News Briefs

Vandalism Arrests

PETALUMA Police have charged four teenagers in the rampage of vandalism that trashed a third of the student lockers at Casa Grande High School Nov. 18. Acting on an anonymous tip, investigators contacted one of the suspects, who admitted his part in the spree, and told the officers who else had been involved. All four have since confessed, according to Petaluma Police Lt. Dave Dohn, and some items stolen from the school lockers have been recovered from the homes of the four boys. Three are 14-year-old junior high school students, and the fourth is a 16-year-old Casa Grande freshman. All have reportedly had prior contact with law enforcement, and will now face disciplinary action at their schools as well as criminal charges. Restitution may also be sought from the parents of the youths if the boys are found guilty of committing the vandalism.

Rates Raised

SANTA ROSA Water and sewer rates are going up again, along with the connection fees for new homes, with still more increases expected before the turn of the century. The City Council approved a 10 percent jump in water rates and a simultaneous increase of 3 percent in water rates last week, charges that are expected to boost the average homeowner’s monthly bill by about three dollars. At the same time, the council hiked the sewer connection fee for new homes by 59 percent, to $5,043 per house. The old rate, set in 1988, was $3,000. But according to city Finance Director Stan Lindsay, further water and sewer rates will need to go up another 15 percent and 21 percent respectively, by 1999, to cover the costs of the utility operations. As for the costs of long-term sewer solutions . . . don’t ask.

Record Winery Sale

GEYSERVILLE The Chateau Souverain winery here and Beringer Vineyards of St. Helena were the prime properties in a record $350 million sale of Wine World Estates from the international food conglomerate Nestle to a Napa Valley investment group. Silvarado Partners said they did not plan any immediate changes in the management of Wine World, which last year posted sales of more than 4 million cases worth over $200 million. Wine World also produces Napa Ridge brand wines, using the former Italian Swiss Colony facilities at Asti.

This page was designed and created by the Boulevards team. &copy 1995 Metro Publishing and Virtual Valley, Inc.

Petaluma Educators Get Lesson in Gay Awareness

Project 10 continues countywide campaign to end harassment

By Paula Harris

“On Jan. 24 of this year, on an incoming tide and facing San Francisco, our son Robin was seen leaping from the Golden Gate Bridge,” says Cotati parent Stephanie Reed, recalling the suicide of her gay 15-year-old son, a Petaluma High School student who’d endured prolonged harassment, homophobia, and isolation.

“I believe for a brief moment he flew with outstretched arms, black coat streaming, and that his desire was to land in a place of enlightenment,” she continues. “For him the struggle ended.”

For Stephanie Reed and her husband, Tim, the struggle was just beginning, however. In her quest to understand her only son’s suicide, Reed says she learned a lot about growing up gay and realized she must attempt to help others understand the traumas involved .

This month, Reed joined local leaders from gay, lesbian, and bisexual rights support groups at a presentation for the Petaluma City Schools Board of Education, where they spoke out against gay harassment.

Sexual-minority support members say suicide is a big concern among gay youth. “According to a 1989 U.S. Department of health and Human Services study, 20 to 35 percent of all gay, lesbian, or bisexual youth make suicide attempts and 50 percent consider it,” says Bob Norton, a counselor with the county’s mental health department and co-founder of Project 10, which derives its name from the Kinsey Reports that found that 10 percent of Americans are homosexual.

Subsequent studies have disputed those findings, estimating the percentage is much lower.

During the 3 1/2-hour Board of Education meeting, which drew an audience of 150 people from several counties, Reed asked educators to embrace Sonoma County Project 10, which she called “a comprehensive program” that provides teacher training and peer support and is a resource for counseling information for gay students and their parents.

Reed’s testimony underscored her son’s suffering. “Because he was different, Robin was sexually harassed by mean-spirited peers who called him ‘fag,’ ‘sissy,’ ‘queer,’ ‘gay blower,’ and other sexually derogatory terms,” an anguished Reed told the school board. “Robin did not commit suicide because he was gay. He committed suicide because he was in pain. The time bomb had exploded. The anti-gay messages struck at his core.”

Project 10 supporters say gay, lesbian, and bisexual students continue to be objects of hate and ridicule and are a hidden minority that needs positive role models. They advocate raising protection for and awareness about gay students by having a designated adult at each campus who can direct troubled students to counseling and support groups.

But its critics claim Project 10 has a political bias and a distinct cultural agenda. A group called the Project 10 Research Committee sprang up two years ago in opposition to the organization. Some religious leaders have said they distrust Project 10 because, they claim, the program teaches hate toward people of faith. Mel Grams, pastor of Adobe Christian Center in Petaluma, presented school officials with a letter of opposition signed by 20 pastors from 12 Petaluma churches opposed to Project 10.

“We don’t have a crusade against gays,” says Grams. “But Project 10 has an unwritten agenda that is unacceptable to us.”

Other critics charge that Project 10 recruits impressionable children who are unsure of their awakening sexual identities.

“If we drag one child into homosexuality because of this information, we’re committing a crime,” says Petaluma resident Peter Georges.

Maddy Hirchfield, a supervisorial candidate and spokeswoman for Sonoma County Project 10, denies the group is out to recruit teens. “This is a hidden minority that needs positive role models; Project 10 creates positive role models,” she says. “It’s a hell of a way to grow up. Kids out there struggling with this issue need to see people like me.”

In recent months, Project 10 has also visited schools in Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park, and Cloverdale. It has received a mixed response. Dave Ashworth, principal at Cloverdale High School, said a Project 10 presentation last year, initiated by the student body president, met with stiff community resistance but resulted in a second presentation specifically for students. Only 15 students attended.

“Right now there is nothing incorporated in our curriculum regarding Project 10 or their issues,” he says.

Santa Rosa High School also does not practice Project 10 policies, but Principal Michael Panas said a presentation by members two years ago resulted in some changes on campus. Some faculty members voluntarily made themselves available to students to discuss gay issues.

Also, Santa Rosa High School students have formed an organization called United Sexualities, an alliance of gay and non-gay teens. Panas says the alliance continues to have a strong and positive presence on campus and he thinks the Project 10 presentation made a difference.

“It helped students feel this is a safe place for everyone,” he says. “The students have taken some ownership of that.”

Meanwhile, Petaluma school administrators are grappling with the controversial issue. Superintendent Chuck Cadman ordered 20 copies of the acclaimed book Prayers for Bobby (which chronicles the suicide of a gay teen) for all school principals as “homework” prior to a Dec. 11 meeting, when principals will hear another presentation by Project 10.

Prayers for Bobby, by Sebastopol author and prominent gay journalist Leroy Aarons, tells how Bobby Griffith–a young East Bay man, who was gay and born into a Christian Fundamentalist family–leaped to his death off a freeway overpass in 1983. The boy’s mother, Mary Griffith, also spoke at the recent Petaluma board of Education meeting. She later called the school administrators’ prompt reaction “remarkable.”

How Petaluma schools will respond in the long-term is still very much up in the air. Yet, Stephanie Reed says she’s delighted things “are moving forward.”

School Superintendent Chuck Cadman adds that school officials are in an “information gathering” phase before beginning to take action on creating a support system for sexual minorities. He has invited local clergy to present their concerns and suggestions in January.

“We’re proceeding in a very deliberate fashion, holding off any judgments and avoiding emotionally charged, non-productive dialogue,” says Cadman. “We really want to generate more light than heat.”

This page was designed and created by the Boulevards team. &copy 1995 Metro Publishing and Virtual Valley, Inc.

Give ‘Em Health

Sister Micheala champions the needs of southwest Santa Rosa

By Bruce Robinson

“It was a no-brainer.” Sister Micheala Rock says the decision to create a health center for the residents of southwest Santa Rosa was made almost as soon as she saw an “asset map” of the services and public amenities distributed throughout the city. “There just were no services in this quadrant of the city,” she continues, still distressed by the fact, “but this is where most of the low-income population is.”

That area, bounded on the north and east by the broad concrete barrier of freeways that separate it from the rest of the city, is home to around 20,000 people now, a population that is slated to grow dramatically over the next decade or two as new residential development is channeled into it. Recognizing the existing needs, as well as their probable intensification, Sister Micheala has, for the past two years, focused her attention, her energy, and her considerable powers of persuasion on the goal of building a healthy community in this often overlooked corner of the city.

A member of the Catholic order of Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange, which owns Memorial Hospital, Sister Micheala arrived in Santa Rosa on Christmas Day 1993 and immediately began looking for a need to fill. By this time, the former schoolteacher and principal had also worked her way through a series of hospital administrative positions and was ready for something new. “I’m not of the personality to do things over and over again,” she says modestly, although she is quick to admit that a common thread links all her past and present endeavors–“finding a way to provide services to people, improving their lot in life.”

Having tired of conventional hospital work (“I don’t want to spend my life with doctors,” she confides), Sister Micheala happened upon the notion of “community health” shortly before coming to Sonoma County, and “I just clicked on that concept.” Loosely defined, it extends far beyond health care to encompass environmental, educational, transportation, and economic considerations. And in southwest Santa Rosa, Sister Rock found fertile ground for the concept.

“These people are wanting to be a community and have a lot going for them: they have a significant amount of pride in and satisfaction with where they live, and they are open to improving the quality of life in their neighborhoods.” Only 20 percent of the residents are members of ethnic communities–Hispanic and Asian, primarily–and there is little racial tension. Although the population density is generally high, Sister Michaela contends that “high density is a positive” because it can foster tolerance and a healthy interdependency.

Drawing on resources from Memorial Hospital and other sources, she established the Community Benefit Program, working from a plain but cheerful office in a newish industrial complex near Cook Jr. High School to offer a range of interrelated services to schoolchildren, uninsured mothers, seniors, and youth. One of her first projects was the creation of the newly opened health clinic on the campus of Elsie Allen High School. “I knew that 55 percent of the kids had no access to health care,” Sister Micheala shrugs. “It was kind of a natural.” But the biggest area of demand at the high school clinic is for mental health services. “There are some significantly deep problems,” she says, noting that at a recent open house, the literature on suicide prevention disappeared far faster than brochures on any other subject.

A second school-based clinic is in the works for the Roseland Elementary School, and junior high-age kids will be able to visit the new Community Health Center a few doors down from the Community Benefit office when it opens its doors early next year. “Our goal is that by the spring of 1996 every youngster involved in school in the southwest will have access to medical care,” Sister Rock says confidently.

Like the Elise Allen clinic, the health center is being supported by Memorial Hospital at first, but will have to become self-sufficient over its first few years. “If they stick with the business plan, they should be on their feet in a year,” Sister Michaela says firmly. Staffed by a bilingual, multicultural team of doctors and nurses, the Health Center will also house the dental clinic Memorial now supports at a homeless shelter near Railroad Square.

Sister Michaela hopes the whole enterprise will help buffer the southwest area against the incipient upheavals in the nationwide health-care industry. “The delivery of medical care in this country is a mess, and it’s going to get worse before it gets better,” she says grimly. “What keeps me going is the hope that what we’re doing here will help bridge that gap.”

This page was designed and created by the Boulevards team. &copy 1995 Metro Publishing and Virtual Valley, Inc.

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Calendar November 22-29, 1995

[ Art | Clubs & Cafes | Events | Field Trips | Film Lectures | Meetings | Music | Readings | Theater | Workshops ]

Art

Aesthetic Approach, mini-theater, Great Petaluma Mill, 6 Petaluma Blvd South. 765-9633. Through Dec 16, mixed-media by Dolly Cahill Johnson. Hours: Daily, 10 to 6.

Alinder Gallery, 39165 Hwy 1, Gualala. 884-4884. Nov 24 through Feb 11 group show “But it Doesn’t Match the Couch: Exceptional Photographs for Your Walls.” Reception: Nov 24, 4 to 7. Hours: Thursday-Monday, 11 to 5:30, and by appointment.

American School of Japanese Arts, 602 Wilson St, Santa Rosa. 523-1950. Ending Dec 3, “In the Circle,” mixed-media by Mario Uribe. Hours: Friday-Sunday, 2 to 6; Thursday, ’til 8.

Art for Living, 216 Petaluma Blvd North, Petaluma. 766-1553. Through December, “Small Treasures,” group show in multimedia. Also, recent work by Camille Przewodek. Hours: Wednesday-Saturday, 11 to 5; Sunday, noon to 5.

Arts Guild of Sonoma, 140 East Napa St, Sonoma. 996-3115. Ending Nov 28, Annual Small Works Show. Nov 30 through Dec 31, “Holiday Show,” mixed-media group exhibit of ornaments, cards, and other holiday items. Reception: Dec 2, 5 to 7. Hours: Weekdays and Sunday, 11 to 5; Saturday, 10 to 5.

Artwalk After-hours tour of Sebastopol galleries features chance to meet artists, music, and food. Galleries include Quicksilver Mine Co., Millenium Arts, Sebastopol Center for the Arts, West County Museum, and others. Dec 7, from 5 to 8. Free. For maps and details, call 829-2416.

Atelier de Chant, 2 E St, between Sonoma Avenue and Second Street, Santa Rosa. 525-8810. Ongoing, works of Gail Packer, El Meyer, J. D. Mayhew, and Edmund Dechant. Hours: Monday-Friday, 11 to 5.

