The Dangers of Monetizing Creativity

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The Dangers of Monetizing Creativity

When you’re a broke-ass-art-person, there are about a million podcasts and blogs and online courses encouraging you to create podcasts and blogs and online courses to help monetize your creative process by sharing it with other artists who, in turn, will create more podcasts and blogs and online courses.

As a career-long writer, I’ve been down this diverting wormhole more than a few times. Every time my industry was “disrupted” or I self-disrupted, I would start selling tours of the rag and bone shop of my expertise. I wrote ebooks, made podcasts, consulted. It worked, until it didn’t, and I’ve come to the personal conclusion that this kind of crap has derailed more than a few artists trying to turn a buck in the “creative economy.”

Remember when we produced writing and art of substance instead of merely making “content?” If content is still king, art needs to be the court jester that tells him he’s full of sh–.

I once received eight emails from an “artist” hawking an online “creative entrepreneur” marketing class. After the second email in an hour, I concluded that the spammer in question was both a shitty marketer and artist.

But what about the skill set we’ve developed? The bullshit corporate skills acquired in newsrooms and boardrooms? What of these skills that weaponized my talent until I became both an overqualified but underwhelming part of the very systems I once sought to destroy?

Like any Frankenstein monster, I suppose I’ll turn on my creators and destroy the systems that created me. Maybe this isn’t a popular opinion, but if I were seeking popularity I’d be more famous by now and not ranting into the void of print and pixels.

Because I’m done shaming the starving artist, the romantics, the ones we tell that they just have to get their work out there and pray they get the right algorithmic alchemy going so the gates to the middle class open wide. Really, at this point, for me the only reason to keep the aspidistra flying is for target practice.

Don’t get the reference? Keep the Aspidistra Flying is a book by George Orwell. ’Nuff said, right? Will we ever listen to him? Maybe if he had a podcast and blog and online course, we’d pay attention, but I dare say we can learn more—and teach more—through art.

Editor Daedalus Howell just directed a #wolfstorymovie and creatively consults at daedalushowell.com.

Culture Crush—Coffee Roasting, Salsa and More

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Culture Crush—Coffee Roasting, Salsa and More

Arts Festival

The Healdsburg Arts Festival is back! Wander the inimitably charming Healdsburg Plaza and prepare to be immersed in some of the finest in wine country creativity. The festival is dedicated to three categories of art: visual, performance and culinary. Attendees can enjoy art demos, public art on display, interactive art making, booths for nonprofits, music, entertainment, dance performance, and ample food and wine selections. Over 55 booths represent the creative skill and passion of the Healdsburg community. The festival is presented by the Healdsburg Center for the Arts in partnership with the City of Healdsburg’s Community Services Department. The Healdsburg Arts Festival is Friday, Aug. 26 at the Healdsburg Plaza, Matheson St. and Healdsburg Ave. 4-7pm. Admission is free. www.ci.healdsburg.ca.us 

Petaluma

Summer Salsa

What’s the next best thing to salsa dancing in Barcelona? It’s salsa dancing at Grand Central Petaluma to the spicy, rhythmic tones of Charlie Barreda and the All Star Trio. A downtown Ecuadorian-owned coffee shop, Grand Central showcases the South American country’s artisanal talent and exceptional coffee farms while supporting fair and eco-conscious trade practices. Barreda hails from Peru, where his musical career began at the age of 12, before he came to the states to study at the now-closed Music and Arts Institute of San Francisco. His musical expertise ranges from keyboard to vibraphone to composition and percussion. Barreda can do it all, with impeccable rhythm! Charlie Barreda and the All Star Trio play Sunday, Aug. 28 at Grand Central Petaluma, 226 Weller St. 3-6pm. Tickets $10. @grandcentralpetaluma on Instagram. 

San Rafael

Heritage Festival 

Celebrate the Heritage Day Festival at the historic China Camp Village this weekend, and appreciate the vibrant and diverse community of Northern California. Lion dancers in brightly-colored costumes, traditional guzheng music, mahjong lessons, Chinese brush-painting lessons, tai chi and more are all part of this event. Bring the entire family—kids have the opportunity to build their own boat and to learn about the local wildlife, ecology and history through hands-on activities provided by the National Estuarine Research Reserve, the San Francisco Maritime Museum and Wildcare. The Heritage Day Festival is Saturday, Aug. 27 at 101 Peacock Gap Trail, San Rafael. 11am-3pm. $5 parking fee for non-members. www.friendsofchinacamp.org 

Fairfax

Coffee Roasting

Ever wondered how that gorgeous, dark brown liquid we call coffee got into its mug? Find out this weekend in a Home-Roasting Workshop with Punto Fino Coffee in Fairfax. While sipping from the specialty drinks menu, examine several popular at-home roasting methods, and ask questions about the world of coffee and roasting. Then watch as green beans are placed in an open roaster and observe the transformation to roasted bean, noting the different smells and sounds as the process occurs. Partake in a guided, handheld roasting lesson and take a bag of freshly roasted beans home. The beginning of a new hobby, perhaps? The Home-Roasting Workshop is Sunday, Aug. 28 at Punto Fino, 85 Bosque Ave., Fairfax. 11am-12:30pm. www.puntofinocoffee.com 

—Jane Vick

A guide to Sonoma, Napa and Marin’s Fall Arts

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A guide to Sonoma, Napa and Marin’s Fall Arts

Though summer is quietly slipping out the back door as you read this, be assured that there’s no shortage of fall fun on the horizon. What follows are some standout selections sure to amplify your autumnal experience.

