Inside is overrated: The SLO Botanical Garden is celebrating harvest season with a slew of fun outdoor events that meld education and deliciousness in a natural setting. Love the idea of producing your own local honey? Sign up for a class on backyard beekeeping, kicking off Oct. 8, or grab the kids and partake in a Children’s Garden Fresh Cooking Class this Oct. 9 and make use of those fall veggies. For more information, go to slobg.org … The Food Bank Coalition of SLO County recently received $9,800 grant from The Community Foundation San Luis Obispo County that will be used to bolster a very cool cause. The Children’s Farmers Market program gives needy kids access to farmers market veggies free of cost and encourages them to experience agriculture in a hands-on way. That means the next generation will harbor a healthy respect for the earth and know where their food is grown—a gift every parent can get behind.

Winning wineries

Twenty years strong: Paso Robles mainstay Hope Family Wines recently celebrated two decades in business! Celebrate this historic occasion by checking out their newly remodeled Treanna tasting room, partake in happy hour specials, and prepare your taste buds for a Bacon and Wine tasting planned for Harvest Wine Weekend this November. (Bacon and wine? Why didn’t we think of it first?) For lots of fun stuff happening at Hope, go to hopefamilywines.com … Parrish Family Vineyard is proud to announce that four of its current releases have earned scores of 91 points or above in the September 2016 issue of Wine Enthusiast magazine, including their 2012 Silken Reserve Red, 2013 Silken Reserve Red, 2012 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, and 2013 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (you might want to stop by the tasting room and try these star wines for yourself; go to parrishvineyards.com).

Fall flavor fun

Red, rich, and remarkable: Cab lovers should mark Oct.14 on their planners. Why? The Paso Robles Cabernet and Bordeaux Collective will hold its annual CABs of Distinction Grand Tasting, bringing consumers face-to-face with acclaimed producers of more than 75 different cabernet and red Bordeaux varieties from Paso Robles. The event will take place at the picturesque Allegretto Vineyard Resort, from 4 to 6 p.m. Oh—and whatever you do, don’t wear white! (pasoroblescab.com) … TGIF: Bristol’s Cider House in Atascadero knows how to party, mate! Every Friday, grab $5 pints, enjoy live music, and nosh on cider press sandwiches like fried chicken with poppy seed cole slaw and warm bacon apple cider vinaigrette (plus, you can bring the kids and the dogs, too)! For more information, go to bristolscider.com. 

Hayley Thomas loves Thursdays most of all, because that’s the day she gets her weekly salmon fix. She can be reached at [email protected].