California Museum of Art, LBC, East Mall, 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa. 527-0297. Through Dec 23, “California Small Works.” Hours: Wednesday-Sunday, 11 to 4.

Christopher Queen Galleries, Hwy 116, Duncans Mills. 865-1318. Ending Nov 30, one-man show of paintings by Jack Ealy. Hours: Wednesday-Monday, 11 to 5.

Coop Fine Art/Craft Gallery, 14775 Third St Alley, Occidental. 874-1937. Through Dec 31, second anniversary show. Hours: Friday-Monday, noon to 5.

Dolphin Gallery, next to post office in Gualala, Hwy 1. 884-3896. Through Jan 8, “Holiday Boutique,” local gift items. Hours: Weekdays, 10 to 3; closed Tuesday.

18 Western, 18 Western Ave, Petaluma. 763-4586. Ongoing, artifact paintings by Charles V. Parker, plus antique art of American Indians. Hours: Wednesday-Saturday, 11 to 5.

El Sueno, 17175 Bodega Hwy, Bodega. 876-3056. Through December, group show featuring steels by Gerry Anderson and Homer Johnson, enamels by Alana Clearlake, mixed-media by Dian Becker, and mixed-metals by Cathy Richardson. Hours: Friday-Sunday, 11 to 5.

Finley Community Center, 2060 West College Ave, Santa Rosa. 543-3737. Through Jan 5, group show from members of Curtis Etching Press and Life Drawing Studio, photgraphy by Frank Kasino, and holiday greeting cards by artists both professional and amateur. Reception: Dec 8, 5 to 7. Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 to 7.

Franki Waters Gallery, 1588 Eastshore Road, Bodega Bay. 875-3388. Ongoing, “Monet Four,” etchings by Gail Packer. Hours: Monday-Saturday, 9 to 5; Sunday, 10 to 4.

Freestone House Gallery, 306 Bohemian Hwy, Freestone. 823-3710. Ongoing exhibit of garden art and landscapes by local artists. Hours: Thursday-Monday, 9 to 5.

Gallery Gae Shulman, 115 East Napa St, Sonoma. 939-9600. Through Dec 31, “Adornments: Personal and Otherwise,” multimedia group show focusing on home and life art-accessories. Hours: Sunday, Thursday, and Friday, 11 to 6; Saturday, 11 to 8; Monday, 1 to 6.

Greta Peck Gallery, 531 Fourth St, Santa Rosa. 578-9202. Ongoing, new works by Jean Mooney, Ali Golkar, and Louisa King Fraser. Reception for Golkar: Dec 1, 6 to 9. Hours: Monday-Saturday, 11 to 6.

Gualala Arts Center, 38001 Old Stage Road, Gualala. 884-1138 or 884-1136. Center accepting works no larger than 12 inches for upcoming “Small is Beautiful” show. Drop work off Nov 28, from 3 to 6. $1 entry per item; five item limit. Hours: Weekdays, 10 to 3.

Healdsburg Museum, 221 Matheson St, Healdsburg. 431-3325. Through Feb 4, “Antique and Collectible Toys: 1880-1939.” Open house for children: Dec 3, 12:30 to 3:30. Free. Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 11 to 4.

Henley’s Gallery, 1000 Annapolis Road, Sea Ranch. 785-2951. Through Dec 31, “Christmas at Henley’s,” group show of fine arts and crafts. Hours: Daily, 11 to 5.

Jesse Peter Museum, Santa Rosa Junior College, 1501 Mendocino Ave, Santa Rosa. 527-4479. Ongoing, “America’s Heritage: Indian Art from Many Nations.” Hours: Weekdays, noon to 4.

Karl Walburg Gallery, 129 Fourth St, Railroad Square, Santa Rosa. 546-4760. Ongoing, pastels by Maya Speilman, oils by Timothy Dixon, and photography by Bob Nixon. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 to 6; Sunday, 10 to 2; Monday by appointment.

King-Heller Gallery, Salmon Creek Road at Bodega Hwy, Bodega Bay. 876-3305. Through Dec 9, sculpture and drawings by David Hamilton and Joy Fibben. Hours: Saturday, 10 to 7; Sunday, 10 to 4.

Lee Youngman Galleries, 1316 Lincoln Ave, Calistoga. 942-0585. Ongoing, American traditional paintings by Maurice Harvey, Paul Youngman, Ralph Love, and others. Also, bronze and wood sculpture by Bob Boomer, Bill Girard, and Mehl Lawson. Hours: Monday-Saturday, 10 to 5.

Local Color Artist Gallery, 1588 Eastshore Road, Bodega Bay. 875-2744. Ongoing, work by artists’ collective in all media. Hours: Daily, 10 to 5.

Margaret Douglas Gallery, 124 West Napa St, Sonoma. 935-6254. Through Dec 30, contemporary glass by Dale Chihuly. Hours: Monday and Wednesday-Sunday, 11 to 5.

Milagros, 414 First St East, Suite D, Sonoma. 939-0834. Ongoing, Oaxacan wood carvings, masks, paintings, clay pottery, and other indigenous Mexican folk art. Hours: Daily, 11 to 6; closed Tuesday.

Millennium Arts, on Sebastopol Plaza. 829-5541. Through Dec 24, “Fast Food, Fast Cars, Fast Dogs,” oils by Mylette Welch. Reception: Dec 7, 5:30 to 8. Hours: Monday and Wednesday-Saturday, 10:30 to 5:30; Sunday, 11 to 4.

North Eagle Gallery, 6191 Sonoma Hwy, Santa Rosa. 538-2554. Dec 1 through Jan 1, group show by Creative Connection artists. Ongoing, bonsai plant collection, and ceramics by Caryn Fried and Wayne Reynolds. Hours: Daily, 10 to 5:30.

Osborn Gallery, 31 East Napa St, Sonoma. 935-3442. Ongoing, group show featuring paintings by Hal Larson, Richard Evans, and Judith Stewart. Hours: Thursday-Tuesday, 10 to 5:30.

Pacific LifeCare, 438 First St, #430, Santa Rosa. 579-ARTS. Through Dec 8, “A Burst of Local Color,” pastels, watercolors, and acrylics by Marsha Connell, Don Van Amerongen, and David Kingwill. Hours: Monday-Friday, 9 to 12 and 1 to 5.

Paradise Ridge Winery, 4545 Thomas Lake Harris Drive, Santa Rosa. 528-9463. Through Dec 31, “Lavender Blue,” pastels by Mary Silverwood. Hours: Daily, 11 to 6.

Passage Art Gallery, 414 First St East, Sonoma. 939-1190. Nov 24 through Dec 25, group exhibit and holiday show featuring silk painting by Jean Monroe and Dana Draper, silver ornaments by Laurie Marson, porcelain work by Lynn Swan, and Chinese brushwork by Andrea Allen. Hours: Friday-Monday, 11 to 6.

Petaluma Historical Museum and Library, 20 Fourth St. 778-4398. Ending Nov 27, “Far Eastern Roots,” exhibit of Asian culture on Sonoma soil. Hours: Monday-Saturday, 10 to 4; Sunday, 1 to 4.

Press House Gallery, At Buena Vista Winery, 18000 Old Winery Road, Sonoma. 935-1729. Through Nov 26, watercolor/photograph collages by Barbara Nichols. Dec 1 through Jan 14, watercolors by Sheila Golden. Reception for Golden: Dec 3, 1 to 4. Artists work in-residence Wednesday-Sunday. Hours: Daily, 10:30 to 4:30.

Querica Gallery, 25193 Hwy 116, Suite C, Duncans Mills. 865-0243. Ending Nov 30, “Water, Fields, and Skies,” oils by Joseph Bellacera. Hours: Wednesday-Monday, 10 to 5.

Quicksilver Mine Company, 154 North Main St, Sebastopol. 829-2416. Through Jan 7, “A Sense of Place,” Polaroid transfers by Kathleen Carr, assemblage by Kay Nelson, and paper art by Sharon Robinson. Reception: Dec 1, 5:30 to 7:30. Hours: Daily, 10 to 5:30.

Redwing Blackbird Gallery, 5531 Old Redwood Hwy, Santa Rosa. 528-0779. Ongoing, electronic and wood sculptures by Charles Churchill. Hours: Daily, 9 to 6.

Ren Brown Collection Gallery, 1781 Hwy 1, Bodega Bay. 875-2922. Ending Nov 27, “Retrospective,” exhibit of paintings, etchings, and silkscreen prints by Mayumi Oda. Hours: Thursday-Monday, 10 to 5, and by appointment.

Santa Rosa City Hall, City Council Chambers, 100 Santa Rosa Ave. 579-ARTS. Through Jan 5, works of artists exhibiting at new and ongoing Artisans Fairs. Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:30 to 5.

Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 500 North Main St. 829-4797. Through Dec 18, “Of This Earth,” works by Darlene Boy, Tomas H’kanson, J. C. Henderson, and others. Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 1 to 4.

Silver Mine Trading Company, 122 Kentucky St, Petaluma. 765-1176. Silversmith work by Bufford Dawahoya, Ray Tracey, and Lynol Yellowhorse, plus Hopi and Acoma pottery. Ongoing. Hours: Daily, 9 to 8.

SoFo Gallery, Cultural Arts Council of Sonoma County, 300 South A St, Santa Rosa. 579-ARTS. Dec 1 through Dec 25, “Interiors,” mixed-media group show featuring Marylou Downing, Noriko Hasegawa, Sally Baker, and others focusing on art, furniture, and paintings for the home. Reception: Dec 1, from 5 to 7. Hours: Monday-Friday, 11 to 4.

Sonoma County Museum, 425 Seventh St, Santa Rosa. 579-1500. Through Jan 1, “The Giant Who Swallowed the Moon: Indonesian Children’s Art from Java and Bali.” Adjunct Saturday afternoon events accompany exhibits through Dec 16 at 1. $2, adults. $1, students/seniors; 12 and under, free. Hours: Wednesday-Sunday, 11 to 4.

Sonoma County Office of Education, 5340 Skylane Blvd, Santa Rosa. 579-ARTS. Through Dec 15, “Autumn and Winter Landscapes of Sonoma County,” works by Robert Easley, Sheila Golden, Bernice Iriks, and others. Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 to 5.

Soundscape, 314 Mendocino Ave, Santa Rosa. 578-4434. Ending Nov 25, “Abstract Reflections,” sculpture and paintings by Hanya Popova Parker and Suzanne LeBaron. Dec 1 through Jan 27, “Science and Fantasy” group exhibit featuring work of Randall Jahn, Hoitis, and Tim Cantor. Reception: Dec 1, 7 to 10. Hours: Weekdays, 11 to 7; Saturday, 12 to 5.

SRJC Gallery Bussman Hall, 1501 Mendocino Ave. 527-4298. Through Dec 10, “Mysterium,” group show examining search for luminous and transcendent in art, featuring work by Gay Shelton, Katherine Sherwood, Jeff Adams, Larry Thomas, and others. Hours: Tuesday-Friday and Sunday, noon to 4.

Steele Lane Community Center, 415 Steele Lane, Santa Rosa. 5434-3282. Through Dec 8, hats by Amy Smith and drawings by Stefan Boales. Hours: Weekdays, 10 to 5.

Studio Discovery Tour Artists open their studios to public to eliminate middle man in sales and educate community about art. Nov 24-25, 10 to 4, in Gualala. Free. For maps and details, call 884-1138.

Tribal Beginnings American Indian Art Gallery, 6914 Sebastopol Ave, Sebastopol. 829-2174. Ongoing, antique Navajo textiles and antique baskets, jewelry, and pottery. “First Tuesday” discussion series on first Tuesday of each month. Free. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 11 to 5:30.

University Art Gallery, SSU, 1801 East Cotati Ave, Rohnert Park. 664-2295. Through Dec 17, two contemporary photography shows, “Street Engagements: Social Landscape Photography of the Sixties” and “The Urban Landscape: Recent Photographs.” Hours: Tuesday-Friday, 11 to 4; Saturday-Sunday, noon to 4.

Village Art Supply, 525 Hahman Drive, Montgomery Village, Santa Rosa. 575-4501. Through Dec 9, oils by Mark Jacobson. Hours: Monday-Wednesday and Friday, 9:30 to 6; Thursday, 9:30 to 8; Sunday, 10 to 4.

Vision and Magick Fine Arts Gallery, 21 Fourth St, Petaluma. 1-800-41-VISION. Ending Dec 3, “Trance’N’dance: Shamanic Visions,” multimedia group show. Adjunct activities include exhibiting artist presentations on Sundays from 2 to 4. Free. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 to 6; Sunday-Monday, 11 to 5.

West County Museum, 261 South Main St, Sebastopol. 829-6711. Through February, “Eclectic Collections,” selections from some 30 Sonoma County residents’ personal collections. Hours: Thursday-Sunday, 1 to 4.

William Lester Gallery, 11101 State Route 1, Point Reyes Station. 415-663-9365. Ongoing, watercolors by Joyce Laws, oils by Stan Painter, and pastels by Clark Mitchell, as well as work by other Northern California artists. Hours: Thursday-Monday, 10:30 to 6.

