Fine Art in the Park Goes Online
Now through November 1

Putting on an outdoor charity event is no walk in the park nowadays. But the Los Altos Rotary Club is offering a creative alternative by emulating the summertime joy of the annual Fine Art in the Park at Lincoln Park right in the comfort of your home setting. So, grab a glass of wine (or other beverage), go out to your picnic or dinner table and enjoy browsing various artists in the gallery to find the art that touches your heart. Peruse the sites of over 100 talented artists who wanted to join you last May at Lincoln Park of Los Altos. Now is a great time to purchase art to help change up those walls you’ve been staring at for the last seven months!

100% of Rotary Fine Art Online profits will go toward projects such as providing emergency help for victims of COVID-19, providing local scholarships and supporting sustainable projects both locally and internationally. Rotary is dedicated to improving lives, creating a better world and ending polio forever. With fighting disease as one of the Rotary’s causes and with the current state of COVID-19 in our communities, I encourage you to participate in this online effort to support Rotary while also supporting the amazing featured artists. Ahh, the magic partnership of the art, high tech and philanthropy!

Information
rotaryartshow.com

Photos courtesy of Fine Art in the Park by Rotary Art Show

Autumn in the Rose Garden
Tuesdays through Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Russian River Rose Company’s Garden and Nurseries in Sonoma County are open for visits by appointment! Enjoy the beautiful roses, irises, and perennials and learn about the secrets of fall planting. More than ever it is the perfect time to smell the roses and visit the Rose Display Garden with 650 varieties of roses gushing forth in their glorious fall re-bloom.

Butterflies and hummingbirds will be happy to greet you as you wander the garden and relax on the Butterfly Bench by the Hummingbird Wall. Enjoy the wonderfully fragrant, estate-produced rose water and rose oil perfume available for sampling and purchase. The drive to Sonoma County’s wine region is enriched by the stunning fall colors.

Information
Masks required
707-433-7455
russian-river-rose.com
Russian River Rose Company
1685 Magnolia Drive in Healdsburg
Sonoma County

Photo courtesy of the Russian River Rose Company

Cook with Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) Chefs at Home

The Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) and the International Culinary Center (ICC) have come together on one strong and dynamic national platform at ICE’s campuses in New York City and Los Angeles. The premier recreational cooking schools debut online versions of their consistently sold-out classes with all-new menus and professional chef instructions via live video.

Join ICE chefs from your kitchen for your new, hands-on, virtual classes that cover everything from handmade pasta to baking fresh pizza, to global cuisine and even the art of decorating cakes. And just in time for Halloween, join chef Tracy Wilk on October 26 at 3 p.m. (ET) for a virtual family-time bonding experience to make a festive menu of holiday treats. Just an idea: after these virtual classes with ICE, you may consider acquiring a new profession as a chef, the most delicious person in your family… By the way the legendary chef Jacques Pepin is one of the founding deans of ICE.

Information
888-354-2433
ice.edu

Photos courtesy of ICE

Historic Postcards of Grant Avenue in San Francisco’s Chinatown

Grant Avenue is the street most associated with San Francisco’s Chinatown and is a destination full of restaurants, shops, and businesses. The architecture that has made Grant Avenue iconic was built after the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, with Chinatown merchants rebuilding the neighborhood to attract tourists. Now that you are cocooned at home and not eager to visit this colorful and busy area of San Francisco, the Chinese Historical Society of America (CHSA) is offering an opportunity for you to view their impressive collection of postcards, which includes many postcards of Grant Avenue by demonstrating how iconic it is as part of Chinatown’s identity.

You can view more of its collection on the CHSA database. CHSA is proud to make some of their collection accessible online for public viewing for the first time in CHSA’s history. If you are interested in researching artifacts in this collection, please go through its online catalog.

Information
chsa.org
Chinese Historical Society of America
965 Clay Street in San Francisco

Lina Broydo immigrated from Russia, then the Soviet Union, to Israel where she was educated and got married. After working at the University in Birmingham, England, she and her husband immigrated to the United States. She lives in Los Altos Hills, CA and writes about travel, art, style, entertainment, and sports. She hardly cooks or bakes, with no borsch or piroshky on her home cooking menu. Therefore, she makes reservations and enjoys dining out, mostly sushi.