Outside Lands
This is kind of the granddaddy of music events for the Bay Area, with an amazing lineup that just doesn’t stop. I mean, I can’t even begin to list them…  Stevie Wonder!? Are you kidding me!? Neil Young AND Crazy Horse!? Beck, the Foo Fighters, Antibalas, Sigur Ros, The Walkmen, Jack White, Bloc Party. I mean the B-team is all-star good. But if you don’t have a ticket, oh well, start planning for next year.

Monterey’s 20th annual winemaker’s celebrationPeople in Monterey/Carmel really love their wines, and there’s some great ones from down here. Forty-plus Monterey County wineries are participating, including Bernardus, Estancia and J. Lohr, and it’s a short distance to Ocean Ave. and all the quaint shops, excellent restaurants and wine bars of Carmel.

Perseid Meteor Shower
My suggestion, get out of the city. Go to the beach (Stinson, Pacifica, etc.) if there’s no fog. Or head to higher ground, like Mt. Tam or along Skyline Blvd in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Take a blanket, lawn chairs, a sweater, some beverages, and enjoy the show.

Gravenstein Apple Fair
Summer is the time for all the street fairs in all the little towns and neighborhoods and communities around the Bay Area. But come late summer I’m a little faired out, or rather I’ve seen all the artsy crafty stuff I can tolerate. So I’m pretty choosy by this time. But by all accounts, the Gravenstein Apple Fair in Sebastopol looks like a real honest throwback to country fairs before event companies got involved. And this one dates back to 1910, so it has fair cred. There’s less arts and crafts, more home and garden and homemade food items, along with apple pie contests, garden tips, beer and wine, and a surprisingly extensive entertainment lineup. Sat and Sun.