Wolfard and Company, 2408 Magowan Drive, Montgomery Village, Santa Rosa. 542-7426. Through Jan 30, “Capturing the Challenge of Watercolor,” with work by Katherine Fell, Sally Cataldo, and Lori Paternoster. Hours: Monday-Friday, 10 to 8:30; Saturday, 10 to 6; Sunday, 10 to 5.

Works, 148 East Napa St, Sonoma. 935-3132. Hours: Monday-Saturday, 11 to 5; Sunday, 1-5. Closed Tuesday.

Clubs, Cafes

Acapulco, 505 Mendocino Ave, Santa Rosa. 544-8400. Karaoke, Thursdays-Saturdays, at 9.

A’Roma Roasters and Coffeehouse, 95 Fifth St, Railroad Square, Santa Rosa. 576-7765. Weekend jazz and acoustic music from 8 to 11. Nov 23, David Pope. Nov 24, MŽlange. Nov 25, Chris Cox trio (jazz). Nov 30, Daniel Hannaford (Spanish guitar).

Bleachers, 1801 Cleveland Ave, Santa Rosa. 523-4301. Open 9 to 1. Wednesdays, country DJ dancing, $3. Fridays-Saturdays, Latino DJ dancing, $5.

Blue Heron, Hwy 116 at Moscow Road, Duncans Mills. 865-9135. Closed Tuesdays. Live music on weekends in evening.

Blue Rose Cafe, 420 Center St, Healdsburg. 433-8489. Thursdays, Tribal Love Party with Earl Thomas and Mark Huls (blues). Fridays, Michael Bolivar. Nov 24, Michael Bolivar. Nov 25, Greg Hester Trio.

Brick House Cafe, 134 Petaluma Blvd North, Petaluma. 762-3656. Wednesdays, Trivial Pursuit contest. Thursdays, open mike with Buzzy Martin. Live music.

Calistoga Inn, 1250 Lincoln Ave, Calistoga. 942-4101. Thursdays through November, Frederick Nighthawk (New OrleansÐstyle piano). Nov 29, Rick Hatfield.

Cantina, 500 Fourth St, Santa Rosa. 523-3663. Wednesdays, from 5 to 8, free evening child care for patron parents with kids ages 2-10. Friday-Saturday nights at 9, Cantina becomes Arriba, with DJ Stefan Gilmore on Fridays and DJ Kenny Anderson on Saturdays.

Club Max, at Red Lion Hotel, Rohnert Park. 584-5466. Thursdays, from 8 to 12, DJ dancing with Arturo. Fridays-Saturdays, from 9 to 1:30, Unrelated (live music).

Coffee Catz, 6761 Sebastopol Ave, Sebastopol. 829-6600. Tuesdays, D. Jaz Band. Wednesdays, open mike with Don Cobb. Thursdays, Extended Family (jazz). Nov 24, Vikki Ann (jazz). Nov 25, Melissa Pearl (folk). Nov 29, freedom night (open mike with prizes).

Cricklewood, 4618 Old Redwood Hwy, Santa Rosa. 527-7768. No cover. Fridays-Saturdays, Bob Lucas (jazz piano and vocals).

Dancing Goat Coffee Roastery and Cafe, 324 Center St, Healdsburg. 433-9081. Nov 24, Tin Man. Nov 25, Madge. Nov 30, Mark Taylor (guitar), Martin Matz (poetry).

Elite Cafe, 8465 Old Redwood Hwy, Windsor. 837-8800. Thursdays, Steve Wolf’s Jazz Cruisers.

Flamingo Resort Hotel, 2777 Fourth St, Santa Rosa. 545-8530. Thursdays and Sundays, dancing to music by DJ Fabian. Nov 24-25, After Dark.

Friar Tuck’s Pub, 570 East Cotati Ave, Cotati. 792-9847. Thursdays, modern music DJ.

Funhouse, 120 Fifth St, Santa Rosa. 545-1773. Wednesdays, Funhouse becomes Recreation with classic modern and house music. Thursdays, country music and line dancing. Fridays-Saturdays, R&B, hip-hop, techno, house, and retro music. Sundays, it’s Heaven, gay and lesbian dance club.

Heaven, 120 Fifth St, Santa Rosa. 545-1768 or 544-6653. Sundays only. Gay and lesbian dance club featuring DJ music and pool tables. No cover before 6. Dec 3, moonlight dancing.

Higher Grounds, 1899 Mendocino Ave, Santa Rosa. 525-8125. Tuesday-Wednesday nights, acoustic guitar. Open mike every night.

Inn of the Beginning, 8201 Old Redwood Hwy, Cotati. 77-TUNES. All ages welcome. Most shows $3. Nov 24, Eric Lindell’s Youngblood Blues Revue. Nov 25, Fatt Sack, Submerge, Prick and Spare Not. Nov 26, Mel Graves (jazz). Nov 27, Karry Walker (blues). Nov 29, Shadowsleep. Nov 30, Bananafish.

Jasper O’Farrell’s, 6957 Sebastopol Ave, Sebastopol. 823-1389. Open mike, Tuesdays at 8. Sports and darts, Wednesdays. Nov 24, Hearts Desire. Nov 25, Blenders. Nov 26, folk and blues.

John Barleycorn’s, 2700 Yulupa Ave, Santa Rosa. 526-3511. No cover. Thursdays are blues nights. Nov 24, Swift Kick. Nov 25, Midnight Sun (reggae). Nov 29, Gary RochŽ.

Kodiak Jack’s Honky-Tonk and Saloon, 256 Petaluma Blvd North, Petaluma. 765-5760. Nightly country dance lessons from 7 to 9, Tuesdays-Sundays. $3, free on Fridays and Saturdays. DJ dancing at 9 every night.

La Grande’s Restaurant, Todd and Stony Point roads, Santa Rosa. 584-8803. Fridays-Saturdays, 7 to 11, Jess Petty and Ken Chambers Duo (ballroom dance).

Lena’s, 509 Adams St, Santa Rosa. 542-5532. Saturdays, Johnny Otis, two shows, at 9 and 10:30.

Lyon’s, 190 Farmers Lane, Santa Rosa. 528-9311. Tuesdays, from 6 to 8, Ron Thompson (jazz).

Magnolia’s, 107 Fourth St, Railroad Square, Santa Rosa. 526-1006. Nov 24, Fence (various members of Bay Area bands playing alternative rock). Nov 25, Eric Lindell’s Youngblood Blues Revue. Nov 27, football; chicks in oil. Nov 30, Madge, Sir Reale.

Mama Donna’s Restaurant, 8868 Lakewood Drive, Windsor. 838-3371. Every Sunday, from 3 to 7, Steve Wolfe’s Jazz Cruisers.

Marty’s Top o’ the Hill, 8050 Bodega Ave, Sebastopol. 823-5987. Free country dance lessons every Wednesday, 9 to 12. Thursdays, karaoke. Nov 24-25, Rick Binkley.

Midway Cafe, 15045 River Road, Guerneville. 869-0501. Sundays, blues with Levi Lloyd and Nils Moline. Mondays, football with cheap beer and pool. Tuesdays, open mike with Hon Van Riper. Thursdays, “Absolutely Fabulous” British sitcom. Nov 24, Extended Family (jazz). Nov 29, Cash Farrar.

Molly Malone’s, 245 Healdsburg Ave, Healdsburg. 431-1856. Mondays, pool league; Wednesdays, dart league. Sundays at 8, Cisco and Reynolds. Nov 24, Heart’s Desire. Nov 25, Shed Yer Blues.

Mudd’s Cafe and Juice Bar, 1426 Mendocino Ave, Santa Rosa. 573-7180. Mondays, Russian River Writers Guild. Tuesdays, Mudd’s becomes Multimedia Cafe with presentations of different aspects of interactive digital media. Thursdays, Mudd’s Study Hall (quiet music, student discounts). Nov 24, Cropduster, Ginger. Nov 25, Audio Sand Trap.

Murphy’s Irish Pub, 464 First St East, Sonoma. 935-0660. Nov 24, Aires of Erin. Nov 25, Greenhouse. Nov 26, Dockside. Nov 30, Amy Kirsh and Carlo Calabi (traditional songs and harmonies).

Mystic Theatre, 21 Petaluma Blvd North, Petaluma. 765-6665. Nov 24, Scott Brothers. Nov 25, Pride & Joy, Yikes. Nov 30, Mother Hips.

Negri’s, 3700 Bohemian Hwy, Occidental. 823-5301. Nick Gravenites every Friday.

New George’s, 842 Fourth St, San Rafael. 415-457-1515. Mondays, Bo Grumpus. Nov 23, Value Kings. Nov 24, Wall Street, Yikes. Nov 25, Y & T, Fence. Nov 28, comedy night with Dan St. Paul. Nov 29, Suns of Alien Technology, Clara Bellina & Flying Monkeys. Nov 30, Cosmic Picnic.

Old Vic, 731 Fourth St, Santa Rosa. 571-7555. Jazz on Sundays, blues on Mondays.

Papa’s Taverna, 5688 Lakeville Hwy, Petaluma. 769-8545. Sundays, Greek dancing and lessons, from 12:30. Nov 24, Solid Air (roots-based originals).

Petaluma Queen, 255 Weller St, Petaluma. 1-800-750-7501. Live music on cruise boat. Sundays, Jazz Etc.

Phoenix Theater, Washington and Keller streets, Petaluma. 762-3566 or 762-3565. Fridays and Saturdays, live rock, reggae, punk, and ska bands.

Piero’s, 96 Old Courthouse Square, Santa Rosa. 523-3800. Open Wednesdays-Saturdays, 9pm to 2. Wednesdays, comedy night. Thursdays, college night. Saturdays, club becomes “Union” with DJ Dave Matthias.

Prospect Park, 515 Fourth St, Santa Rosa. 526-2662. Fridays, jazz sax with Cash Farrar.

Quincy’s Pub and Cafe, 6590 Commerce Blvd, Rohnert Park. 585-1079. Wednesdays, modern, techno, and alternative DJ. Thursdays, country music and dancing with Q105 DJ Bonnie Hendrin. Fridays, Top 40 dance music DJ.

Redwood Cafe, 8240 Old Redwood Hwy, downtown Cotati. 795-7868. Acoustic music. Sunday brunch music. Acoustic open mike every Monday starting at 7. Open-mike poetry every Tuesday at 8 with host Pierrette.

Ristorante di Mare, 2001 Hwy 1, Bodega. 875-3333. Fridays-Saturdays, Primavera Duo (classical guitar and violin).

Santa Rosa Brewing Company, 458 B St at Seventh Street, Santa Rosa. 544-HOPS. Sundays, Celtic Happy Hour from 5:30. Tuesdays, jazz sax with Cash Farrar. Nov 24, Audio Sand Trap. Nov 25, Filibuster. Nov 26, Aires of Erin. Nov 30, Derek and Aces.

Sellini’s 2250 Airport Blvd, Santa Rosa. 573-6900. Sundays, noon to 3, live jazz with Bob Lucas and friends.

707 Club, 1975 Cleveland Ave, Santa Rosa. 542-3330. Steady weekly entertainment. Mondays, football. Tuesdays-Wednesdays, karaoke. Thursdays, free West Coast swing dance lessons from 7 to 9; dancing after. Fridays, dance music with David Wayne. Saturdays, request night.

Slice of Life, 6970 McKinley St, Sebastopol. 829-6627. Saturday-Sunday nights at 6, classical and flamenco guitar of Daniel Hannaford.

Sonoma Coast Villa, 16702 Hwy 1, between Valley Ford and Bodega Bay. 876-9818. Thursdays-Fridays, through November, songs by Roschelle Paul as accompaniment to prix fixe dinners. $30.

Station House Cafe, 11180 State Route 1, Point Reyes Station. 415-663-1515. Music every weekend. Saturdays, Bart Hopkin (acoustic guitar). Sundays, jazz duo Bart Hopkin and John Goodman. Nov 24, Chris Amburger Trio (jazz).

Steamer Gold, Great Petaluma Mill, Petaluma Blvd South. 778-2267. Country dance lessons Tuesdays and Thursdays. Wednesdays, college night. Saturdays, music of ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s with DJ Seanee. Sundays, C&W dancing. Mondays, West Coast swing with lessons. Free on weekends, $3-$5 weekdays.

Stony Point Grill, 138 Stony Point Road, Santa Rosa. 578-1953. Karaoke on Saturdays. Sundays, Steve Wolfe’s Jazz Cruisers, 11:30am to 2:30pm.

Sweetriver Saloon, 248 Coddingtown Center, Santa Rosa. 526-0400. Comedy every Friday and Saturday at 10. Nov 424-25, Johnny Wayne, Rick Birchmore.

Sweetwater, 153 Throckmorton Ave, Mill Valley. 415-388-2820. Mondays, open mike with John Egan, 8:30. Nov 24, Tommy Castro. Nov 25, Earl Thomas and Blues Ambassadors. Nov 26, Peter Rowan. Nov 28, Lorin Rowan and Doug Harmon. Nov 29, Noelle Hampton (“alfolkative” rock). Nov 30, Box Set.

Tradewinds, 8210 Old Redwood Hwy, Cotati. 795-7878. Live music, no cover. Nov 23, Hearts Desire. Nov 24, Buddy King. Nov 25, Michael Barclay. Nov 30, Pulsators.