Special Events
Sonoma County Harvest Fair Grand Tasting Event
It’s no secret that Sonoma County is home to some of the best wines and wineries in the world. The Sonoma County Harvest Fair will showcase unparalleled palate-pleasers from over 100 wineries. Come find a new favorite blend or single grape wine, and sample till the heart is full and the buzz is perfect. Saturday, Oct.15 from 1-4pm at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds, 1350 Bennett Valley Rd., Santa Rosa. www.harvestfair.org

Sound Summit
An annual musical gathering on Mt. Tamalpais, Sound Summit is a unique festival in a breathtaking location that San Francisco Chronicle has called “a day of restorative celebration.” Produced as an annual celebration of and fundraiser for Mount Tamalpais State Park by Roots & Branches Conservancy, Sound Summit is held at the historic Mountain Theater, with stunning views of San Francisco Bay. This year’s festival includes The War On Drugs, Fruit Bats and Faye Webster. The festival is Saturday, Oct. 22 at 11am at the Mountain Theater, Easy Grade Trail, Mill Valley. www.soundsummit.net

Sonoma Harvest Music Festival
Held at gorgeous B.R. Cohn Winery, nestled between the Mayacamas Mountain range and Sonoma Mountain, the Sonoma Harvest Music Festival brings big acts to a smaller stage, for those who don’t love a major crowd but do love a majorly good time. This year, the lineup includes acts like Phantogram, Portugal. The Man and K.Flay, plus an inimitable offering of wines, craft beers and artisanal California food. Saturday, Oct. 8 and Sunday, Oct. 9, 11am-7pm at B.R. Cohn Winery, 15000 Sonoma Hwy., Glen Ellen. www.sonomaharvestmusicfestival.com

Petaluma River Craft Beer Fest
The art of beer and the Petaluma slough—I can’t think of a nicer combination. Neither can the Petaluma Chamber of Commerce and the Petaluma Rotary Club, and that’s why they’re hosting the Petaluma River Craft Beer Fest. Come sample Lagunitas, Bear Republic, Crooked Goat, Fogbelt and more. Live music by Randy & the Special Agents and Petaluma Pete will keep the energy rocking. Bring sunscreen and water; it’s going to be a hot, sudsy, fun fest. Saturday, Sept. 10 from 1-5pm on Water Street by the river in historic Petaluma. www.petalumarivercraftbeerfest.org

Chautauqua Revue
The revue is not a usual show. Think vaudeville, circus and storytelling combined, with a fair amount of clowning around. Hilarious and cutting satire, stunning musical numbers and heartfelt tales are all woven together to connect audience and performers alike. Led by Mistress of Ceremonies Wysteria McBrylcreem, with stage band Big B and his Cityslickers, and the irreverent interludes of Clowns On A Stick, plus guest performers both local and visiting. Shows are September 8, 9 and 10 at the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center, 15290 Coleman Valley Rd. www.oaec.org
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One Mind Music Festival for Brain Health
Not only is Napa a number one destination for wine and food, it’s also a hot spot for brain science. Yep, that’s right. This fall is the 28th One Mind Music Festival for Brain Health, including music from Jewel and Hunter Hayes. Also on tap is an interactive scientific symposium on brain health from leading experts such as Dr. Regina E. Dugan, PhD, president & CEO of Wellcome Leap, and Dr. Christopher M. Palmer, MD, of the Harvard Medical School. Saturday, Sept. 10 from 12-8:30pm. For tickets and information, visit www.music-festival.org.

Cinema Calistoga
Napa Valley Film Festival, the legendary festival that blends the art of film, food and wine together in one delicious event, presents Cinema Calistoga, hosted at Mount View Hotel and Spa in Calistoga. The event includes three separate film screenings, each paired with three course meals inspired by the films, from local chefs including Rebecca White-Keefe, Nicholas Montanez and Doctor Dread. The series begins Wednesday, Sept. 7 and runs through Friday, Sept. 9. Dinner at 6pm, film at 7:30pm. For tickets and information, visit www.napavalleyfilmfest.org.

Clubs & Venues

HopMonk Novato
A classic music venue delivering lively performances, HopMonk welcomes Bay-Area based singer songwriter Megan Slankard as she debuts her new song, “California,” the breakup song written as a “gentle reminder of why it might not be the best idea to date a songwriter,” according to Slankard. This is the first release from her forthcoming album, California & Other Stories, coming Oct. 28. Slankard performs Saturday, Oct. 8 at HopMonk Tavern, 224 Vintage Way, Novato. Show starts at 6pm. www.hopmonk.com

Oxbow Public Market
A keystone of downtown Napa, Oxbow Public Market is brimming with Napa’s best in food and wine, and boasts an outdoor deck with seating along the Napa River. It’s 40,000 square feet of good, local Epicureanism. And this fall Oxbow is hosting live music, on the last Wednesday of every month, starting at the end of August with blues rock trio Riverfront District Aug. 31. 6:30-8:30pm. For information, visit www.oxbowpublicmarket.com.

The Big Easy
A little hip hop—or a lot of hip hop—is just what the doctor ordered this fall. The Petaluma bar is hosting “Manifest Your Destiny,” a North Bay hip hop showcase series presented by Decolonized Mindz Entertainment. The brainchild of hip hop artist and promoter Damion Square in collaboration with Josh Windmiller of The Crux, “Manifest Your Destiny” showcases and brings together a diverse range of artists from the North Bay. Check out Tru Lyric, Simoné Mosely, D. square, KingLung and Eki’Shola. Friday, Sept. 9 at The Big Easy, 128 American Alley, Petaluma. 7pm. www.bigeasypetaluma.com

Little Saint
An awesome new addition to the Sonoma County culinary and nightlife scene, Little Saint has an incredible lineup this fall season, including musical performances, book-signings and conversations with local thought leaders, and a rotating exhibition of art shows. Langhorne Slim, Lucy Dacus, a Sonoma Land Trust Dinner and a Saint Joseph’s Holiday Bazaar are all on the menu. Check out www.littlesainthealdsburg.com for tickets and more information.

Green Music Center
The performing arts center for Sonoma State University, the Green Music Center is committed to providing artistic inspiration through year-round programming, and serves as home to the Sonoma State University music department, the Santa Rosa Symphony and Sonoma Bach. Music lovers, look no further. This fall, catch such acts as Aida Cuevas, Sacre, Cantus Song of the Universal and more. For tickets and information, visit www.gmc.sonoma.edu.

Sweetwater Music Hall
From 1972, when Sweetwater opened in a rustic Mill Valley storefront, to today, this music hall provided stellar shows and great times to the Marin County community. In 2007, the original Sweetwater closed its doors, but five years later it reopened in Corte Madera. There, it continues to keep the old vibes alive, providing great music, food and vibes. This fall, catch such acts as Antibalas and Bill and the Belles. For tickets and information, visit www.sweetwatermusichall.com.

