Stephanie Moore, very graciously, hosted the monthly meeting of the Tourism Lake County group this last Tuesday at the Black Rock Golf Course. Tourism Lake County (TLC) is the “feet on the ground” support team for the newly developed Lake County Tourism Improvement District.
Thirteen members of the TLC group representing wineries, the Historical Society, local media, restaurants, hotels and CTA’s were all in attendance at the meeting where a wonderfully informative and emotional presentation was shared by Jessica Pyska, Cathy McCarthy and Eliot Hurwitz, all of the Cobb Area Council.
Cobb Area Council is a group of people that got busy after the Valley Fire as they realized that the county had their hands full and was not in a position to address some of the concerns that were being felt by locals. They are very proud of the fact that some of their learning has also been beneficial to communities outside of Lake Co. as they recently hosted a group from Paradise and shared what they have experienced.
Early last spring, the Cobb Area Council (CAC) created a committee called “What’s up on Cobb?” with a focus on bringing the fun back to the mountain. Last week they held a Village Night at the Hardester’s shopping center, where friends and neighbors mingled and visited, listened to live music and enjoyed wonderful food. The Brick Oven Pizza Parlor, located in the shopping center, suggested that it was their best night of business since the new owners took over last winter! They have also been working to create Fire-Wise neighborhoods (they are up to four now) and are pleased to be discovering that many people from out of town are coming to their community to raise families and start businesses.
Their most heartfelt news was about their upcoming Blackberry COBBler Festival on Saturday, August 24th from 12-5pm at Whispering Pines Resort (WPR). There will be live music, a BBQ, blackberry ice cream sundaes, lots of vendors and of course… a cobbler contest!
You probably didn’t know that WPR is a beautiful 10-acre facility that has been owned and operated by the Strickler family for five generations. Jake Strickler, who came back to Cobb after college to take on the management of the resort, has joined the Cobb Area Council and is eager to be a part of rebuilding the community.
Something else very special about this event is that numerous other key community members and many of the artists featured will be those who were displaced by the Valley Fire. Each of them is returning to the place they loved so dearly to help breath life back into a struggling but ever resilient community.
We should all put this one on our calendars and do our best to attend and support this outstanding effort!
Then…keep your eyes on the old Howard Hot Springs. Being referred to as the Kokoro Project, a 40 unit resort with three individual hot springs is underway.
If you hurry you can still spend a day…or a week, at Pine Grove Resort, enjoying the spring-fed pool which is only open until Sept. 2 when it closes for the winter and reopens again in May. You can rent a cabin or pitch a tent and enjoy the sound of Kelsey Creek and all of its surrounding beauty or go have lunch at the Pine Grove Poolside Grill where they serve grass-fed beef hamburgers and other amazing food. The pool is open from 10am-6pm seven days a week and food are served from 11am-5pm.
And while you weren’t looking, Jellystone Park, on Bottle Rock Rd., turned into Mandala Springs. A complete renewal of the space has been undertaken to provide an alcohol-free, yoga haven and Golfers…a new clubhouse and restaurant are in the works at Adam Springs Golf Course looking to be open next summer!!
All of you cyclists will be thrilled to know that Boggs Mountain Demonstration Forest is on the fast track to becoming one of the premier mountain biking destinations in the nation. The Friends of Boggs Mountain is partnering with REI and the Redwood Mountain Biking Alliance (REMBA) on a five-year plan to build over 25 miles of trails, and all the while, California Dept. of Forestry (Cal-Fire) will continue their studies of the forest. The Laboratory lives on!
It seems that Cobb Area is on the path to becoming an even finer and more closely-knit community than it already was…keep them in your prayers and on your radar…they are making things happen!
