It’s All Here
Let me begin with a shout out to the Sunset Center for consistently providing a stellar experience and excellent entertainment with great diversity in the concerts and performances they produce. The recent Christone “Kingfish” Ingram concert was outstanding! Thank you for bringing him to Carmel. Kingfish is an amazing young blues artist for those who don’t know. The Sunset Center is an extraordinary venue and I encourage you to experience it.
Whether you are a visitor or a local, you know how special this area is. Arguably among the best places to live in the world. With all there is to do within a 30-minute drive in any direction, there is never a lack of options. We have it all right here—spectacular scenery, vast microclimates, vibrant art and artist communities, great shopping, dining and wine tasting, the mountains and the ocean, and so much more.
This is the exciting time of year that festivals kick in, with events like the recent Pacific Grove Good Old Days, the Carmel Art Festival, the Carmel-by-the-Sea Culinary Week, the fantastic West End Celebration in Sand City and, of course, the annual Car Week festivities. And in the fall, we have the longest running jazz festival in the entire world, the 67th Monterey Jazz Festival.
In this issue, we guide you through many of the various Car Week festivities day by day. Our coverage begins on page 115. We also unveil a new electric vehicle with a classic familiarity for my demographic (old) LOL! The RBW EV car is a modern twist on the old MGB. These beautiful cars will be unveiled here in August at Pebble Beach and, with their incredible attention to detail and outstanding craftsmanship, it is well worth seeking them out during Car Week. The RBW company is based in England, and they flew out our reporter Michael Chatfield for a firsthand look at the factory and a test drive. See the exclusive story on page 142.
Our cover photo was taken by the talented automotive photographer, Jeff Bushnell. Sticking with the automotive theme, Jeff’s fine work is also found starting on page 136.
As with all our past 24 years of Carmel Magazine, there is a vast array of subject matter featured. So, if cars aren’t your thing, please check out our art and dining features as well as the historical in-depth look at the pioneering early California artist E. Charlton Fortune on page 148 and a deep dive into the local Esselen Tribe who have been here in Monterey County for thousands of years (see page 168).
In this issue we launch a new page which features a local volunteer. Meet Susan Joens a longtime volunteer at the SPCA who is known as the “cat whisperer.” If you know of an individual who dedicates their time and deserves recognition, please drop me an email at steve@carmelmagazine.com for consideration.
In fact, we are always seeking good content to feature in future editions and ideas often come from our readers. If you have ideas that you think would be a good fit for Carmel Magazine, I would love to see them.
We are going into our 25th year in 2025. That will mark 100 issues and what a ride it’s been. We could not have done it without the advertisers who have supported us along the way nor the readers who have supported our advertisers. We also could not have succeeded without the contributors who continue to keep the magazine interesting. Thank you to all the people who helped us get here. The thing about this wonderful area we call home is the abundance of history, culture, art, music, agriculture, nature and the people who make up our communities. Therefore, there will never be a shortage of things to write about and feature in these pages, and for that I am happy.
Enjoy the summer!