The Blue Note Napa
A live jazz club, music venue and gourmet restaurant on the first floor of the Napa Valley Opera House, The Blue Note Napa “seamlessly blends the quintessential Greenwich Village jazz club experience—an intimate atmosphere where the stage is so close to you that you feel as if the performers are playing in your very own living room—mixed with the Northern California wine country ambiance and the historic architecture of the nineteenth century Napa Valley Opera House.” (bluenotnapa.com) This fall, Brendan James, The California Honeydrops and more are scheduled to play. For tickets and information, visit www.bluenotenapa.com.

Arts & Exhibitions
Sonoma Plein Air Art Show
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Sonoma Plein Air Festival, where art lovers and artists can wander through an outdoor art show and sale, celebrating the practice of outdoor painting and benefiting arts and creativity in the Sonoma Valley. Held on the beautiful Sonoma Plaza, this event includes artists’ demonstrations, live music and art activities for all ages. All artists’ paintings “en plein air” are on display and available for purchase. The show is Sept. 10 in the Sonoma Plaza, 453 First Street East, Sonoma. 5-7pm. See www.sonomavalley.com for more information.

Hilos Visibles/Visible Threads, A Latino/x Community Project & Exhibit
The Napa Valley Latino Heritage Committee, Napa County Historical Society and St. Helena Historical Society have partnered to showcase the rich Hispanic heritage of the Napa Valley through quilt squares, banners, papel picado and quilts, in the show “Hilos Visables/Visible Threads.” The exhibition opens Oct. 7 at the Napa Historical Society and Oct. 14 at the St. Helena Historical Society. For information, visit www.napacountyhispanicnetwork.org.

Sonoma County Arts Trails
One hundred sixteen professional artists open their studios for two weekends this fall, inviting the public to explore the beauty of Sonoma County and the incredible artistic talent housed within it. Come meet the myriad painters, sculptors, ceramicists and photographers, and collect their exceptional art works. Studios open from Sept. 24 to 25, and Oct. 1 to 2, 10am-5pm. Visit www.sonomacountytrails.org.

Marin Arts and Crafts Show
Hosted at the newly renovated Marin Center, this show brings together 200 artists, artisans and purveyors in celebration of handcrafts. The three-day show encompasses all handcrafted media—jewelry, clothing, woodwork, ceramics, artwork, paper arts, specialty foods, antiquities and more. Come explore products made with exceptional detail by hand, and marvel at the human ability! And perhaps, for the early planner, pick up some holiday gifts? Friday through Sunday, Nov. 4-6, at the Marin Exhibit Center, 10 Ave of the Flags, San Rafael. 10am to 6pm Fri-Sat and 10am-5pm Sun. www.artsandcraftsshow.com

Bolinas Museum
Bringing arts programming to Marin County year-round, Bolinas Museum is hosting its 30th Annual Benefit Art Auction Last Call Cocktail Party this fall. Held at the Peace Barn in Bolinas, the event features fine wines, great food, live music and excellent company while bidding on art to support the ongoing efforts of Bolinas Museum. Find work from Yaz Krehbiel, Kathleen Lipinski, Dharma Strasser MacColl, Tom Marioni, Alicia McCarthy and more. Saturday, Sept. 10 from 4-6:30pm. See www.bolinasmuseum.org for tickets and information.

Sebastopol Urgent Care doctors tirelessly serve West County

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Sebastopol Urgent Care doctors tirelessly serve West County

It has been a long year for Sebastopol Urgent Care. 

Founders Drs. Libby Flower and Kathleen Whisman have worked themselves, well, to the quick, since they opened their new business on Aug. 23, 2021. Flower has worked seven days a week for the past six months, with only four days off, while Whisman was diagnosed with a rare cancer in February and is currently undergoing chemotherapy as she fights for her life. She will return to her practice Sept. 19, while continuing to receive cancer treatments until August 2023.

While the two owners exude palpable dedication and enthusiasm during an on-site interview, they make it clear that their fledgling business needs community support in order to make it through the end of the year and into 2023. “We’re in the sweat-equity part of the phase,” Whisman says. “And then I got pulled out of the game, and we don’t have the capital to replace me.”

“Once we see 30 patients a day in the urgent care—we’re up to 20—we have enough revenue flow to pay another doctor,” Flower adds. In the meantime, she continues to work seven days a week until Whisman returns.

The story behind Sebastopol Urgent Care begins in early 2020, when Whisman began working for Providence Health at Healdsburg Hospital. When the pandemic hit, her dream job went from 10 patients a day and four work days a week to 25-plus patients a day, six or seven days a week. Though swamped, she fortuitously met Elizabeth “Libby” Flower there, a contract doctor who had once started her own urgent care clinic, and together the two dreamed up—and opened—Sebastopol Urgent Care.

The business fills an important niche for the entire West County, which suffered a huge loss when Palm Drive Hospital closed in 2015. “Our facility helps with the crowding of the ERs,” Whisman says, “because if people, especially on the weekend, [are] injured, cut, whatever, they can come here. They don’t wait in the ER for 12 hours before they get their arm sewed up, and that helps the whole system.”

The practice is currently officially open 67 hours a week. “[But] if the demand grows, we’ll stay open longer,” Flower says. “Sometimes somebody knocks on the locked door, and we let them in and we take care of them.” At 5pm their first day, they let in a patient who had been bitten by his pet bearded dragon. In researching how to treat his bite, they also diagnosed the bearded dragon as being sick.

In addition, the two perform advanced treatments that few, if any, other local ERs are able to perform. This is partly due to Flower being an ER doctor by trade. During the last year, she obtained a urine sample from an infant—not an easy task, I’m assured—reset a dislocated shoulder and stitched nearly amputated toes back on.

Plus, Flower and Whisman are dedicated to helping patients of all economic levels. “Anybody who is at Burbank Heights [an affordable housing complex in Sebastopol] gets a 50% discount, which amounts to about $60 a month,” Flower says. “I really want to care for people who are on limited incomes.”

