This Bodega festival boasts savory seafood, art, wine, and cinematic charm

CORNUCOPIAS... may be one of the timeless symbols of Thanksgiving and the fall, but these horns of plenty could easily stand in for all that Sonoma County has to offer as summer begins to slowly make way for autumn. Those famous Gravenstein apples are just the snacky start; there are artisanal cheeses aplenty, tender loaves of bread that need no butter nor oil, and vinos saturated with starlight, or at least a lot of professional can-do and craftsmanship. And if you move in the ocean-breezy direction of Bodega? You'll also be met with seafood, from crab-laden salads to rich chowders to all sorts of oyster-dotted dishes. The pastoral area is also known for its festive food events, including one that is set to bloom over the final weekend of August 2023. It's the 27th Annual Bodega Seafood Art & Wine Festival, a sunshiny and seafoodie salute to the close of the summer season.

TICKETS ARE ON SALE... for the weekend-long event, which takes place at a ranch "a mile inland from the spectacular Sonoma Coast." The schedule is relaxed but also brimming with diversions, from live music to wine tasting to microbrew sips to chow-down chances aplenty. The festival will feature over 30 seafood dishes, created by a number of vendors, giving crab-ists and oysterians and all lovers of briny bites a wide array of appetizing choices. As for the weekend's beneficiaries? The event will raise funds for both the Bodega Volunteer Fire Department and Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods.

BEAUTIFUL BODEGA, of course, has plenty of silver-screen credibility to brag over: Alfred Hitchcock filmed some of "The Birds" in the scenic area (and you'll find screenings of the classic flick on the local calendar at different points of the year). A toodle through Bodega Bay, and some of the surrounding countryside, may take you back, at least for a few moments, to the storied film.