Our Own Foodie Festival

Gilroy has the Garlic Festival, Castroville, the Artichoke Festival, and Half Moon Bay, the Pumpkin Festival. 

And, in our backyard, is the San Benito Olive Festival! Whooo-hooo! It's this Saturday, October 17, 2015, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at Bolado Park in Tres Pinos.

In its third year, this gourmet event celebrates the agricultural bounty and natural beauty of Hollister, San Juan Bautista, Tres Pinos, Aromas, and all that make up San Benito County. It features many of the award-winning olive oils, wines, and other artisanal foods made by farmers, growers, and food companies of San Benito County, as well as from other parts of California. 

All net proceeds earned by the San Benito Olive Festival, a non-profit organization, are donated to community and service organizations. One of the coolest things about the festival, in my book. 

The olive festival offers visitors samplings of olives, olive oils, Blenheim apricots, chocolates, and other foods. A variety of food trucks and restaurants shall be on hand, as well be various wineries and breweries. In addition, patrons can purchase a VIP admission ticket to access a wine and craft beer tasting area.

Scheduled are cooking demonstrations by culinary instructors and professional chefs, featuring dishes using, of course, olives and/or olive oil. Two of the guest chefs are Chef Dorothy McNett, popular culinary instructor of the Central Coast, and Executive Chef Cal Stamenov of the Bernardus Lodge and Spa in Carmel Valley.

Like every foodie event, festival-goers can peruse the merchants' booths for jewelry, fine art and crafts, green plants, packaged food, and other items.  This year, the olive festival offers hands-on activities for the young and old, including a morning and an afternoon paint party hosted by artist Paul Loughridge.

This gourmet celebration has a line-up of live entertainment for the whole day. It begins with the singing of the National Anthem by young singer Joe Fata, who recently competed on La Voz Kids, and ends with the ever popular Mr. O's Jazz Band. Also scheduled to perform are Change in the Weather, Shiloh, The Flashbacks, Folklorico Juvenil, Kaleb Askew, and Zack Freitas.

To learn more about the participants, schedule of festivities, and other information about the San Benito Olive Festival, go to its website or Facebook page.

I'm hooking up with Our World Tuesday, a wonderful weekly meme in which bloggers from around the world participate. To take part or to visit other bloggers, click here.

The Soon-to-Be Memory of a Fair View

The first of the 1,100 houses are going up in the Santana Ranch above Fairview Road, between Hillcrest and Sunnyslope. Enjoy the open-space view while you can.

The View from Ridgemark

In 2010, Ridgemark had a population of 3,016, according to the U.S. census. I had no idea that this private, gated community, a few miles south of Hollister, is a census-designated place until I read Wikipedia. Never too late to learn something.

See you tomorrow.

Irrigation Sprinklers

Irrigation sprinklers make a field happy on Cienega Road. Chuck, chuck, chuck, chuck, chuck, chuck. That's how they—the sprinklers—sound to me.

Enjoy your Saturday! See you tomorrow.

Handsome Old Oak Tree

This handsome oak tree—a blue oak, I think—hangs out in the parking lot in front of the Bolado Park Pavilion.  It's one of several mature oak trees throughout the park. I wonder how old it is.

Looking down into the oak tree.

Looking up the oak tree. 

See you tomorrow.

TBT: The Original Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital

This Take 25 to Hollister post was originally published on August 11, 2009. 

Show of hands, Hollister folks: Who was born in this here building?

You. You. You. Me. You over there on the other side of the world. And a whole lot more.

This building stands at 910 Monterey Street. The corner of Monterey and Hawkins streets, to be exact. It’s the original Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital, which was built and presented to the city of Hollister by Mr. Thomas S. Hawkins.

Mr. Hawkins was one of the city’s founders. His granddaughter, the Hazel Hawkins, the sweetie of his heart, died from appendicitis in 1902. She was only nine years old. According to the story I’ve heard, Mr. Hawkins felt she may have lived if there had been the proper medical facility in town. So, he built one for the community as a tribute to his “Little Sunshine.”

Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital opened in November 1907 and served as the community hospital until the hospital district was formed in 1957. In 1962, the hospital moved into its modern digs on Sunset Drive. Today, Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital is part of the San Benito Health Care District which also includes skilled nursing facilities and a home health agency.

The old hospital building was used as a nursing home for many years. Then, somewhere along the line, it was turned it into an office building. And that's what it is today. The hair stylist who does my hair had her salon there for several years, which gave me a chance to prowl the corridors.

It’s a very beautiful building, as you can see. If you ever have a chance, pop in and take a glance of what’s inside. The left (or south) corridor especially. I'll just leave it at that. (Update: These ceiling decorations may have been taken down.)

By the way, does anyone know where the baby nursery used to be? The surgery? Just wondering.

Here are a couple of links to learn more about the hospital and the Hawkins family:

• Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital
• A Family History Behind Hazel Hawkins by Marty Cheek

See You Next Year!

Last Wednesday was the last day of the Downtown Hollister Farmers Market. Until next year, at least two places to find local, fresh fruits and vegetables are Bertuccio's–The Farm at the corner of Highway 25 and Union Road and the Pinnacles Farmstand in San Juan Valley on Saturday mornings.

Fun at the County Fair

The San Benito County Fair was fun, fun, fun!

Here are a few photos from the Husband's and my day at the fair on Saturday.

The winning Great Pumpkin—771 pounds!

Sleeping cuties.

I love this gal's sophisticated color combination.

Food art by the Girl Scout Troop. 

A blue ribbon winner—well deserved.

"Cowboy boots & local roots was the theme of this year's fair.

Happy memories for these girls.

Pigs can fly!

One of the many amazing and beautiful quilts.

This is a cake!

One of several youth art exhibits featuring a Van Gough theme.

Until next year!

If you'd like to see more fair photos, check out my 2015 San Benito County Fair album at Facebook. You don't need to sign on or have an account to view it.

Click here to see what's going on in other parts of the world.

Open House at the Luck Museum

This Saturday, October 10, 2015, the San Juan Bautista Historical Society will be holding an open house at the Carl Luck Memorial Park on the corner of Third and Monterey Streets in San Juan Bautista. The free event will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Here's the schedule for the day.

Character and Beauty

This old metal structure sits on the hill above Highway 25 across from Bolado Park.  Its character caught my eye, as well as the beauty of it alone on the hill.

A Tractor in Waiting

Dear John Deere, you are a handsome machine. One day, I'd like to drive one of your older, smaller versions.

This tractor sits on display at the San Benito County Fair, which is happening today and tomorrow.

Beautiful Clouds

Yesterday afternoon the clouds were very impressive and much expressive in the brilliant blue sky. They gave us quite a show.  This view is of the hill above Enterprise Road.

To see more cloud photos from yesterday, check out my "Clouds over Hollister" album at the Take 25 to Hollister Facebook page. You won't need to log on or even have an account to see it. 

Until tomorrow. 

Rain Delivered!

These grey clouds yesterday afternoon multiplied and intensified to give us rain last night! Whooo-hooo! 

It rained through the night. Yaaay!

We even had some rain this morning. Who knows, we may have more today. Hurrah!

The Diablo Range from Highway 25

The other afternoon, while driving back from Bolado Park, I managed to get a clear shot at Santa Ana Mountain and Three Sisters.

See you tomorrow.

The 2015 San Benito County Fair

Cowboy Boots and Local Roots! 

That's the theme of the 2015 San Benito County Fair, which is a four day affair this year. It starts this Thursday, October 1, and ends on Sunday, October 4. Thursday through Saturday, the fair's hours are from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and on Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 7.p.m. The carnival opens at noon on all four days. 

