Living simple not so simple

This weekend’s Not-So-Simple Living Fair in Boonville celebrates the oft-times lost art of doing it ourselves as they celebrate rural living skills in a series of entertaining events, workshops, and demonstrations.

The weekend kicks off this Friday, July 27th at the Mendocino County Fairgrounds with a Campfire Cabaret.  The artistically driven are invited to bring a story, poem, song, dance, or skit to share with the masses around the campfire.  The evening will bring about live music and a few surprise guest performers, MC’d by Captain Rainbow – a former presenter and performer of the original Simple Living Workshops back in the 70s and 80s.

Saturday evening (7/28) is the community potluck followed by Ukeholics, and then music to dance to by Dgiin.  As with every meal at the Not-So-Simple Living Fair, guests are encouraged to bring their own place setting to reduce waste, or purchase the wood and bamboo place settings they will sell at the event.  The third option is to eat out of your hands.  But that can get kind of messy.

Throughout the weekend are a multitude of different demonstrations and workshops. Ongoing demos include Worm Composting, Beermaking 101, Creative Reuse Display, as well as a Preserves Table where anyone can put their canned/dried/fermented/salted or other preserved foods to show off before the taste testing event on Sunday.  There will also be special workshops pertaining to food, shelter, farming/gardening, and breeding/raising/utilizing animals like goats, bees, poultry, hogs, rabbits, and more in their Animal Husbandry presentations. And Bob Cannard of Petaluma’s Green String Farm is the keynote speaker for Sunday.

Keeping with the simplistic theme of the weekend, admission fees are kept low.  The cost for attending the whole weekend, July 27-29, is $35, plus $10 a night per car to camp.  Reservations for camping are unnecessary.  Single day passes are also available for $25 per day.

The Mendocino County Fairgrounds are located at 14400 Hwy 128, Boonville.  For more information, email info@notsosimple.info, call 895-2949, or visit their website at notsosimple.info.

LIVING SIMPLY
What: Not-So-Simple Living Fair
When: July 27-29
Where: Mendocino County Fairgrounds, 14400 Hwy 128, Boonville
More info: 895-2949, notsosimple.info