I've just returned from my exciting trip to Mendocino, CA -
I was invited by the great Herb Stratford to do some programs at the Mendocino Film Festival, in this Northern California gem of a town, which was made famous by the classic 1969 hit by the Sir Douglas Quintet. Also, it was the filming location of the famous 1950's James Dean movie, "East of Eden" (along with Salinas and Monterey).
But my first stop was in Sacramento, where two of my cousins were promoting their business, Nitty's Cider, by having a lively party at their tasting bar in downtown Sacramento. Since I designed the company's logo, I was invited to do caricatures of all their guests. They had a great lap-steel guitar band, which seemed very appropriate since that's the favored instrument of Slide, the main character in my upcoming animated feature, also named "Slide".
The next day, I drove the winding narrow back roads, 200 miles to Mendocino. It's a charming, historic, cookie-cutter town overlooking a cliff above the shark-infested Pacific Ocean below. Herb put together a great list of films. He also kept me busy, with an animation panel, a work-in-progress screening of clips from "Slide", a Master Class, and finally a screening of 10 of my favorite Plymptoons.
I was lucky to stay at the Stanford Inn, a delightful hotel nestled in the forests of Mendocino. I even got my own fireplace - lah-de-dah!
The opening night gala was terrific! And even though I knew nobody there, and the weather sucked, it was all rain and fog - they had unlimited fresh oysters and wine, now THAT'S how to throw a party. I eventually met a lot of people and fans, and had a great time there.
Even though it was a crazy drive to get there - it was still worth the trip. I love the Mendocino Film Festival!
--Bill P.