10 Things I Look Forward to at this Year's County Fair

1. Viewing the beautiful crafted and creative quilts.

2. Visiting the goats, baaaaa, and chickens, bwak, bwak, bwak.

3. Looking at the art entries by students from the various elementary schools.

4. Checking out the agricultural displays. 

5. Listening to Mr. O's Jazz Band in the patio.

6. Riding the free shuttle bus to the fair.

7. Guessing how much the rock weighs at Graniterock's booth.

8. Eating!

9. Cheering on the All-Alaskan racing pigs. 

10. Wandering around the fair with the Husband, simply enjoying ourselves.

Admission to the Fair

Daily gate admission is $10 for adults, $5 for children, 6 to 12, and $7 for seniors (60 and older). Children who are five or younger get in for free.  On Thursday, gate entry for children, ages 12 and younger, is free. On Friday, admission for Seniors is $6. And, on Saturday, admission for all active and military people is free with military I.D. 

Parking is $5 per car.  San Benito County Express offers a free shuttle on all four days of the fair. The shuttle drops off passengers at the fair is front of the Pavilion. The shuttle begins running at 3 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, 11 a.m. on Saturday, and 12 noon on Sunday. Click here to see the schedule and bus stops. 

I'm hooking up with Our World Tuesday today. To check out what's going on in other parts of the world, click here.

See you tomorrow.

Folklorico Juvenil de Lucy Rodriguez

Folklorico Juvenil de Lucy Rodriguez of Hollister is a dance troupe made up of girls and boys between the ages of 3 and 15. The dancers perform a variety of traditional Mexican folk dances, under the guidance and instruction of Lucy Rodriguez.

The group performs at various local events. The pictures here show them at last Saturday's Music in the Park at Dunne Park. They're slated to perform at the San Benito Olive Festival at Bolado Park on Saturday, October 17, 2015.

Ms. Rodriguez invites any child interested in becoming part of the dance troupe to come to its practice on Tuesday, from 4 to 5 p.m., at Mr. O's Academy of the Arts.

Another View of Hollister

Yesterday afternoon while rocking out to the Moondance Band with friends in Dunne Park, I turned and saw this sight.  For a moment, I thought I was in a Swiss Alps village or some place like that.

That's the church on the corner of Monterey and Sixth street. The peak? Santa Ana Mountain.

See you tomorrow.

September Music in the Park

This afternoon is another Music in the Park concert in Dunne Park, at the corner of Seventh and West Streets. The free event, sponsored by Mr. O's Academy of Music, is from 4 to 6 p.m. Bring your own low-back chairs or blankets. Snacks, too. No alcohol is permitted in the park.

The Moondance Band, a 60s rock & roll band featuring Rich Haggett, performs from 4 to 5 p.m. Folklorico Juvenil,  a children’s mariachi dance group featuring Lucy Rodriguez, performs from 5 to 6 p.m.

Look, San Benito!

It's not often when I come across a place or thing called San Benito outside of San Benito County. Same with Hollister, Tres Pinos, or Pinnacles. So, when I do see something, I automatically think of home. For instance, the other day, while wandering Main Street in Half Moon Bay, the Husband and I saw a San Benito Hotel, San Benito Deli, and San Benito Ale House.

See you tomorrow.

A Jumping Coffee Roaster

Have you ever seen the 1930s cartoons in which inanimate objects, such as tables, chairs, and coffee pots, are dancing to popping music, such as "Jumpin' Jive" from Cab Calloway? The coffee bean roaster at Vertigo Coffee reminds me of those cartoons.

See you tomorrow.

Pietra Santa

This is tasting room for the Pietra Santa Winery in the Cienega Valley above Hollister. I always forget how beautiful and magical it is up by the winery.

Pietra Santa is Italian for Sacred Stone. The sacred stone in this case is the amazing soil from which grape vines and olive trees grow to produce crops for award winning wines and olive oils. To learn more about Pietra Santa, check out its website or Facebook page.