Cindy Lindgren, Mendocino County Real Estate

This past weekend Mendocino County hosted a different kind of festival, The Gaia Festival, a three-day music festival and sustainable-living fair, featuring world-class artists, and sustainable living talks and programs. The festival is held each year just north of the heart of Mendocino County on the Black Oak Ranch in Laytonville. More than a music festival, the Gaia Festival serves a growing community of people who are coming together to create sustainable and resilient lifestyles, in our neighborhoods and around the world. It is a celebration of our interconnection to each other and to Mother Earth.

The Gaia Festival this year included Aaron Neville, The Wailers, Idan Raichel, and Galactic among 35 bands, and workshops on water containment systems, Yoga, Qi Gong, puppet making, drumming for beginners, biodynamic farming, and healing workshops.

The Gaia Festival is an interactive forum for people and organizations to share ideas, information and inspiration. Through workshops and presentations discussions are hosted on topics such as: permaculture, renewable energy, green building, communal living, environmental stewardship, human rights, healing arts, indigenous cultures, shamanism and spirituality.

Celebrating the bounty of Northern California, the Gaia Festival offers great food and crafts, provided by local non-profits and artisans, featuring local, organic and sustainable products.

Like every year, this year individuals, friends, and families stayed in tents and RVs to experience as the organizers say - five stages, four directions, three days, too much fun, one love.

I wrote two recent blogs on summer music events in Mendocino County. The Mendocino Music Festival,

classical music and jazz on the coast in Mendocino and Fort Bragg and Sunday's in the Park, folk, county, rock, and blues in the heart of our county, Ukiah.

A third festival starts tomorrow, June 17 - 19! The Sierra Nevada World Music Festival between Ukiah and the coast in Booneville. Boonville sits in picture perfect Anderson Valley wine country. The Festival features 3 days of the best in roots reggae and world music taking place on two stages, with a late-night “Jamaican style” dancehall.

And its not just music, not that there is anything such thing as "just" music! Along with the more than 30 bands, the 18th annual Summer Solstice and World Peace Celebration also includes an extensive schedule of children’s activities, arts and crafts, an international food court, family camping and lots of vendors. On-site camping sells out every year as it has already this year.

As in years past, you can hear local and international musicians. This year you can hear Thomas Mapfumo, "The Lion of Zimbabwe" immensely popular in his county for the political influence he wields in his criticism of President Robert Mugabe. His voice is instantly recognizable to Zimbabweans and is memorable to the rest of us. Also this year from Jamaica, Toots and the Maytals!

With so much music and beauty in our quiet section of northern California, why not call me and we can find just the right in town or country property for you. Now is a great time buy a home, vacation property, or property to develop for the future. I can send you listings targeting your interests.

Come and enjoy the music!

Every summer in Ukiah when hot mid-afternoon temperatures give way to cooler evenings, Sundays in the Park free music concerts reaffirm and celebrate the soul of our community. On the lawn of beautiful Todd Grove Park you see grandparents, parents, college, high school, junior high, elementary, and pre-school kids talking, laughing, dancing, eating food from the many local vendors and most importantly, enjoying the free concerts featuring world-renowned artists as well as local talent.

Heading now into its 20th year, there have been 121 free Sunday evening concerts featuring over 140 bands to listen to or dance and sing along with. In 1998, founder Spencer Brewer and John Schaefeer of local Real Goods Solar created a solar battery inverter system to power the series making it the first solar powered concert series in the country.

Over the years the park has rocked to top name acts like Richy Havens, Elvin Bishop, Joe Craven, Coco Montoya, Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks, Poco, Leon Russell, and Mike Marshall. Local talent has included Ford Blues Band, the Ukiah Symphony, and Hansen and Raitt, with a surprise appearance by David Raitt's sister, Bonnie Raitt.

This summer you can hear Robert Cray, Janiva Magness, Hip Service, The Funky Dozen & Top Shelf, Pete Esconvedo, and Mitch Woods and His Rocket 88's! So Bring a blanket and gather with your family, friends and neighbors to enjoy top notch performers while being part of the greater Ukiah community.

Mendocino County has so much to offer from mountains, parks, vineyards, redwood groves, a rugged coast line with walking and biking trails, world known City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, art centers, and the Mendocino Music Festival. Just a short drive through the coast mountains and redwoods from Hopland, Ukiah, or Willits, you're there in the historic ocean front towns of Mendocino and Fort Bragg - where you can enjoy live music every year in July.

Established in 1986, the Mendocino Music Festival was the dream of former principal bassoonist of the San Francisco Symphony, Walter Green, Allan Pollack and Susan Waterfall. The Festival draws outstanding performers to one of the most enchanting sites in Northern California. Evenings include orchestra concerts, Big Band, chamber music ensembles, dance, blues, jazz, world, folk, bluegrass and popular contemporary music. Daytime concerts include lecture/recitals at the Piano Series, a performance by participants in the Emerging Artists Program, and small concerts in intimate venues throughout Mendocino and Fort Bragg.

This year's festival series includes orchestra concerts of music by Bernstein, Adams, Gershwin, Piazzolla, Stravinsky, Ravel, Vivaldi, Bach, Mahler, and more. It includes jazz artists like Kevin Eubanks and Julian Waterfall Pollack Trio, and on the world and bluegrass side, the San Jose Taiko and The Travelin' McCourys. You can find artist and ticket information at the Festival's website.

You could take a beautiful drive up for a few concerts from the San Francisco Bay Area which is just 4 hours from the scenic ocean town of Mendocino. Better yet, if you lived in the beauty of Mendocino County, you could attend the complete series or put together your own series of afternoon and evening concerts. It is one more of the charms, enrichments, and pleasures of living in Mendocino County. Contact me if you would like to receive a free custom list of properties that meet your interests and criteria.

Matt Miller spends his days crawling under, over, and all around homes in Mendocino County. A thorough pest inspection means protection for homeowners, and homebuyers and sellers - and it means crawling around where some of us don't fit and where more of us prefer not to go.

Matt began his career in pest control working for the family business, "Mendo Lake Termite Control," in 1985. He brought some fresh ideas and "next generation" technology helping the business keep up-to-date with advances in the field. Importantly, Matt also kept the company grounded in what made it successful in the first place - integrity, a company you can trust.

Matt's company, Mendo Lake Termite, offers pest and fungus inspections, which I have come to trust over the years for their thorough and honest assessment. Mendo Lake Termite also does fungus and pest damage construction, fumigation services, carpenter ant service, and subterranean termite treatments.

I've had some inspections where the company was really selling the fumigation and reconstructive services. So they over-stated the problem in the report but offered a "courtesy discount" for all the work they said was needed. I've also had some inspections where the report comes after the bill and where the inspector is hard to get a hold of for clarification. For Matt, customer access to the inspector is a priority and most reports are emailed within 24 hours. And they are reports I've come to trust over the years.

I've worked with a lot of inspectors during my 33 years of helping individuals and families buy and sell Ukiah and Mendocino County real estate. I use Matt and Mendo Lake Termite now for both in-town and country properties. Matt is someone I trust for a thorough, honest, and timely inspection - evidenced by the fact that he does the inspections on my home.