Their business model is unique in several ways.

In addition to running the Urgent Care facility, the two doctors each also run their own concierge practice out of the same space. The concierge practices allow patients to pay a yearly one-time, out-of-pocket membership fee and get same- or next-day appointments and 24/7 access to Whisman’s or Flower’s cell-phone number. The plan is for each doctor to take on only 200 to 500 patients so they can each guarantee personalized care. Running all three practices out of the same space also allows them to share staff and rent, reducing overhead.

Whisman’s and Flower’s interest in personalized care clashes with today’s corporate medicine model.

“The basic problem is that the administration of medical care has been taken over by business people whose goal is profit, and our goal is care. And those conflict,” Dr. Richard Powers, a local medical practitioner, and friend to both Flower and Whisman, tells me. His book, The Murder of American Medicine: How Medicare Took the Caring Out of Medical Care (2021), illuminates the subject in greater depth. “For the doctors who came before this change came around, their reward was the care they gave to people, and the appreciation that came back from those patients. And that becomes less and less available as the system presses us to see more patients, do more paperwork and have less opportunity to really care for—and spend time with—each patient.”

In the corporate world, all three doctors spent two minutes on paperwork for every one minute they spent with a patient. Now the mandated charting, once meant exclusively for personalized communication between doctors, is filled with billing notes. Nevertheless, the three doctors remain determined to offer their patients care over profit.

“Dr. Powers has given us funds in emergency care to treat the uninsured, the unemployed, the people that get lost in the system, the people who don’t get care because if they go to the emergency room they get a $10,000 bill,” Flower says.

The actual clinic, located in a small business park along Petaluma Boulevard a few short blocks south of downtown Sebastopol, has lofty ceilings and bright, sunlit rooms. It consists of four exam rooms, one pediatric room and the main office, or “the Bullpen,” as Whisman jokingly calls it. The concierge lounge has velvet-upholstered comfy chairs and offers patients a relaxed space for conversation, consultation and a cup of tea. A lab room contains two high-tech analyzers for NAAT/PCR COVID tests that yield results in 10-15 minutes. They are the only such rapid-test machines in the county, and last spring the clinic did brisk business in providing walk-ins with fast COVID test results.

The professional dedication Flower and Whisman exhibit is not limited to my own observation. Regarding Flower, Cassidy Whisman, Kathleen Whisman’s daughter, says, “Libby is a passionate doctor; you can see it in her work. She just lights up when she helps people. It’s amazing to see.”

Flower emphasizes that her goal in practicing medicine is not to make a fortune. “Who needs to get rich? I don’t want to get rich. We’re very community focused. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Whisman acknowledges the outpouring of support for her recovery and the success of the business. “I appreciate all the healing prayers from my patients and community, and their generous contributions,” she says.

As this article goes to press, Sebastopol Urgent Care celebrates its one-year anniversary in downtown Sebastopol. At this time, patients and contributions are needed in order to help it find its footing. Let’s hope West County steps up to embrace the quality personal care this valuable business offers the entire community.

Sebastopol Urgent Care, 555 Petaluma Ave., Suite B. Hours Monday-Friday, 8am to 7pm; Saturday-Sunday, 11am to 5pm. 707.509.5961. fr*******@***uc.org

GoFundMe for Dr. Whisman and Sebastopol Urgent Care: https://tinyurl.com/yc34nxta

Atlas, the Lonely Gibbon at Spreckels in Rohnert Park

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Atlas, the Lonely Gibbon at Spreckels in Rohnert Park

Despite the word “robot” being initially coined in Karel Capek’s 1921 play R.U.R, “science,” “fiction” and “play” are three words not generally associated with each other.

Truth be told, Deborah Yarchun’s Atlas, the Lonely Gibbon is less sci-fi and more a scary not-so-speculative, not-so-fictional story. Sheri Lee Miller directs the world premiere production running at the Spreckels Performing Arts Center in Rohnert Park through Aug. 28.

Yarchun’s play centers on Irene—an endurance race of a performance by Taylor Diffenderfer—an investigative journalist now reduced to copy editor for bot-generated work. Again, not so far-fetched. We’re looking at you, New Yorker poetry.

Irene is leery of all the smart technology in her home. Everything from the lights to the refrigerator to the fern, hilariously played by Kevin Richard Bordi, is hooked up to the home’s AI. However, her husband David (Keith Baker), a cybercrime reporter, is excited when the fridge (played by Julianne Bradbury) gets hacked, starts a fire and, in a Shakespearean rant, shuffles off its refrigerated coil. The fridging of the fridge sends David on an epic AI home upgrade with some unexpected results.

The AI leads to some truly funny moments, but as with all good speculative fiction, the heart isn’t in the technology but in the people. Irene’s leeriness soon gives way to paranoia à la Charlotte Perkin’s Yellow Wallpaper. Mix in David’s singular career fixation, the fern’s sudden interest in emo poetry and a lonely gibbon named Atlas, and you have a bittersweet—but very human—mix of the sublimely absurd and the devastatingly accurate.

Special mention must be made of Jess Johnson’s sound design. Johnson might be the best sound designer in the county. Her work is showcased here with a design that delivers just the right emotional, aural jab needed to recenter the play when the script veers too close to the sentimental or silly.

As a world premiere, a lot could have gone wrong. But thanks to intelligent writing, sound acting and Spreckels’ first-class design team, all the circuits clicked into place to produce a show that, though a bit shouty at times, was nonetheless enjoyable. Audience members should not be surprised if they have the urge to unplug their Alexas when they get home.
“Atlas, the Lonely Gibbon” runs through Aug. 28 at Spreckels Performing Arts Center, 5409 Snyder Lane, Rohnert Park. Friday–Saturday, 7:30pm; Sunday, 2pm; Thursday Aug. 25, 7:30pm. $12–$26. 707.588.3400. spreckelsonline.com

Jack and Charmian London Return as Holograms

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Jack and Charmian London Return as Holograms

All birthdays are good, but this year mine was the best, because Jack London State Park digital tour’s soft release date coincided with it, on Aug. 6. So, while I ate cake on my deck, I also downloaded the app and took the tour. And it was both informative and enjoyable.

