The national, grassroots nonprofit-organization Sister District Project supports progressive Democratic political candidates in red or swing states by organizing political volunteers in blue districts to lend a hand.

Much like how Sister Cities promote cultural and social ties between socially-distant populations, the Sister District Project matches politically-blue districts with politically-red or swing districts elsewhere, so that Democratic activists in places like Sonoma County can channel their volunteers and their economic resources toward races that are both significant and winnable for progressives across the country.

In 2019, Sister District Project supported 27 races, with more than 23,000 donations averaging $24.57 each and over 31,000 volunteer-hours logged in the field.

For 2020, the project’s focus is to end gerrymandering in red districts, end widespread voter suppression in red states and help defeat President Trump by getting Democrats elected to state legislatures across the country.

In the North Bay, the East and West Sonoma County chapters of the Sister District Project combined their resources to host an online virtual fundraiser, Auction for Action, in support of three Democratic candidates running for state offices in Georgia, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

The 10-day Auction for Action virtual fundraiser opens for online bidding June 17 and runs through June 27, ending with a live virtual event on June 27 at 4pm. The online auction is uniquely designed to safely raise political awareness and funds during the ongoing Covid-19 crisis.

“This upcoming election is especially important as the state legislatures in 37 states will be redrawing district lines,” says Rebecca Casciani, cofounder of Sister District Sonoma County East Chapter. “It is time to stop partisan gerrymandering.”

The West and East Sonoma County chapters of the Sister District Project are among the fastest-growing groups of the project’s progressive volunteers, and both chapters are striving to make an impact in the November 2020 elections by helping candidates in red states turn their state legislatures blue.

The Sonoma County West Sister District is specifically raising funds to support Shea Roberts, who hopes to join Georgia’s state legislature in November. The Sonoma County East Sister District supports Brittney Rodas, who is running for Pennsylvania State House, and Robyn Vining, an incumbent Democrat in the Wisconsin State Assembly.

Although the global coronavirus outbreak brought an immediate halt to planning in-person fundraisers, Sister District organizers quickly realized that online events offer a convenient way to reach even larger audiences.

“We’re not going to let a quarantine keep us from winning in November,” says Mary Radu, cofounder of the West Sonoma County chapter, which has supported eight candidates since its inception in 2017 in a variety of community-building fundraisers, including a paella feed and a popular annual clothing swap. “We think 2020 is our best chance to turn red states blue.”

The two Sonoma County chapters’ combined Auction for Action includes art created by talented local artists such as Marylu Downing and Elizabeth Peyton alongside many other artworks and crafts by various artisans. Bidders can also choose to bid on packages such as handyman services from Mark Miller, Sonoma County’s “Mench with a Wrench,” stays in several vacation homes, VIP wines and cheese tours at Cline Cellars in Sonoma, a tasting tour of Benizger’s Sonoma Mountain Estate and winery tram, an annual pass to Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, gift certificates at local restaurants and stores, and much more. Direct donations can also be made to the project on the auction site. Additionally, an anonymous donor will match the amount raised for candidates.

The Sonoma County Chapters of Sister District Project host Auction for Action online Wednesday, June 17 through Saturday, June 27, when a live virtual auction caps off the event at 4pm. Visit Facebook or email [email protected] for more information.

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When the Covid-19 pandemic forced North Bay theater companies to shutter their stage productions in March, many theaters took to the Internet to continue their work.

Some have taken to Zoom for live-streaming presentations of their productions, others are putting up videos of past productions for viewing.

The Cloverdale Performing Arts Center is taking a new route for their stay-at-home plans by undertaking a series of social media-based entertainment programs like the center’s online Dead Poets Society, led by Cloverdale native and CPAC resident director Amy Lovato.

“When the theatre shut down, I reached out to the board and Artistic Director Yavé Guzmán, to see what the future held,” Lovato says. “It was hard to hear that the theatre may not survive the shutdown due to cancelled performances and no known date to re-open.”

Lovato teamed up with fellow CPAC director and actor Alessandra Ziviani to think about how they could produce a form of programming for patrons and the North Bay community that would also benefit the performing arts center.

With the board’s encouragement, they went forward with three social media campaigns; “Make-Up Mondays”, which provides theatrical make-up tutorials; “FlashBack Fridays” where the performing arts center posts photos, videos or slideshows of productions from the past and the new Dead Poets Society.

“As far as CPAC’s Dead Poets Society is concerned, we wanted there to be an outlet for the community to express themselves during this time, and poetry is such a versatile piece of art,” Lovato says. “It can be read, performed and interpreted in so many ways. Poetry is also a wonderful form of self-expression, which gives people a way to release pent-up emotions in a creative way; especially during shelter in place, when emotions are running high.”

