Posts from — August 2009

Friday

Carmel Plaza hosts its ever-popular Jazz at the Plaza. This week, Kenny Stahl plays jazz flute while Chock Rock Vineyards serves wine. 5pm-7pm, $15.

The Six Organs of Admittance play a psychedelic acoustic/electric blend at Fernwood in Big Sur tonight. Seattle’s Master Musicians of Bukake, best described as “Vintage Black Sabbath if performed by gypsies,” open. 9pm, $15.

Local reggae artists F.U.B.A.R. bring their hard-edged blend of hip-hop and reggae to the Hippodrome in Monterey tonight.

Saturday

Put in some elbow grease for a good cause. Ag Against Hunger is inviting volunteers to help them glean a field. You’ll be going through a field that was already harvested, picking the crops that have been left behind so that they can go to food pantries. 9am to noon, call 831-755-1480 for location.

Celebrate America’s omnipresent grain, corn, at Earthbound Farm. The party includes corn on the cob eating contests, a corn maze, corn husk dolls, and more. 11am-3pm, free.

You can also help a cause by eating some tasty barbecue. Chateau Julien in Carmel Valley is selling tri-tip, chicken and baked beans as a fundraiser for Best Buddies. Eat it on site, or take it home for dinner. 12pm-4pm, $12-$15.

Have you heard? The Monterey Bay Aquarium has a new great white shark in its Outer Bay exhibit! Check it out tonight while enjoying live music, great food and wine during Evenings by the Bay. 6-8pm.

Monterey State Historic Parks and the Robert Louis Stevenson Club join forces to celebrate the author’s work with “Recollections of Monterey” at the Robert Louis Stevenson House at 530 Houston St. Actor Keith Decker will read Stevenson’s work while guitarist Robert McNamara plays music. Reserve in advance; this will sell out fast. 7-9pm, $10 general admission includes refreshments.

Sunday

Happy anniversary, Hostelling International! In celebration of the organization’s 75th anniversary, the Monterey Hostel will hold an open house. There will be live music from Nancy Raven, Barbara and Steve Brooks, and the Usual Suspects, as well as tours, a raffle and more. 2-5pm, free.

Take another chance to admire that new white shark at the Monterey Bay Aquarium during Evenings by the Bay. 6-8pm.

As if you needed another excuse to go to Nepenthe, tonight they’re hosting performances from a number of fantastic bellydancers. 7-9pm.

The staff at the Monterey Bay Aquarium were kind enough to let us in to take a few photos of the new resident of the Outer Bay exhibit, a juvenile female great white shark.

Digital cameras, as you may already know, are notoriously poor at taking photos in low light. Unless you’ve already purchased one of the new digital cameras detailed in David Pogue’s New York Times article “Low Light Becomes a Highlight” (the Fujifilm FinePix F200EXR or the Sony DSC-WX1), you may have trouble getting a clear shot, for several reasons.

The shark moves very quickly, so allowing the shutter to stay open a long time leads to blurring. (In addition, the auto-focus on your camera may be more focused on the bubble curtain that’s been set up to prevent the shark from crashing into the glass wall.)

Because it tends to stick to the top of the tank, you’ll also get some unusual angles, like this one:

Your best viewing point is from the second story viewing platform. However, bring a monopod, or you are more likely to get a great white blur than a great white shark, as shown here.

You can also try setting it to a high shutter speed, but then you might get a photo like this:

This is, of course, something you can fiddle with in Photoshop to bring out the image. You might get a photo like this:

Could be a great white shark, could be Nessie. Your friends would just have to trust you on this one.

This is clearer, and obviously a shark.

With many cameras, however, your best bet may be a silhouette of the great white shark against the daylight streaming through the top of the tank, such as this one.

If you still have a film camera, bring it along as well as some high-speed film (Fujicolor 1600 may do the trick, and Kodak T-MAZ certainly will). Then share your awesome photos with us!

Here’s some great video, brought to you by the Monterey Bay Aquarium:

Have some other tips on how to get a great photo of this great white shark? Leave us your advice in the comments! And if you still need to plan your visit to see the great white shark, check out our fantastic deals for hotels, attractions and more!

The Monterey Bay Aquarium announced last night that they have a new great white shark on display. As of this morning, she seems to be adapting well to the Outer Bay exhibit. This is the fifth time the Monterey Bay Aquarium has had a great white shark on display.