The digital app is part of a new breed of self-guided smart phone-based tours that includes virtual holographic guides—in this case Jack London and his wife Charmian London themselves—who speak to the viewer on their phone screen, appearing as if they are in front of the landscape said viewer’s phone camera is pointed at. It’s unlike any app I have previously used, and the experience reminds me of a toned-down version of the time I donned a virtual reality headset.

Kristina Ellis, tours and education manager at Jack London State Historic Park, managed the project in partnership with Timelooper Inc., which developed the app.

“My job was to research and develop the storyline and script, gather resources like historic photographs and information on the historic structures [and] find actors for the holograms,” she told me. “This is a new and interactive way for visitors to engage with the story of the park and sort of take a step back in time. The virtual tour is comprised of 10 different tour stops located throughout the park, and combines exciting elements like digital animation, holograms of Jack and Charmian London, historic photographs, 3D augmented-reality models of the famous Wolf House and more.”

Jack London State Park, located on 1,400 acres near Glen Ellen on the eastern slope of Sonoma Mountain, was founded on London’s own Beauty Ranch in 1959. 

“While we are an historic park, rich in artifacts and stories, we also have nearly 29 miles of gorgeous wilderness trails dotted with coastal redwoods,” Ellis said. “I recommend that visitors see the House of Happy Walls Museum and the London’s Cottage to truly get a picture of Jack London’s life and story. We also have excellent docents who lead free tours to the Wolf House on weekends.”

“The app was designed as a guided tour of the park, and the experience is maximized by being here,” she added. “However, there are quite a few elements such as video clips, slide shows of historic photos, story narration and the 3D models and animations that can be enjoyed anywhere. I have enjoyed the tour from the comfort of my living room and gotten quite a bit out of the story.”

Enter moi. By simply scanning my deck with my cell phone camera, a virtual reality table  appeared on it in my iPhone’s viewscreen; it was on this table that buildings and animations—and sometimes Jack London himself—manifested as 3-dimensional holograms. I was led through an interesting and informative history that began with an explanation of how immigrant Chinese workers wound up working for local wineries and that ended well beyond London’s death at Beauty Ranch many years later. Atmospheric music accompanied each point.

As a lifelong history buff, I found the tour illuminating and learned about London’s non-literary interests, which I’d heretofore been unaware of. One video seemed to sum both he and his primary interests up with the narration, “Jack saw his ranch as an outdoor laboratory for experimentation and innovation in sustainable farming, a place that could teach the nation how to farm organically.”

I won’t describe the tour in further detail; that would spoil everyone’s fun. My advice: Download the free CalParks Adventurer app, which is available online at app stores everywhere, right now, and take the tour pronto. At the park or at home? Both are worth the price of admission.

For more information about the new augmented reality tour app, visit  www.jacklondonpark.com/digital-tour-experience/.

Finding Meaning on a Ship of Fools

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Finding Meaning on a Ship of Fools

Life is like a journey aboard a steamship. We did not ask to be here, and we can’t get off until the captain says so. 

No one has ever seen the captain, and no one knows why this is even happening, but a few can point us in the right direction. The journey is the same for everyone, starting with birth and ending with death, and the point of it seems to be how we choose to spend our time on board.

Some were given first-class accommodations, while others are in steerage. Some rise to a better room through good works, while others are booted down if they prove unworthy of their privilege. We make the best with what we’ve got, and in the end everyone has a spot to call their own—and this is called having a life.

We can wander the ship and interact with others, who represent the spectrum of humanity. Some are saints and sages, and others are devils and demons—so remember two pieces of golden wisdom. First, the devil’s greatest ruse is convincing us he doesn’t exist, and second, vice is never more dangerous than when hiding behind a mask of virtue.

Almost all the passengers spend their time in the bowels of the ship, where the only light that shines is artificial. There are endless entertainments to distract us from the journey, and an all-you-can-eat buffet of bad food to gorge upon gluttonously. Many have never even been on deck before to experience the wonder of the starry night and vast ocean.

A few solitary souls, however, like to visit a special observation deck at the highest point on the ship. In the morning, they greet the sun, bringer of light and life, and at night, the moon, which points the way to the eternal realm beyond the confines of the ship. If we ask, they will tell us of a secret compartment on board the ship, a library of sacred books from around the world and a place to receive illumination. Those who find it are never the same again, and one look in their eyes shows that they know something others do not.

Most of the passengers mock these quiet solitaries and call them fools. But when someone finds the sea too stormy and the entertainment too empty, they ask about the secret chamber, and they are always told the same thing. No one can tell us where it is, because it’s different for everyone. But if we seek it, we will find it, and if we knock, the door will be opened.

Petaluma Installation Celebrates People of Color at Burning Man

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Petaluma Installation Celebrates People of Color at Burning Man

For the past three decades, people have ventured into Nevada’s Black Rock Desert in late August to build, run and then disassemble a functioning city on a remote and dusty piece of land.

With a population of roughly 70,000, the temporary city is the 10th largest in Nevada for one week of the year.

Burning Man, as the gathering is called, produces life-changing experiences for many of its participants, known as “Burners.” However, the event has received criticism over the years for a range of issues, including a lack of diversity.

The 2019 Burning Man Census found that only 16 percent of attendees identified as a person of color, a rate that has remained relatively flat since at least 2013 despite public criticism and organizers’ pledges to improve. The “average Burner” that year, the last festival before a two-year Covid-enduced break, was a 35-year-old white man making $64,700 per year, the website SFist reported. Only 1.1 percent of attendees identified as Black in 2019, according to the census.

Responding to this challenge, Erin Douglas, a Black photographer and founder of the Black Burner Project, has made it her mission to make the festival more diverse since her own awakening at Burning Man in 2017.

The Black Burner Project uses visual representation to document people of color at Burning Man “to encourage the curious.” In other words, the project creates art using photographs taken at Black Rock City to help people of color imagine themselves at Burning Man.

