34 Jewels of the Playa
Decades-long friendship results in creative collaborations.
38 Speaking Out for Freedom
Three local Iranian women use their art to fight discrimination overseas.
44 Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Wild Salmon Researcher Alison Loomis shares her latest research as she works on a documentary about salmon ecosystems.
50 Stage Life
Marin’s local performing arts theater culture celebrates creativity, diversity, empathy and magic.
I never thought doing good deeds could keep me up at night. But worries about the family foundation led to countless sleepless nights. Every morning, my antique alarm clock would rouse me from sleep, still exhausted. My brother and I just couldn’t agree on the management decisions. We needed someone else to step in and that’s exactly what Liam did, working as an intermediary between me and my brother, nding common ground. e foundation is ourishing, my brother and I have never been closer, and thanks to Liam’s help, I wake up rested and restored before the alarm even makes a sound. e right advice and a good night’s sleep is enough to enjoy the little things in life.
— Melanie, Newport Beach
23 Currents
A preview of this year’s DocLands films, Tiburon’s wildflowers and more.
28 Drinking It All In
A first person account of finding love and community in a hot yoga studio.
32 Conversation
Nataliya Anon, founder and CEO of Svitla Systems, talks about her commitment to supporting the people of her homeland, Ukraine.
81 Go: Girls’ Getaways
Weekend getaways throughout the Greater Bay Area and in Hawaii.
85 Travel Buzz
EV charge points at iconic Monterey and Carmel spots.
87 Calendar
A roundup of what to do in Marin and beyond.
92 Dine
An insider’s guide to dining and food in the Bay Area.
100 On the Scene
Snapshots from events around the county.
103 Backstory
In San Rafael, an Eichler remodeled with an Asianinspired aesthetic radiates warmth and serenity.
14 EDITOR’S NOTE
16 LETTERS
130 LOOKING BACK
PRESIDENT / OPERATIONS
Nikki N. Wood
nwood@marinmagazine.com
Editorial
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
Mimi Towle
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Kasia Pawlowska
DIGITAL EDITOR
Jessica Gliddon
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
Paula Phommounivong
SENIOR WRITER
Christina Mueller
COMMUNITY EDITOR
Donna Berry Glass
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Lotus Abrams, Bernard Boo, Pamela Coddington, Jeanne Cooper, Jasmin Darznik, Kathryn Keown, Alison Loomis, Kirsten Jones Neff, Jim Wood
Art
ART DIRECTOR
Lisa Hilgers
PRODUCTION DIRECTOR
Alex French
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS/ARTISTS
Michael Hospelt, Laila Rezai
COVER PHOTOGRAPHER
Margot Hartford
Administration
CONTROLLER
Maeve Walsh
Co-Founders
Jim Wood, Nikki N. Wood
Volume 19, Issue 5. Marin Magazine is published in Marin County by 270 Media LLC. All rights reserved. Copyright©2022. Reproduction of Marin Magazine content is prohibited without the expressed, written consent of 270 Media LLC. Unsolicited materials cannot be returned. Marin Magazine reserves the right to refuse to publish any advertisement deemed detrimental to the best interests of the community or that is in questionable taste. Marin Magazine is mailed monthly to homes and businesses in Marin County. Marin (USPS 024-898) is published monthly by 270 Media LLC, 4000 Bridgeway, Suite 105, Sausalito, CA 94965. Periodicals Postage Paid at Sausalito, CA, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to 270 Media LLC, PO Box 50, Lincolnshire, IL 60069. The paper within this product is at least 70% from a Forest Stewardship Council®-certified forest (FSC-C002420). The balance may be recycled material and/or controlled wood.
Canopy is the first collection of luxury residences available at Mill District, featuring 43 condominiums by world-renowned architects Olson Kundig. Scheduled for completion in spring of 2024, Canopy is situated within a preserved grove of redwood trees in the heart of Mill District’s 10-acre neighborhood in downtown Healdsburg. A boutique hotel, retail experiences, a private pool house, and an array of resident amenities are just steps from Healdsburg’s galleries, tasting rooms, boutique shops, bakeries, and Michelin-starred restaurants.
AVAILABLE ONE-BEDROOM $1.8M | 1 BEDROOM + DEN FROM $2.85M TWO-BEDROOM AND THREE-BEDROOM RESIDENCES & PENTHOUSES FROM $3.5M TO $8.5M
“Alison Loomis’ salmon feature blew my mind. Like many of us, I knew that salmon swim upstream to spawn, but didn’t know they used Earth’s magnetic fields and smell to navigate. Just one of the countless fascinating nuggets in this story!”
