Art includes jewelry, glass, paintings, metalwork, sculptures and more OAKHURST – It’s shaping up to be a perfect weekend for Sierra Art Trails, celebrating 10 years of the Yosemite Foothills Open Studio Tour. This much-anticipated event draws hoards to the mountain area each year, to see local artists and art featured in homes, studios and galleries in eastern Madera and ...

MARIPOSA – Vines rise from big buckets lining two greenhouses at Mariposa Loofa, where about 300 loofa sponges begin as gourds and are grown to lengths of 2 and 3 feet each. Linda and Chris Dahl own and operate the Mariposa Loofa farm, about seven miles south of Mariposa off Highway 41. This weekend, Sept. 29-30, the enterprise is open ...

OAKHURST – Richard “Rich” Regert is celebrating 45 years with Farmers Insurance this year, and his wife and business partner, Sharon, now has 25 years with the agency herself. Regert began his career with Farmers Insurance as an underwriter in 1966, becoming an agent in 1973. His parents both worked for Farmers, so in 1987 he moved to Oakhurst to ...

YOSEMITE – It’s time for the ninth annual “Yosemite Facelift” event, Tuesday through Sunday, Sept. 25-30, and you’re invited to participate. This is when around 1,300 volunteers show up to collect hundreds of tons of trash and construction debris. This annual event is organized by the Yosemite Climbing Association to help clean up the park after the busy summer season. ...

BASS LAKE – The 25th annual Smokey Bear Run/Walk takes place this Saturday, Sept. 22, and organizers expect about 600 people will take part in the event. Road 222 will be closed to all vehicles from 7:15 a.m. to 9:40 a.m, from Recreation Point to the Lakeside picnic area (see map below). It’s shaping up to be a fun and ...

OAKHURST – Ask anyone who’s been and they’ll tell you: the Monster Rummage Sale held every year by Yosemite Gateway Association of Realtors (YGAOR) is one you don’t want to miss. It’s this weekend in the old Central Valley Community Bank building in the Sears parking lot, Saturday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday 8 to 4.

Carol Wolf will read from ‘Summoning‘ NORTH FORK – Local author and playwright Carol Wolf is offering a night of storytelling and creativity on Thursday, Sept. 27, at the North Fork Library. Wolf will read from her newly published first novel, Summoning (Night Shade Books), which she calls “a fast-moving adventure full of surprises and delights.” The novel’s strong female ...

OAKHURST – One legend says the native flute was a fanciful fluke of nature. Woodpeckers in search of termites pecked holes in a hollow branch. Wind blew across the top of the branch and melodious sounds grew in its wake. There are many stories about how man and woman came to play the native flute, and this weekend we have ...

Last Chance to Cast Your Vote for Wild Wonderful Women OAKHURST – You know about the Wild Wonderful King Vintage Museum, right? And you have a Facebook account? If the answer to both of those questions is “Yes!” then you have a chance to help WWW & Friends, Inc. become a designated recipient of the Chase Community Giving Grant. The ...

Yesterday began with a morning job, meant to be finished before it got too hot outside. It ended up with a realization. Chores do that, sometimes. Our first spring in the foothills, we got chicks and I became sort of a self-styled chicken whisperer. Every spring since, until this year, I’ve had baby chicks in my office well past their ...