Page 34 - Sonoma County Gazette - May, 2018

April Showers bring May Flowers
The AIA visits Healdsburg
I love this old English proverb. I have been saying it every April since I was a kid, I guess another aspect of my “Pollyanna” look at life. If we hold out during the discomfort of the rainy season we will be rewarded with beautiful flowers in May. It’s positive thinking, always knowing there is something good to
look forward to, the life attitude I like to live by. See you at one of these special events on the Windsor Town Green.
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) visited Healdsburg on Tuesday, April 17, 2018 to learn more about local issues, meet the people and decide whether a Sustainable Design Assessment Team (SDAT) project would be a good fit for our city. Over the course of the day the two staff members and team leader met over 100 residents in 5 comfortable sessions.
Windsor Day Parade & Cinco de Mayo Celebration, Saturday, May 5th
Mayor Brigette Mansell who attended them all reflects on the day: “I experienced a full day of collaborative, generative, inclusive discussions regarding our town of Healdsburg. The public engagement process today,
for this initial visit, was a testament to the dedication and integrity the SDAT Steering Committee demonstrated throughout the planning process. I deeply appreciate all the thorough planning and shaping of this critical first step in our analysis of what Healdsburg needs—what experts we need, to support a study to better understand our shared community values and, ultimately, what we want to cultivate and create for a sustainable, healthier, more inclusive future.
Since May 5th falls on the first Saturday in May and that’s the annual Windsor Parade Day, the Town of Windsor, Windsor Kiwanis and the Windsor Oddfellows have partnered to put on one huge event.
The Windsor Day Parade is from 10 – 12 pm and a Town tradition organized by the Kiwanis Club of Windsor. The theme for the parade this year is, “It’s a Small World”.
The Windsor Day Festival is from 10 – 3 pm, organized by Windsor Odd Fellows in conjunction this year with the Town of Windsor Cinco de Mayo Celebration. The festival will have booths, food and drinks, a car show and live entertainment. Bands planned for the day are The Renovators and Mambo Street with performances by Ballet Folklorico and Windsor Bloco drum
“Since I attended all of the full day’s activities, beginning with the
tour, listening and contributing to the four separate dynamic sessions: Environment, Economics, Social/Cultural and Governance, as well as the Latino Community’s Comité from 6-7:30 pm, I was “gifted” with heartfelt,
civil discourse. I heard common themes. I felt our stakeholder’s passion for Healdsburg. I penned, in many pages of my notes today, copious, specific feedback from brilliant, concerned activists, conscious business owners, and curious citizens who each shared their observations and pride and love for their town and mostly, its people: our youth, our education, our health, our workers, our elderly, our families.
and dance team. Check out these sites for participation info. https://www. townofwindsor.com/338/Special-Events, http://www.windsoroddfellows.org/, http://kiwaniswindsor.org/parade
Mother’s Day Cookie & Tea Tasting, Sunday, May 13th
The Windsor Farmers will be holding their 7th Annual Cookie & Tea Tasting on Mother’s Day from 10 – 1 pm. This is a free event, bring Mom, Grandma, daughters and sisters, sip from vintage English china cups as you shop the Market. Mark from Tea & Trumpets will be choosing 3 of his custom tea
blends for tasting. Cookies will be from Market bakeries, Red Bird Bakery, BurtoNZ Bakery, Cookie...takea Bite! and new vendor Rainy Day Chocolates. Live music with The Memory Lane Trio, the first 50 Moms receive a beautiful long stem Rose, complimentary from Atrellis Floral & Gifts in Old Downtown Windsor. Jeanne Vallerga, owner/designer of Atrellis is celebrating her 1 year anniversary of ownership in May. She has been designing flowers for over 20 years and loves working with local organic growers and flower distributors. Atrellis has given Jeanne the opportunity to share her love of decorating with flowers and wants to be your local go to florist and gift shop in Windsor. Atrellis offers custom florals for every occasion and they have many special gifts to choose from – Sonoma Lavendar, Finch Berry Soaps, cards and fun inspirational signs. They are open Mon-Sat, 9-5:30 and Sun, 11-3 and they deliver anywhere. Place your orders for Mothers Day at www.atrellis.com or by phone at 707-837-8080
The 6th Annual Kidz Day on the Farm will be happening at the Windsor Farmers Market from 10-1. The Market event will have Country Games, Animals, Plant a tomato to take home and Kidz Dig It Cooking Class where kids will make handmade tortillas. Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition will be there with fun bicycle education and 100 FREE custom fitted helmets courtesy of Windsor Lions Club. Live Music from Hank Levine with local student special guest musicians. As always, fresh produce, local food and art, Brunch, BBQ, Dutch Bros Coffees and Fruity Moto Smoothies.
NEW EVENT with new producers have taken over the Windsor Half Marathon, now called the, Windsor Green 13.1. Runners in the Windsor
Half Marathon, 10K and 5K races leave the Town Green starting at 7:30 am
on Sunday, May 20th and run through the countryside and back to the Town Green Finish Line. The festival after the run will include Local Beer and Wine, food and music. Visit www.runwinecountry.com/general-information for all the details.
34 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 5/18
“Let’s keep up this momentum and value and honor what we all know is at the heart of this mission: to seek balance, as an eco-system, as an economically and culturally wealthy community, and to honor the community commitment seen today. My hope is to sustain this level of authentic outreach. Your mayor and City Council value the efforts of the SDAT steering committee and the community members who participated in the topic sessions facilitated by the AIA.”—Brigette Mansell, Mayor of Healdsburg
Big Day in Windsor on Sunday, May 20th
They shared that the meetings attended by community members were incredibly informative in terms of iden- tifying emerging themes. Besides the specific issues, housing being prominent, the question they formed from listening to all those conversations was: ‘How can we maintain the values and character of our town and the richness of our human relationships while continuing to maintain this vibrant economy, in a place that continues to be unique and authentically ours?’
Wednesday morning, before rushing home to Washington D.C. and Seattle, our 3 guests (2 AIA staff members and the AIA team leader) told the SDAT steering committee that they felt the incredible enthusiasm and passion throughout the day. “Healdsburg is one of the most engaged communities we have ever dealt with; we got to meet more people than we normally do on these initial visits.”
Erin Simmons, SDAT project coordinator, acknowledged all the planning that had gone into making this a great preliminary visit; then explained to the 25 or so steering committee members the importance of letting go, trusting the SDAT process and suspending expectations “because SDATs are totally organic and therefore outcomes can’t be predicted.” Ms. Simmons concluded by saying the words we were all waiting to hear: “We definitely see a real opportunity for an SDAT project here!”
Next steps: AIA staff will assemble a unique team of professionals and return for an intense 3-day community engagement process culminating in
a public presentation of their policy recommendations and a later report. The date for the full SDAT visit is yet to be scheduled.
Stay Engaged: The SDAT opportunity has fostered other community conversations including weekly Campfires and monthly workshops. All are welcome to the informal, self-organizing Saturday morning Campfires where participants sit comfortably around the imaginary fire, listening and talking together about what Healdsburg could be. The Campfire has a self-organizing, leaderless structure with a group-initiated agenda. Join us Saturdays, 9- 11am, Healdsburg Community Center, Room 14. This month’s workshop will be a housing panel: May 19, 2- 3:30 pm at the Healdsburg Senior Center. To learn more and participate in Healdsburg’s future visit www.Healdsburg-SDAT.org.
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