Already, the poetry series has uploaded dozens of videos on YouTube, where poets and non-poets alike. Participants can recite their own words, or –if they can’t find the words themselves, or aren’t interested in writing their own poetry– participants can choose one of the many poetic works that can be found within the public domain; which is what led Lovato to the name “Dead Poets Society.” Poetry that is not within the public domain is also able to be performed under the principle of fair use.

“Social media is an open platform for sharing creativity and self-expression and the easiest way to reach the community during a shutdown,” Lovato says. “Kim Ziviani, a former CPAC board member, aptly nicknamed our Dead Poets Society artists ‘The Pandemic Players,’ which I thought was appropriate. But, CPAC’s Dead Poets Society is a way for everyone to engage as much or as little as they want.”

Anyone in the community can send Lovato and CPAC any poetry that they would like to see read, or they can participate by sending CPAC their own poetry videos and “check in” at CPAC when they post to Facebook or Instagram. The society encourages participants to base their poems on the weekly themes that the society takes on, with recent themes concerning injustice, love and nature. Those who simply want to watch the poetry videos can easily find them on CPAC’s Youtube, and the other social media programs can also be found on the center’s Facebook page.

The community artists that have lent their talents on camera include Lovato and Ziviani as well as Beulah Vega, Arte L Whyte, Jonathan Graham, Christopher Johnston, William B Thompson, Karen Lovato, Caitlin Morrison, Dan Stryker, Nichole Phillips, Dawn Gibson, Marisha Zeffer, Emily Stryker, Joe Dobbins, Guy Conner, Seana Maclure, Ashlyn Delfino, Tania Richardson, Dobie Edmonds, Jude Gibson, Angela Squire, José Esparza, Domenic Bianco, Bob Williams, Linda Hughes Freeth, Sarah Bird, and Scarlett Johnston, Jessika Ceniceros and Kim Ziviani.

“We welcome feedback and invite the community to share their ideas for themes for upcoming weeks,” Lovato says. “When we started we had no idea how long we’d be putting these things together, so it’s definitely a work in progress. We’ve adjusted our schedule a few times, and will continue to do so. We love to see how people interpret the theme each week!”

Lovato adds that the video series’ ultimate goal is to create a continued collaboration with the community, partially to stay relevant during the theatre’s closure, but mostly to give an outlet to those that may want or need one during this time.

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For the last two weeks, peaceful protests around the North Bay and around the country have dominated headlines, as scores of citizens have taken to the streets to demand major changes to policing and to renew the call that “Black Lives Matter.”

In Sonoma County, thousands of people have marched in Santa Rosa, and hundreds more have made their voices heard in towns like Healdsburg and Sonoma.

Now, Sonoma County-based FTA (For the Art) Productions–formed by actor Carmen Mitchell and photographer Marcus Ward–is offering an additional way for locals to participate in these demonstrations with a Peaceful Protest Portrait Project.

FTA Productions kicked-off the protest art project last week with a Black Lives Matter curbside photo booth in Healdsburg, where approximately 75 people showed up with signs and face coverings. Ward took individual and group portraits of protesters that can be viewed online now and will be turned into a large mosaic collage at a later date in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

FTA Productions is organizing a second photo booth event this Saturday, June 13, at Brew Coffee & Beer House in downtown Santa Rosa. Given that June is Pride month for the LGBTQIA+ community, this upcoming photo booth will continue supporting the BLM movement against police brutality as well as celebrating the lives of queer Black people and the Pride movement.

FTA Productions co-founder Carmen Mitchell is a Sonoma County native who grew up as a competitive figure skater and ballet dancer, training at Snoopy’s Home Ice and the Santa Rosa Dance Theater respectively. She skated professionally with ‘Disney on Ice’ for many years and now works as an actor and singer, founding nonprofit Redwood Theatre Company in Healdsburg.

Mitchell recently moved to New York City to pursue musical theater, though the Covid-19 pandemic shut down the arts industry there and everywhere else in the country. “All of my friends in the arts became unemployed overnight,” she says.

Back at home in Sonoma County until the entertainment industry reopens, she found herself surrounded by other North Bay artists also stuck in the same predicament.

One of those artists is FTA Productions’ other co-founder, Marcus Ward, who works as a freelance photographer and dancer in Sonoma County. Last month, the two friends found a communal inspiration to add to Sonoma County’s peaceful protests through their art.

“We started with a few portraits of our friends in the dance community here in Santa Rosa, and it just grew,” Mitchell says.

After Mitchell and Ward hosted the first protest photo shoot at the black-box Redwood Theatre Company in Healdsburg on June 5, Mitchell says that Brew Coffee & Beer House got wind of the project and offered to host the upcoming Black Lives Matter and Pride photo booth on June 13.

