Posts from — August 2010

This weekend, nearly every movie theater in Monterey will show scenes from the deep blue sea during the BLUE Ocean Film Festival. BLUE started on Wednesday and will show well over 70 films over the course of the festival. Films include: The Ultimate Wave Tahiti 3D, Jean-Michel Cousteau Ocean Adventures, We Love Sharks, In the Eye of the Whale, One Ocean: Mysteries of the Deep, and many, many more. There’s also panels and workshops on diving, ocean policy, marine medicine, ocean photography, plastic pollution, the Gulf oil spill, and more. If you haven’t bought your passes yet, single-day passes ($45) will get you into all films for the day, all filmmaker Q&As, and all Conservation seminars. See the full schedule and buy passes at the BLUE Ocean Film Festival website.

See highlights from opening day in this video:

Friday

Get a guided tour of the history of Monterey County’s resorts at the Naval Postgraduate School. Just over a hundred years ago, Pebble Beach was a hunting area for guests at the Del Monte Hotel. The Del Monte, which was as legendary a resort then as Pebble Beach is now, was taken over by the U.S. Navy as a training facility during World War II; much of the resort’s former property in Monterey is now part of the Naval Postgraduate School. Peek into the ultra-luxe world of the pre-World War II resort with a rare tour of the Naval Postgraduate School led by Special Collections Manager and all-around encyclopedia of Monterey-area information John Sanders. The Monterey Museum of Art’s Friends of the Museum co-hosts this tour. You’ll see art by Salvador Dali, Jo Mora, Francis McComas, as well as the magnificent building designed by Lewis Hobart, which has been well preserved by NPS. You must have advanced clearance to enter the NPS grounds, so reserve now by calling 831-372-5477 x110. 5pm, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, $25.

Jazz guitarist Steve Ezzo performs tonight at the Carmel Plaza’s Jazz on the Plaza. Enjoy wine from Carmel Road Winery, food from Bistro Beaujolais, and great music. 5-7pm, Ocean Ave. and Mission St., Carmel-by-the-Sea. $5.

Celebrate happy hour at Schooners Bistro on the Bay with a great view of Monterey Bay and live music from the Money Band. 5:30pm, 400 Cannery Row, Monterey. No cover.

The Pacific Repertory Theater’s production of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory continues at the Outdoor Forest Theater. This live production features all the classic music from the movie, such as the Oompa Loompa song, “Pure Imagination” (recently heard in an AT&T ad) and “The Candy Man.” 7:30pm, Outdoor Forest Theater, Santa Rita and Mountain View, Carmel-by-the-Sea. Tickets are $35 ($26 for seniors; $15 for students, teacher and military; $7 for children) and can be purchased on the PacRep website.

Washington State indie rockers The Cat from Hue play songs which mix a dash of the Dead, a dollop of Modest Mouse, a teaspoon full of funk and even a pinch of the stuff George Harrison wrote for the Beatles into that quintessential Pacific Northwest indie sound. They’re touring with Candysound, who have been described as “combination of Beck, The Black Keys, and Lou Reed” and have clearly been influenced by fellow Bellingham, Washington band Death Cab for Cutie. Local indie rockers The Trees open as their tour hits Jose’s Lounge Underground tonight. 9pm, 638 Wave St., Monterey. $5.

Saturday

Enjoy the great weather with a light hike through Garland Ranch Regional Park. The guide-led “Garland’s Lower Trails Hike” will take you on a 3-mile tour of some beautiful parts of the park, including the Waterfall Trail. Best of all: no thigh-burning hills required. Bring water and a snack. 9am-11am; meet at Garland Visitor Center, Garland Ranch Regional Park, Carmel Valley Road, Carmel Valley. Free; register online under “Free Guided Hikes.”

Didn’t get enough of classic cars during Monterey Auto Week? Head on down to Custom House Plaza for the Mopars by the Bay car show. (Mopars, for the uninitiated, means any car made by Chrysler, including Dodge, Plymouth and DeSoto vehicles.) Expect to see tons of gorgeous, tricked-out cars, with an emphasis on muscle cars. 10am-4pm, Custom House Plaza, Monterey. Free.

You’ve got two chances today to sing along with the Oompa Loompa song at the Pacific Repertory Theater’s production of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. 2pm and 7:30pm, Outdoor Forest Theater, Santa Rita and Mountain View, Carmel-by-the-Sea. Tickets are $35 ($26 for seniors; $15 for students, teacher and military; $7 for children) and can be purchased on the PacRep website.

