Page 33 - Sonoma County Gazette June 2017

Sister Scarlet of the Russian River Sisters here standing in as guest columnist for the strikingly lovely, yet unavailable, Beth Rudometkin.
and those seasonal tourists arrive en masse. The Chamber of Commerce is ready in their beautifully remodeled o ces on the Plaza. Stop by to say
hello to Kimberly Lambert, executive director. She is excited to hear ideas and suggestions as to how the Russian River Chamber of Commerce can assist our local businesses! The next Chamber mixer is being hosted by Korbel Champage Cellars on Wednesday June 7th from 5:30- 7:30PM
Hey foodies! Connie Schlabach reports that the Russian River Farmer’s Market will be at the 4th Street location in the eld behind the re station and St Hubert’s Hall. You’ll nd your favorite vendors in the same location again this year. So far Connie can con rm the return of Raymond’s Bakery, the gardening & cookbook booth by the Friends of Guerneville Library, arts & crafts, as well as various vendors selling stone fruit, fresh veggies, cheese, sausages, and mushrooms. Vendor applications are still coming in!
ART Out & About. June is a great month for art-lovers! On June 2nd the First Friday Artwalk celebrates local art, music, food & wine on the rst Friday each month with artist receptions at studios & galleries throughout town. Sam Russell is showing his incredible work at Sonoma Nesting Company, and Ehme Haas is organizing a show called “Imagining Our Brightest Futures: Expressions from Russian River’s Youngest Creators” with a reception from 3:00-6:00PM at Guerneville Regional Library. Art @ The Source Open Studios is set for June 3rd & 4th and June 10th & 11th. Some of the local artists include: #72 Marge Margulies 18147 Neeley Rd.; #73 Douglas DeVivo and Dianne Neuman 16359 Main St.; #74 Sandra Maresca 16120 Watson Rd with guest artists Rosa Diaz-Serrano and Francesca Scalpi.
PROUD! The 30th Annual Sonoma County Pride Celebration kicks o
on Friday, June 2nd with a concert by Billy Gilman and Steve Grand at Graton Resort & Casino. Tickets through Ticketmaster. The current political situation will be addressed at the National LGBTQ March Solidarity Rally
at Guerneville Lodge in Guerneville on Saturday, June 3rd at 1pm featuring a broad spectrum of community organizations and government leaders. Music, food and exhibitors of course!. On Saturday evening the Rio Theater, will host Outwatch - Wine Country’s LGBTQI Film Festival, “Shorts at the River”. Full details at OutWatchFilmFest.org. Sunday, June 4th starts with the Unity March & Pride Parade, and after the parade the festivities begin at noon for Unity & Pride Celebration Festival at Guerneville Lodge.
7th Annual Great River Race, a bene t for the Russian Riverkeeper’s education and trash removal programs, takes place on June 3rd. Grab your paddle, or your keyboard and visit www.greatrussianriverrace.com to register for the race or to volunteer to help with the event. The races begin at 11 a.m. and end at Johnson’s Beach with a FREE River Race Party from Noon-4 p.m. Everyone is invited to enjoy live music with the Cahoots, food trucks and beer, a costume contest, and an award ceremony for the racers!
BINGO! The Russian River Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are hosting Day Glo Bingo, a joint bene t for Social Advocates for Youth and TLC Transitional Housing on June 10th at the Vet’s Hall. And on the 17th, the RRSPI will be hosting Indulgence: Taste West Sonoma at the Barlow with members of the Taste West Sonoma group of wineries. There will be wine tastings, a wine auction, catering by Worth Our Weight, French Roma music by Dgiin and classical guitar by Kevin Probst, wine trivia, and fun and games with the Sisters! Proceeds will bene t the Nuns of the Above Scholarship Program, and a new SRJC viticulture scholarship will be created from the proceeds. Tickets for both events are available on the Sisters’ website: www.rrsisters.org.
