Novato. Land of abandoned airport hangars and ’80s suburban sprawl . . . or so it would seem. Long inhabited by the Coast Miwok, Novato was settled by whites via Mexican land grant issued in 1839—and soon after, with what this writer considers the most photogenic oak-to-grassland ratio in California on surrounding hillsides, the Novato Festival of Arts, Wine and Music attracted a crowd exactly 116 percent larger than the population of the city. Beer. Wine. Food. Music. You know the drill. Get your summer on with headliners Chuck Prophet, Cold Blood and others on Saturday and Sunday, June 9–10, in downtown Novato. Grant Avenue between Redwood Boulevard and Seventh Street. 10am–7pm. $5. 415.897.1164.
