Page 41 - Sonoma County Gazette July 2018

Hello Gazette readers. By the time this issue hits the newsstands it is officially summer, yay! I want to send a shout-out to all the Dub’s fans out there—Let’s Go Warriors! Three titles in four years, pretty amazing stuff, especially when you consider how many years of futility we had to suffer through prior to the run we’re on.
Last month I wrote about the problem we have been having in
our area with crime. It still continues...numerous businesses have been broken into and merchandise is being shoplifted from quaint, locally owned stores. Soon enough, the entire town will be covered in cameras! I hate to think that this is a sign of the times in our groovy town, but in reality, I guess it is. Let’s be vigilant and keep an eye out for each other! That’s something we can control and should not change!
On a much brighter note, SUMMER is HERE and the FUN has BEGUN! The river, she is a risin’ now that the dams are in, which means days and evenings filled with tubing, kayaking, canoeing, just plain water fun! Remember, safety first, as our river has many snags and potential dangers underneath the water surface!
On Saturday, June 30th from 12-5 over in Monte Rio, the Monte Rio Fire Dept. will be having their annual 4th of July BBQ, serving up juicy barbequed chicken, green salad, beans and bread! This is their main fundraiser so be sure to bring the family over for lunch after attending the Rocky Beach Games at the Monte Rio Beach! The firefighters will be on hand with hats for the little ones and they can even see a fire engine up close! Be sure to purchase a sweatshirt, t-shirt or tank top as well.
Back over to groovy Guerneville, Saturday late afternoon, June 30th is the Fourth of July Festivities in our groovy town, beginning with the Friends
of Stumptown BBQ in the Larks parking lot. There will be plenty of food (including oysters), music and dancing, and a drawing for a Perception Kayak (donated by the Russian River Chamber of Commerce). Tickets are on sale at the Chamber Office for $1 each or $5 for 6 tickets. Drawing will be held at 7pm and you need not be present to win!! Saturday night will be the spectacular Fireworks Display, which you can view from anywhere downtown Guerneville.
On Sunday, July 1st, we go back over to our neighboring Monte Rio, for more Rocky Beach Games and that evening, the Water Parade and Fireworks Show down at the beach! This weekend truly is fun filled, whether you are in Monte Rio or Guerneville or BOTH, you definitely will have a groovy time.
Don’t forget every Thursday, beginning at 3pm, is the Farmer’s Market which is held behind St. Hubert’s Hall on Fourth Street. Our local farmers are on hand selling their locally grown produce, along with Raymond’s Bakery delicious bread and even a food truck or two. Also, every other Thursday at
the Guerneville Plaza you can listen to some groovy live music, as the Russian River Rotary presents Music on the Plaza! July 5th will be The Everly Brothers Experience featuring the Zmed Brothers and July 19th will be Marleen Valente & Invasion Latina, non stop Cumbia, Salsa & Bachata from L.A. WOW!
will be having its monthly mixer at the Blue Door Gallery beginning at 6pm. Come out and meet your local merchants and business owners! Out in Duncans Mills, the weekend of the 14th & 15th will be the Civil War Days, beginning at 9 am. If you have never attended this, you are missing out. The encampments are amazing, as well as watching the Battles, as you are watching live history! Go to civilwardays.net for more information.
If you head East, over to the Rio Nido Roadhouse on Saturday July 21st, wax up your board dude, as it’s the groovy 5th Annual Surf Music Festival! They will have 5 bands and tiki drink specials going on all day! Buy your tickets now through Eventbrite!
If you head West, I feel like a yo-yo...on July 26th it’s the 107th Annual Monte Rio Variety Show at the Ampitheater. This show sells out quickly, so be sure to get your tickets right away from brownpapertickets.com.
Have groovy news or events? Email me at rudometkinbeth1@gmail.
com or stop by Pinnacle Capital Mortgage to see me in person. 16190 Main Street Suite C...right next door to Russian River Realty. Have a groovy summer everyone!
Speaking of summer the annual Occidental Fire Department Barbecue is coming up on Sunday July 16th from 12-6 at the Union Hotel grove just north of town on Bohemian Highway. I always enjoy attending this event, the BBQ is great, it’s fun to see friends and neighbors out and about, and the cold (reasonably priced) beer and live music never disappoint. A favorite of the day for me is the dessert table, there’s so many different wonderful options to choose from. Do you want pie or coffee cake? Cobbler or cupcake? They have got it all.
It’s currently the middle of June, I’m writing for July and reflecting on an event that happened in late May which already feels like a long time ago. The time-line of column writing still trips me out and the time keeps on flying by.
The event I’m speaking of is the Climate Ride California that I participated in. I know most of you probably don’t care much to hear about it, but I imagine a few are interested and perhaps I can even inspire someone to sign up for a future ride or hike themselves. Besides, as a volunteer columnist I get to write about what’s important to me, so here goes.
The ride was amazing! Super hard physically and mentally to ride 60 plus miles 5 days in a row but so worth it. The scenery was spectacular and the people involved were wonderful. My hardest day was riding from Duncans Mills to Olema, on a cold, windy and drizzly day. My body ached all over from the 3 plus days of riding, my mind had drifted away from the ride as we were so close to home and all its distractions, and I was wet and miserable. When we pulled into Tomales I thought I was going to quit and take the sag wagon for the final 20 miles into camp. Instead I was encouraged by other riders to continue and hooked up with a couple ladies that set a great pace, had some cool tunes playing from a speaker on one of their bikes and really helped me get through the difficulty I was having. By the time we pulled into Hog Island for oysters and beer my attitude had completely changed and my brain willed my body on to the end.
I think it is a wonderful and important thing for us humans to push ourselves physically and mentally. Get out of your comfort zone, meet new people, see new sights and so on. You will be rewarded in so many ways. On top of the beauty, endurance and new relationships forged, our collective of 120 riders managed to raise close to $400,000 for numerous worthy causes. The folks who put on the ride were very supportive in every way imaginable.
Check out www.climateride.org for more information on their organization and all the outings they offer. Some other rides that have piqued my interest are the San Juan islands of Washington or Glacier National Park, though there are many others and they all sound very cool.
Wednesday, July 11th, the Russian River Chamber of Commerce
In regards to being a volunteer columnist and having the freedom to choose the content I would be happy to have input and/or help in writing this column. Please feel free to let me know of any event, idea or local info that you deem newsworthy and I will consider including it in a future article. As well,
if anyone would like to be a guest writer of the column for a month I would welcome another persons view of town.
In my local business profile of the month I would like to shine the spotlight on Hinterland Empire which they advertise as apparel for the feral.
I love everything about this shop, the people and the goods they are offering! They are locally owned, American made and offer recycled and organic options. It is primarily a clothing store, but there’s also jewelry, cards, stickers and I’m sure some other cool stuff I didn’t notice. They are currently open Fri – Mon from 10-5. They have clothing options for women, men and babies. Even if you aren’t looking to purchase you should stop by just to see the wonderfully original designs they have created, I guarantee they will make you think, smile, even laugh.
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