Twin Oaks Lounge, 5745 Old Redwood Hwy, Penngrove. 795-5118. No cover. Fridays and Saturdays, Cisco and the Kids Band (country rock), from 9 to 1:30.

Villa, 3901 Montgomery Drive, Santa Rosa. 528-7755. Fridays and Saturdays from 9 to 1, Metro (live R&B).

Dance

Force in the Crowd University Dance Ensemble presents “tapestry of individual student visions” with student choreographers and dancers performing to works of Fats Waller, Henry Mancini, Soundgarden, and Anointed. Nov 30 and Dec 1-2 at 8. SSU, Dance Studio Theatre PE 1, 1801 East Cotati Ave, Rohnert Park. $3-$7. $3-$7. 664-2353.

Nutcracker Performances

Petaluma City Ballet: Dec. 1-3. Friday at 8 p.m.; Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m.; Sunday at 2 p.m. Veterans Memorial Bldg., 1094 Petaluma Blvd. $9-$14. 765-3972.

Redwood Empire Ballet: Dec. 8-10. Friday at 8; Saturday at 2 and 8; Sunday at 3. Sugar plum parties follow matinŽe performances, $3-$5 extra. LBC, 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa. $7.50-$15. 523-3046.

Contessi Ballet: Dec. 9-10. Saturday at 2:30 and 7:30; Sunday at 2:30. Preview performances Nov. 25 at Petaluma Factory Outlets at 1, and Dec. 2 at 1 at Oliver’s Market, 546 East Cotati Ave, Cotati. Regular shows at Evert Person Theatre, SSU, 1501 East Cotati Ave, Rohnert Park. $10-$12; sneaks free. 795-1999.

Ballet Califia: Dec. 15-17. Friday-Saturday at 8; Sunday at 2:30. Spreckels Center, 5409 Snyder Lane, Rohnert Park. $12-$16. 584-1700.

Ballet California: Dec. 16-17 at 2 and 7. Meet the cast after the show, $3 extra. LBC, 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa. $10-$19. 546-3600.

Events

Ashes to Ash Chef John Ash celebrates release of new healthy-cooking cookbook with reception and reservations-only dinner, sponsored by Copperfield’s Books. Nov 30 at 5. John Ash & Co., 4330 Barnes Road, Santa Rosa. $5, reception; $40, dinner. 526-7687.

Calistoga Community Christmas Bazaar Get early start on holidays, buy tree from Boy Scouts, and help support community organizations. Plenty of food. Dec 2, 9 to 4. Calistoga Fairgrounds, Oak and Fairway. Free. 942-6972.

Chanukah Book Fair Storyteller Ruth Halpern is highlight of book and food fest hosted by Ner Shalom Synagogue. Dec. 3, from noon. 85 La Plaza, Cotati. $2, individuals; $6, families. 584-9341.

Christmas Crafts Fair Huge pre-holiday sale in 14th year benefits Russian River Watershed Protection Committee’s efforts. Different artisans each weekend. Nov 24-26 from 10 to 5. Santa Rosa Veterans Auditorium, 1351 Maple Ave. $1. 869-0054.

Community Awards Dinner Hispanic Chamber of Commerce hosts dinner to honor individuals and business that have distinguished themselves in public service. Dec. 56, 5:30 to 9. Santa Golf and Country Club, 5110 Oak Meadow Drive, Santa Rosa. $27, paid before Nov 30; $35, after. 526-7744.

Dickens Fair Downtown Cloverdale is transformed to olde England with carolers, crafts, vendors, tree-lighting, and more. Dec 2-3, from 10. Tree-lighting, Dec 1 at 5:30. Downtown Cloverdale. Free. 894-4470.

Feasts of Four Cultures Sonoma County Museum hosts meals in conjunction with exhibit of children’s art from Bali and Java. Feasts begin at 7 and include drinks, tax, and tip. Reservations suggested. Nov 29, Indian cuisine at Sizzling Tandoor. All meals $32-$35. 579-1500.

The Giant Who Swallowed the Moon Monthlong series of Saturday afternoon events to complement childrens’ art exhibit at Sonoma County Museum. All events at 1. Nov 25, Batik demonstration. 425 Seventh St, Santa Rosa. $1-$2; children under 12, free. 579-1500.

Holiday Hints Chef Jim May shares holiday recipes and entertaining tips in Alderbrook Winery open house. Guests over 21 years of age receive special stocking. Nov 25-26, 11 to 4. 2306 Magnolia Drive, Healdsburg. Free. 433-5987.

Holiday Open House Luther Burbank Home and Gardens deck out for Victorian Christmas with gifts for sale, and auction of cutting from Burbank’s original Cedar of Lebanon tree. Dec 2-3, 10 to 4. Santa Rosa at Sonoma avenues. Free. 524-5445.

Light Up a Life Home Hospice of Petaluma offers public chance to honor loved one who have passed by buying light for hospice tree. Dec 1 at 7. Center Park, in front of Mystic Theater, 21 Petaluma Blvd. South. $10 for light. 542-5045.

Lights of Life Home Hospice hosts traditional tree-lighting ceremony for north county residents. Food, drink, and entertainment before ceremony. Nov 26 from 4; tree lighting at 7. Healdsburg Plaza. $10, buys a bulb in remembrance. 542-5045.

Meet Gumby Creator Art Clokey and his best-loved sidekick autograph toys and talk claymation. Nov 25, 1 to 3:30. Early Work Parent/Teacher Store, 122-A Kentucky St, Petaluma. Free. 765-1993.

Model Train Layout Demonstration version of Sonoma County Model Railroad Society’s layout at Showcase of Trains event. Dec. 2-3, from 10. Santa Rosa Christian School, 950 South Wright St, Santa Rosa. $3; under 12, free. 542-4759.

Open House Hanna Boys Center hosts 46th annual holiday open house with gift items, facility tours, and band concert. Dec 3, 1 to 3. 1700 Arnold Drive, Sonoma. Free. 996-6767.

Penn and Teller Bad boys of magic show off the cool things they’ve learned to do. Nov 25 at 8. Marin Center, Avenue of the Flags, San Rafael. $20-$25. 415-499-6400.

Santa’s Steamboat Santa comes to Petaluma on Tule Princess steamboat, to jolly up the young ones. Antique wagon procession and singing as well. Nov 25 at noon. Free. 769-0429.

Singing For AIDS Randy Rowlands’ Christmas Choir puts on holiday show to benefit Home Hospice and Face to Face. Cocktails precede. Dec 3. Cocktails at 6:30; music at 8. Friedman Center, 4676 Mayette Ave, Santa Rosa. $15, cocktails; $10, concert. 544-6653.

Spirit of Christmas Mother of all crafts sales at fairgrounds features over 250 exhibitors as well as music of Michael Bolivar (Dec 1), Blue Moon (Dec 8), Pride & Joy (Dec 9), and others, as well as children’s shows and crafts workshops. Dec 1-3 and Dec 8-10. Fridays, noon to 9; Saturdays-Sundays, 10 to 6:30. Sonoma County Fairgrounds, 1350 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa. $1-$4; Fridays are free. 575-WELL.

Tea and Classics Classical and light classical music performed by local musicians is complemented with refreshments. Nov 26 at 3. Forestville United Methodist Church, Covey Road and Center St. For price and details, call 887-2020.

Thanksgiving Potluck Sonoma Community Center hosts holiday meal for public. All welcome. Entertainment and community sharing. Nov 23 at 3. 276 East Napa St, Sonoma. Free; donations accepted. 938-4626.

Winery Open Houses Eight Sonoma wineries open their tasting rooms to food, entertainment, and wine tasting. Participants include Kunde, Kenwood, St. Francis, and others. Nov 24-26, 10 to 4:30. $5 for souvenir glass. For maps and details, call 833-5891.

Women’s Winter Crafts Fair sponsored by Harmony Network and Women Against Rape offers early holiday shopping with objects made by female artists. Dec 3, 11 to 6. Sebastopol Veterans Bldg., 282 South High St. $2-$5, sliding scale. 823-9377.

Field Trips

Annadel State Park, Channel Drive, off Montgomery Drive, Santa Rosa. 539-3911. Fishing, hiking, mountain biking, trails.

Austin Creek State Recreation Area, 17000 Armstrong Woods Road, Guerneville. 16 miles of trails; Douglas fir, madrone, and oak forests; campgrounds.

Howarth Park, Summerfield Road between Montgomery Drive and Sonoma Avenue, Santa Rosa. 524-5115. Boating, fishing, carousel, train ride, nature trails, tennis courts, animal barn, and playground.

The Inside track Join others for social walking program within confines of Santa Rosa Plaza. Daily, 6 to 10am. Free. For details, call 544-SHOP.

Jack London State Park, London Ranch Road, west of Glen Ellen. 938-5216. Author’s grave, museum, Wolf House ruins, history trail, hiking, and historic buildings.

Lake Sonoma, 3333 Skaggs Springs Road off Dry Creek Road, near Healdsburg. Water-skiing, jet-skiing, swimming, fishing, hiking, over 100 campsites, and boat rentals.

Petaluma Peds Free guided walking tours of Petaluma’s historic downtown district led by costumed docents are offered every Saturday and Sunday morning at 10:30. Meet at Petaluma Historical Museum, 20 Fourth St. Donations accepted. 778-4398.

Skateboard Park, at Youth Community Park, Fulton Road, across from Piner High School. 524-5115. Large bowls and snake run for skateboarders; picnic areas and playground. Hours: 6am to 9pm.

Spring Lake, between Howarth Park and Annadel Park, Santa Rosa. Nature walks, hiking, boating, camping, and summer swimming. On Mondays, at 5:45pm, meet other singles and enjoy brisk trek around lake. For details, call 575-0355.

SRJC Planetarium, Lark Hall, Room #2001, 1501 Mendocino Ave, Santa Rosa. 527-4465. Through November 30, “Weather, Atmosphere, and Storm.” Fridays-Saturdays at 7 and 8:30, Sundays at 1:30 and 3. $3; $2, students. No children under 5, please.

TrainTown 20264 Broadway, Sonoma (Hwy 12, one mile south of plaza). 938-3912. Scenic miniature railroad runs through 10 acres of trees, animals, bridges, waterfalls, and historic replicas. Trips take 20 minutes. Fridays-Sundays, 10 to 5, through June 1. $3.50, adults; $2.50, children and seniors.

Trout Fishing Farms Hagemann Ranch Trout Farm, Hwy 1 north of Bodega Hwy intersection. Saturdays-Sundays, 9 to 5, through November. 876-3217.

Warm Springs Dam and Fish Hatchery, 3333 Skaggs Springs Road off Dry Creek Road, near Healdsburg. 433-9483. Visitors’ center with exhibits and displays. Hours: Daily, from 9 to 4.

Wild-Bird Walks Wild Bird Center offers walks first and third Saturday of each month. Meet at store and carpool to local destination. 1573 Farmers Lane, Santa Rosa. 8am. Free. 546-9425.

Winter in the Wild Learn how plants and animals adapt to changing seasons in lecture and field study. Dec 2, 10 to 4. Point Reyes National Seashore. $30. For details, call 415-663-1200.

Film

Hoa Binh Documentary follows journey of five veterans returning from Viet Nam, and outlines work of Veterans Vietnam Restoration Project. Music, raffle, and refreshments accompany. Nov 29 at 7:30. Santa Rosa Veterans Bldg., 1351 Maple Ave. $10-$25, sliding scale. 415-868-2507.

Les Blank Retrospective Blank’s early films “Yum, Yum, Yum,” “Gap-Toothed Women,” and “Blues According to Lightnin’ Hopkins” showcased as well as appearance by Blank, and showing of two recent works, “Sworn to Drum” and “Maestro.” Nov 25 and Dec 2 at 7:30. Nov 25, early work; Dec 2, filmmaker appearance and recent work. Gualala Arts Center, 38001 Old Stage Road, Gualala. $5, Nov 25; $7, Dec 2. 884-1138.

Raven-MAD Midnight Movies Raven Theater extends success of “Bob Dole” films with series of offbeat, violent, and beautiful films. Saturdays at midnight. 415 Center St, Healdsburg. Nov 25, David Cronenberg’s adaptation of William S. Burroughs’ masterpiece of drug fiction, “Naked Lunch.” $5. 433-5448.

Sonoma Film Institute, Darwin Theater, SSU, 1801 East Cotati Ave, Rohnert Park. 664-2606. Nov 24-26 at 7, Nikita Mikhalkov’s Academy Award winner, “Burnt By the Sun.” $4-$2.50.

For Kids

After Hours YMCA offers safe social gathering place for teens, with emphasis on recreation, peer interaction, and self, offering Ping-Pong, swimming, basketball and volleyball, movies, pool, weight lifting, and more. Saturdays, 8 to midnight. 1111 College Ave, Santa Rosa. $3, non-members; free to members. 545-9622.

Boxing Program Basic skills and amateur competition. For ages 8 and over. $20 for one year includes insurance and registration. $35 for coaches and officals clinic. Call American Made Boxing at 579-8043, Double Punches Boxing at 546-5011, or Community Boxing Center at 584-3892.

Card Workshop Kids learn to make their own holiday greeting cards. Cards will be judged and distributed to needy seniors who could use cheering up. Dec 2 and 9. Plaza North Shopping Center, 259 North McDowell Blvd., Petaluma. Free. 762-2234.

