Grilled Oysters (Image courtesy of Bodega Seafood Art and Wine Festival)

Started over a decade ago, the Bodega Seafood Art and Wine Festival has become one of the Bay Area's most popular, attracting wine makers, foodies, art aficionados, and music lovers by the thousands. Home to Hitchcock's classic thriller, “The Birds,” Bodega proves the perfect locale for an unforgettable weekend with Sonoma County's top wineries, microbreweries, renowned seafood purveyors, talented artists, and world-class musicians.

The open-air event, which takes place on August 29th and 30th, 2009 at scenic Watts Ranch, invites wine lovers to participate in the wonderful festival tasting featuring approximately 30 locally produced wines and 24 micro brews. Celebrate summer's seafood bounty by enjoying festival favorites including barbecued oysters, crab cakes, and Key Lime calamari, as well as other delicacies, including vegetarian options.

The weekend Festival features dozens of events showcasing carefully selected original artwork, crowd-pleasing entertainers, a wild animal “safari,” and rubber duck races benefiting Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods.

Created by local artists Janet Ciel and Michael Ecton, the festival was born of their passion for the East Coast's plethora of traditional seafood festivals. While escaping the winter cold to exhibit in Florida during the mid-1990's, they discovered these celebrations-of-all-things-seafood. “We couldn't believe there weren't similar seafood festivals on the West Coast. So we decided to start our own to share with Northern Californians,” says Janet.

Not-to-be-missed Festival highlights include:

• The Bay Area's most popular band on the music scene, Pride & Joy, featuring their one-of-a-kind, electrifying, high-style shows of pop/soul music
• Live performance by the daughter of Blues legend John Lee Hooker and an exceptional Blues performer in her own right, Zakiya Hooker
• The rompin', stompin' leaders of cross-polinated Gypsy music,” Fishtank Ensemble featuring their mesmerizing blend of flamenco guitar, punk accordion, saw playing, and Japanese shamisen – “a young band that is one of the most thrilling live acts on the planet,” according to the LA Weekly
• San Francisco darling of the swing dancing set,Steve Lucky and the Rhumba Bums play jump blues, swing, jazz, and rare gems inspired by the '30s, '40s, and '50s.
• Tom Rigney and Flambeau, voted best cajun/zydeco band of 2004 and renowned as “a band that will tear the roof off of anyplace and raise the spirits of everyone around”
• George Cole and Vive Le Jazz's superbly crafted and sophisticated original music that evokes the best of George Gershwin, Cole Porter, and Django Reinhardt a band that will tear the roof off of anyplace that has one and raise the spirits of everyone around.
• Lively fun for kids and adults who are kids at heart – an interactive “wild safari” show featuring alligators, armadillos, and wallabies, oh my!
• The first annual Bodega Seafood Festival Rubber Duck Races!! A waterway built on the festival grounds will be home to thousands of sunglasses-clad rubber duckies, vying for a grand prize of a Soft Tu!

The public is invited to enjoy Northern California's culinary creations, sublime summer weather, and world-class entertainment on August 29th from 10AM – 6PM and on August 30th from 10AM – 5PM. Admission is $12 for adults, and kids under 12 years are admitted free of charge. Festivities take place in the village of Bodega at Watts Ranch, located at 16855 Bodega Highway. For more information, please visit: Bodega Seafood Art & Wine Festival

As a salute to Sonoma County's nearby redwoods, proceeds benefit the Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods, an organization that works in partnership with California State Parks to provide the public with opportunities for personal inspiration through environmental stewardship programs, and the Bodega Volunteer Fire Department.

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