South African band Overtone, most recently heard on the Invictus soundtrack, comes to the Sunset Center to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Carmel Youth Center. This special benefit concert raises money for the Carmel Youth Center. VIP tickets include a 6pm pre-concert reception featuring local food and wine. 8pm, San Carlos St. and 9th Avenue, Carmel-by-the-Sea. Tickets are $125 for VIPs, $75 and $50 for everyone else, and can be purchased at the official Sunset Center website.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Evenings by the Bay tonight features Monterey Jazz Festival student combos, as well as the usual special programs, special events, wine, snacks and light crowds. 6-8pm, 886 Cannery Row, Monterey. Included in admission fee.

Folk legend Dan Bern has been called a latter-day Woodie Guthrie or Bob Dylan. Folk/power-pop band Constant Rotation wear their Woodie Guthrie and Bob Dylan influences on their sleeves. Both acts play tonight at the Henry Miller Library in Big Sur. 7pm, Henry Miller Library, Highway One in Big Sur. $15; tickets are available online.

Monterey County’s favorite reggae band, Jonah and the Whalewatchers, bring the fun to Bullwacker’s tonight. 8pm, 653 Cannery Row, Monterey. No cover.

Reno metal act Dirt Communion feature in a metal showcase at Jose’s, alongside local loud and proud favorites Pride Subject and Santa Cruz’s Thirty9FingerS. 9pm, 638 Wave Street, Monterey.

If you wish you’d gotten to see Janis Joplin play with the Grateful Dead (maybe with a bit of Tori Amos thrown in), then don’t miss Sarah McCoy and the Zippidy Yeah’s. 9pm, Fernwood Resort, Highway One in Big Sur. No cover.

Sunday

This county has many celebrations of sea otters; today, Marina celebrates the CSUMB Otter. CSUMB students can take a free shuttle from the Student Center to downtown Marina for live entertainment, food, a farmer’s market and more. Don’t worry, locals and visitors: you’re invited, too. 10am-8pm, Reservation Road and Vista Del Camino Road, Marina.

If you’ve got a dinosaur-obsessed kid, don’t miss the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History’s Dinosaur Day. They’ll get to participate in hands-on science activities and arts and crafts and learn from speakers about fossils and dinosaurs. 11am-3pm, 165 Forest Avenue, Pacific Grove. Free.

Local hard-bop jazz favorites Along Came Betty might even make the redwoods bop along today as they play the patio at the Big Sur River Inn. 1pm-5pm, Big Sur River Inn, Highway One, Big Sur. No cover.

Celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Forest Theater in Carmel-by-the-Sea. The party begins at 3:30pm at Devendorf Park in downtown Carmel. Shortly thereafter, join vintage cars and Carmel-by-the-Sea notables in a grand procession from Devendorf Park to the Forest Theater. At 5pm at the Forest Theater, enjoy live performances and historical reenactments, plus free hot dogs, beverages and birthday cake (or buy a $5 commemorative wine glass and enjoy some wine). Plus, it’s all free! 3:30pm, Devendorf Park and Forest Theater, Carmel-by-the-Sea. Free.

Jazz musician Gary Meek is known for playing diverse styles of jazz on a wide range of instruments including alto and tenor sax and flute. He appears tonight at the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Evenings by the Bay. 6-8pm, 886 Cannery Row, Monterey. Included in admission fee.

Thanks to everyone who contributed Monterey Auto Week photos to our Flickr group! This great detail shot is the one that caught our eye.

Vintage by Tigeressts

Most photos from Monterey Auto Week feature the whole car. This photo picks up on small details, but uses the reflections to show off things like the large tent in the distance and the cars that surround this vehicle.

Thanks to Tigeressts, and to everyone who contributed photos to the SeeMonterey group on Flickr!

Friday

The Carmel Plaza’s Jazz on the Plaza continues with music from popular local jazz trio Andrea’s Fault, wine from Parsonage Valley Vineyard, and food from Bistro Beaujolais. 5-7pm, Ocean Avenue and Mission Street, Carmel-by-the-Sea. $15.

Local party band The Money Band play the Monterey Plaza Summer Concert Series on the patio at Schooners Bistro. Kick back and enjoy the view and the music. 5:30pm, Schooners Bistro, 400 Cannery Row, Monterey. Free.

