Page 37 - Sonoma County Gazette Juy 2019

Summertime in Downtown SEB
As we move into the summer it is a time of vacations, mild weather and more wonderful Windsor events. The Town of Windsor Parks & Recreation Department Summer 2019 Recreation Guide has a great lineup of activities for families and kids of all ages. The Tuesday night Family Movies on
Rei Blaser, President of the Sebastopol Downtown Association,
encourages locals to enjoy our historic downtown this summer. She invites everyone to shop at the annual Sidewalk Faire, from Friday July 19th through Sunday the 21st. Merchants will offer amazing discounts and guest vendors will line Main Street.
the Green will run through July, and the Friday night family swim at the Senior Recreation Center looks pretty enticing as the temperatures rise. The Recreation Guide has a complete listing of summer camps, activities, and lessons available for kids.
She continues, “Join us for a fun night of Swing Dance lessons to a live band at the dhyana Center on Friday, July 19th starting at 6:30pm.” The dhyana Center is upstairs in the Basso Building, at the intersection of North Main and McKinley streets. It’s well worth a look for those who’ve never been up there.
The Town of Windsor and the Active 20-30 Club partner to present “KaBoom” Fireworks and Independence Day Celebration on Wednesday,
July 3rd at Keiser Park. It’s always a fun time for children at the kid zone,
and adults will like the food & drink and live music. Another Town of Windsor project that brings families together is our amazing Thursday night concerts on the Green. The concerts take place every week (except July 4) until September 5th. On July 11th The Purple Ones, an Insatiable Tribute to Prince is expected to be very well-attended, and on July 18th Coco Montoya will likely draw an equally large crowd of attendees. A Latin Rock Santana tribute band, Caravaserai will perform. The Windsor Chamber of Commerce will be at the concerts in the middle kiosk selling beer and wine and supporting the Waste Less Windsor (WLW) program.
Also downtown this summer, the newly launched program called Friday Nights Arts + Beats + Eats continues with guest musicians at People’s Music, just a few doors south of the dhyana Center on the same side of the street. “The program has training wheels on this year. There are many ideas and few volunteers, so it will take time to gel,” Rei comments. Support this original weekly event and the businesses who bring it forth.
The Center for the Arts contributes to our casual summertime with its free Patio Series each Sunday from 2-4 pm, now through August 11th. The musical line-up of local talent is varied, the art activities fun for children and adults, and the venue relaxing. “Bring your own art supplies and sketch the band,” the poster suggests. The world class Art Gallery will be open at no charge, with beer, wine and light snacks available outdoors, at 282 South High Street, just a block west of Main Street. This is a perfect activity after the Farmers Market.
WLW is a community group that is focused on reducing waste. Each Thursday the WLW team can be found on the Green selling reusable metal cups to reduce the amount of plastic waste generated at the concert. Attendees can buy a cup for $5 and get $1 off drinks each time they reuse their cup! WLW members work with volunteers to help educate and direct concert goers to utilize the correct receptacles when discarding their items. They have been able to keep over 70% of the waste out of the landfill through recycling and composting. Join the effort and the future as a Waste Less Windsor volunteer! Simply sign up online at bit.ly/2IldGTD. See you on the Town Green!
These two new music scenes expand on the Wednesday evening tradition in Ives Park, “Peacetown, a beautiful place to be.”
Update on Hotel Sebastopol across from The Plaza
To avoid surprises, like Sebastopol experienced with Caltrans’ painting green bike lanes without any notice, Daniele Petrone, Project Manager for Hotel Sebastopol, offers the community this update:
The 6th Annual Windsor Chili Cook-Off on Saturday July 13th on the Windsor Town Green. It will be an exceptional day of killer Chili with Master of Ceremonies Ricky Michaels of The WOLF, celebrity judges, great live music by the Twice As Good band, and circling throughout will be members of the deadly Resurrection Roller Girls! Opportunities abound to compete
“We recently resubmitted our building plans to the City after incorporating feedback from various departments. The City will review our plans a second time as we move towards a final building permit. This should take one to two months, after which we will go out to bid the construction contract. Groundbreaking depends on the timing of these steps, but currently construction is planned to commence in the early Fall [emphasis added].
in the cook-off, sponsor the event, or just come eat some chili and cast your vote for the people’s choice award! Beneficiaries are the Vineyard Academy at Windsor High School, the Windsor Fire Foundation and the Windsor Chamber of Commerce.
In terms of construction specifics and impacts, it’s still a premature for us to be able to give concrete answers, but generally:
1) The first step will involve site work as we prepare to dig the basement. The
Event Tickets are only $25 for adults ($10 for kids over age 10) and includes tastings of all chilis competing for People’s Choice. You will have a chance to win a fabulous door prize, a Traeger BBQ from Johnson Pool & Spa, and to participate in a huge Wine Country raffle. Follow the link to get cook-off tickets through Eventbrite: eventbrite.com/e/6th-annual-windsor-chili-cook- off-tickets-63311530492
basement itself will be the biggest activity for the remainder of 2019. 2) Construction activity will mostly be limited to our parcels (the main
lot and the lots on Brown Street), but eventually there will be some road reconstruction that will happen on both Brown and Depot Streets (including sidewalk widening and other street improvements).”
Windsor is where my heart is and It’s very sad when our little Windsor has hate crimes. Since late 2016 someone spray painted “Build the wall higher” at Cali Calmecac Language Academy (a grade school), damage to
the Menorah at the Charlie Brown Christmas Grove and now another hate crime yesterday on the Town Green. Meredith Rennie (a GLBTQ friend) and
Daniele assures the community, “We definitely want to minimize our impact on Petaluma Ave given its importance in the town’s circulation network, so it’s quite unlikely that we close any lanes there unless absolutely necessary (and if so, it will not be all lanes, likely a shift in lanes utilizing the on-street parking spaces).
I (an open Lesbian, resident and business owner) hung a Pride flag on the Town Green. The Town Council and Town Manager knew about it and gave permission to have there until they were using the kiosk for the Thursday concert. The next morning the flag was cut down.
As we approach groundbreaking, we’ll develop a Construction Management Plan for City approval. As a part of that plan, we’ll reach out to neighboring businesses about construction plans and impacts, and will also provide them with periodic updates throughout construction.”
This is not a “childish act”, this was a deliberate hate crime. We are better than this. With that said I am a believer that you can turn lemons into lemonade. When I posted about this on the Windsor Locals FB page there were over 140 likes and 53 comments. All were positive and supportive.
Looking Ahead: New Ped/Bike/Public Transit Sub-Committee
“The Council is taking proactive steps towards sustainability by creating this new Sub-Committee,” according to Vice Mayor Patrick Slayter. “Walking, bicycling, using public transit, and, in particular riding the Electric Local Shuttle #24 are among the most environmentally-efficient modes of transportation available, with many benefits: reduction of GHG emissions; easing traffic congestion; the need for fewer parking places, freeing up more space for humans; social engagement; and recreation.”
After every fire there will be a phoenix rising. I am confident that our Windsor Town Manager, Mayor and Town Council members will bring more attention to Pride month next year.
If you have any comments or questions, please email me at lorene@mac.com I am always happy to hear from my fellow Windsorites- Lorene
7/19 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 37
The Council will discuss other actions to take about climate change at its July meeting.