The idea behind the project is that photos of half-dressed white people in the desert, the most common representation of the event in the media, serve as a barrier to entry for Black folks who don’t see themselves represented as a part of Burning Man’s culture.

Douglas recognizes that it can be difficult to go out to the playa for people of color. In fact, if it were not for a free ticket from a friend, she may have never overcome her own initial personal and cultural barriers to experiencing the desert festival.

I met Douglas at Marco Cochrane’s studio in Petaluma—notable for the 47-foot-tall wire-frame woman visible from the street—where Douglas is assembling her new piece with the help of Kyle Mimms.

While we spoke, a small army of volunteers worked on a structure of metal and billboard-sized photographs of Black Burners.

The final artwork, called “Black! Asé,” will consist of two 30-foot-tall interactive installations at the edge of Black Rock City, serving as a beacon of welcome and celebration for Burners of color.

The pieces will be large metal structures bookended by a massive picture of Douglas’ friend and fellow Burner, “Anisette,” dancing on one end, and a picture of “Ken,” another Burner wearing a colorful neck gaiter, on the other. In between the photos will be climbable metalwork with stairs and platforms allowing visitors several opportunities for experience and reflection, driven by unique audio tracks playing throughout the piece.

Despite being an experienced solo world traveler, Douglas recalled that her first visit to Burning Man was “so drastically different [than any previous experience], and we are surrounded by white people. In the middle of nowhere. I can’t go anywhere. I can’t even call my mom and parents.” Suddenly, Douglas found herself without access to anyone who understood her experience of otherness.

The harm in this case is that Burning Man really transforms lives, and if people of color do not feel welcome and do not come, the opportunity for that expansive consciousness is lost to the same demographics that have always been excluded.

Let’s take a step back. What is so amazing about Burning Man? “You have a lot of time with yourself internally,” Douglas said. “You’re asking yourself questions that, for some reason, you just don’t get that same time or space to explore these questions in everyday life.”

“I always say, like, whatever you have pushed aside, whether you know it or not, the playa is gonna like put it in your face. Just gonna shove it all up in there and you might not be ready,” she added, laughing. “It’s just about, like, accepting that [it] might need tears.”

In describing the impact that Burning Man can have, Douglas’ indispensable build lead, Mimms, put it another way: “You can be free to be yourself without consequences.”

Those words capture the intent of Douglas’ project perfectly. Knowing that many Black folks will not feel comfortable with the idea of coming to Burning Man until they begin to see people like themselves there, Douglas understands that a whole segment of society has been effectively cut off from the opportunity to experience the rich cultural space the festival offers.

For a time, the founders and organizers seemed to minimize the problem. Burning Man co-founder Larry Harvey infamously said that, “Black folks don’t like to camp as much as white folks,” later attempting to justify the statement in the historical context of slavery and the dangers of travel for Black Americans during the Jim Crow Era.

Thankfully, Burning Man culture has begun to respond to the problems inherent in that out-of-date sentiment. Efforts for inclusion have received an increased level of focus, including a reevaluation of “Radical Inclusion,” one of the festival’s guiding 10 Principles.

Douglas is the recipient of a Black Rock City 2022 Honorarium Art Grant, one of the first given to a Black woman Burner. The Grant amounts vary project by project. In Douglas’ case, the award covered about 20 percent of the submitted project budget, making it much easier to complete the project with help from other funding sources.

As we talked, new volunteers to the project wandered in and were put to work. Douglas, a photographer by trade and new to installations, emphasized the collaborative nature of the massive pieces. 

“Kyle [Mimms] came out and has been working non-stop on the structure of the builds,” Douglas said. “[Mimms and his wife] have been beyond supportive, they’ve helped me get the photos [from Maryland where they were printed] to New York for fundraisers” to help pay for the  project.

Douglas had been weighing the costs and environmental impact of building the structure on the East or West Coast and transporting it out to the desert. However, with Cochrane’s offer of studio space in Petaluma to build the installation, Mimms joined Cochrane out West.

Burning Man’s reputation seems to have both grown and wavered in recent years. Many around the country who had likely never heard of the event now know it as the summer destination of celebrity CEOs and reality-TV moguls.

However, Douglas’ work is a reminder of the potential of the annual gathering in the desert: A space of radical inclusion where the work of being better and doing better is both personal and communal.

Follow “Black! Asé” and Erin Douglas on Instagram @blackburnerproject.

Culture Crush—KingLung, Debussy, Hollywood and More

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Culture Crush—KingLung, Debussy, Hollywood and More

Healdsburg

Brazilian Guitar 

This Saturday, spend the evening transported by Brazilian jazz guitar. Renowned guitarists Romero Lubambo and Chico Pinheiro come to Healdsburg’s intimate music space The 222. Lubambo has been described as “perhaps” the best practitioner in his day, bringing the rhythm and sensuality of his Brazilian heritage and a mastery of the instrument to jazz guitar, creating an inimitable sound. Pinheiro is a composer and bandleader, and one of the most widely acclaimed guitarists to emerge in the past two decades, collaborating with artists such as Placido Domingo and Chris Potter. The two promise a night of adventurous, boundary-breaking guitar playing. 7pm, Saturday, Aug. 20 at 222 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg. Tickets range from $35–$75. www.the222.org  

Ross

Outdoor Chamber Music 

For those moved to tears or elation by Debussy’s lilting flutes or Francaix’s resonant harps, look no further. This Tuesday, the Marin Art and Garden Center will host Eos Ensemble in the Redwood Amphitheater, serenading the audience with dreamy, musing, passionate music in a beautiful outdoor setting. The program includes Claude Debussy’s Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp, Jean Francaix’s Quintet for Flute, Harp and String Trio, and Beethoven’s String Trio Op. 9 No. 1. Craig Reiss plays the violin, Caroline Lee the viola and Thalia Morre the cello, with special guests Meredith Clark on harp and Katrina Walter on flute. Clark has played with the San Francisco and Oakland Symphonies, among others. Walter is a member of the Marin Symphony. The Eos Ensemble plays Tuesday, Aug. 23, from 5:30–7pm at the Marin Art and Garden Center, 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Ross. Tickets $20, beverage of choice included. www.maringarden.org