Show off your sportbike at Mazda Raceway Sportbike Night in Oldtown Salinas. Check out the vendors, get restaurant deals, and participate in a $1 raffle benefiting local charities. 6-8pm, 100 Main Street, Salinas. Free.

Catch a discount preview of the Pacific Repertory Theater’s production of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory at the Outdoor Forest Theater. This live production features all the classic music from the movie, such as the Oompa Loompa song, “Pure Imagination” (recently heard in an AT&T ad) and “The Candy Man.” 7:30pm, Outdoor Forest Theater, Santa Rita and Mountain View, Carmel-by-the-Sea. Tickets are $20 ($10 for students, teacher and military; $7 for children) and can be purchased on the PacRep website.

Acoustic soulful rocker Lenny Sales rode his bike from the East Coast to Monterey last year and decided he’d come to stay. Tonight, he plays great soulful acoustic rock with some friends under the band name “My Friend Lenny” at Bullwackers. 8:30pm, 653 Cannery Row, Monterey. No cover.

Roots rockers Cave Country and Big Sur folk rocker Fernwood in Big Sur. 9pm, Highway One in Big Sur, no cover.

San Francisco minimalist indie act Callow have been called “dirgelike” — but the reviewer meant that in the best possible sense. They’re playing with the more upbeat La Farsa, who inject violins, trumpets, interesting time signatures and a whole lot of fun into what could be a standard rock band. 8pm, Jose’s Lounge Underground, 638 Wave Street, Monterey. $5.

Saturday

The always-artistic Carmel-by-the-Sea shuts down Dolores Street between 5th and 6th today for a “Block Party For the Arts” in celebration of the Carmel Art Association’s 83rd birthday. Enjoy live music, dance and theater, art demonstrations and more. 10am-3pm, Dolores St. between 5th and 6th, Carmel-by-the-Sea. Free.

The annual two-day Sand City West End Celebration got even bigger this year with the addition of Los Lobos on Sunday. Today’s acts are nothing to sneeze at, either; performing are Population 5, Victory Sweet, Sambada, Forrest Day Band and Persephone’s Bees. Plus, there’s great wine, great food, great vendors, open artists studios, and it’s free to attend — a total deal. 11am-5pm, throughout Sand City. Free.

The La Playa Wine Festival features wines from 25 California wineries, including Opus One, Quintessa, Stags Leap, Jordan, Caymus, Rubicon and more. Enjoy perfectly paired appetizers and art from Richard MacDonald as you stroll through the gardens. 2-6pm, La Playa Hotel, Carmel-by-the-Sea. $35. Call 831-624-6476 for tickets.

Jazz bassist Pete Lips is known locally for his work with Along Came Betty. Tonight, don’t miss his jazz set at the Monterey Bay Aquarium with flutist Kenny Stahl, guitarist Bryce Hall and drummer Patrick Tregenza during “Evenings by the Bay.” 6-8pm, Monterey Bay Aquarium, 886 Cannery Row, Monterey. Included in admission fee.

It’s opening night for Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory at the Outdoor Forest Theater! 7:30pm, Outdoor Forest Theater, Santa Rita and Mountain View, Carmel-by-the-Sea. Tickets are $38 ($26 for seniors; $20 for students, teacher and military; $7 for children) and can be purchased on the PacRep website.

Legendary musician Bob Dylan played the Monterey Folk Festival in 1963, the forerunner to the legendary Monterey Pop Festival, and then played a fundraiser for a Seaside nursery school in 1964 (imagine that!). Today, after 46 years, he returns to the Monterey County Fairgrounds. Roots rock band The Dough Rollers open. Incredibly, a few tickets are still available. 8pm, Monterey County Fairgrounds, 2004 Fairgrounds Road, Monterey. Tickets are available online for $70.25.

Locals The Wharf Rats play original music with a classic rock vibe. See them tonight at Bullwackers. 8:30pm, 653 Cannery Row, Monterey. No cover.

Sunnyvale’s Neu:Era sound like a low-tech version of late-90s synthpop favorites Wolfsheim, Beborn Beton, Neuroticfish and Fictional. Catch them tonight at Jose’s Lounge Underground. 9pm, 638 Wave Street, Monterey. $5.

