connect classical music to global folk and contemporary genres. (7:30 p.m. July 22 and 29 at Sunset Theater Center, San Carlos Street at Ninth Avenue. Chamber concerts $31-$38; main concerts $38-$87. 831-624-1521, www.bachfestival.org)
Chuck wagon races, bullfights and the Bull Xing social area — along with the midway and indoor malls — make the California Rodeo Salinas fun for adults, but it’s probably the kids who really clean up on the fun, with stick horse races and slides, bounce houses, temporary tattoos, games and music at the free Kids Corral. (Gates open at 4 p.m., rodeo 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. July 21-22; gates open at 10 a.m., rodeo 1:45 to 4:30 p.m. July 23-24. Grandstand seats $15-$20 adults, $7 children; box seats $28. Parking $10. Salinas Sports Complex, 1034 North Main St., Salinas, 831-775-3100, www.carodeo.com)
Car shows, tours, auctions, forums and memorabilia displays take place in and around Monterey during Monterey Car Week, capped by the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance (see below.) Prices and locations vary. (www.see monterey.com/events/sporting/ concours)
Now in its 71st year, the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance will rev the engines of classic automobile lovers as experts judge the vehicles on display on the titular course’s 18th fairway. Proceeds benefit local youth education nonprofits. (10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. $425-$950. 1700 17 Mile Dr., Pebble Beach, 831-622-1700, www.pebble beachconcours.net)
Tiny Sand City’s annual West End Celebration sees six blocks closed to vehicles and converted into al fresco galleries and performance spaces for visual and performing artists, as well as nonprofit groups. Enjoy live music and craft food and drink for sale as you wander. (11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free. Between Contra Costa and Holly streets and Redwood and Ortiz avenues, Sand City, 831-601-9609, www.westendcelebration.com)
Advertising Feature • Monterey • Sunday, June 12, 2022