Our View: A day when Crescent City's the place to be

Today's mixed weather forecast is not exactly guaranteeing cloudless skies and a hot start to the summer. Sometimes the forecasters are wrong, but it might not be the day for a hike in the redwoods or a long drive along the coast.

It might be just the day, however, to catch one or more of a plethora of activities on the local scene:

•Beginning at 8 a.m. (sorry if you slept in), you can watch enormous artwork materialize in a matter of hours during the Redwood Mural Society's "Mural in a Day" project on a wall of Del Norte Office Supply, 240 I St. Local artists will simultaneously apply brush to brick on various sections of designer Art Mortimer's "Tsunami!"

We'll be looking at this historical and artistic tribute to the catastrophic tidal wave of '64 for years to come, but today is the only day to watch it taking shape.

•At 10 a.m., the third annual Summer Street Fair kicks off in the adjacent parking lot, Tsunami Landing and elsewhere downtown. In addition to live music and dance demonstrations, games, karaoke, Fun Bus tours, food and sidewalk sales, there will be a tsunami survivors storytelling tent. Free tours of Crescent City's other murals depart at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. from Del Norte Office Supply.

•From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. over at the fairgrounds, you can peruse locally grown food and crafts at the year's first farmer's market. This is a chance to not only buy fresh produce, but also meet the growers.

•The action at the fairgrounds actually starts even earlier, with the Del Norte County Health Fair running from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. More than 40 vendors will set up booths inside the main building and provide information about healthy living, social services, support groups, safety and wellness, along with activities for children and fitness demonstrations. Throw in the live entertainment, and this free event is just one more local place to be today.

•Beginning at 9 a.m., a unique opportunity for the public to suggest ideas for improving existing roadways in the northwest corner of the county continues at the Smith River Rancheria's Road Planning Design Fair. A walking tour and design workshop are scheduled today before the event wraps up Monday with a closing workshop and design presentation from 6 to 8 p.m. at the rancheria's How-on-quet Hall Community Center.

We're fast approaching the traditional Fourth of July celebration that attracts thousands of visitors to Crescent City for the annual parade, deck party, art show, Beachfront Park family fair and fireworks.

Consider today's impressive menu of local events a preview, and a reminder that there's plenty happening right here in Del Norte County that you can get to without draining a tankful of gasoline.