Occidental

Movie Night

Join Occidental filmmaker C.M. Conway this weekend for a screening of her new film, How to Successfully Fail in Hollywood, at the Occidental Center of the Arts. Filmed in various locations in the North Bay, Oakland and Los Angeles, this is a recognizable and exciting film. Produced by women, the film explores themes including love, triumph over personal failure and pursuing a dream against all odds. This special screening event will include photo ops, a raffle with prizes donated by local businesses and a Q&A with the filmmaker. Conway is thrilled to show How to Successfully Fail in Hollywood at OCA, where she had cheerleading tryouts as a young girl in the room that now serves as the Center’s state-of-the-art auditorium. How to Successfully Fail in Hollywood screens 5:30–8pm Saturday, Aug. 20, at Occidental Center for the Arts, 3850 Doris Murphy Court, Occidental. Tickets are $12. www.funnyfailurefilm.com

Sebastopol

Hip-Hop Series 

Come hear the beat and move your feet this Saturday at the first night of Manifest Your Destiny, a North Bay hip-hop concert series bringing a diverse range of musical talent together to perform. Hip-hop artist and promoter Damion Square was inspired to organize the series after performing at Santa Rosa’s Railroad Square Music Festival this June and feeling the community’s desire for quality, meaningful hip-hop music. Longtime North Bay concert organizer and musician Josh Windmiller is collaborating with Square on the series. Get familiar with the local hip-hop talent, including artists KingLung, Simoné Mosely, Erica Ambrin, Kayatta and Damion, under his stage name D.square, at Manifest Your Destiny’s first event, on Saturday, Aug. 20, at Jasper’s at 6957 Sebastopol Ave., Sebastopol. Show starts at 9pm. $5 suggested donation. www.jasperspub.com

—Jane Vick 

Flamingo Resort Brings Nightlife to Santa Rosa

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Flamingo Resort Brings Nightlife to Santa Rosa

The long wait for a dance space is over, Santa Rosa. 

No longer will we comb the streets after 10pm searching for a spot with a DJ and a dance floor. No longer will we make our party plans in San Francisco.

Moving forward, North Bay revelers need look no further than the towering, pink neon sign on Fourth Street, announcing the historic Flamingo Resort which, last weekend, launched the retro-galactic nightclub Vintage Space, paying homage to the Flamingo’s early history and elevating Santa Rosa nightlife in one astronomical swoop. Peep the details.

Remember the Space Race? That miraculous—albeit fraught—time in global and American history when truly anything seemed possible? The Allies had just won World War II, and America was in a renaissance of socio-political change and revolution. Racing Russia to get to the moon, long hair and go-go boots. James Baldwin. Bobby Lewis. Mod living room sets. And everywhere the promise of space. That incredible new frontier of infinite potential.

Enter the Flamingo. In 1957, while Russia launched Sputnik 1 into space and America fervently worked on Explorer 1, an architect, widely believed to be Homer A. Rissman, designed a resort nestled in the Valley of the Moon. When completed, the mid-century modern style building sporting 156 beds, a pool and a whole lot of pink quickly became a Sonoma County landmark, its signature “Flamingo” sign, with a neon bird at the top, leg gracefully raised, illuminating the night in pink.

The likes of Jane Mansfield and Frankie Avalon were quickly spotted poolside. In 1994, yours truly, as a small girl moving with her family from Tucson, Ariz., lived in two rooms while her parents finalized the purchase of a Northern California home. In 1997, Santa Rosa declared the Flamingo sign a historic landmark. In short, the Flamingo Resort is iconic and central to the Santa Rosa experience.

In spite of all this, the time came for the Flamingo to evolve, in an effort to ensure its relevance into the next several decades.

Enter the new owners. In 2019, Anderson Pugash, Steve Yang, Rebecca Bunya and Benson Wang purchased the Flamingo from previous owner Pierre Ehret and family, quickly launching into a $20 million renovation.

(from left to right) Stephen Yang, Anderson Pugash and Benson Wang purchased the Flamingo Resort in 2019 with Rebecca Bunya (not pictured). Photo by Deb Leal.

Three years and one global pandemic later, the Flamingo has a new lease on life, reimagined with a wooden-and-glass porte-cochere entry and white wicker furniture that showcases the pool’s glittering, aqua-colored water. 

The lobby is quintessential mod mixed with jungley, tropical wallpaper and features art from Serge Gay Jr. and HYBYCOZO. It’s finished with triangle pillows, low couches and gold light fixtures. Tres vibe. While true to the Flamingo’s origins—the new owners worked closely with Ehret while reimagining the hotel vibe—there is an evident modern twist.

The desire to strike a balance between history and contemporary styles is what inspired Pugash and Benson Wang to reimagine what used to be The Lounge at the Flamingo Resort into Vintage Space. Those who spent time in The Lounge will be pleased to find the bone structure of the space largely unchanged, with dark walls, a curved bar, ample dancefloor, and booths for cozy conversation and dance breaks.

But it’s clearly a new venue, and the space theme is fully evident. Starry collages featuring astronauts and old automobiles hang on the walls. The drinks menu offers a delightful assortment of “Cosmic Cocktails” including drinks such as the M.A.S.A., featuring tequila, mezcal, peach, habanero shrub and sparkling wine; the Liftoff Espresso Martini, featuring cold-brew coffee liqueur, vodka, espresso, chocolate bitters and mint foam; and the E.TEA, a non-alcoholic option with ice tea, lemon, peach and habanero shrub. The feel is playful, exploratory, cosmic—keeping the sense of exploring new frontiers very much alive.

The retro feel has a surprising innocence, and it’s refreshing. The mystery of life and our sense of humanity’s boundless exploration have been temporarily compromised by the hyper-developments of technology in the last three years, contributing to a general lack of wonder and curiosity in the current world. Kicking back in all that joyful exploration of the late 1950s is a fun mini-time travel experience and a good perspective refresh. Let’s keep that curiosity alive, people!

The nightclub will be open until 1 or 2am—depending on the show and the crowd—with doors opening at a reasonable 8pm. The lineups will be versatile. Friday night shows will feature cover bands, jam bands, funk, reggae, soul, disco and more. Saturdays are DJ nights, with disco house, trap house, deep house and so on.