Christmas Magic Snoopy and his pals hit the ice again in new Christmas show visiting Paris, Aztec ruins, castles, and more. Dec 7 through Dec 30. Most shows at 3 and 7. Redwood Empire Ice Arena, 1667 West Steele Lane, Santa Rosa. $10-$32. 546-3385.

Discovery Center Santa Rosa Plaza Mall, B Street side. 575-1014. Hands-on fun for kids to hammer, record, build, destroy, and just generally mess around (shh . . . while they learn). Wednesdays and Saturdays-Sundays, noon to 5. $2, members; $3, non-members.

Holiday Sing-Along Children’s entertainer and songwriter Tim Cain leads evening of holiday fun for families. Dec 7 at 7. Polly Klaas Performing Arts Center, 417 Western Ave, Petaluma. $3. 765-1962.

Holiday Workshops Kids learn to make home-made gifts, decorations, ornaments, and cards. Dec 2 and 9, 10 to noon and 2 to 4. Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 500 North Main St. $20, includes materials and snacks. 829-4797.

Kid Street Theatre Non-profit organization devoted to helping kids from all backgrounds and situations feel self-esteem and joy of accomplishment through drama, art, dance, and interaction offers new fall drop-in program for youths ages 5 to 18. Volunteers needed. 54 West Sixth St, Santa Rosa. Tuesdays-Thursdays, 9 to 5. $5 per day, per child; free for families on AFDC. 525-9223.

Kids’ Nite Out Sonoma County Family YMCA offers monthly overnight for kids ages 6-11 with swimming, games, crafts, movies, snacks. $5-$20. For details, call 545-9622.

Pippi Longstocking Broadway for Kids, a national touring company, brings its version of the little red-headed girl with the erect pigtails who lives happily outside adult rule, with animal friends and a free-flowing soda fountain. Dec 1 at 7. LBC, 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa. $8-$10. 546-3600.

Santa’s Arrival Santa comes by steamboat to Petaluma turning basin. Nov 25 at noon. Behind Great Petaluma Mill, 6 Petaluma Blvd. Free. 769-0429.

Storytimes “Kids’ Night Out” storytelling every Wednesday night at 7 and Saturday morning at 11. Nov 25 at 11, Marsh Arnold reads from her newest book, “Heart of a Tiger.” Nov 25 at 12:30, dancers from Redwood Empire Ballet perform “Nutcracker.” Barnes & Noble, 700 Fourth St, Santa Rosa. Free. 576-7494.

Youth and Government Sonoma County Family YMCA offers program for teens in sophomore through senior years of high school to participate in youth state government. For details, call 545-9622.

Lectures

Community Education Healdsburg General Hospital offers free Wednesday night lectures from 7:15 to 9 on various health issues. Dec 6, “Men’s Health Issues.” 911 Medical Center Plaza, Suite 24, Windsor. 837-8811.

Diabetes Data Dr. Steven Edelman discusses “What’s New in Diabetes Research.” Nov 28 at 7. Sonoma County Medical Association Auditorium, 3033 Cleveland Ave, Santa Rosa. Free. 578-0887.

Family and Friends Series of evening lectures intended for family and friends of addicted or alcoholic individuals, but open to all. Every Thursday, 7 to 8:30. Nov 30, “The Disease Concept of Alcoholism and Addiction.” Senior Center, Room 18, 704 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa. Donations welcome. 546-3705.

Help for Single Parents Youth and Family Outreach Center sponsors series of Saturday morning lectures for one-parent families. Dec 2, “Parenting Styles.” 5200 Country Club Drive, Rohnert Park. $20/month. For times and details, call 579-0131.

Peace and Justice Center offer Thursday night drop-in discussions, speakers, videos, and letter writing opportunities. Every Thursday, 7 to 9. Nov 30, an evening of Thanksgiving sharing with video “The Visionaries” about Colombian street children and work of Father Xavier. Free. 575-8902.

Peace Problems Therese Mughannam-Walrath speaks on “Peace in the Middle East?” at potluck lecture. Bring dish to share and own table service. Dec 8 at 6. Unitarina Universalist Fellowship of Sonoma County, 3641 Stony Point Road, Santa Rosa. Free. 546-1019.

Publishing Salon Writer Christina Salat offers series of lectures on various topics germane to publishing world. Fridays, 6 to 7. Dec 1, “Paid Word Lovers: Jobs in the Publishing Industry.”The Sitting Room, 170 East Cotati Ave, Suite C, Cotati. $10. 795-9028.

Roots Sonoma County Genealogical Society hosts John Palmer speaking on “Resources for Southern Genealogy.” Nov 25 at 1. SRJC, Lark Hall, 1801 Mendocino Ave. Free. 538-1775.

Skin Cancer Sonoma County Family YMCA offers free lecture by Dr. Marek Lorenc on “Skin Cancer, How to Prevent It.” Nov 30 at noon. 1111 College Ave, Santa Rosa. 545-9622.

Speak Progressively Speeches about global warming, nuclear disarmament, environmental issues, abortion laws, etc. First and third Mondays of each month at 7. Peace and Justice Center, 540 Pacific Avenue, Santa Rosa. Free. 942-0546.

Talks for the Evolving Human Santa Rosa Therapy Network presents free Thursday Brown-Bag Lunch Break lecture series from noon to 1. Nov 30, “Truth or Happiness: Which Path to Follow?” with Bill Thompson. Santa Rosa Therapy Network, 888 Third St, Santa Rosa. Free. 544-8879.

WOMENSPEAK Series of talks by women engaged in cultural transformation takes place on Thursdays at 7:30. Nov 30, “Zen and the Art of Mothering,” with Virginia Matthews. Downtown Art Space, 172 B North Main St, Sebastopol. $5 each, or $20 for series. 824-8741.

Meetings

ACES Association for Children for Enforcement of Support works to assist parents not receiving entitled support. Meets fourth Tuesday at 7, every month at Veterans Memorial Bldg, North Room, 1351 Maple Ave, Santa Rosa. 524-7176.

Adoption Process Support Groups Hestia House weekly support groups. Birthmothers, Tuesdays at 5:30. Birth grandparents and triad group meet as needed. 882 Second St, Santa Rosa. Free. 527-1312.

Adult Children Anonymous Open meeting for gay, lesbian, and straight folks. Thursdays at 7:30 at 1300 St. Francis Road in Learning Center Youth Room, Santa Rosa. Fridays from 8 to 9:30 at Christ Church United Methodist, 1717 Yulupa Ave, Santa Rosa. 544-2130.

Bodega Bay Allied Arts Meetings second Thursday of month at 7:30 for presentations and discussions of art. Bodega Bay Community Center, 2255 Hwy 1. 875-3449.

Breast Cancer Support Share feelings and experiences, explore treatment options, and learn how to cope, do breast self-exam, and deal with work and insurance. Facilitator Eileen Jensen, RN, MSN, family nurse practitioner. First and third Tuesdays of each month, from 6 to 8, at 6800 Palm Ave, Suite C-1, Sebastopol. Educational seminars at Palm Drive Hospital in Sebastopol on second Tuesday each month at 7. Free. 579-2490.

Caregivers Support Group Provides information and support to family members and staff caring for elderly. Every second and fourth Monday, 1:30 to 3:30. Russian River Senior Center, 15010 Armstrong Woods Road, Guerneville. Free. 869-0618.

Central Sonoma County Art Association Open to painters and sculptors in all media (no crafts, please). Meetings every third Thursday at 7. Dorothy Spreckels Center, 5409 Snyder Lane, Rohnert Park. $25 yearly dues. 546-6156.

CHADD Information and support group for parents of children with attention deficit disorder meets second Monday of each month from 7 to 9. Rancho Cotate High School Library, 5450 Snyder Lane, Rohnert Park. 765-4863.

Children’s Group Teaching children to focus anger, express feelings, and solve problems is among topics to be addressed in group with adult facilitator. Tuesdays from 4:30 to 6. Family Education Center, 629 East D St, Petaluma. $45 per month. 762-8835.

Concord Coalition Local chapter of organization dedicated to “educating the public about the destructive impact of the federal budget deficits on the economy.” Free. Call 545-0745 for time and place.

Contra Dances Don’t expect to waltz with Ollie North; these aren’t Iran-Contra, just good old-fashioned country jigs. No experience or partner necessary. Third Friday of each month at 8. Monroe Hall, 1400 College Ave, Santa Rosa. $5-$6. 795-1011.

Dual Recovery Self-help anonymous group for people facing mental or emotional illness combined with chemical or alcohol addiction. Every Thursday at 2. A Step Up, 420 East Cotati Ave, Cotati. 795-4336.

Fem-to-Fem Fun Day Meetings last Sunday of every month for “fem” gay women to get together for various activities. Call for changing North Bay locations and information. Free. 824-1603.

Green Earth Community Circle Celebrating earth spirituality. Every Monday night at 7. Fred’s Gathering Place, 1215 Morgan St, Santa Rosa. Donation of $4. 585-8714.

Healing Service Congregation Beth Ami offers non-denominational service for those who need emotional or spiritual healing. Third Monday of each month at 7:30. 4676 Mayette Ave, Santa Rosa. Free. 545-4334.

Home Hospice Support Groups Sonoma County chapter of Home Hospice announces 14 new support groups for bereaved parents, groups for kids and teens, and new Spanish-language meetings, to assist in coping with parent loss, AIDS, suicide losses, and more. Call for different times and locations. Most meetings held at Home Hospice, 1110 North Dutton Ave, Santa Rosa. Free; donations accepted. 542-5045.

Independent Arts Coalition Meetings to establish a non-profit, all-volunteer independent venue for do-it-yourself bands and artists. Every Sunday at 7. Higher Grounds Cafe, 1899 Mendocino Ave, Santa Rosa. 578-5865.

Mental Health Board Sonoma County Mental Health Board meets fourth Wednesday of each month at 6. Planning Commission Chambers, 575 Administration Drive, #107, Santa Rosa. 576-4850.

North Bay Adoptions Parent-led international adoption agency. Informational meetings on last Tuesday of every other month at 7. Church of the Roses, 2500 Patio Court, near Montgomery Village, Santa Rosa. Open to public. Free. 837-0277.

NOW Local chapter of National Organization for Women meets third Monday of every month from 7 to 9, at Peace and Justice Center, 540 Pacific Ave, Santa Rosa, for lecture, discussion, and networking. Business meetings on first Monday of every month from 7 to 9. Call 527-8562 or 523-9533.

Old World Carolers A-cappella choir meets every Thursday for practice sessions to prepare for holiday season. For information and meeting times, call 829-5443.

Prostate Cancer Support Group gives men afflicted with this serious disease a forum to discuss problems, share experiences and information. First and third Tuesdays of each month at 6:30. Cancer Center, 3555 Round Barn Blvd, Santa Rosa. Free. 545-6720.

Rational Recovery International, non-profit, secular, self-help organization for people recovering from dependence on alcohol or other substances. Thursdays, from 6 to 7, in Conference Room 1 of Community Hospital, 3325 Chanate Road, Santa Rosa. 539-9627.

Redwood Empire Rose Society Meets third Thursday of month for study group at 6:30; meeting at 7:30. Luther Burbank Art and Garden Center, 2050 Yulupa Ave, Santa Rosa. Free. 539-9006.

Sacred Movement Group erases mental conditioning through body and voice improvisation. First and third Saturdays each month at 7:30. St. John’s United Church, 5051 Snyder Lane, Rohnert Park. $10. 585-6828.

Salon Night Artists and art enthusiasts welcome at this non-structured forum. Last Friday of every month at 7. Sponsored by California Museum of Art at LBC, 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa. Free. 527-0297.

Self-Healing Support Group Group focuses on women dealing with cancer and other illnesses through self-trust and self-healing. Second and fourth Wednesdays of each month at 7. $10-$15/session, sliding scale. For location and details, call 579-2081.

Sexual Assault Support Group Women Against Rape’s peer-led meeting for survivors. Thursday nights from 7 to 9. Free. Call 24-hour crisis line, 545-7273.

Sierra Club Population Committee Meets second Tuesday each month from 6:45 to 9. Environmental Center, 632 Fifth St, Santa Rosa. 578-0595.

Singles Connection Non-profit organization hosts weekly Tuesday meetings featuring speakers, with socializing after lecture. Red Oak Room, Los Robles Lodge, 1985 Cleveland Ave, Santa Rosa, at 7. $5 donation. 5798-4677.

Sonoma County Genealogical Society. Fourth Saturday of each month at 1. SRJC Lark Hall, Room 2009, 1501 Mendocino Ave, Santa Rosa. Free. 538-1775.

Sonoma County Woodworkers Association Amateurs and professionals share ideas, techniques, and encouragement. First Tuesday of each month at 7. Call for changing location and information. 524-7942.

S.T.O.P. 187 The coalition of Solidarity to Overturn Prop 187 meets every other Saturday at 5. 1700 Corby Ave, Santa Rosa. 545-6381.

Survivors of Incest Anonymous meeting for male and female survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Meetings scent-free. Every Sunday at 7:30. Sebastopol Community Church, 430 Murphy Ave. Free. 829-5771. Rohnert Park group meets first and third Sundays at 7. Rohnert Park Health Center, 1450 Medical Center Drive. Free. 795-1853.