Give-Back Tuesday at the Rainbow Cattle Company includes Friends
of Fife Creek on the 6th; Lost Hearts & Souls Horse Rescue on the 13th; Guerneville Farmers Market on the 20th and the Center for Sacred Studies on the 27th. GBTs have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars since Bobby Frederick started the program in 2005, and each fundraiser features a potluck dinner for $5/plate, a ra e, and sometimes a silent auction. 10% of the proceeds from the bar are always donated back by the owners of the Rainbow.
Summer is approaching and the state of our River communities has improved signi cantly these last few months. You can see the change on the streets in Guerneville thanks to highly engaged citizenry and business owners taking back our community. We are grateful Lynda Hopkins, the
It’s time to take a long loving look around as spring passes into summer,
Sheri ’s Department, and CHP have responded to our needs. While there is
still much work to focus on going forward, our communities have never been better represented. As of press time, the Russian River Alliance with its member community organizations now have solid representation from Guerneville to Cazadero. One voice representing the lower Russian River area. Working together for our residents, businesses, and our tourists. I am so proud of the endless hours our volunteers are putting in, the support from the community, businesses, and government partners, and most of all the results! We are a diverse community and while you can never please everyone, with civil discourse, hard work, and perseverance, change does happen. It’s all good.
In Guerneville the old Mercantile building should be reopening with new shops and a freshly painted exterior shortly. The Surrey Gym of Guerneville should also be opening soon. In Monte Rio we have Lovett’s Nursery that just opened. Larry Lovett is an old time Monte Rio resident who has owned the property since 2000. He operated Lovett Roo ng in the past. His new nursery is open 7 days a week through the summer. He gets owers and vegetable plants delivered weekly. If you don’t see what you are looking for he can order it, and on larger orders even deliver to you. It’s great to have a nursery back in town. Stop by and check it out if you haven’t already.
Other business news includes Duncans Mills Brewing Company. This will
be a small craft beer brewery located at the Blue Heron. You can still get all your favorite beers at the Blue, while trying some home brewed beer! There is some other possible historic local watering hole news in the works, but time will tell! In the meantime, visit and support Tom at the Blue while he continues to work his magic.
Upcoming events of interest include OUTwatch’s Shorts at the River lm fest Saturday June 3rd 7pm at the Rio Theater and Café featuring eight great lms. outwatch lmfest.org
Sunday, June 4th is the Monte Rio Triathlon.
Our biggest event of the year, Fireworks, Water Parade and Big Rocky Games, will be Sunday July 2nd. This is sponsored by Monte Rio Chamber, Monte Rio Rec & Park, and Monte Rio Fire.
Vacation Wonderland. We just keep getting better.
It’s BACK!!! The Rockin’ the River concert series on the Guerneville Plaza takes place on alternating Thursdays through the summer, and this year
it’s starting o with the return of Roy Rogers and the Delta Rhythm Kings
on Thursday, June 22. The rest of the line-up includes the Highway Poets, Zepparella, the Jean Genies, Invasion Latina, Dgiin, and lastly, the Best Intentions. Rockin’ the River is a free event organized by the Russian River Rotary, but you’ll usually see a Russian River Sister working to cover expenses.
Vira The California Mermaid, the Norcal MerPod and the Friends of
Fife Creek have set June 25th as the date for the Fife Creek Finraiser at West Sonoma Inn & Spa from Noon-4:00PM. The Finraiser will have Mermaid- Approved wine for tasting, mermaids swimming with guests in the pool, live music in the courtyard, appetizers, an auction & ra e, an amazing origami display by Sue Edmonds (Fife Creek restoration volunteer), a blessing of the creek, and native plant expert Dave Morton will give an educational tour of the creek restoration project. This is a kid-friendly family event so bring the kids!
Business spotlight The new business going into the Bucks/Juicy Pig building. There will be a soft opening of Timberline, a restaurant serving “country cabin cuisine” with a bar named The Bear in mid-late May with a grand opening on June 27th. The space will also be available as an event center with an occupancy of 200 people, and will serve as home-base to the California Cookie company. Larry Boeger, Scott Wagner and Robert Strickland are the new owners. Congrats on the new business guys!
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Later in July on Thursday the 27th is the 106th annual Monte Rio Variety Show put on by the Bohemian Club. Time after Time, traditions run deep here and we love it that way. monterioshow.org.