The 2^nd Annual Burnal Equinox takes place on March 3 from 12:00 P.M. to 1:00 A.M. at the Miners Foundry. This event features Burning Man related vendors, food, costumes, mini camps, and more. There will be live entertainment, including Albino! a 10-piece Afro-funk band from San Francisco. Purchase tickets in advance online HERE.

Come join us at the 23^rd Annual Psychic Fair where you will enjoy lectures, workshops and readings. There will also be vendors offering artisan jewelry, clothing, lotions and potions,  and gems and crystals. Entertainment includes music by Lasher Keen, The Blackbird Quartet, the Billzillionairs, and belly dancing. This event takes place on March 24 from 11:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M. and March 25 11:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. at the Miners Foundry and costs only $5.00 per person.

Take a hike! Docent guided Wild Flower Walks will be held every weekend beginning March 17 through May 13 from 11:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. at the South Yuba River State Park. Bring a lunch, snacks, good walking shoes and a camera. Take in the flowers and views of the South Yuba River on the Buttermilk Bend Trail. For more information call the Park Visitor Center at 530-432-2546 or visit their website at www.southyubariverstatepark.org. This is a fun, family event and you can support our local park by donating a suggested $3.

For a new way to see Nevada City, go on a food tour! We highly recommend Local Roots Food Tours for a fun and interesting way to discover Nevada City for first-time tourists or return visitors. Read our blog on our food tour experience by clicking on the blog tab above or clicking HERE.

Once a month, join local bird expert Bill Cortright on a birding expedition along the South Fork of the Yuba River. The 2012 schedule is posted on the South Yuba River State Park website or click HERE.

Come into town for SYRCL‘s 10th annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival! This year, the three-day environmental film festival is on January 13, 14, and 15 in and around Nevada City. Each year, the Festival draws in top filmmakers, celebrities, leading activists, social innovators and well-known world adventurers to the largest film festival of it’s kind. The films show all over Nevada City, including the Miners Foundry, the Nevada Theatre, the Veterans Hall, and many more locations (almost all are walking distance, too!). This is one of Nevada City’s biggest events and is worth going to! If you plan on coming next year, make your reservations as soon as possible. Accommodations fill up as far as one year in advance. We hope you can join us for this fabulous, one-of-a-kind festival!

The Nevada City Chamber of Commerce, Nevada County Arts, and SYRCL present the 2012 Wild & Scenic Art & Wine Stroll on Saturday, January 14 from 4:30-6:30 pm. Tickets are $15 for the Wine Stroll, but art is on display throughout the town (free for viewing). The Wine Stroll includes 7 local wineries, including BYOB, Szabo, Clavey, and Nevada City Winery; art is on display at over 30 local businesses and buildings. The Art & Wine Stroll is a great way to stretch your legs after a long day of film watching!

Off Broadstreet Theater is bringing back by popular demand the musical comedy, Angry Housewives. Set in Seattle in the early ’80s, this cult classic tells the story of four conservative, middle-aged women who start a punk rock band. This performance is directed at an adult audience and may not be appropriate for the whole family. Catch a showing on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:15, January 13-February 18 (plus Sunday January 29th at 2:00 pm. Tickets are $22 on opening weekend, $24 for the Sunday matinee, and $27 for all of the other showings. We highly recommend making reservations well in advance.

For years, John McCutcheon has been performing annually in Nevada County. His lively concerts show off both his musical talents and his amazing storytelling. McCutcheon is in town for just one night–January 19. Doors open at 7:00 pm and the show starts at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $18 for KVMR members, $20 in advance, $22 at the door, and $30 for an advance reserve ticket which includes early entry and a free beverage. You won’t want to miss this entertaining and enjoyable performance!

The Gold Country Celtic Society is hosting the 21st annual Robert Burns Celebration: Dinner and Ceilidh on January 21 at the Miners Foundry. Doors open at 4:00 pm and dinner seating begins at 5:30 pm. After dinner will be a traditional Scottish Ceilidh featuring the music and singing of The Trinity Ensemble and The Ingersoll Family Pipes and Drums. Tickets are $55, which includes dinner and a show!

Sierra Stages presents Death of a Salesman at the Nevada Theatre starting January 25. This famous 20th Century drama is playing in town until February 12. There is one Wednesday showing, on January 25 at 7:00 pm, then it plays every Thursday at 7:00 pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm, and Sundays (February 5 and 12 only) at 2:00 pm. Tickets are only $18 if purchased before January 27, $20 on or after January 27, and $30 for reserved seating. Tickets are available online (HERE for general admission, HERE for reserved seating), Nevada City Box Office at Miners Foundry, The Book Seller, and Briar Patch Co-Op, or by calling 530-346-3210.

Coming Soon! The annual Masquerade Ball and Mardi Gras Parade are on Saturday, February 18, and Sunday, February 19, respectively. Make your arrangements soon!

This information is also available on our events page at broadstreetinn.com/events. Also, check out the Nevada City Chamber of Commerce events page at www.nevadacitychamber.com/blog.

I joined in on Eric’s tour last weekend and learned so much about the place I call my hometown! The tour meets at Calahan Park, then heads over to Cafe Mekka. Cory, the owner, gave each person on the tour a taste of three of his favorite coffees. He also talked about where he gets his coffee, which is from Temple Coffee Roasters out of Sacramento, (we buy our coffee from him, so if you stay with us, you can taste some of the delicious Temple coffee!) and why he prefers it over other roasters.