This juvenile great white shark will not only be of interest to visitors -- it will also add to the Aquarium’s understanding of the life cycle of juvenile sharks. As the Los Angeles Times reports, the Aquarium tags every great white shark that they keep in captivity, and once released to the wild, the information garnered from their tracking tags provides a wealth of information about the sharks’ range and habits.

According to the Aquarium, this new juvenile shark just under 80 pounds right now, but will probably gain 100 pounds over the next six months.

The shark was accidentally caught around June 23 by a commercial fisherman near Malibu and was kept in an offshore pen for observation for several weeks. Once marine biologists decided the shark would adapt well to the Aquarium, it was brought to Monterey Bay in the “Finnebago,” “a 3,000-gallon oblong holding tank filled with water kept at 68 degrees,” according to the Los Angeles Times.

Not able to get to the Monterey Bay Aquarium this weekend? Look at the Outer Bay webcam and see if you can catch a glimpse of it!

To whet your appetite, here’s footage of another juvenile great white shark they had on display at the Monterey Bay Aquarium two years ago:

Have you seen the shark yet? What did you think?

Need to plan your visit to see the shark? Check out the great escape deals at hotels throughout Monterey County!

Want to watch an $8 million Ferrari 250 TR lose most of its value? Just hit play to see the most spectacular crash of the 2009 Monterey Historics car races at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

(Don’t worry; from all reports, the car will be restored.)

Friday

The Monterey Museum of Art brings artists down to Cannery Row today to create chalk art in front of Intercontinental the Clement and Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. The art celebrates the museum’s exhibition Over Rainbows and Down Rabbit Holes. Check it out – you might even get a free pass to the Museum! Free. 11am-1pm.

If it’s Friday, it must be time for Jazz at the Plaza! This week, Carmel Plaza has local three-piece jazz band Andrea’s Fault, along with wine from Parsonage Valley Vineyard and food from Bistro Beaujolais. 5-7pm, $15 for food and wine.

The West End Celebration kicks off with an event befitting Sand City’s funky rep – a live show in an abandoned warehouse. The live act is The White Album Ensemble, which features former members of the Doobie Brothers and performs Beatles covers. Proceeds benefit Guitars Not Guns. 7:30-11pm, 840 Fir St. $20/advance, $25 at the door.

If you prefer hardcore metal, throw on your biker jacket, put in your earplugs and get ready for a fun, loud time at Jose’s on Wave Street with Counter Clockwise, BoyNamedSue and Neversleep. 9pm, $5.

Dem Suite plays a unique style of music – sometimes like a more downtempo Delerium or Conjure One, sometimes like a stripped-down Thievery Corporation. Catch them tonight at Fernwood Resort in Big Sur. 9pm.

Saturday

The West End Celebration in Sand City is always a great time. Check out (and buy) works from local indie artists, eat local food, drink some great wine and listen to good bands like the Sambahemians, Alex Lee and Le Vice, Champagne Sunday, Les Dudek and The Duhks.

If it’s Saturday night and summer, it’s time for the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Evenings by the Bay. From 6-8, wander the galleries while listening to live jazz and enjoying beverages and light appetizers. Included in the price of admission.

Dave Stein Bubhub is a little funky, a little rocky, a little Grateful Dead with a dollop of Dave Matthews and a hint of Jamiroquai. Catch them tonight at Fernwood Resort. 9pm.

Sunday

Bernardus Lodge is celebrating its 10 year anniversary with a summer garden party. Play bocce while listening to live music, sipping on Bernardus wines and cocktails, and eating Chef Cal Stamenov’s fabulous hors d’oeuvres. $20. Reservations required; call 888-648-9463 to reserve your space.

Enjoy Sunday Evenings by the Bay at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. You’ll have more elbow room, fabulous drinks and light food, and great live music accompanying your tour of the galleries. 6-8pm, included in the price of admission.

There’s plenty more going on in Monterey County this weekend. If you’re still looking for something to do, check out the Monterey County Weekly’s online calendar for more information.

It’s the day after the Concours d’Elegance. The auction cars have all gone back into their shrink-wrap, and residents are adjusting to seeing Honda Civics and Toyota Camrys on the street rather than Morgan Plus Eights and Ferraris.

Concours d’LeMons Edsel by mycranium1

Best of Show at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance was a 1937 Horch 853 Voll & Ruhrbeck Sport Cabriolet. And a Shelby Daytona Coupe sold for a hard-to-beat record of $7.25 million, the most a U.S. car has ever sold for at auction. For that price, you could buy 614.5 Toyota Yarises! (Not sure what you’d do with that half a Yaris; we’re just sayin’.)

