The Solar Living Institute promotes sustainable living. Located in Hopland, California (about 90 miles north of San Francisco) the institute includes the Solar Living Center, a large solar array, an organic farm, and a biodiesel fueling station. Tour the lovely Solar Living Center, and you’ll see and experience many different kinds of sustainable architecture and alternative energy generation technologies at work. Be forewarned, though: you may want to move in! Admission is free; donations are encouraged. Sign up in advance for one of the popular hands-on workshops, or time your visit in August to catch the annual SolFest celebration.

The highly anticipated four-day California’s Artisan Cheese Festival returns to the Sheraton Sonoma County. The nonprofit festival celebrates the artisan cheesemaking community by bringing cheese lovers together to support, enjoy, and learn more about handcrafted artisan cheeses. The Artisan Cheese Festival’s action-packed weekend boasts a line-up of top artisan cheese experts, authors, chefs, and winemakers conducting seminars, pairings, tastings, and cheese-filled demonstrations. A full list of participants will be released over the course of the next couple of weeks, but a few of the 2010 headliners include: Laura Werlin, Clark Wolf, Janet Fletcher, Sue Conley and Peg Smith, Will Edwards, Juliana Uruburu, and Chef John Ash and Chef Andy Wild.