WHERE WE SPEND THE FIRST SATURDAY... of a month rarely has any bearing on how the rest of the month will go. For sure, fabled tales exist, the ones about eating a certain food when a 30-day span begins, or singing a certain song or saying particular words, all to make sure that the month to come is as perfect and merry as can be. While we might not be into such notions, June is kind of an unusual case. It's not the first full month of summer, but summer's just ahead, so how we wade into it, and the activities we choose to pursue, do feel a bit more special. Summer days are fleeting, various poets have suggested, and locating lovely, stroll-about, sip-about, sup-about, sounds-aplenty parties when June kicks off is a sensible course of action. One of the wine-country-iest of the June to-dos, and definitely one of the most olive-awesome (it's in the name), is the Los Olivos Jazz and Olive Festival. As it has in years before, the fest finds pleasure in June's earliest days, and the 2017 celebration shall, too. It's on...
SATURDAY, JUNE 3, and 30 wineries from around the vine-y region will be out, doing the whole come-have-a-taste thing, while "30 different olive-themed dishes prepared by chefs" will give visitors some sustenance (and, of course, that quintessential olive-piquant kick). A ticket is $65, and the money raised supports "...the charitable projects supported in part by the Rotary Club." Jazzy tunes will be in the warm air, Alta Maria Vineyards, Martian Ranch, and Epiphany by Fess Parker will be among the vino purveyors, and Los Olivos itself? It's one of those picturesque towns that can be enjoyed on foot over the course of a couple of hours. Any ol' time is a pretty nice to be there, in fact, but when the olive dishes merge, and the wines, and we're jumping to make the most of June, the perfect Los Olivos timing only increases.
