Not the Same Old Brunch for Mother’s Day!

Brunch is nothing more than breakfast with a markup. The mother in your life can get eggs and French toast any time she wants, so why not give her a fun new experience, one tailored to tickle the fancy of moms young and old alike?

GATOR BY THE BAY FESTIVAL

If she’s into live music, beer, crawfish, dancing, and all things New Orleans, take her down to the Spanish Landing, for the 7th annual Gator by the Bay Festival. On both Saturday and Sunday, more than 25 bands will play live Zydeco, Cajun, Blues, Swing, and Country music. Plus, there will be a crawfish boil using the 8000 pounds of crawfish brought LIVE from Louisiana. Every hour there will be crawfish-eating lessons to show you how to get the most meat out of those mini-lobsters.

Saturday, May 10 – Sunday, May 11
10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Spanish Landing Park
North Harbor Drive
Harbor Island
Cost: $20 general admission
Info: (619) 234-8612 or gatorbythebay.com

WINE TASTING

If the festival sounds too chaotic for the lady you have in mind, and if she’s into fine spirits, take her for an afternoon or evening of wine tasting!

Saturday at Tango Wine in Little Italy, there will be an Old World Wine class from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. -- for $10 you can sample five distinct wines from Spain and nibble on cheese, bread, and fruit. On Sunday you can try the New Age wines of Argentina (they go great over ice with a lime!) at 2pm for $1 per taste, or $5 a glass. (2161 India Street, San Diego; 619-564-7700; tangowine.com)

On Sunday at Vino 100 in San Marcos, you taste wines for $20 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. (133 S. Las Posas Road #142, San Marcos; 760-591-3113)

Other fun place to wine include Wine Steals in Hillcrest, Sogno DiVino in Little Italy, and the Grape downtown.

SLEEPOVER AT THE SAN DIEGO ZOO

If you’re a family of animal lovers, the San Diego Zoo is hosting a Mother’s Day sleepover! For $109 per adult members and $121 for nonmembers, this is for adult women of 21 and up and their children over 4 only. This sleepover is Saturday night, and includes a private bus tour, dinner at Camp Timbuktu, and an introduction to some of the zoo’s mammalian mothers, along with other bits of entertainment and treats, ending with breakfast and a guided tour on Sunday.

(4 p.m. to 9 a.m., ZooSleepover)

CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL

Make it a weekend, and ease into Sunday with something sweet on Saturday, at the Quail Botanical Gardens’ Chocolate Festival! This would be another great thing to do with young children, as there will be plenty of children’s activities, and, of course, chocolate.

Cost: Admission to the Gardens plus the purchase of tasting tickets as desired.
Admission: Adults $10, Seniors, students, active military $7, Kids ages 3-12 $5; Members, kids ages 2 and under FREE.
For more information call 760/ 436-3036 x206 or visit www.qbgardens.org
230 Quail Gardens Drive
Encinitas, California