Primed for art amid the pumpkins
Half Moon Bay, Calif.
Oct. 15-16: Will this year’s grandest gourd beat last year’s record-setting 1,229-pounder? An expected quarter of a million visitors will find out at the Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival. Three thousand tons of pumpkins (some VW Beetle-size), food booths galore, Halloween-themed activities, a juried show of 250 artisans’ wares and more will be on hand to hail the harvest.
Main Street between Miramontes and Spruce streets, Half Moon Bay. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free. (650) 726-9652, www.miramarevents.com.
Denver
Nov. 5: The highlight of Denver Wine Week, Oct. 31 to Nov. 6, is the Denver International Wine Festival, set to take place at the 114-year-old Oxford Hotel in LoDo, the historic lower downtown district. The Mile-High City trots out some big numbers for this event: 70-plus wineries from 16 countries; more than 300 wines available for tasting. Restaurants around town will host prix-fixe vintners’ dinners in the week leading up to the festival.
Admission to tasting (noon to 5 p.m.), $95 and $120; educational seminars, $25 to $35 each. Oxford Hotel festival lodging packages from $149. (866) 946-3268, www.denverwinefest.com.
Oregon and Washington
Nov. 11 and beyond: The two Pacific Northwest states are marking the Lewis and Clark bicentennial with a host of planned events. Celebrations will include the National Park Service’s traveling exhibition “Corps of Discovery II,” making numerous stops in the two states; a speaker series; a film festival; art and quilt exhibitions; walking and boat tours; and much more. Meanwhile, the Oregon History Center & Museum in Portland will host “Lewis & Clark: The National Bicentennial Exhibition” -- said to be the most comprehensive collection of L&C; artifacts and artwork ever assembled -- in its only West Coast showing (Nov. 11 through March 11, 2006).
Various locations. Visit www.lewisandclarktrail.com, www.destinationthepacific.com and www.ohs.org.
-- Patricia Connell