— Kasia Pawlowska, executive editor
IMAGINE YOU’RE DRIVING TO WORK and your favorite radio traffic reporter chirps, “Good morning Bay Area, well it’s bumper-to-bumper today on the Rosie, but motorists don’t seem to mind. I mean, how can you get upset when you’re on a bridge called Rosie?” This was my daydream last March as I drove home over the Richmond–San Rafael Bridge after attending an event to promote Rosie the Riveter Day in Richmond. I did some research and realized this bridge of two cities actually has an official name. A few facts: Despite the fact we all call it the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge or San Rafael-Richmond Bridge, depending on the direction, the bridge already has an official name. The McCarthy Memorial Bridge is named after California State Senator John F. McCarthy, not to be confused with the notorious other Republican senator from the ’50s. Our Joseph “Jack” McCarthy lived here in Marin, had seven children and was also instrumental in creating BART. According to San Jose’s Mercury News, not only did McCarthy fund the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, but in 1957 he also proposed a bridge from Russian Hill in San Francisco across Angel Island to Tiburon, which foundered on the violent opposition of Southern Marin residents (insert: eye roll).
With respect to the McCarthy family, how about a name share? The Rosie the Riveter/McCarthy Memorial (ladies first) would represent the nearly 20 million ethnically diverse American women who entered the workforce during World War II, from 1941 to 1945. To qualify as a Rosie, a woman just needed to fill a job a man left behind
to join the war. Besides the obvious building ships, jeeps, tanks, producing ammunition and ordnance, and other supplies needed by the military, these ladies took up posts in offices, unions, canneries and on farms, literally paving the way for women in the workforce, especially in the trades. There is also a Rosie the Riveter Memorial Bridge in West Virginia, but renaming our bridge makes sense, given its proximity to the Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park.
Just like the image on our cover by photographer Margot Hartford, armed with this information, I wanted to shout it out! And I have. I reached out to Nathan Ballard, who works with our state’s First Partner, Jennifer Siebel Newsom who grew up here in Marin, to see if it is something she would be interested in championing. I’m sure she has many friends among our readership, so please put in a good word as well if you agree.
This month marks our 7th annual Celebrating Women issue, and is chock-full of women making a difference in our community and beyond. For instance, read about Ukrainian born Nataliya Anon’s successful efforts in helping her homeland, and best-selling author Jasmin Darznik highlighting three Iranian women speaking up for their mothers and sisters back home. We also focus on three local women whose longtime friendship and support have bolstered them into their own spheres of influence and success. If there’s a woman in your life you feel should be celebrated, please send 100 to 200 words about them along with a photo to editorial@marinmagazine.com by the 10th of this month so we can share it in our newsletter this May.
Mimi Towle, Editor
In the Looking Back section of our March issue, Jim Wood wrote about a six-mile pipe that was laid across the RichmondSan Rafael Bridge in the mid ’70s to bring water from the East Bay to a desperately dry Marin. Fortunately, the rains of the winter of ’77 were among Marin’s highest on record, but people got talking on Instagram, regardless.
I was just discussing this with a friend, and I can't wait to read the article.
— @marinwomenatwork
2014 $2B passed to increase water storage... NOT ONE DROP OF SAVINGS. — @aflynninstagram
Have we built bigger reservoirs since then? Please tell me we are better insulated from disaster. — @erobes123
There as a kid in the ’70s, we were rationing water! — @stacey_baumann
I remember that big old pipe! Was wondering why they removed it!
— @361architecture
Highway 101 ShopVintageOaks.com
Ready to tell us about all your favorite places in Marin? Whether it's the hair salon you can't stop recommending to your friends, or the date night spot you're still thinking about days later — we want to hear about it! 2023 voting is here and we've listed dozens of previous winners and other excellent businesses to choose from. Not seeing your top spot? We have a write-in option, as well. Winners will be announced in our August issue. Let the voting begin!
Be moved at this year’s Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) Celebration of Heart. Explore movement and mobility as a form of healing the mind, body and spirit. Connect with adaptive athletes, learn about CAF’s impact in Northern California and beyond, and dance the night away after you dine on epicurean delights.
Be part of the movement that’s breaking barriers, igniting futures, and changing lives.
