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Big Sur Food & Wine Festival Thursday-Sunday, Nov. 2-5 Various locations in Big Sur T he community of Big Sur has taken some massive hits in the past year : fires, nearly 100 inches of rain, rockslides, bridge collapses. Businesses suffered and so did residents, many of whom were directly impacted or worked at these businesses. Organizers say this year's Big Sur Food & Wine Festival, which had to take 2015 off and was seriously impacted last year, is the "most anticipated festival yet." Returning are festival favorites such as "Wine & Swine," Pinot Walkabout," "Hiking With Stemware," "Magical Mystery Tour," as well as a new feature "A Return to the Big Sur Jazz Festival," which can easily become a new festival favorite. Exemplary wines, incredible dishes from top chefs, live music, all in the paradise called Big Sur. What more could you ask for? www.bigsurfoodandwine.org. Shemekia Copeland Saturday, Nov. 11, 8pm Sunset Center, Carmel S unset Center may want to shore up its roof before Nov. 11, because blues belter Shemekia Copeland will try her best to blow it off that night. The Harlem-born firebrand is the daughter of the late, great bluesman Johnny Copeland, joining his band when she was only 16 and opening (and often stealing) his shows. She released her debut album "Turn the Heat Up" in 1998 when she was only 18. The acco- lades came fast and furious, as did numerous Grammy nominations, eight Blues Music Awards, an opening slot for the Rolling Stones and more. The Chicago Sun Times put it perfectly: "Shemekia's a ball-of-fire vocalist with a voice that's par t Memphis, par t Chicago and all woman…devastatingly powerful. She's a great singer, period." About her latest album on the Alligator Records label, Copeland says, "I'm an old soul marching to the beat of my own drum, and right now I'm making the most exciting music of my career." Hard to deny that. www.sunsetcenter.org. Battle of the Cans Sunday, Nov. 19, 4pm Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel & Spa N o, you won't see cans of food battling it out at this inaugural event, but you will see student musicians from Monterey and Pacific Grove high schools jam with their own bands, and the two schools battle it out to see which school can come up with the most cans of food to donate to the Food Bank for Monterey County. Adult admission is $50, but students can get in with cans of food; the more the merrier. KRML community radio will be on hand to officiate the battle, which will feature giant weight scales, and the school with the most cans will win $250 for their school's music program. A portion of the admission ticket also goes to the food bank, so this battle is a win- win, no matter who comes up with the most cans. Admission also includes wine from Twisted Roots, beer from Alvarado Street Brewery and appetizers from the Hyatt. A great way to kick off the holiday season and feed a family for the holidays. monterey.regency.hyatt.com. 19th Annual Monterey Cowboy Poetry & Music Festival Saturday, Dec. 2, 7:30pm Golden State Theatre, Monterey T his cowboy poetry and music fest has gone through some big changes in its 19 years, new organizers, different venues, different for- EVERYONE LOVES A LIST, RIGHT? HERE ARE MY PICKS FOR FUN EVENTS WORTH CHECKING OUT IN MONTEREY COUNTY! ADMIT ONE W I T H M A C M C D O N A L D ADMIT ONE W I T H M A C M Big Sur Food & Wine Festival is Nov 2-5 at various locations in Big Sur. 98 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • H O L I D A Y 2 0 1 7 Photo: Michelle Magdalena