Eat Well, Do Good
Sweet 116 What’s the best part of the Humboldt County Fair? Tough call, right? Is it that first, powdery sugar bite of deep-fried funnel cake? The thrill of wagering on the ponies? If you’re young and hardy maybe it’s getting strapped inside a mechanical stomachscrambler (aka a carnival ride) or winning a blue ribbon for your droop-eared English lop. (That’s a rabbit breed, btw.) A personal favorite: those goofy, form-fitting bodysuits worn by freshly sheared sheep. Have you seen these things? They come in vibrant colors (pink cammo, tie dye), and they make the sheep look like Prince during his assless pants phase. Best of all? They’re called “lambie jammies.” This year’s organizers had to do some fiscal scrambling after the state stopped subsidizing county fairs, but thanks in part to a new nonprofit, Friends of the Humboldt County Fair, the annual tradition is coming back for a “sweet” 116th time, Aug. 15 through Aug. 26. If you’ve picked up the paper on Wednesday, then it’s opening day! Find the red barn before 4 p.m. to enter a drawing for a free cooked beef roast. You also have three chances to catch Tina Marie, Master Hypnotist. Don’t let her take your beef! (Both Tina and the meat return daily.) Other things you should know: There’s no horse racing on either Thursday (the 16th or the 23rd), but admission is totally free those days. It’s also free on Monday and Tuesday, Aug. 20 and 21. Otherwise it’s $8, $6 for seniors, $4 for kids age 6-12 and free for the littlest ones. Parking fees went up a buck this year, so it’s $3. If you wanna bet on the horses (or the mules), you’ve got eight days to choose from. Racing admission is free on both Wednesdays (15th, 22nd) and both Fridays (17th, 24th). Saturday, Aug. 25, is Ladies Hat Day at the races: Women in formal headwear get in gratis. Want entertainment? How ’bout a huge mariachi band? “Hispanic Day,” Aug. 26, will feature Mariachi Real de Mexico from 1-4 p.m., followed by some Lucha Libre (the Mexican wrestling with crazy masks). Other acts include cowgirl rope tricks, a flying dog show and a dude wrestling an alligator. Younguns will be exhibiting their livestock Aug. 15-19, and the grown-ups get their turn Aug. 22-26. For loads more info, including a full list of vendors and exhibits, visit www.humboldtcountyfair.org. — Ryan Burns
COTSWOLD SHEEP AT THE HUMBOLDT COUNTY FAIR PHOTO BY BOB DORAN
Locavores, piscivores, granivores — pretty much all flavors of vores — should find something tempting to nibble at a local food expo this weekend at Mad River Brewery’s tasting room in Blue Lake. The nosh fest benefits the Discovery Museum in Eureka, which will be sending a kid-captivating team to run a “Kid Zone,” complete with giant hula hoops, giant Legos and other traveling exhibits. “We’re hoping to have a day in the sun out in Blue Lake,” says Lynn Langdon, the museum’s executive director. “Sun — for one day this summer!” It would be nice. Even gray days come with hungry, though, so might as well get your sampling self out to the brewery, at 101 Taylor Way, from 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 19. At least 16 local culinary creators,
including Bless My Soul, Fish Brothers, Loleta Cheese Factory, BRIO Breadworks, Tomaso’s, Bien Padre, Humboldt Hotsauce, Drake’s Glen Creations, Patty Cakes Unlimited and many more, plan to offer tasting samples. Music will tumble in from The Tumbleweeds starting at 1 p.m., followed by the No Good Redwood Ramblers at 3 p.m. The museum is asking for a $5 donation, “but if you’d like to give more we’re always open to it,” says Langdon. With the donation, the main food tasting is free, but beer is extra and so are platters of barbecued oysters that the museum will be selling. The day will also include a raffle to benefit Nicole Nada, co-owner of Arcata Scoop, who is undergoing cancer treatment. — Carrie Peyton Dahlberg
One Funny Weekend As the big kahuna at the local comedy magazine, Savage Henry Independent Times , CORNELL REID PHOTO BY CHRIS DURANT Chris Durant is supposed to be funny, or at least know funny. He’s also one of the main organizers of this weekend’s standup-apalooza Savage Henry Independent Times and Giggles Comedy Festival, aka SHITS and Giggles. But he readily admits that he’s not much of a standup comedian. “I’m better at writing comedy,” he said, sitting at his cluttered desk in the sumptuous Savage Henry office in Jacoby’s Storehouse. To illustrate his lack of standup skills, he offered an example. “There was this joke I tried to tell the last time we did a comedy show at Jambalaya: We have two small dogs and hardwood floors, so it’s like having Gregory Hines for a roommate when they run around. It didn’t go over, so I was like, ‘You’ve never heard of Gregory Hines?’ And the crowd was like, ‘No, we’ve heard of him.’ No one was laughing. I guess part of the job of being a host is to bomb so the other comics seem funny.” He may do a couple of introductions over the weekend, but mostly he’ll be running around trying to keep everything on track, a monumental job considering that the SHITS and Giggles Fest includes 15 comedy sets in eight venues plus a teaser set at the Mad River Summerfest. It’s modeled in part on Portland’s Bridgetown Comedy Festival and San Francisco’s even more ambitious multi-weekend Sketchfest, both with multiple standup venues. And a number of comedians were recruited at both festivals. The original plan was to do the whole festival on two stages at a local casino, but when that plan fell through, well, suffice to say Plan B ended up being much more complex.
