Earth Day 2014 in Green Valley at Iron Horse Vineyards

Earth Day 2014, on April 27 in Green Valley at Iron Horse Vineyards, is going to be superlative… again. This time, the realization of what’s coming just knocked my socks off… and Jose has said, “Put them back into the drawer.”

Produced by a woman: Take some great food and wine, add a bit of music and dance from some gorgeous and talented women, blend in some captivating artwork – again featuring talented women, and top it all off with a focused revisionist, Earth Day is set into place for 2014 at Iron Horse Vineyards as a celebration to Mother Nature,… regardless of Joy Sterling’s original intent… This one focuses on the the essence… We’ve got an amazing day coming up…

For me, every day is Earth Day. We can all thank my grandparents and Rachel Carson for that.

PERSONALLY: Many of the children across the street at Brooks Elementary School will be remembering me on Earth Day for the rest of their lives. After years of picking up trash to and from school trash, that they’d just drop on the sidewalk and grass in front of our home, I got creative. I spent the next year saving every little piece of their junk. On the following Earth Day, I created a huge poster with all of their debris glued to it. (It was a sight.) I also attached the movie WALL·E, the story of a robot that was designed to clean up a polluted planet. I brought it to the school and donated it as Earth Day art.

After that one effort, the garbage dropped from a full poster on year one,  to an 8.5 by 11 inch poster the following year. I repeat my efforts each year. I now have to pick up very, very minimal items. It’s an amazing lesson that’s actually been very fun for all of us.

PROFESSIONALLY: I’m continually impressed with Joy Sterling, at Iron Horse Vineyards in Green Valley of Russian River Valley. Joy’s involvement is always on a large scale, as she represents her family’s commitment to earth’s preservation. Each year, when she has a speaker who’s noteworthy for her Earth Day event, she goes for it… She also involves other Green Valley neighbors who are similarly like minded for celebrating what the earth has to offer, and preserving it in a mindful way. Vision in the valley is what I see out there, and Jose and I love attending this one.

For this year’s details, so you can mark your calendars, and not miss it…

Earth Day event at Iron Horse Vineyards
in Green Valley of Russian River Valley
Sunday April 27, 2014, from 12:00 to 3:00 p.m.

This year’s speaker is Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

From www.biography.com: In 1981, Ronald Reagan nominated her as a justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and she received unanimous Senate approval. O’Connor made history as the first woman justice to serve on the Supreme Court. As a justice, O’Connor was as a key swing vote in many important cases, including the upholding of Roe v. Wade. She retired in 2006…

There will be several Green Valley appellated wines ~ delicious Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs ~ being poured.

From Joy Sterling, the event director, “Please join these wineries in a toast to Mother Earth at this annual walk-around festival-style food and wine tasting, with keynote speaker Sandra Day O’Connor… as well as all the delicious Green Valley Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs from the following producers.”

Who’s pouring:

• DeLoach Vineyards
• Dutton-Goldfield Winery
• Freeman Winery
• Hartford Family Winery
• Iron Horse Vineyards
• Lynmar Estate
• Marimar Estate
• MacPhail Family Wines
• Rubin Vineyards and Winery

[This image is a screen shot from the Museum’s Website, for promotional use, only.]

The event also features an environmental art exhibit, curated by the Director of the National Museum of Women in the Arts. This is always a highlight of Iron Horse’s Earth Day event… the level of art that she brings to the day. This museum is located in Washington, DC… How often to we have the opportunity to visit this museum, when on this day, it’s brought to our doorstep?

One of Sonoma’s finest chefs, Douglas Keane, who won the Top Chef Masters on Bravo, is going to be cooking up something delicious, with
Chef John Hallgrimson, of Healdsburg Bar and Grill.

Joy has booked an all-female Mariachi band from Los Angeles called Trio Ellas. (They wear the traditional Mariachi pants with coins down the sides and bright red high heels.)

Tickets  go on sale at the end of February on the Iron Horse website; and interested parties can also call Iron Horse or Joy Sterling (707-887-1507).

Prices: $65 for general public; $300 for the VIP pre-event, where guest will be able to meet Justice O’Connor.

Come spend an afternoon in this amazing viticultural area, known as Green Valley of the Russian River Valley… One of the coolest places to be is in Green Valley…