Sunday

The Sand City West End Celebration continues with performances by Red Beans and Rice, Star Anna and the Laughing Dogs, and the amazing Los Lobos. Noon-5pm, Ortiz Avenue, Sand City. Free.

Missed Andrea’s Fault on Friday at Jazz on the Plaza? See them today on the deck of the Big Sur River Inn. 1-5pm, Highway One in Big Sur. No cover.

Catch an afternoon matinee of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory at the Outdoor Forest Theater.2:00pm, Outdoor Forest Theater, Santa Rita and Mountain View, Carmel-by-the-Sea. Tickets are $38 ($26 for seniors; $20 for students, teacher and military; $7 for children) and can be purchased on the PacRep website.

Fantastic jazz trumpeter Dave Hoffman and friends play tonight at the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Evenings by the Bay. 6-8pm, 886 Cannery Row, Monterey. Included in admission fee.

Want to know what’s coming out after Sunday? Click here to see our calendar, which has events listed into 2011!

Another superstar indie act has just announced a show at the Henry Miller Library in Big Sur! Band of Horses, whose latest album Infinite Arms hit number 7 on the U.S. charts, will play the Henry Miller Library’s intimate, redwood-surrounded stage on Thursday, September 23.

Tickets go on sale Tuesday, August 24 at noon. Will it sell out in under a minute, like Arcade Fire did today, or will it take three minutes, like last year’s Animal Collective show did?

If the Henry Miller Library website is overwhelmed, go directly to the Henry Miller Library’s Eventbrite page, the ticket vendor for almost all Henry Miller Library shows. Unless the Henry Miller Library and ((folkyeah)) change their usual pattern, the Band of Horses show will be listed on that page on Tuesday before noon, in preparation for the noon ticket release time.

It wasn’t just Pebble Beach that had million-dollar cars at Monterey Auto Week. RM Auctions at the Portola Hotel and Spa sold a number of cars that went for over $1 million. We got photos of several of them before they went on the block.

1938 Talbot-Lago T150-C Lago Speciale Teardrop

This one-of-a-kind 1938 Talbot-Lago T150-C Lago Speciale Teardrop finished first in class in the 1948 24 Hours of Spa. At the time, it cost 165,000 French francs, about $98,600 in today’s dollars, and was the most expensive car sold in 1938. This weekend, the classic car sold for $4,620,000.

1948 Tucker 4 Door Sedan

Tuckers have a history of setting record-breaking prices at RM’s Monterey auction. In August 2008, a Tucker sold for $1,017,500, the most ever paid for a Tucker. That is, until this past weekend, when the Tucker pictured above sold for $1,127,500. (RM had estimated it would sell for $550,000-$750,000.)

1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial Berlinetta

If you’d had a spare $1,567,500, you could have bought this 1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial Berlinetta. It’s one of only two in existence.

1949 Delahaye Type 175S Roadster

This 1949 Delahaye Type 175S Roadster might not have gone for the most money at $3,300,000, but it was certainly one of the most buzzed-about vehicles at the event. According to records, this car was the 1949 Paris and 1950 New York Show Car. It was originally owned by Sir John Gaul, who sold it to Hollywood starlet and socialite Diana Dors.

For those of more moderate pocketbook, there was a vehicle in the same color as the Delahaye roadster (if not the same size):

1963 Messerschmitt KR-200 Kabinenroller

This 1963 Messerschmitt KR-200 Kabinenroller was a steal at $50,000 — and we can almost guarantee that it would attract as many stares as the Delahaye!

For more photos of RM Auctions cars, see our RM Auctions 2010 Flickr set. For more coverage of the other events leading up to the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, click here to see all our posts on Monterey Auto Week. For information on all events during Monterey Auto Week, see our Monterey Auto Week and Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance page.

As previously reported here, Arcade Fire will play the Henry Miller Library on October 5. The Monterey County Weekly reports that tickets go on sale Wednesday, August 18 at noon. According to folkyeah.com, ticket sales will be limited to 2 per person. They are 100% will-call, only the purchaser may pick up the tickets, and no in and outs will be allowed. Purchase details will be available soon on the ((folkyeah)) site.

Fans of all things Italian converged on Laguna Seca Golf Ranch on Friday for Monterey Auto Week’s annual celebration of Italian vehicles and style, the Concorso Italiano.