Concorso Italiano by mycranium1

This morning’s big surprise news is that the Monterey Historics will now be produced by the Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula (SCRAMP). General Racing will help with the handoff during the races on August 13-15, 2010.

Want to read coverage of all the events? The Car and Driver blog has delightfully acerbic commentary on the entire week. Autoblog thoroughly covered every event, from the Tour d’Elegance to the Concours d’LeMons, with gigantic photo galleries.

Between the Monterey County Fair and Monterey Auto Week, it seems that wherever you turn there’s an event going on in town. Here’s our hot picks for this weekend.

Friday

Watch antique race cars take on the Corkscrew at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca during the Monterey Historics. Today is practice day, so it should be a more laid-back atmosphere for checking out the beauties on the track. 8:45am-5pm, $60; three-day passes are $145.

This year, the Concorso Italiano shows off over 600 classic Italian cars at Laguna Seca Golf Ranch. They’ll show off the evolution of Lamborghini’s style and honor Jay Leno for his enthusiastic car collecting. Lamborghini will also show off the brand-new Gallardo VB. 9:30am-5pm, $100 at the gate.

A few miles away at Bayonet and Black Horse in Seaside, La Dolce Vita also shows off classic Italian cars, with a focus on “Alfa Through the Ages.” Park at CSUMB; a regular shuttle bus will bring you to the event. 9:30am-5pm, $70.

It’s Military Appreciation Day at the Monterey County Fair. Active military gets in free with military ID. Big Bad Voodoo Daddy plays at 7:30pm. Fair is open from noon to 10pm. $8 for ages 13-64, $7 for 65+, $4 for children 6-12, free for children 5 and under.

View gorgeous classic cars at the Pacific Grove Concours Auto Rally on Lighthouse Avenue. Over 200 cars will be on display. Free, 1-5:30pm.

Carmel Plaza’s “Jazz at the Plaza” features Latin jazz act Derek Smith, with wine poured by Scheid Vineyards and food from Bistro Beaujolais. 5pm-7pm, $15.

Chateau Julien hosts “Dine In De-Vine.” Eat dinner amongst the grapevines and check out historic classic cars. Starts at $47/person.

Astoundingly, tickets are still available for the acoustic Black Francis show at the Henry Miller Library. He’ll be playing Pixies songs as well as his solo music. If you value your indie cred, you’ll be there. 7pm, $26.50.

Vancouver, Washington lo-fi indie act The Shivas play Jose’s on Wave Street tonight. Monterey bands Serpico and the Eric Burdon and the Animals-esque The Rugers open. 9pm, $5.

Saturday

For an experience completely unlike anything else going on in Monterey County this weekend, head out to the V6 Ranch in Parkfield for the Saturday Cattle Drive. $95 for adults, $75 for kids 17 and under. Call (805)463-2493 to reserve.

Historic race cars once again assault Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca’s Corkscrew, and unlike yesterday, now the competition at the Monterey Historics is for real. Before lunch, watch the warm-ups; after lunch, racing and sporting cars from 1904 to 1990 will compete (each race involves a specific category of car). 8:45am-5pm, $70; two-day passes are $115.

One of the most buzzed-about new events this season is the Concours d’LeMons at Toro Park in Salinas, which focuses on the worst and most maligned automobiles ever to take to the road. Competition classes include “Rueful Britannia,” “Needlessly Complex Italian,” “Der Self-SatisfiedKrauttenWagen,” “Soul-Sucking Japanese Appliance,” and of course “Rust Belt American Junk.” The Northern California Brewers Guild brings locally brewed beer to the beer garden. 9am-4pm. $20, free for active-duty military, police, fire and children under 12.

The Monterey County Fair continues from noon to 11pm. The Spazmatics play the main stage at 7:30pm, and the Chicano Allstar Band play the After Party on the Turf Club Patio at 9pm. $8 for ages 13-64, $7 for 65+, $4 for children 6-12, free for children 5 and under.

The Mexican Heritage Expo fills the Salinas Sports Complex with banda, mariachi, carnival rides, authentic Mexican horsemen, arts and crafts, food, and a fantastic tequila tasting. 1pm-10pm, $20 for adults (tequila tasting is $40-$70), free for children under 12.

Local rock band August Sky plays a benefit for the SPCA at the Del Monte Shopping Center. 1pm-3pm, $10.

