A celebration with spikes: The Mendocino Urchin Festival boasts walks, talks, and flavor

MENDOCINO COUNTY... has so many pretty pleasures, from its foggy and atmospheric aura to its salty cottage style to all of those glorious and gargantuan redwoods. But for plenty of people, the enticement of this enticing area is truly about a critter that is on the smaller side, and the spikier side, and the super-purple side, too. We are singing the praises of the amazing urchin here, an ocean-dwelling invertebrate that both catches the eye and the imagination. And, of course, the attention of gourmands; the purple urchins, those "delicious, invasive, spiky creatures," are known to pop up on many plates around the food-loving region. To honor this just-offshore delicacy there is the Mendocino Urchin Festival, which kicks off its third go-around on June 7.

WADING INTO THE WAVES... to meet urchins? That's not necessary, but worry not: There will be ocean-close activities, like a fascinating low-tide walk on June 8 led by artists and educators from the area. An SCP Hotels Campfire Ranger Talk will pop up on June 14, while sampling both farmed and wild uni is part of the Open House at Urchin Ranch on June 15. And if it is uni you crave, urchin aficionados, you'll want to check out the special menus around the area. Adding to the flavor of this week-plus celebration? A Six-Course Uni Repast and Whiskey Pairing at Little River Inn on June 15. For more on this annual urchin-stravaganza, as well as the Walking Tour of Noyo Harbor on June 16 and the vibrant and ongoing North Coast KelpFest, visit the Mendocino Urchin Festival site now.