$3 million Ferrari SP1

The car that everyone wanted to get close to was the $3 million Ferrari SP1, the first special project vehicle released by Ferrari. The bodywork on this one-off Ferrari was created by legendary car designer Leonardo Fioravanti, one of Concorso Italiano’s guests of honor. The underlying mechanicals are from the Ferrari F430. Ferrari will be releasing more special projects in the future, so if you have a spare $3 million kicking around, give them a call.

1968 Bizzarini Manta

Concorso Italiano was full of other fabulous Italian cars, too, and some of them weren’t even red. This one-of-a-kind 1968 Bizzarrini Manta was designed by Giorgetto Guigiaro on a Bizzarrini chassis, and was allegedly created in 40 days. It was shown at the 1968 Turin Motorshow; soon thereafter, it vanished en route to the United States. It was rediscovered in the late 1970s and restored to original condition in the early years of this decade.

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While throngs flocked to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Pebble Beach and Quail Lodge on Saturday to see the ultra-elite in automotive excellence, a raucous crowd converged on Toro Park in Salinas to admire automotive horrors at the Concours d’LeMons.

Reliant Robin three-wheel car, known for tilting onto its side in tight turns.

The stated goal of the Concours d’LeMons is to showcase “the oddball, the mundane and the truly awful of the automotive world.” Show cars compete in categories such as “Rueful Britannia,” “Unmitigated Gaul,” “Der Self-Satisfied KrautenWagen,” “Needlessly Complex Italian,” “American Rust Belt” and “Soul-Sucking Japanese Appliance.” Competitors are encouraged to bribe judges with food, booze and whatever else they have on hand to win the title of “Worst in Class.”

Announcements during the event warned guests, “If you recognize our celebrity judges, please do not report them to their parole officers.” In-the-know car geeks, however, recognized the two judges instantly; they were automotive journalist Jay Lamm and former racing superstar Dick McClure.

Berkeley’s Dan Lennon celebrates after winning the Worst in Class award in the “Needlessly Complex Italian” category. Judges, in sombreros, can be seen at rear left; his bribe, as well as his documentation from showing at Concorso Italiano, can be seen on the hood.

As the judges perused the cars of the “Needlessly Complex Italian” class, competitors offered them shots of Limoncello (deeming the lemon-flavored Italian liqueur most appropriate for the Concours d’LeMons), among other bribes. The judges oohed and aahed over the way one Alfa Romeo had rusted (and kept rusting through the paint, even after restoration), and admired the outrageous tailfin another Alfa owner had bolted onto the back of his car, as well as a large light to replace the non-working headlights that had been mounted onto the metal bar welded on as a bumper.

But it was Dan Lennon’s Fiat 600, shown above, that captured the judge’s hearts. The judges raved at the rust on the outside of the rain gutters, saying, “The outside of the rain gutters! Now that’s something that can only be accomplished with fine Italian engineering!”

At first they were dismayed at the paucity of his $2 cash bribe piled on top of the food and drink on his hood, but were mollified when Lennon pointed out, “But that’s what I paid for the car!” In the end, there was one deciding factor: Lennon had to drive back to Berkeley in the thing, and the judges were sure the car would blow up before he got there. They decided that the “Needlessly Complex Italian” award might help him feel better as he stared at the ashes of his Italian car.

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Friday’s Pacific Grove Concours Auto Rally is the low-key response to all those high-octane car events elsewhere in Monterey County this week. This laid-back car show on Lighthouse Avenue draws many locals, who show off the exceptionally cool classics that have been hiding in their garages. The old-school Main Street vibe of Pacific Grove provides the perfect backdrop for these classics. Though the car show is open to all classics, the trend is toward cool sports cars of the ’50s through today.

This classic Pacific Grove police car set the tone for the event.

This was just one of several late 1950s Corvettes at the Pacific Grove Concours Auto Rally.

This 1967 Shelby Ford Mustang GT350 is undeniably cool…

…but Carroll Shelby’s autograph on the dash makes it exponentially cooler.

The oldest car on show at the Pacific Grove Concours Auto Rally was this 1929 Ford Model A Roadster.

The rarest car on show was this brawny sedan. The car is a Facel Vega Excellence; only 152 were ever made.

To see more photos from the Pacific Grove Concours Auto Rally, view our Pacific Grove Concours Auto Rally photo set on Flickr. For more information about the Pacific Grove Concours Auto Rally and the other events of Monterey Auto Week, see our page on the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and Monterey Auto Week.