Guerneville Groove by Beth Udometkin - December 2019
Another year, another couple of disasters, but we all made it! Remember to utilize your local merchants this Holiday Season as we are all struggling to recover from the loss of income during the flood and the fires this year! Let’s help keep our groovy merchants/local businesses stay afloat! It isn’t just the retail shops that are suffering; as your local lender, I too lost months of income during and after the flood, as did your local Realtors; these hard times affect each and every one of us that live here! Refer your family, friends and acquaintances to shop ALL of the Russian River Area businesses to keep this groovy town moving towards recovery!
What better way to start the month of December other than a 3-Day Family Friendly event with the18th Annual Holiday Extravaganza & Parade of Lights, presented by the Friends of Stumptown !?! This exciting and fun event kicks off onThursday the 5th with the Merchant Open House beginning at 5pm. Be sure to stick around for the Tree Lighting Ceremony which will be held in the Plaza at 7pm. The fun continues Friday the 6th with the Princess / Prince Crowning Ceremony which will be held at Pat’s Restaurant/Blomster’s at 6pm. And then the best event of the year, the Holiday Parade of Lights will be on Saturday the 7th, beginning at 7pm on Main Street. Did you notice, the 5th at 5pm, the 6th at 6pm and the 7th at 7pm! Wow!! This is bound to be the grooviest of events!!
The 4th – the 7th the River Friends of the Library will be holding the Winter Book & Bake Sale at the Guerneville Regional Library on Armstrong Woods Rd. On Saturday, there will be a $5 bag sale. Be sure to come out and support your local library beginning at 10 am.
Don’t forget on Friday the 6th is the First Friday Artwalk which is a fabulous place to purchase that groovy gift for your special someone, while supporting our local artists.
Over at Korbel Champagne, Wine and Brandy Cellars there will be a special Holiday Shopping Event that runs from Friday the 6th through Sunday the 8th……and……on Saturday…….SANTA CLAUS will be there!!! There are many unique, sparkly, musical gifts to be had, so be sure to go the extra mile to Korbel, for a fun time this weekend.
On Sunday the 8th, head over to Steelhead Regional Park in Forestville from 10 am – noon for the lower Russian River Cleanup. The locations for cleanup vary and are weather permitting so be sure to reach out to robin@cleanriveralliance.org for confirmation of information. There will be another cleanup later in the month on the 21st which will concentrate on the Adopt a Highway in Guerneville/Monte Rio. Meet at the Bia Café in Northwood at 9am. For more info on this cleanup, contact Peter Morton at 818-269-9964.
Wednesday the 11th is the Russian River Chamber of Commerce Holiday Dinner, which will be held at Timberline at 6pm. $60 includes a complete meal & wine, with a no host bar available as well. Be sure to contact the Chamber for information on the menu and tickets, which will be available through Eventbrite in the near future.
Well, everyone loves a parade, so why not go to another one where there will be SNOW !?! The Cazadero Holiday Parade will be held on Saturday the 14th, along with a Historical Presentation by the Russian River Historical Society. The parade begins at noon, so be sure to make the trip out to Caz; the kids will LOVE it!!
Don’t forget about the Curtain Call Theatre during this busy month; go relax and watch your local, live theatre performance of The MouseTrap by Agatha Christie, directed by our very own Michael Tabib. The play is currently showing through Saturday the 14th at the theatre in Monte Rio. For more info & reservations, call 707-524-8739 or go towww.curtaincallrussianriver.com .
Much more groovy happenings at the Guerneville Regional Library throughout the month! On Monday the 16th the Kids Yoga & Holiday Craft workshop will begin at 3:30. This fun yoga workshop combines animated yoga poses, games, storytelling & relaxation with music. After class they will be creating colorful talking sticks & ending the workshop with circle time wishing happy holidays. All materials are provided; parents, grandparents, caregivers are all encouraged to participate. On Saturday the 21st, Traditional Folk Songs of the Holidays with local folk singer and storyteller Adam Miller will begin at 2pm. Many of the songs he will perform grew out of the old-time American Holiday Celebration-a season of homespun worship, festivity & song. Wrapping up the month will be Magician Mike’s Winter Magic Show on Saturday the 28th beginning at 2pm. All ages are welcome to come laugh, smile & participate in this very special seasonal magic show! Remember, most events at the library are free, so be sure to support the library by attending the book sale at the beginning of the month!
Looking forward to January, be sure to purchase your tickets this month for the Russian River Rotary’s 33rd Annual Crab Feed which will be held January 26th at Shone Farm Pavilion. Tickets sell out fast so reach out to your local Rotarian for tickets or if you would like to donate a raffle/auction item, call 707-869-9273. For over 80 years, the Russian River Rotary Club has been providing scholarships to local high school students to go to college or vocational training. Let’s help them build strong and responsible adults who will give back to this groovy community in the future!