The Barnyard Shopping Village in Carmel turns Ferrari red with the Khaki’s Ferrari Event, sponsored by Khaki’s Men’s Clothier. Enjoy food, wine, live jazz and classic Ferraris. 4:30-7:30pm, $40 at the door.

With everything else that’s going on, this is probably the perfect weekend to have a little elbow room at the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Evenings by the Bay. Sip wine, check out the exhibits, and have dinner at the Portola Restaurant. 6pm-8pm, free with admission.

Pacific Grove’s Play it by Ear Productions performs a radio play version of off-Broadway sci-fi comedy production Starstruck at the Henry Miller Library. Proceeds benefit comics artist Gene Colan, who drew Iron Man, Batman and Daredevil. 6:30pm, $12.80 in advance (call 667-2574).

Jazz/funk act 7 Come 11 bring the sounds of the Hammond Organ to Big Sur’s Fernwood Resort. 9pm.

Sunday

It’s the final day of the Monterey Historics at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The warm-up laps are in the morning; in the afternoon, race cars from 1947 to 1980 will compete in seven categories. 8:45am-5pm, $60.

The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance is the greatest car event of the year. Words can’t capture it. General admission tickets are $150 in advance, and $175 at the gate. $500 Club d’Elegance tickets include VIP parking, a full breakfast and luncheon, and commemorative gifts. Buy tickets at the official website.

It’s your last chance to ride the Tilt-a-Whirl at the Monterey County Fair. If you’re a knitter, don’t miss the wool auction at 12:30pm. The fair is open from noon to 10pm. $8 for ages 13-64, $7 for 65+, $4 for children 6-12, free for children 5 and under.

The Mexican Heritage Festival wraps up at the Salinas Sports Complex. 1pm-10pm, $20 for adults (tequila tasting is $40-$70), free for children under 12.

Jose’s hosts live mariachi beginning at 5pm. No cover.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Evenings by the Bay continues, giving you the chance to enjoy live music, light appetizers and great drinks while viewing the exhibits. 6pm-8pm, free with admission.

If you’re not already overwhelmed by the insane number of events in Monterey this weekend, take a look at the Monterey County Weekly’s extensive listings.

The Monterey Beer Festival is known for beer, music, great food and…film?

Yes! Starting in 2010, the Monterey Beer Festival will host the Short Pour Film Festival. This new film festival will feature short films from around the world focusing on the festival’s theme, beer. All films must be three minutes in length or shorter, and – naturally – feature beer as a theme.

The Short Pour Film Festival has begun taking entries. Don’t have one yet? They’ll continue to take entries for months, so grab your friends, pop open a cold one and fire up your creativity! You can enter a film in any of four categories: animation, commercial, live-action and music video. Unlike many other film festivals, there’s no fee to enter. This film could be your THX-1138 (or your Strange Brew)! You’ll find all the details, including how to apply, on the Short Pour Film Festival website.

If you didn’t get to go to Concours on the Avenue on Tuesday, don’t fret! We took over 200 photos of the cars on display. Here’s just a few; there’s almost 200 more in our Concours on the Avenue Flickr set.

Monterey County’s streets are filling with head-turning classic cars as Monterey Auto Week and the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance begin. This year, the calendar is more packed with events than ever!

Concours d Elegance (19) by hep73

Unless you’ve got a Star Trek-style transporter, there’s no way to see every event that takes place this week. If you want to get the most out of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and its related events, you’ll need to plan your strategy in advance. Use our schedule of Monterey Auto Week events, which lists all the car shows, auctions, races and more, and design your plan of attack.

Listen to an interview with Tom Christman of Mecum Auction House on today’s Travel Talk podcast and get the inside scoop on the entire auction process. (And subscribe to the podcast while you’re there – it’s free!) Mecum’s auction will be held at the Hyatt Regency Resort and Spa. Mecum allows the general public to view the cars they are offering for auction for free.

Mecum’s auction is not the only free event during Monterey Auto Week – there’s also Concours on the Avenue in Carmel and the Pacific Grove Concours Auto Rally. In addition, the Pebble Beach Tour D’Elegance stops in Carmel and Big Sur, giving the public a chance to admire those artistic pieces of machinery. If you’ve got Bentley-sized dreams but a Pinto-sized budget, take a look at our Concours on a Shoestring page, which gives full details on all the free and low-cost events during Monterey Auto Week.