Tall Club Redwood Empire Tall Club welcomes members who stand at or taller than 5 feet 10 if female, or 6 feet 2 if male, to weekly Friday night happy hour and monthly house parties. 545-TALL.

Tayu Meditation Center Free introductory meditation group meets second and fourth Tuesdays each month at 8pm. 898 Daniel St, Sebastopol. 829-9579.

Vegetarians of Sonoma County Monthly meeting with potluck dinner, second Sunday of every month, starting at 5:15, talk at 6. Seventh-Day Adventist Church, 840 Sonoma Ave, Santa Rosa. Bring your own eating utensils and dish or contribute $5. 526-4834.

Vipassana Meditation First Sunday of each month from 10 to noon at 11214 Occidental Road in Sebastopol, 823-0818. Sundays from 10 to noon at Anderson Hall in Camp Meeker, 874-2234. Thursdays at 7 in Sebastopol, 829-6796. Tuesdays from 8 to 9am in Cotati, 792-2635. Wednesdays at 7:30 at Creekside Apartments Clubhouse, 1130 Fourth St, Santa Rosa. Thursdays from 10 to noon in Sebastopol, 823-3391.

We the People Progressive, grassroots organization concerned with Sonoma County political and social issues meets first Wednesday of each month at 7. Labor Center, 1706 Corby Ave, Santa Rosa. 433-6946.

Women of Color Fun Day Meetings on first Sunday of month, at noon, to hike, talk, see movies, eat, go thrift-store shopping, and more with other women of color. Call for changing North Bay locations and information. Free. 824-1603.

Women’s Writing Ongoing group seeks experienced writers to read and critique each others’ fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. For details, call 539-8239.

Music

Afro-Cuban Jazz Innovative Afro-Latin traditionalist John Santos and his friends perform evening of Caribbean-influenced music. Nov 30 at 8. SSU, Warren Auditorium, 1801 East Cotati Ave, Rohnert Park. $5-$10. 664-2353.

All That Jazz Mel Graves directs SSU Jazz Ensembles in series of concerts on Nov 30 and Dec 7. Nov 30 is free concert at noon; Dec 7 at 8. SSU, Warren Auditorium, 1801 East Cotati Ave, Rohnert Park. Evening concert $3-$7. 664-2353.

Joan Armatrading Throaty-voiced singer/songwriter of extraordinary strength performs past hits as well as new songs from recent album, “What’s Inside.” Nov 27 at 8. LBC, 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa. $25. 546-3600.

Bananafish Acoustic duo out of Seattle perform songs from their Christmas album of covers and originals in two local shows. Dec 1 at 8:30, Dancing Goat Coffee House, 324 Center St, Healdsburg. $5. 433-1103. Dec 3 at 7, Gloria Ferrer Champagne Caves, Tasting Room, 23555 Carneros Hwy, Sonoma. $8-$15. 996-7256, ext.239.

Michael Bolivar Jazz musician performs his “soul-filled” melodies. Nov 25 at 8. Sebastopol United Methodist Church, 500 North Main St. $10. 829-4797.

Children’s Chorus Santa Rosa Children’s Chorus and Sonoma County Bach Choir perform holiday music. Nov 26 at 4. Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, corner of Old Redwood Hwy and Alden Lane, Windsor. $5-$15. 527-8813.

Robben Ford and Blue Line Blues extravaganza with journeyman Ford and his band. Must be 18 or older. Dec 6 at 8. Mystic Theater, 21 Petaluma Blvd. South. $10-$15. 765-6665.

Duckpond Doings Free weekly concerts at SSU each Tuesday and Thursday at noon. Nov 28, Pivot. SSU, Duckpond, 1801 East Cotati Ave, Rohnert Park. 664-2382.

Family Christmas British balladeer Roger Whittaker and his daught J. J. Whittaker sing international and holiday songs. Nov 25 at 8. LBC, 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa. $27.50-$32.50. 546-3600.

Festival of Harps Two distinct harp shows on two days, featuring music of many disciplines and cultures, including African and Celtic styles. Nov 25 at 8, jazz and classical harpists Deborah Henson-Conant, Cynthia Mowrey, Cheryl Ann Fulton, RŸdiger Oppermann, and Susan Rhode Morris. Nov 26 at 2:30, Peruvian harp of Chaskinakuy Duo, as well as Georgia Kelley, Cynthia Mowrey, RŸdiger Oppermann, and storytelling by Wendolyn Bird. Spreckels Performing Arts Center, 5409 Snyder Lane, Rohnert Park. $13-$16. 584-1700.

House Jacks In-your-face a cappella from this “rock band without instruments.” Dec 1 at 8. LBC, 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa. $10. 546-3600.

Jazz Harp Deborah Henson-Conant brings her funk bass brand of harp music to west Marin. Nov 24 at 8. Dance Palace, Fifth and B streets, Point Reyes Station. $12. 415-663-1075.

Mother Hips Harmonic hipsters known for soaring vocals and rhythmic grooves play alternative music with San Francisco’s Nuts band, Papa’s Culture. Nov 30 at 8. Mystic Theatre, 21 Petaluma Blvd, Petaluma. $8-$12. 664-2382 or 765-6665.

Redwood Empire Jazz Fest Junior and senior high school jazz bands vie for regard om 26th year of festival. Mel Martin and Bebop and Beyond perform at noon. Dec 2, from 8 to 6. SSU, Ives Hall and Evert Person Theatre, 1801 East Cotati Ave, Rohnert Park. $6, festival; $6 additional for Martin concert. 664-2353.

Santa Rosa Symphony Jeffrey Kahane conducts baritone Hector Vasquez and violinist Jennifer Koh and local orchestra in “The Greatness of the Human Spirit,” an evening of Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 in B Flat, and works by Dvorak, and Vaughan Williams. Pre-concert talks one hour before concerts. Dec 2-4. Saturday and Monday at 8; Sunday at 3. LBC, 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa. $15-$27. 54-MUSIC.

Readings

Barnes & Noble, 700 Fourth St, Santa Rosa. 576-7494. All events free. Nov 29 at 7:30, Susan McElroy reads from and signs “Animals As Teachers and Healers.” Nov 30 at 7:30, storyteller Dawn Floodman with stories for the soul.

Bella Vita Cafe, 8429 Gravenstein Hwy, Apple Valley Plaza, Cotati. 794-0168. Wednesdays, at 7:30, open mike with Buzzy Martin.

Brew Moon 16248 Main St, Guerneville. 869-0201. Thursdays at 7, Jus’ Us Jams (open mike and collective music making).

Coffee Bazaar Cafe, 14045 Armstrong Woods Road, Guerneville. 869-9706. Wednesdays, open mike at 7.

Live Literature Jonah Raskin reads from his upcoming biography of Abby Hoffman and poet Elizabeth Herron reads recent works in conjunction with SSU’s School of Arts and Humanities reading series. Dec 4 at 7:30. SSU, University Art Gallery, 1501 East Cotati Ave, Rohnert Park. Free. 664-2353.

Open Mike Poetry Redwood Cafe, 8240 Old Redwood Hwy, Cotati. Every Tuesday evening at 8 with host Pierrette. Free. 795-7868.

Russian River Writers Guild Meets Monday at 7:30, featuring live readings from county’s most prestigious poets and writers. Nov 27, Poets of the Vineyard book party and reading. Mudd’s Cafe and Juice Bar, 1426 Mendocino Ave, Santa Rosa. 573-9180.

Theater

A Christmas Carol: Scrooge and Marley Pacific Alliance Stage Company presents holiday classic, with update by adaptor Israel Horovitz. Thursdays-Sundays, Nov 30 through Dec 10. Thursdays at 7:30; Fridays-Saturdays at 8; Sundays at 2:30. Spreckels Performing Arts Center, 5409 Snyder Lane, Rohnert Park. $8-$12.

Babes in Toyland Santa Rosa Players present story of love triangle in Mother Goose Land as two men vie for the affections of Mary Mary Quite Contrary. Thursdays-Sundays, Dec 1 through Dec 23. Thursdays-Saturdays at 8; Sundays at 2. Special matinŽe Dec 23 at 2. Lincoln Arts Center, 709 Davis St, Santa Rosa. $10-$14; $2 discount Dec 14. 544-STAR.

Beauty and the Beast Surrealist version adapted from Jean Cocteau’s otherworldly depiction of classic Psyche and Eros tale, this is nothing like Disney ever dreamed of. Using masks, dance, and comedy, production is recommended for whole family. Nov 24 and 25 at 7:30; matinŽes at 2. Actors Theatre, LBC, 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa. $8-$12. 523-4185.

Bullshot Crummond Main Street Theatre presents melodrama parody of low-budget ’30s detective movies, starring Eric Cook. Thursdays-Saturdays at 8, through Dec 16. Special Sunday shows Nov 26, Dec 3, and Dec 10 at 7. 104 North Main St, Sebastopol. $10-$15. 823-0177.

Celebration of Peace Kid Street Theatre presents original show in evening benefit for this hard-working childrens’ organization. Dec 2 at 6:30. Reception precedes, then show. 54 West Sixth St, Santa Rosa. $25. 525-9223.

Charlotte’s Web Santa Rosa Junior College’s theater department presents the story of Wilbur, Charlotte, and Fern–the pig, spider, and little girl (respectively)–who find friendship and love through the magic of E. B. White’s writing. Nov 24-25. Friday at 8; Saturday at 2 and 8. SRJC, Burbank Auditorium, 1501 Mendocino Ave. $5-$7, students and general; $1, kids under 12; free with ASB card. 527-4342.

Fool of the World Children’s theater comes alive with the tale of the young boy whose foolishness leads him down a wise path indeed. Saturdays, Dec 2-16. Dec 2 at 11; Dec 9-16 at 11 and 1. Main Street Theare, 104 North Main St, Sebastopol. $5. 823-0177.

Grammy’s Angel One-act play of mother and daughters who can’t celebrate holidays with joy until ghost of maternal grandmother appears. Thursdays-Sundays, Dec 1-22. Thursdays-Saturdays at 7:30; Sundays at 3:30. Spreckels Performing Arts Center, 5409 Snyder Lane, Rohnert Park. $4-$7. 584-1700.

Not Just Another Christmas Carol Lennie Dean directs this marvelous, multi-leveled exploration of Dickens’ famous tale, following a play within a play, as a theater company prepares to perform it for an imaginary audience. Wednesdays-Sundays, Nov 30 through Dec 23. Wednesdays-Saturdays at 8; Sundays at 2. LBC, 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa. $12 general; $10 with canned food donation except Fridays-Saturdays. 522-9361.

SCR @ Noon Sonoma County Repertory Theatre launches its lunchtime brown bag series of innovative and new one-act plays. You bring food for the body, they provide food for the mind. Wednesdays-Thursdays, 12:10-12:55. Nov 30 and Dec 7, “Going for the Gold.” Nov 29 and Dec 6, “Common Ground” and “Listing 8 1/2 Degrees but Still Afloat.” 415 Humboldt St, Santa Rosa. $3. 544-SCRT.

Season’s Greetings Alan Ayckbourn’s adult comedy concerns itself with the traumas, laughs, and upheavals of a group of friends and relatives who gather each year at the same couple’s home to celebrate holidays. Presented by Sonoma County Repertory Theatre. Thursdays-Sundays through Dec 17. Thursdays-Saturdays at 8; Sundays at 7 except one special matinŽe Nov 26 at 2. 415 Humboldt St, Santa Rosa. $12-$18. 544-SCRT.

The Snow Queen Adapted from the Hans Christian Andersen tale just for Cinnabar Arts Corporation, this has become a family tradition. With original music and libretto, this is the story of a little girl who searches to find her lost friend–whisked away to the kingdom of the Snow Queen–before his heart turns to ice. Fridays-Sundays, Dec 1-17. Fridays at 7:30; Saturdays-Sundays at 2. Cinnabar Theater, 3333 Petaluma Blvd North, Petaluma. $5-$8. 763-8920.

The Time of Your Life Actors Group Playhouse presents William Saroyan’s look at existential life in America circa 1930s. Fridays-Saturdays, through Dec 2 at 8. Special performance Nov 30 at 8. 709 Davis St, Suite 210, Santa Rosa. $7-$9. 526-4339.

Workshops

Adult CPR YMCA offers 4-hour adult CPR classes on second Monday of month from 6 to 9. Receive Red Cross CPR certification upon completion. $25-$40. YMCA, 1111 College Ave, Santa Rosa. 545-YMCA.

Ballroom Dance and Lesson Learn variety of ballroom dances, from fox trot to waltz, then snuggle cheek-to-cheek at ballroom dance. First Friday every month at 8. Sebastopol Community Center, 390 Morris St. $8. 576-1136.

Board Member Training “Basic Training for Board Members” is topic of seminar presented by Volunteer Center of Sonoma County. Learn rewards and restrictions of community service. Nov 30, 5:30 to 7:30. Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce, 637 First St. $25, scholarships available. 573-3399.

Breast Screening Community Hospital offers low- and no-cost breast cancer screenings. For details and appointment, call 576-4473 or 1-800-762-0622.

Changing Woman Art Classes Create art to invoke personal discovery. Nov 30 at 7, “Healing Mandalas.” $20. For location and details, call 769-3143.