As we’ve noted on these pages before, the local comedy scene seems to be growing by leaps and bounds, in part thanks to Durant’s three-year-old comedy mag. Savage Henry started with a comedy open mic, So You Think You Can Funny, which Durant noted was named by the Journal resident funny man, Andrew Goff. “I was surprised at the caliber of people who came out. Now we have a pool of people who open up with touring comics” when they come to town. The BA-DUM-CHH comedy troupe came out of the open mic and, says Durant, “picked up the torch” when he got tired of dealing with o-micing. Watch for BA-DUM-CHHs Sherae O’Shaughnessy, Nando Molina and Joe Deschaine, who are all doing sets one place or more. Other recommendations from Durant include a pair of former local comics: Josh Argyle, who grew up in Eureka, and Cornell Reid from Arcata. He’s also a big fan of Thursday’s headliner, Kyle Kinane, an L.A.-based comic who, among other things, appeared on Conan and did his own half-hour Comedy Central Presents show. “He’s more like a storyteller talking about messed up situations he’s come across, really funny,” said the big guy. Other faves: Howard Kramer, host of the Who Charted? podcast, Alex Cole, returning after a successful local show, Ian Karmel from Portland, Nick Rutherford from L.A., and too many others to name in this space. “We want to show them all that there’s a comedy scene here,” said Durant. (You’ll find the full schedule in this week’s calendar.) Those who want to see as much of the festival as possible will want the “fashionable” $25 wristband that gets you into every venue; otherwise admission is venue by venue, with prices ranging from $15 for Thursday’s big opening night show at Mazzotti’s, to free for some shows, including the Summerfest showcase. Advance tickets and more details at www.savagehenrymagazine.com or on the Savage Henry Facebook page. — Bob Doran
warmly; boats and gear provided. $45. www.ncrlt.org. 443-5157. Friends of the Marsh Tour. 2 p.m. Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary Interpretive Center, 600 S. G St. Jane Wilson leads 90-minute walk focusing on marsh history, ecology and birds. 826-2359.
FOOD
Arcata Farmers’ Market. 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Arcata Plaza, Ninth and G streets. Fresh vegetables, fruits, seedlings, plants and local food. Music by Falling Rocks. humfarm. org. 822-5951.
BOOKS
Local Authors Summer Lecture Series. 1-2:30 p.m. Humboldt County Library, 1313 Third St., Eureka. First of three local author lectures features Amy Stewart discussing the pleasures of drink and her new book The Drunken Botanist: The Plants That Create the Worlds Greatest Drinks. Reservations recommended. humboldtlibraryfoundation.org. 269-1991. William Ayers. 7 p.m. Northtown Books, 957 H St., Arcata. Author, activist and educator speaks about the election, education and the current political moment. northtownbooks.com. 822-2834.
ETC.
Humboldt Wildlife Care Center Annual Rummage Sale. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Umpqua Bank, 1603 G St., Arcata. Find treasures and support native wildlife. 822-9119. HSSA Furniture and Collectible Sale. 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Phillips House Museum, Seventh and Union, Arcata. Proceeds fund Historical Site Society of Arcata’s maintenance of Phillips House. arcatahistory.org. 822-4722. Redwood Classic Youth Soccer Dinner. 6-8 p.m. Arcata Community Center Sports Complex, 321 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Parkway. Tri-tip, chicken or veggie dinner to benefit Mad River Youth Soccer Tournament. Beer and wine extra. www.madriverunited.com/redwoodclassic-2012.822-3333.
19 sunday EVENTS
Humboldt County Fair. 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Humboldt County Fairgrounds. Horse racing post time 2 p.m. Rock by Don’s Neighbors 6 p.m. See Aug. 16 listing. Madaket Brunch Cruise. 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Circumnavigate Indian Island and enjoy a buffet brunch. RSVP. $32.50/$28.50 students and seniors/$22.50 kids. humboldtbaymaritimemuseum.com. 445-1910.
THEATER
Woody Guthrie’s American Song. 2 p.m. Ferndale Rep. See Aug. 17 listing.
MUSIC
Open Jazz Jam. 2-4:30 p.m. Morris Graves Museum of Art, 636 F St., Eureka. Pianist Aber Miller performs followed by open jam. 442-0278. Benbow Summer Jazz: Aaron Garner Quartet. 6:30 p.m. Benbow Inn, 445 Lake Benbow Drive, Garberville. Pianist Aaron Garner leads quartet. benbowinn.com. 923-2124.
ART
Trinidad Artists’ Market. 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Trinidad Art, 490 Trinity St. Next to Murphy’s Market, Trinidad. Art and crafts by local artisans, live music and barbecue. karriewallace@ymail.com. 834-8720.
MOVIES
California Women Get the Vote. 2 p.m. Arcata Playhouse, 1251 Ninth St. Documentary about the dramatic suffrage campaign that won California women the right to vote nine years before the federal amendment. Pay what you can. arcataplayhouse.org. 822-1575.
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northcoastjournal.com • NORTH COAST JOURNAL • THURSDAY, AUG. 16, 2012
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