Summer of Fun! 2007
Kinetic sculptures! Kids stuff! Music fests! Swimming holes!
Cover Story
Summer Activities for Kids
Humboldt County has a wealth of organized summer activities for children. This is just a survey of what’s available. For more information, contact your school, church or pick up a copy of the *Humboldt Kid’s Digest at a branch of the Humboldt County Library, the Eureka Chamber of Commerce or county agencies. Most of these…
Splashdown: 83-year-old Albert Miller has your swim spot covered
When it comes time to head to the river, most people in the Humboldt Bay Area — Eureka, Arcata, McKinleyville — automatically think Willow Creek. The Trinity River is one of the mightiest in the region (especially since the powers-that-be decreased diversions to the Central Valley a few years back) and when you get that…
Summer Festival Guide 2007
Online story updated from published version. Summer may not arrive officially until June 21, but here in Humboldt the season begins Memorial Day weekend, when the noon whistle on the Arcata Plaza marks the launch of the Kinetic Race. It’s the first in a series of big events where thousands gather for communion and fun…
Biker Bash turns 30
Everybody seems to have a favorite holiday or special event these days. Young children can’t wait until Christmas arrives. Patriots cherish the Fourth of July to celebrate our great nation. Young adults often find Halloween a great occasion to dress up and act outrageous. These are all fine, but for me, the best weekend of…
(Not So) Plain Vanilla
The first time I heard the expression "plain vanilla" I had to ask for an explanation of its actual meaning. Taken literally, "plain vanilla" sounded like a combination of two contradictory terms. Vanilla is one of the most intense flavors in nature, and it is all but plain. I learned that the expression comes from…
Sonic Shamanistic Alchemy
There’s a scene somewhere near the end of The Matrix trilogy where the motley rebel force in Zion celebrates victory with wild revelry in a cavern deep underground. It would be easy to imagine Heavyweight Dub Champion providing the soundtrack to such a party. That’s what came to mind at last summer’s Reggae, when the…
Night vision
I crept along, trying to keep my skittish white pickup on the narrow road that climbs above Bear River Ridge while peering the few visible feet ahead into a white swirly fog. One missed turn at a rash 15 mph, it seemed, and I’d be floating free, descending through the foggy gray twilight to a…
Kinetic konfusion
Here she is, 2007’s Rutabaga Queen! All hail Emma Breacain, aka Emma the Emchantress, crowned queen of the Kinetic Sculpture Race at a ceremony Friday night! "I’m so excited," her majesty said afterwards. "It’s something I take very seriously. I put enough work into my campaign that most people would consider it insane." Indeed. For…
Trinity Terroir
At the Winnett family’s winery, east of the Trinity River, tiny green beads of fruit clustered on the young plants in the vineyard. Halfway down one of the grassy aisles between rows of tethered leafy vines, you could stand and stare out across the plunging landscape toward Friday Ridge and imagine the past. Timber country,…
Makeover!
A good friend told me she went to pick up the Journal last week and froze. Here on her regular newsstand was an imposter, someone was trying to steal our name and good will, not to mention our readers. She was not about to patronize a new ruthless, sleazy competitor — except she couldn’t find…
Summer retreats
Summer seems to be here, finally. Two weeks of beautiful weather — the week before finals and the week of , according to the students’ lament. Now it would seem the ubiquitous summer fog is back, with only dribbles of sunshine falling through. When it does, the beaches are in full-bloom with red-tinged alabaster bodies.…