“We’re providing the paper, pens, everything for people, they just need to come with a mask,” says Mitchell. The upcoming photo event will also have a video component where Ward will record people delivering their personal messages of protest.

Mitchell points out that the protest art project is more than a two-person operation, and she credits fellow organizers Desmond Woodward, Alleya Torres and Eddie Melendéz for making the project a success.

“The definition of art is to hold a mirror up to humanity, it is a reflection of society,” Mitchell says. “This is very personal for me because I grew up in a Disney filter. For the first time, I feel like I’m tapping into powerful art that is more than just commercial.”

Mitchell wants to assure protesters that the project is not trying to lessen the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement by incorporating the Pride element in this weekend’s event, but rather the group is focused on how the two communities intersect. “Queer Black Lives Matter also,” she says. “We’re trying to incorporate the celebration of Pride and equality.”

Mitchell also notes that this project is not meant to replace the marches and gatherings that are happening every day, but to bolster those movements. “We are trying to create a safe space where everyone is welcomed to participate in art without judgment,” Mitchell says. “There’s so many ways to take action, this was our way of hitting the pavement, and we’ve got some backlash hate from it, but it’s ok. We are trying to do better in creating community support and awareness through art.”

The Black Lives Matter/Pride curbside photo booth runs Saturday, June 13, at Brew Coffee and Beer House, 555 Healdsburg Ave, Santa Rosa. Noon to 3pm. Get details on Facebook.

For two weeks, Sonoma County and the Bay Area have joined a national chorus protesting police brutality and renewing the “Black Lives Matter” movement in the wake of the death of George Floyd and other black Americans at the hands of police forces.

Now, a Santa Rosa teacher is at the head of a new endeavor to highlight North Bay businesses and restaurants owned and operated by people of color, giving residents a guide to where they can support Black lives in the community.

Kelly Cramer, who works as a teacher at Roseland University Prep in Santa Rosa, made the ever-expanding online spreadsheet of Black, Immigrant and People of Color Owned Restaurants and Businesses in Sonoma County after looking for one like it on internet search engines.

“Nothing came up specifically for Sonoma County,” she says. “I just thought that it deserved to exist.”

The online list began to take shape a week ago when Cramer started asking friends on Instagram to share information on black-owned businesses in Sonoma County.

“After much thought, I decided to also include all people of color and immigrant-run businesses because, although black-businesses need to be amplified now and always, I simply just wanted to keep this resource all in one place so people can continue to utilize it for the future, long after it’s trendy,” Cramer says.

Soon after beginning to assemble the spreadsheet, Cramer connected with Elizabeth Campos through Facebook who helped organize and research. Sarah Dal Porto Designs donated her work for the graphic design, and Cramer adds that four former students of hers–Jennifer Plancarte, Joseline Moreno, Giselle Gonzalez, and Luis Angel Moya–are helping her call businesses and translate when necessary. Cramer notes she gets every business’ permission to add them to the list, which is nearing 200 entries and growing every day.

Black-owned North Bay restaurants on the list include Buster’s Original Southern BBQ in Calistoga, Bodkin Wines in Healdsburg, Big River Coffee Company in Santa Rosa, Pack Jack’s BBQ in Sebastopol and Corner 103 in Sonoma.

Other Black-owned businesses on the list include Lotus Beauty Bar in Santa Rosa, Creative Chick Consulting in Windsor, ARS Roofing Company and Epoch Education, which specializes in diversity, equity and inclusion training for corporate and nonprofit companies throughout the state.

The online list also highlights indigenous, immigrant and people of color-owned businesses such as Anchor Rose Tattoo and Avenue Tattoo in Santa Rosa, Bellacana Vineyards in Windsor, Ordaz Family Wines in Kenwood, Radical Family Farms in Sebastopol, Robledo Family Winery in Sonoma and Joe Matos Cheese Company in Santa Rosa.

People of color and immigrant-owned restaurants on the list includes more than 100 locations throughout Sonoma County, many of which are currently open during the pandemic for takeout, delivery, outdoor dining and an increasing amount of indoor dining as the North Bay attempts to return to normalcy since largely shuttering small businesses in March due to the spread of Covid-19.

“A disproportionate percentage of Black and POC-owned businesses have closed during the Covid-19 pandemic,” Cramer says. “There’s even the term algorithmic bias, which draws attention to the fact that even social media leaves these businesses out. Fueling these businesses creates a cycle of growth that feeds back into the community. Supporting these places is just ultimately good for everyone in Sonoma County. Plus, so much good food and wine is on this list! A ton of places I can’t wait to try.”

Find the full list at bit.ly/SOCOPOC.