SPECIAL » EVENTS 2017

WHALES AND WINE Gray whales pass by Mendocino in November on their way south for the winter. At the Mendocino Whale Festival, you can sample all manner of chowder, locally brewed beer and wine, while—with any luck—the passing cetaceans spout just off the Mendocino headlands. March 4 mendowhale.com

KINETIC SCULPTURE RACE Peripatetic artists of genius or possibly borderline sanity gather each Memorial Day weekend to race giant, whimsical, people-powered sculptures from Arcata to Ferndale along a 40-mile course that includes a crossing of Humboldt Bay. It’s called “the triathalon of the art world.” May 27-29 kineticgrandchampionship.com

BIGFOOT DAYS The earliest and most persistent sightings of that elusive creature known as Bigfoot have happened around the Siskiyou Mountain town of Willow Creek. Each year on Labor Day weekend, the community fetes its furry friend with Bigfoot Days. Don’t expect to see the big guy himself, but you’ll encounter a number of people who claim to have met him. Sept. 2 bigfootcountry.net

ALFRESCO ART Plein air art—that is, art created outside, with the world as subject—is celebrated at Plein Air at the Lost Coast. Workshops, competitions, lectures, nature hikes and the painting of a communal mural are all part of the festival in the Humboldt County town of Shelter Cove. Sept. 28-Oct. 2 pleinairatthelostcoast.com

MUSHROOM MANIA More than 3,000 varieties of everyone’s favorite fungi grow along the North Coast, and each fall Mendocino County celebrates with a festival of mushroompicking tours, mushroom-and-wine pairings, special mushroom menus, mushroom art—even mushroom-accented cocktails. Nov. 3-12 visitmendocino.com/mendocino-county-events