“We’re going for a vibe. What brings fun, what makes people happy,” Pugash said during a Thursday morning conversation just before Vintage Space’s maiden voyage. “1957 was such a cool time. It was a time of American possibility and ingenuity—this feeling of a limitless horizon. That’s the kind of energy we’ve tried to tap into. That exploratory, fun feeling.”

Pugash and Benson Wang—who spear-headed Vintage Space—are no strangers to creating an exploratory, fun feeling. Bay Area natives and EDM lovers may not be surprised to learn that these two are the masterminds behind the San Francisco establishments Bergerac, a bar with an impromptu house party feel; Audio, a music-driven nightclub; Palm House, a tropical restaurant with vacation drinks; and The Dorian, a neighborhood supper club. Combined, the two are a recipe for nightlife.

Though I’ve long been chomping at the bit for a hot club presence in Sonoma County, I asked Pugash if he thought Santa Rosa’s demographic was ready for this type of socializing.

“The median age in Sonoma County is 38 now, which kind of blew my mind,” Pugash said. “I think people are ready for it. Do people like good music? They do. Do they like having fun? They do. Even though we’re space-themed, we’re not doing any rocket science here. We’re just trying to give people a good time.” 

And Vintage Space, as with the Flamingo Resort in its entirety, really isn’t just for the visiting guests; the goal is that Santa Rosans will enjoy it just as much as out-of-towners. Pugash, a North Bay local himself, born in San Francisco and raised in both Marin and Sonoma, is excited to provide locals with more opportunities to get out and have fun.

“With the music program, the concepting and everything, I want to create something that’s harmonious to both locals and hotel guests,” he said. “It’s always about bringing people together in these kinds of spaces. I do think that locals will like this place.”

Though music is Vintage Space’s primary focus, comedy nights, Sunday salsa nights and other events are also on the docket. While staying focused and bringing in Bay Area musical talent, Vintage Space looks forward to giving local artists space to explore. *Cough cough*. 

Last weekend, Vintage Space held two inaugural shows. This Friday the five-piece “roots-reggae” band the Bloodstones takes the stage. On Saturday, All Good Funk Alliance kicks things off before DJ Malarkey spins some dusty electro swing. The lineup is stacked through the end of the month with no signs of slowing. 

Get ready to blast off, Santa Rosa.
For more information on Vintage Space visit www.vintagespacesr.com.

The Dangers of Monetizing Creativity

When you’re a broke-ass-art-person, there are about a million podcasts and blogs and online courses encouraging you to create podcasts and blogs and online courses to help monetize your creative process by sharing it with other artists who, in turn, will create more podcasts and blogs and online courses. As a career-long writer, I’ve been down this diverting wormhole more...
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Culture Crush—Coffee Roasting, Salsa and More

Arts Festival The Healdsburg Arts Festival is back! Wander the inimitably charming Healdsburg Plaza and prepare to be immersed in some of the finest in wine country creativity. The festival is dedicated to three categories of art: visual, performance and culinary. Attendees can enjoy art demos, public art on display, interactive art making, booths for nonprofits, music, entertainment, dance performance,...
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A guide to Sonoma, Napa and Marin’s Fall Arts

Though summer is quietly slipping out the back door as you read this, be assured that there’s no shortage of fall fun on the horizon. What follows are some standout selections sure to amplify your autumnal experience. Special EventsSonoma County Harvest Fair Grand Tasting EventIt’s no secret that Sonoma County is home to some of the best wines and wineries...
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Sebastopol Urgent Care doctors tirelessly serve West County

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It has been a long year for Sebastopol Urgent Care.  Founders Drs. Libby Flower and Kathleen Whisman have worked themselves, well, to the quick, since they opened their new business on Aug. 23, 2021. Flower has worked seven days a week for the past six months, with only four days off, while Whisman was diagnosed with a rare cancer in...
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Atlas, the Lonely Gibbon at Spreckels in Rohnert Park

Despite the word “robot” being initially coined in Karel Capek’s 1921 play R.U.R, “science,” “fiction” and “play” are three words not generally associated with each other. Truth be told, Deborah Yarchun’s Atlas, the Lonely Gibbon is less sci-fi and more a scary not-so-speculative, not-so-fictional story. Sheri Lee Miller directs the world premiere production running at the Spreckels Performing Arts Center...
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Jack and Charmian London Return as Holograms

All birthdays are good, but this year mine was the best, because Jack London State Park digital tour’s soft release date coincided with it, on Aug. 6. So, while I ate cake on my deck, I also downloaded the app and took the tour. And it was both informative and enjoyable. The digital app is part of a new breed...
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Finding Meaning on a Ship of Fools

Life is like a journey aboard a steamship. We did not ask to be here, and we can’t get off until the captain says so.  No one has ever seen the captain, and no one knows why this is even happening, but a few can point us in the right direction. The journey is the same for everyone, starting with...
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Petaluma Installation Celebrates People of Color at Burning Man

For the past three decades, people have ventured into Nevada’s Black Rock Desert in late August to build, run and then disassemble a functioning city on a remote and dusty piece of land. With a population of roughly 70,000, the temporary city is the 10th largest in Nevada for one week of the year. Burning Man, as the gathering is called,...
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Culture Crush—KingLung, Debussy, Hollywood and More

Healdsburg Brazilian Guitar  This Saturday, spend the evening transported by Brazilian jazz guitar. Renowned guitarists Romero Lubambo and Chico Pinheiro come to Healdsburg’s intimate music space The 222. Lubambo has been described as “perhaps” the best practitioner in his day, bringing the rhythm and sensuality of his Brazilian heritage and a mastery of the instrument to jazz guitar, creating an inimitable...
Read more

Flamingo Resort Brings Nightlife to Santa Rosa

The long wait for a dance space is over, Santa Rosa.  No longer will we comb the streets after 10pm searching for a spot with a DJ and a dance floor. No longer will we make our party plans in San Francisco. Moving forward, North Bay revelers need look no further than the towering, pink neon sign on Fourth Street, announcing...
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