Eric then took us over to the National Hotel where he talked about the history of the hotel and its significance of the town and the Gold Rush. We then went to Lefty’s Grill where we tried their delicious Italian Butcher pizza. Lefty’s has won awards for their Napa Style Pizza, which has a balsamic drizzle over pears, gorgonzola, mozzarella, olive oil, and fresh herbs. Their flat bread pizzas are all grilled in the pizza oven.

The tour moved on to Nevada City Winery, and on the way Eric talked about the Powell House which has just been recently remodeled. Each of the patrons on the tour were welcome to try the many different kinds of wine that Nevada City Winery offers. While at the tasting room, we were also offered to try Calolea Meyer Lemon Olive Oil and their Traditional Balsamic Vinegar. (Interested more about the wine at Nevada City Winery? Read my blog about the day I watched them press the grapes HERE.)

Once we left Nevada City Winery (which took much coaxing!), Eric talked about the history of the Miners Foundry. We then headed up to Elevensies where we got to try both sweet (Pumpkin Pie) and savory (The Petey Pie) crepes. (Read my blog from when Elevensies first opened, HERE.) While everyone was munching on their crepes, Eric led us up to our place, where everyone got a brief tour of the Broad Street Inn. We headed back downtown and enjoyed some delicious homemade treats from the Nevada City Chocolate Shoppe. They gave us samples of their famous Gold Miners’ Delight and a pecan turtle. After everyone finished–and after a few bought some fudge–we headed over to Sopa Thai. They brought out a few of their most popular dishes, which were all big hits.

We were running short on time so we didn’t go up Coyote Street. We then went to Deer Creek Inn where we were offered yummy homemade cookies. The tour then ended at the Stonehouse. The tour was 3 hours long, but went by very quickly. Patrons leave full of delicious food and a good idea of places they would like to return to. We highly recommend going on this tour whether you know the town like the back of your hand or it’s your first visit to Nevada City! Don’t forget about their food tour in Sacramento too!

For more photos from the tour, check out our Flickr page HERE.

SYRCL (South Yuba River Citizens League) has been working hard to protect and restore the Yuba River since 1983. Read more about the organization on their website.

The second play that LeGacy is putting on this holiday season is David Sedaris’ Santaland Diaries. This one man show tells David’s story of working as an elf at Macy’s Santaland. This hilarious production is perfect for a night away from the kids. LeGacy suggests that this performance is for “mature elves only.” Playing at Off Center Stage in Grass Valley, this show is playing until December 24 as well. Tickets are around $20-$25.

You don’t want to miss either of these productions, so catch them before they leave!

These earth friendly napkins are made in Nevada City of 100% cotton and come in a variety of sizes such as party, lunch, beverage and appetizer. You can purchase Stack’d Everyday Napkins at the A.P.P.L.E. Center and HAALo in Nevada City as well as ASiF Studios in Grass Valley. Stack’d Everyday Napkins can also be found on Etsy. During the holidays we will also be selling their holiday-themed napkins.

Have you ever stopped to think about the work put into the making of your glass of wine? Today when I was downtown, I saw the staff at Nevada City Winery work on one of the first steps of winemaking. The grapes came from a vineyard in Clarksburg, CA. The grapes are white grapes and were being made into Chardonnay. Although you can grow grapes to make Chardonnay in Nevada County, it is a little too warm, according to someone from Sierra Starr Winery who was waiting to pick up his grapes. He explained the process to me. It starts with a bin containing just under one ton, or 2,000 pounds, of grapes. The grapes are slowly dumped into a hopper where the stems and leaves are removed. From there, they fall into a crusher where the juicing process begins. The juice that the grapes make is called must. It contains the skins and isn’t filtered, so it’s pretty thick. The must is pushed to the last step, the press, where the skins are removed and the must is filtered. The product is moved inside where they begin to ferment it. Mark, the very experienced winemaker for Nevada City Winery, was outside helping with this process. If you would like to watch this in action, you can see it all from the deck at Nevada City Winery. If you want to taste the end product, both Sierra Starr and Nevada City Winery uses these grapes to create Chardonnay. Click on the photos below to view them larger or visit our Flickr to see them.

On Sunday from 7:00-10:30 a.m., the pancake breakfast returns to Seaman’s Lodge, still only $6 per person. At 11:00 a.m., the last reenactment takes place at Pioneer Park. This is the only Sunday showing, but is before the parade so you don’t miss out on anything. Watch the historic reenactment of the signing of the United States Constitution at Broad and Pine Streets at 1:30 p.m. At 2:00 is the Constitution Day Parade which starts at the top of Broad (right in front of the inn!) and makes its way down to the bottom of Broad.

If you can’t find parking in town, there is free parking at the Nevada County Government Center at Hwy 49 and Maidu Ave. Take the shuttle into town and Pioneer Park for $3 (all day pass). If you dress up in historical costume, the shuttle service is free! You can also choose to walk, it’s about 0.5 miles to downtown, and about 1.0 mile to Pioneer Park.

Enjoy your weekend!

Update: Here are some photos from the weekend, but you can see more on our Flickr site!