Co-creating the New Relationship Ongoing drop-in seminar for singles and couples with Susan Campbell. Dec 14, (not Nov 26, as noted in last week’s issue) 7 to 9. Learning to Live Center, 1147 Yulupa Ave, Santa Rosa. $10-$15. 571-7712.

Country Dance and Lesson Learn country swing and line dancing, then strut your stuff at dance. Third Friday every month at 8. Sebastopol Community Center, 390 Morris St. $7. 576-1136.

Diabetes Screening Free screening for seniors with bilingual medical staff, and ongoing diabetes educational classes. Sponsored by Senior Services of Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. For details, call 525-5262.

Fundraising 101 Volunteer Center of Sonoma County offers workshop on how to raise money. Nov 29, 9 to 4:30. Exchange Bank Master Card Building, 533 Fifth St, Santa Rosa. Fee based on your non-profit’s agency budget. 573-3399.

HIV Testing AIDS and Cancer Research Foundation offers free confidential HIV testing, preventative education, and medical care. Volunteer positions available. For details, call 545-2437.

Home Hospice Center offers variety of classes to help with grief, sadness, and direct approaches to process of death. 1110 North Dutton Ave, Santa Rosa. Free. 542-5045.

INS Testing Classes to prepare individuals for citizen test. Thursdays at 6:30 through Christmas. Roseland School, 950 Sebastopol Road, Santa Rosa. $25. 823-8122; en espagnol, 579-2061.

Job Search Strategies Series of workshops for job seekers at North Bay Career Resource Center, 837 Fifth St, Santa Rosa. Mondays-Thursdays, 9 to 4. 525-1955.

Master Gardeners Series of free Saturday workshops on various subjects. Dec 2 at 10, “A Crafter’s Garden,” with Bonny Dyck. For location and details, call 527-2621.

Medicine Buddha Practice Tibetan Buddhist meditation for self-healing utilizing powers of mantra and visualization. Every Thursday at 5. Healing Buddha Center, 10400 Cherry Ridge Road, Sebastopol. Free, donations requested. 823-8700.

Moving Towards Life Classes in music and dance to help healing process of cancer patients with Anna Halprin. Mondays, through Dec 11, at 6:30. Marin General Hospital, Conference Center, 250 Bon Air Road, Greenbrae. $60; scholarships available. 415-461-9479.

Mysteries of Opposite Sex Members of ongoing group explore questions about each other. Wednesdays, 7:30-9:30. Lomi Community Clinic, 343 College Ave, Santa Rosa. $12-$30, sliding scale. 579-0465.

Printmaking and Life Drawing Printmaking and studio use at Curtis Etching Press and Life Drawing Studio. Printmaking: Mondays and Thursdays from 5 to 11; Saturdays from 9 to 4. Studio use by appointment. $8, or $6 in advance. Drop-in life drawing: Mondays from 10 to 1; Fridays from 1 to 4 (three-hour pose), Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 7 to 10 (20-minute poses). $6 per session. At 3200 Dutton Ave #120, Santa Rosa. 576-0628 or 546-7109.

Sacred Movement Learn improvisational movement and musical journey. Second and fourth Fridays of each month at 7:30. 5299 Hall Road, Santa Rosa. $10. 585-6828.

Sexual Abuse, Sexual Healing Dea Rose Rackley presents series of free seminars on sexual abuse. Friday nights at 7:30. Lomi Clinic, 343 College Ave, Santa Rosa. 579-0465.

Smoking Cessation Class Meets weekly, Mondays and Wednesdays, from 7 to 9pm, at Public Health Rotunda, 3313 Chanate Road, Santa Rosa. Free to first-time registrants. $20 for previously registered. Sponsored by Sonoma County Public Health Dept. 528-4141.

Swimming Masters swim program at SSU Pool. All levels welcome, coach on deck for desired instruction. Mondays-Fridays, 6 to 8am and 5:15 to 7:15pm. SSU Pool, 1801 East Cotati Ave, Rohnert Park. Drop-in fee $3.50, monthly fee $40. 524-4363.

Theater Games Storyteller Georgia Churchill

Arts Guide | Music | 11/22

Olde Songs

Volunteer chorus keeps obscure carols alive

By Bruce Robinson

“I’ve been collecting Christmas carols ever since I can remember,” says Rebecca Dwan, the nominal leader of the Old World Carolers, a loose affiliation of singers who share her enthusiasm for the seasonal songs. Most of the carols they perform cannot be found on tapes, CDs, or even old records, she continues, so “our mission is to put out these songs and get them back where families can learn them, almost like a folk song.”

For the most part, their repertoire is drawn from the holiday traditions of Europe over a 500-year period from the 1300s to the 1800s. But it is not exclusively sacred or religious, Dwan adds.

“Definitely not all Christmas music has Christian meanings.”

For the past 10 years, the informal chorus has met and rehearsed in Dwan’s living room, learning carols from Russia, Spain, Portugal, and the Ukraine, as well as some more familiar melodies from central and western Europe. They have even worked up one number that is sung in Serbo-Croatian, which Dwan says is a small gesture in support of peace in that troubled region.

“It”s nice to remember that it’s one language; two peoples but one language,” she says.

The ethnic theme of their programs has been reinforced by the most visible venue in which the Old World Carolers perform, the Sonoma County Museum. “The first time I remember them being at the museum, we had scheduled an Italian holiday exhibit around Christmastime,” recalls museum director Eric Nelson, “and they came in and sang Italian carols as part of the program.

“It set a wonderful tone and ambiance that we couldn’t have possibly done without them.”

That was seven years ago. The Carolers will mark their eighth Christmas with a program of traditional English carols this year, preparatory to the museum’s Holiday High Tea the following day. “They add a breath of life and a more dramatic element to the programs that we’ve presented,” Nelson adds.

In addition to the museum dates, the Carolers also sing at other private events and at convalescent hospitals, always donating their services. “We’re about getting together to sing, not concertizing or performance,” Dwan says. “Sometimes we”ll just get together and sing for fun, whatever we want.”

Over the years, participation in the group has ebbed and flowed, some singers remaining constant while others come and go. Dwan, who has no formal training as a conductor, has tried to shape a leaderless group, but with only partial success.

“We try to stay in the folk process. We decide things by consensus,” she explains. But when a downbeat is needed, she is usually the one to provide it, albeit somewhat reluctantly. “It’s hard for people to break out of wanting a director,” she sighs, “not just choirs, but any group.

“Some members just can’t handle it and leave.”

All singers are encouraged to bring their favorite carols to the group, which also functions as a sort of musical swap meet and is modeled on a Singers’ Circle that Dwan happily took part in years ago when she lived in San Francisco. “I learned songs in that singers’ circle that I’ve never forgotten. That tradition is one that I’ve tried to bring to this group.”

No musical training is required of chorus members, and the group rehearses weekly through the fall months leading to the Christmas season.

The Old World Carolers now number about 16 voices, but only a couple of them are male, which imposes some limits on the repertoire they can perform. “I have wonderful music that requires men’s voices,” Dwan says wistfully. “When there are men here, then we can sing that music.”

Still, she finds great satisfaction in what the Carolers are able to do. “The spirit that we started with in 1985 has pretty much stayed the same,” Dwan says. “You get out of it what you put into it. In a way, the group is a real indulgence for me.”

The Old World Carolers will perform Saturday, Dec. 9, at 1 p.m. at the Sonoma County Museum. Usual museum admissions will be in effect: $2 for adults, $1 for seniors and students, and children under age 12 free. The group will also sing Sunday, Dec. 10, at 4:30 p.m. outside the depot in Old Railroad Square as part of the Lights of Life program for Home Hospice of Sonoma County.

From the Nov. 22-29, 1995 issue of The Sonoma County Independent

This page was designed and created by the Boulevards team. &copy 1995 Metro Publishing and Virtual Valley, Inc.

Frontlines

Downtown Debate

Is Santa Rosa’s ‘core area’ a mecca for shoppers or a Beirut for businesses?

The corner of Fourth Street and Mendocino Avenue is, to many, the epicenter of downtown Santa Rosa, the primary crossroads of the city’s retail core. It may also been seen as the junction where business and politics intersect, a vantage point that offers some sharply contrasting opinions on the health and comfort level of the surrounding business community.

From the Santa Rosa Plaza, general manager Chris Facas looks up Fourth Street toward the new Barnes & Noble Bookstore in the revitalized Rosenberg building, and he is encouraged–despite the growing string of vacant storefronts. “We are collectively headed in the right direction,” he asserts. “The fact that we have some businesses that have gone out is no cause for concern.”

As long as the city continues to pursue such downtown attractions as a cultural center or a convention center, the occasional defections of individual businesses represents only “some minor stumbling blocks,” says Facas.

Others are less optimistic. “It’s a little bit tender here. We’re at a critical stage in that we are losing some tenants,” counters Buzz Pauley, a downtown businessman and property owner. “We have had some good strong new tenants come in, like Barnes & Noble, but it’s very hard to compete with the mega-mall retail outlets, the big-box retailers.”

A founder of the Heart of Santa Rosa, a lobbying group for downtown business interests, Pauley is critical of the city’s courtship of increased sales-tax revenues through expansion of the retail centers along Santa Rosa Avenue.

“They say they need the tax dollars, but why?” he asks. “To support more bureaucrats?”

Pauley and other local businessmen aired their concerns this week when the City Council reviewed a new report focusing on the unique problems faced by downtown businesses.

The scattering of vacant storefronts in the three blocks along Fourth Street between B and E streets doesn’t particularly worry Michael Hyman, whose family has owned and operated the Pawn Shop for more than 30 years. “There’s always turnover, but I don’t think the vacancies have been there too long,” he says, adding that new tenants are in the process of occupying two of them.

“Fourth Street seems to be in pretty decent shape,” Hyman adds. “The problem seems to be Mendocino Avenue from Fifth to up there near Cherry.”

Dave Madigan agrees. The owner of a Mendocino Avenue stationery store, Madigan views the defections of each former business neighbor with alarm. “We’re losing downtown businesses to the Marketplace [shopping mall] and the outlying areas because the cost of doing business downtown is so oppressive,” he objects.

His 6,000-square-foot building is assessed $2,000 each year for parking districts, plus another $1,100 for streetscape improvements. It lies just outside a new assessment district for what he calls the “twinkle lights”–year-round Christmas lights–in the trees along the downtown sidewalks.

“To me, the bricks in the sidewalk and that fancy stuff, that doesn’t do anything for my business,” Madigan says. “We had perfectly good sidewalks in the past.”

His larger complaint is poor communication between city government and the business community. “No one at the city seems to ask the actual people who are paying the bill how they feel about these assessments. Are they a benefit to the businesses or a benefit to the City Council to make it look like they are doing something downtown?” he asks.

Madigan and others resisted the assessments that were used to fund the former Downtown Association, a group that was forced to disband when a number of business owners “mutinied.” He is also unhappy with the Downtown Task Force, a 20-member panel of business owners and city representatives formed last year to examine the issues affecting the core retail area and to make recommendations for improving the business climate.

He has waged a high-profile battle against the task force’s suggestion that parking meter rates be bumped significantly higher as a means of increasing vehicle turnover in the metered parking spaces.

That issue is just one of more than a dozen subjects addressed in the task force’s 21-page draft report. Other recommendations include encouraging more housing in the downtown area, planning more evening events, easing parking fines and enforcement, stepping up security measures in city parking garages, and forming a committee to implement the ideas of the city’s 1991 Core Area Development Plan.

The City Council reviewed the report in a study session on Monday night.

Larry Martin, owner of H.M.S. Travel and a member of both the Heart of Santa Rosa and the Downtown Task Force, would like to see the city do more. “The City Council has done a lot of things, but on a reactive basis,” he says. “If government wants to encourage growth, it has to go out and make it happen. You can’t rely on economics and chance.”

At the very least, Martin contends, the city shouldn’t be undermining the downtown’s best efforts to help itself. “We’re making progress, but as we do there are economic influences on the periphery that are inhibiting that progress,” he says. “Didn’t the City Council just approve another shopping center out on Santa Rosa Avenue? Here they are, out of one side of their mouth saying, ‘We really want to support the downtown,’ and then by approving peripheral development, they are sucking the lifeblood out of the downtown.”

Having invested a year in the Task Force and its recommendations, Martin is now hoping those ideas will be given serious consideration. “We want to make damn sure this project doesn’t end up the same way the Core Plan did, which was a pat on the back from the city and then three inches of dust on the back shelf.”

Bruce Robinson

From the Nov. 22-29, 1995 issue of The Sonoma County Independent

This page was designed and created by the Boulevards team. &copy 1995 Metro Publishing and Virtual Valley, Inc.

Menu | 11/22

Talking Turkey

Local chefs are more than game to share Thanksgiving traditions

By Gretchen Giles

The smell of onions, butter, and sage cooking slowly on a cool November morning, mixing with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee. The cinnamon and nutmeg scents of pumpkin pie ripening gorgeously in the oven. The cold linoleum floor of the kitchen as you stand in your bathrobe, submerged up to the elbow in the icy, unyielding carcass of a turkey, grasping unsuccessfully at the elusive bag of giblets stuck down at the end.

