CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The contestants in the upcoming Miss Lake County Scholarship Program pageant will have a car wash and bake sale at Ray's Market in Clearlake on Saturday, Aug. 7.

They will be washing cars from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Kathi (formerly of Konocti Harbor Resort and Spa) will give chair massages.

All donations will go toward the group's scholarship fund.

For information call 707-277-0707 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Lake County Community Co-op invites the community to a unique garden tour in Kelseyville on Saturday, Aug. 14.

The tour takes place from 10 a.m. to noon.

Meet at the home of Monte Black and Ancient Lake Gardens, 8993 Soda Bay Road in Kelseyville. From Kit's Corner on Highway 29, take Soda Bay Road for about three miles. Park across the road from the farm’s property entrance and meet at the gate of the entrance.

The tour is free and open to Lake County Community Co-op members and the public.

Experience Ancient Lake Garden's food forests, which mimic the resilient and beneficial relationships between plants found in natural forest ecosystems.

Food forests typically include complex perennial polyculture plantings, rich in biodiversity and productivity.

Local residents and permaculturists Mari Silva and Grover Stock will share their conscious designs.

In their garden, you’ll learn about guilding, swaling, and contouring to eliminate soil erosion and water waste. Learn why they emphasize growing soil and beautiful perennial vegetable and flower gardens.

Permaculture is an ecological design system for sustainability in all aspects of human endeavor. It teaches how to build natural homes, grow food, restore diminished landscapes, catch rainwater, build communities and much more.

Silva and Stock, originally from California, established an off-the-grid permaculture homestead and nonprofit to teach sustainability in Iowa before returning home to the Golden State.

With their combined decades of gardening and teaching experience, they will be leading this most exciting and information-packed garden tour set at the foot of beautiful Mount Konocti.

One of the Lake County Community Co-op’s goals is to educate Lake County residents on how to live more healthfully and sustainably by keeping it local and, in this case, learning to become more self-sufficient with their own ecologically friendly gardens.

Don’t miss this chance for an unequaled opportunity to pick the brains of these gardening experts and at the same time meet other good people with similar interests.

For more information on the tour, contact Lori Patotzka at 707-994-1618.

Now celebrating two and one half years in existence, the Lake County Community Co-op (LCCC) envisions cultivating an evolving community by nurturing values of social, economic and environmental responsibility.

The co-op wishes to support local farmers and producers and provide a forum for community activities.

For more information or to become a member of the LCCC, follow the links at http://lakeco-op.org or call 707-993-4270.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Konocti Lioness Club will hold their monthly luncheon meeting on Thursday, Aug. 19.

The luncheon will begin at noon at the Riviera Hills Restaurant in the Clearlake Riviera, 10200 Fairway Drive, Kelseyville.

On the agenda will be plans for the club's pear ice cream booth at the Kelseyville Pear Festival on Sept. 25. The booth is a main fundraiser for the club's special kids campership project.

The Konocti Lioness Club encourages anyone interested in joining the group to attend the meeting as its guest.

Please call Lioness Elizabeth at 707-279-8562 for lunch reservations.

NICE, Calif. – The Sons of Italy will host flea market this Saturday, Aug. 7.

Gates open at 7 a.m. for set up, with the market to take place from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Indoor and outdoor tables will be available for $10.

Hot dog and Italian sausage sandwiches plus drinks will be for sale. Everyone is welcome.

Call 707-274-9952 for more information.

Nichol Criz's portrait of a geisha. Criz's work will be on display at the Lake County Wine Studio in Upper Lake, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 6, and Saturday, Aug. 7, 2010. Courtesy photo.

UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Lake County Wine Studio is hosting a wine tasting event with Cougar’s Leap / Black Rock Ranch and painter Nichol Kriz on Friday, Aug. 6, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturday, Aug. 7, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The Wine Studio is pleased to present and offer the Cougar's Leap / Black Rock Ranch (Red Hills AVA) wines at the first weekend in August reception.

The $10 tasting sampler includes Wildcat White (a Sauvignon/Semillon Blend), Rosato di Sangiovese (Rose), Zinfandel, 2007 Petite Sirah and 2005 Petite Sirah, each paired with appetizers.

The August artist, Nichol Kriz, painted her first work of art on her bedroom wall at the age of 5; the rendering of a three-headed rhinoceros was not well received at the time.

However, not one to be discouraged by the scouring and repainting of the bedroom wall, princesses, goblins and fairies often found their way to her private three-dimensional canvas.

Kriz’s predilection for decorating three-dimensional spaces led to a degree in three-dimensional design from California State University, Northridge, and a job with an interior design firm located in West Los Angeles.

When the recession of the 1970s hit the previously successful design firm dissolved and Kriz had to re-evaluate her career choice.

She returned to school and became a nurse practitioner and physician's assistant with a specialized training in surgery.

Near the end of her medical career, Kriz picked up a brush and began to study botanical illustration under the tutelage of the talented Lisa Pompelli at the Huntington Library in San Marino, Calif.

Kriz’s efforts at the Huntington found one of her paintings selected for presentation in the Boone Gallery at the Huntington, in the show “A Passion for Orchids” in 2006.

Upon retirement, she moved to Lake County where she became involved with the Lake County Arts Council and has sold works at the Main Street Gallery in Lakeport and to private collectors.

She has shown at the Harvest Festival at Steele Winery in Lakeport and has been involved as a co-owner of the Serendipity Arts and Boutique Gallery in Lucerne.

Kriz uses a variety of materials in her works including oil, watercolor, acrylic and mixed media with very different results – a progression towards full realization of her artistic potential. Each new piece is a new adventure in self-discovery, always with an element of surprise.

You're invited come view, experience and perceive her art in your own way.

Lake County Wine Studio is located on the corner of First and Main streets in historic Upper Lake, across from the famous Tallman Hotel and Blue Wing Saloon & Café.

For more information, call Susan Feiler at 707-275-8030 or 707-293-8752.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The community is invited to attend the AIDSWALK Lake County 2010 Planning Meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 4.

The meeting will begin at 1 p.m. at the CCHAP Drop-in Center, located at 14644-B Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake.

The meeting is open to all interested county citizens. Creative input and assistance to prepare for a successful AIDSWALK is welcomed and appreciated.

The AIDSWALK event will take place on Sept. 18 in Clearlake's Austin Park.

For more information call Michelle or Ken at 707-995-1606.