A TRADITION WITH A TWIST: Sunset, the venerable and vivacious magazine that's loved upon stylish Western living for over a century, has long been known for embracing the new. That can involve a new way of displaying your favorite succulents, or a different method for grilling artichokes, or perhaps an innovative approach to campfire s'mores, the kind made with a few tony ingredients like local honey or homemade graham crackers. The next new step the publication is about to take will happen during its annual Sunset Celebration Weekend, but that step doesn't involve a futuristic-modern patio chair or gourmet kitchen layout; rather, the two-day happening will be in a new location. This is due to Sunset's semi-recent move from its longtime Menlo Park home, yes, but don't look for mid-May party to happen at its Oakland headquarters. Instead prepare to make for Sonoma, and wine country, where the magazine's second outpost is located. That's where the large test gardens are, and the creatively designed outdoor spaces that have become part of the magazine's identity. Ready to join "editors, celebrity chefs, vintners, craft beer brewers, and renowned lifestyle experts..." on May 14 and May 15? Then pack your sunhat, your walking shoes, and your sense of lifestyle-enhancing adventurism and make for...
CORNERSTONE: That's where Ludo Lefebvre, Tanya Holland, Andy Ricker, and a host of in-the-know gourmands and brewers and horticulturists will be to chat with the magazine's many fans, demo tasty/pretty techniques, and lend the inspiration that's found within Sunset's pages each month. Other highlights to be found around the cover-worthy nine-acre property include an Airstream village, the Backyard Orchard, the Flower Room, and the dream-making Outdoor Kitchen, which shall serve as the center of much of the meal-based demo-cool hubbub. Will you find fresh ways to cedar-plank-up your salmon? Or to coax your peonies to new heights? Is this the year you finally plant that tangelo tree? So much newness awaits at this century-plus publication's springtime jamboree including, for many attendees, a look at the new Sonoma wine country digs.