Thanksgiving is all of this and–we hope–more. On a quest to discover just what this most traditional of American feasts means to those who earn their keep in the kitchen, we asked several local chefs how they celebrate the holidays.

“We get it all from Raley’s for $39.95,” laughs chef Todd Muir, owner of Healdsburg’s Mangia Bene. “Of course I’m joking,” he replies to the reporter’s horrified gasp. “I do a very traditional Thanksgiving,” he reassures. “It’s the one time of the year that I make a turkey, and I love turkey.”

Indeed, this holiday will be a rare treat for Muir. He won’t have to work. Muir was at Madrona Manor for 13 years, exactly all of his oldest daughter’s life. He’s looking forward to beginning a new tradition of staying at home, and tossing the football around.

“It’s the holidays of yore that I try to capture.”

Lisa Hemenway, owner and executive chef of Hemenway’s Restaurant in Santa Rosa, will work this year. But after work, she’ll relax at a friend’s holiday meal. “This is the first year [of working on the holiday]. Actually, I take that back. The first year I worked for John Ash at Montgomery Village, he opened for Thanksgiving, and I boned 250 turkey legs, and he did trout, and I had to bone those, too,” she groans comically. “We just decided to open on Thanksgiving this year because our customers have been calling, and I figure let’s make hay while the sun shines.”

Interviewed in her turn-of-the century home in Santa Rosa, Hemenway has just returned from a five-day trip, and is wearing her chef’s coat, having misplaced her blouse at some point during changes in her hectic day.

“Don’t look in the refrigerator!” she calls as she changes clothes.

Emerging looking fresh, Hemenway curls up on her couch. “A lot of times I make dessert, because that’s so easy. These people usually have so much food that I won’t need to bring anything, but I’ll probably bring potatoes anyway, maybe a wild mushroom-potato galette. I’m a potato-monger. There will be mashed potatoes, but on Thanksgiving you can have potatoes and more potatoes.”

Because of unusual circumstances in her family life, Hemenway will miss her usual tradition of cooking with her three brothers, all of whom are connected in some way to restaurants or professional cookery. “We have all gone into that, so there’s this great competition at Thanksgiving and Christmas, and it’s fun,” she smiles. “But they’re home cooks, and they have a different idea than I do. They want to get all fancy and I just say, ‘Let’s slap it together.’ I do end up doing a lot, but then I can clean it all up in about two minutes.”

“With my family, there’s great competition in the kitchen because we’re all excellent cooks,” she says, rearranging herself on the couch. “My dad is a great cook, but he didn’t know it until I became a cook. He would always make my breakfast when I was a kid. You know–at 6 o’clock in the morning I’d be sitting down to banana pancakes or some complicated omelette, and other kids would be having oatmeal.”

Chef John Ash of John Ash & Co. will spend the day with friends in Berkeley. “It’s a big extended family, and in a funny sort of way we try to make it fairly traditional,” he explains.

But Ash’s tradition this year includes some fairly non-traditional dishes. “I’ve been fooling around in this whole world of chutneys and spices,” he says. “I’ve just finished two new recipes, and they [his friends] will be my guinea pigs.”

He’ll prepare mango pickles as well as a red wine, juniper berry, and pear dish. “They go with turkey or ham, and this year we’re going to do some roasted ducks,” he says.

Christmas is a less elaborate affair for Ash. “At Christmas, I tend to do things that are much simpler,” he muses. “Hearty soups and stews. There’s that idea–and I don’t know if it’s psychological or not–but there’s that feeling that because Christmas is such an indulgence in so many other ways, the food should be simple and wholesome and close to the earth.”

Alderbrook Winery chef Jim May is looking forward to the holiday. “That one day is probably my favorite day of the year,” May says. “Usually, I do most of the cooking, and every one else brings all of the wine.” May and his friends keep a wine diary from year to year, noting food and wine pairings that they have made, and the gastronomic results.

His menus are elaborate and elegant. “The cool-weather oysters and crabs are coming out, and there’s salmon. If we’re not having fresh crab, I’ll make a crab soup. I usually start with seafood and spinach balls with mustard sauce,” he explains, adding that he pairs these with champagne and a crisp GewŸrztraminer.

“Wild mushrooms are always nice if we’ve had a little bit of rain and they’ve come out,” he adds wistfully. “I like to do a lot of native things–a lot of corn, a lot of red bell peppers or baked sweet peppers. And always a salad. I did a beet and endive and pear and goat cheese salad one year, and a hearts of palm salad with shrimp in a lime cilantro vinaigrette another year.”

But not all of his holiday fare is haute cuisine.

“The mashed potatoes are always homemade and always lumpy,” he laughs. “That’s real food.”

May marinates his turkey up to 48 hours ahead of time in plenty of fresh garlic, lime juice, and soy sauce. Basting with the marinade as it cooks, May barbecues the bird in a Weber grill with soaked grapevines to add flavor.

“I think that the lime juice really amplifies the sweet smokiness,” he observes.

May generally has between eight and 12 guests for the holiday. How does he handle the cooking? “I begin cooking the day before,” he answers. “The mousses and the stock for the soup are made the day before. As for the pies, well, I’m not much of a baker. I leave that to someone else. I’m exhausted by then. I just want to sit back and enjoy the wine.”

Chef Martin Coleman of Chateau Souverain chuckles in mock despair: “I’m kind of a boring guy, I guess.” A British native who emigrated to the states in 1979, Coleman acts like the average husband on Thanksgiving: he lets his wife do the cooking. They’re going to her parents’ house for the holiday, and Coleman is just glad to have a day off. “They used to feel kind of odd having me around for the holiday meals,” he admits, “because of what I do for a living. But I’m a really down-to-earth guy, and what everyone brings is pretty good. It’s not exactly the kind of meal you go around criticizing,” he laughs.

Coleman does rouse himself for Christmas, however, sometimes making a traditional British Christmas cake, a rich fruitcake with a marzipan topping. “My mother makes hers six months ahead,” he says. “It’s macerated in brandy and sherry. People in England sit down and eat some about three or four times a day.”

It sounds like heady stuff, a chewable after-dinner drink.

“The alcohol content?” Coleman asks rhetorically. “Well, I hadn’t thought about that before,” he laughs. “That could be why they eat so much of it.”

Michael Smith of Cafe Dahlia in Graton will close the doors of his restaurant on Thanksgiving, but will find himself in the kitchen nonetheless. “This year I’ll be cooking at my sister’s house,” he says. “Usually on Thanksgiving, I carry most of the load. I don’t mind it; I love to cook. This year we’re doing a turkey with sourdough stuffing, and I like to add shiitake mushrooms and lots of onions and garlic. We’re also going to do a stuffed pork roast, and I like to fill it with some kind of fruit, either apples or prunes. I’ll also do a creamed spinach or some other kind of vegetables. For dessert, I’m making a chocolate cake and a pumpkin pie.” Smith will make the desserts the day before, but cooks everything else fresh on Thanksgiving day proper.

“We don’t have any sort of real tradition,” he chuckles. “We just get together, and cook, and start drinking.”

Chef Cesca Wellman of the Bear Flag Cafe in Sonoma will spend the day with her parents. “They take good care of me,” she says cheerfully. “My mom never makes me cook.” Nonetheless, Wellman will bring appetizers. “I like to make a lot of hors d’oeuvres, so I’ll do that. Spicy Thai eggplant, caviar on toast, and I love mushrooms, so I’ll make marinated mushrooms.

“And, we always have a big bowl of M&M’s,” she giggles. “Very gourmet, but when you’re watching football all day. . . . Oh, and we’re going to have oysters!”

Wellman and her mother plan to go rollerblading while her father watches football.

“We’re so weird,” Wellman says happily. “We could have macaroni and cheese for Christmas because we eat so well the rest of the year.”

From the Nov. 22-29, 1995 issue of The Sonoma County Independent

This page was designed and created by the Boulevards team. &copy 1995 Metro Publishing and Virtual Valley, Inc.

Round About

Artist Mario Uribe on Zen and the art of circling

By Gretchen Giles

“I do circles almost every day,” says artist Mario Uribe. Sitting in the echoing white-walled space of Santa Rosa’s American School of Japanese Arts, where he is in the middle of installing a new show, Uribe has a tanned hand resting gently on three large binders. Secured within each are hundreds of pages of circles, each one drawn with the swift heavy beauty of Japanese ink and brush.

“I think that if you look at them, if you thumb through this,” Uribe says, speaking with calm distinctness, “you’ll see that they’re all incredibly unique. Each one is a different moment, a very unique moment, and it’s a unique moment in our lives.

“And that’s exactly who I was at that moment.”

Not surprisingly, Uribe’s show is called “In the Circle,” and while there are many geometric shapes ennobling the walls, Uribe’s past work has prominence. A mild man with white hair, brown skin, and kind, humorous eyes, Uribe seems himself to be happily surprised by a time in his life when he’s about to be married and have a new show open both on the same weekend. A pacifist whose anti-war stand is evident in his work, Uribe has recently relocated to Sonoma County from San Diego, where he made a name for himself for both the beauty and the symbolism of his work.

“I do lots of different kinds of art,” Uribe continues, his brown eyes gentling behind his glasses. Indeed, his expertise seems to include all media, from animation, to ceramics, to landscape painting, to constructions, to printmaking. One of his ongoing projects has been to create art for hospitals. “Even though I make a living as an artist,” he emphasizes, “my living comes from doing work that I consider to be healing.

“I’ve done many different things,” he continues, “but I think that during the last 10 years my art has changed more and more to encompass social subjects. I just feel a very strong responsibility.”

His most controversial piece came about in response to the Persian Gulf War. Finding himself horribly enthralled with the process leading up to the war, Uribe and others enlarged an image of Japanese brush-master Kazuaki Tanahashi’s bold brushwork with the inscription “What If We Go to War?” onto a billboard in downtown San Diego. When the war finally hit, and Americans became engaged in “collateral damage” and “friendly fire”–two of Uribe’s ironically favorite euphemisms–he cloaked himself in black (“I had seen a few too many Ninja movies,” he chuckles), and crouched by the billboard. His intention was to splash it with red paint, but there were too many people around at night in that drug-dealing part of town. Instead, he waited for full daylight, boldly climbed the billboard, and dragged a can of thick red paint across its motto. When local media called Uribe to tell him that his work had been vandalized, he corrected them. The work had merely been changed.

The Gannett Co., which owned the billboard, replaced the message that very day.

Uribe’s most startling Gulf War pieces are two paintings that hang one above the other. The top canvas depicts a life-sized rendering of a faceless pilot, the first American to drop a bomb on Iraq during the conflict. Inscribed beside the forward thrust of his right leg are the words “It’s a great day to be an American”–words that Uribe, in shock, copied from an interview on CNN with the young man who had made that excited pronouncement. Below the pilot’s image is an erotic painting of a nude lipsticked woman lying on her back, her breasts raised.

“It’s called ‘Great Day, Great Lay,'” Uribe says dryly. “I just wrote down [what the pilot said], and I didn’t know what I was going to do with it. And then the Tailhook scandal happened soon after that, and my impression from this guy was that he almost had an erection from dropping these bombs–he was so excited–and then I just sort of put the two together, because it’s a mentality. And part of that mentality is a macho thing. They feel like they’re . . . well, I don’t know. I don’t understand it. But I just sort of imagine, that that’s why they feel that they can abuse women, to play those macho games that set up this kind of dichotomy.

“The idea is that there are a lot of underlying subtle things in our culture, in our society, that we’re all responsible for, and that help or lead to the ignorance of war and dropping bombs.”

But Uribe has been sustained by more than antagonism. Influenced by Tanahashi, Uribe has participated in four events where circles have been drawn in public places in huge dimension. “The circle in many cultures is a symbol of unity and wholeness; it has nothing but good connotations,” Uribe says. “And doing the circle by yourself, you really realize what the circle is. But in doing the circle with a lot of other people, you bring people together, and that feeling is stronger and much bigger. You inspire people,” he continues, “and it’s really an act of brotherhood and collaboration.”

The latest such act was during a June 3 celebration of the United Nations’ 50th anniversary. With members of the American School of Japanese Arts, which operates from the Wilson Street Gallery, Uribe and others covered five 30-foot panels with one large circle. Once dry, the panels were hung for 17 days from the roof of San Francisco’s War Memorial Building. One section of that circle will hang in the show.

“It’s not a protest against war and injustice,” he says. “It’s more of a healing process and a statement, and a way of bringing people together to do something positive.”

Uribe’s vision has changed since his Gulf War work. The bold representationalism of those late-’80s pieces is gone, and in its place is the circle. “I don’t know where I’m going, and I don’t care,” he says simply. “It doesn’t matter. I’ve never really worried about that. I’ve always just sort of followed my nose and my instincts, and this is where I am right now.”

“In the Circle” exhibits through Dec. 3 at the American School of Japanese Arts, 602 Wilson St., Santa Rosa. A reception for Mario Uribe is planned for Nov. 10, from 5 to 7 p.m., and he will give a talk on Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. Gallery hours, for this show only, are Thursday from 2 to 8 p.m., and Friday-Sunday from 2 to 6 p.m. Free. 523-1950.

This page was designed and created by the Boulevards team. &copy 1995 Metro Publishing and Virtual Valley, Inc.