The San Rafael Food & Wine Festival August 16, 2008

The San Rafael Food & Wine Festival will take place on Saturday, August 16 at the Falkirk Cultural Center and on Mission Avenue, D to E Streets. The event hours are 11 am until 5 pm. Festival-goers will enjoy food from area food vendors and sample wines from the region’s outstanding boutique wineries. In addition, there will be a chef demonstration area featuring a number of Marin County based restaurants. Admission to the event is free. Attendees interested in sampling wines can purchase five tasting tickets and a glass on-site for $15. Once they have finished tasting, they can return the glass for a $5 refund and/or purchase more tasting tickets. There are no advance ticket sales for this event.

The Festival will also showcase a myriad of local artists from Art Works Downtown, a fine arts collective. The artists will show finished work and provide hands-on demonstrations of their artistic process. While viewing the artwork and tasting the gourmet fare, attendees will hear smooth jazz and classical music by the areas’ best musicians. The Falkirk Cultural Center provides the perfect backdrop for this celebration of the region’s food, wine and art.

The Falkirk Cultural Center is a 19th century country estate listed on the National Historic Register. The Queen Anne Victorian, designed by Clinton Day, was built in 1888 by Ella Nichols Park, and purchased by Captain Robert Dollar in 1906. Falkirk is named after Dollar's birthplace in Scotland, and his descendants occupied the house until 1970. The estate was saved from demolition in 1974. Currently, Falkirk is used as a community center for the arts and an elegant site for private and public events.

Official Website: http://www.sresproductions.com/san_rafael_food_and_wine_festival