Date: Friday, May 12th, 2023
Location: Pier 27, The Embarcadero
San Francisco, CA
Time: 6pm - 10pm
Purchase Tickets / Tables
celebrationofheart.org
Tickets $500 each
Event Co-Chairs
Kristin Roth DeClark
Allison Caccoma + Alan Shanken
Lotte Toftdahl
+ Ryan Goldman
Breaking Barriers Sponsors
Kristin Roth DeClark + Karl Petersen
Igniting Futures Sponsors
Sabrina + Mick Hellman
Spinner Family
Tables start at $5,000
The team of orthopedic specialists at Novato Community Hospital can help resolve your pain and get you back in motion. Our award-winning program includes physical therapy, nonsurgical procedures, leading-edge pain management, and minimally invasive and robotic surgical treatments.
Connect with a doctor and get your questions answered at one of our free upcoming orthopedic webinars.
It’s a thousand things, big and small.
Find out more at sutterhealth.org/marin-webinars.
Marin is famous for so many legendary musical connections: everyone from Jefferson Airplane to the Grateful Dead, to Van Halen to The Black Crowes have some kind of roots in the county. And the great music hasn’t stopped. Want to see who you can catch live now? We’ve got a guide to all things Marin music, from what’s on this month — curated by Emilie Rohrbach — to where to see bands — from Sausalito, out to West Marin and up to Novato — as well as stories on local musicians.
Encore Consignment has served Marin since 1984 with luxury designer consignment at accessible prices. Also carries handbags, fabulous shoes, hats, fine jewelry and other accessories. Browse our curated collection and meet our dedicated staff. Marin’s best kept secret! Now accepting Summer fashions.
ENCORE DESIGNER CONSIGNMENT
401 Fourth Street, San Rafael Open Mon–Sat 10–4 415.456.7309 encoreconsignment.com
VILLAGE CHILD is home to the Bay Area’s best selection of infant and children’s clothing. Add a little sparkle to your spring and visit us in charming Old Town Novato. Open everyday from 10am - 5pm.
VILLAGE CHILD
869 Grant Ave, Novato 415.493.6924 shopvillagechild.com
ICE POPPY, making hand crafted bike bags in Mill Valley since 2013. If you love to ride the trails of Mt. Tam or just take a leisurely ride, our hand made bike bags are a great way to quickly access your essential items.
ICE POPPY
icepoppy@yahoo.com 415.608.1004 icepoppy.com
TAKE A STEP into Belinda Wickwire Jewelry for a magical shopping experience. Here you’ll discover two shops nestled side-by-side in the heart of historic San Anselmo. Both shops feature special antique & contemporary jewelry, and a variety of one-of-a-kind gifts.
BELINDA WICKWIRE JEWELRY
526/528 San Anselmo Ave, San Anselmo, 415.785.7519
Belinda@belindawickwirejewelry.com instagram.com/belindawickwirejewelry
In a time when most documentaries are watched via streaming service, DocLands offers audiences the opportunity to experience some of the best films from around the world the way they were intended to be seen: on the big screen.
“Come back to the theaters and be blown away!” gushes DocLands Director of Programming Joni Cooper, who helps guide us through some of the highlights from the festival’s always-stellar lineup.
The DocLands Documentary Film Festival runs from May 10 to 14.
The Nettle Dress (U.S. Premiere) The future of fashion is sustainability and designers crafting from the heart. The Nettle Dress encapsulates this exquisitely, following textile artist Allan Brown as he uses nettles harvested from the fields in his native UK to fashion an intricately woven dress made in honor of his deceased wife’s memory. The dress takes seven years to complete, a stark contrast to the fast-fashion direction the industry has adopted in recent years.
“It’s a gorgeous film, kind of like a fairy tale," says Cooper. "It’s so gentle and beautiful and it goes through Brown’s whole process, talking about it a little along the way but mostly showing it. I hope there’s a community of sustainable clothing people in our area who will come out to see the film.”
Razing Liberty Square In 2015, the city of Miami announced a $300 million revitalization project for Liberty Square, a predominantly Black public-housing community. But the city’s motives were called into question when it came to light that climate change made the neighborhood more desirable for its altitude and dryness. Razing Liberty Square follows the neighborhood’s residents as they combat “climate gentrification” and try desperately to hold onto the community and culture that the city threatens to wrest away.
“It’s a really terrific film about social
injustice around climate change in Miami. Just wonderfully done,” Cooper says.
The Arc of Oblivion (California Premiere) All films featured at DocLands are unique in their own way, but The Arc of Oblivion, by filmmaker-subject Ian Cheney, is perhaps the heaviest and most fascinating of all. Cheney documents his construction of an ark in his parents’ backyard in Maine, in which he plans to hold a comprehensive archive of humankind. He travels to the far corners of the globe — the Arctic, the Alps, the Sahara — to solicit the help of some of the world’s foremost archivists in a variety of fields, from librarians, to dendrochronologists (scientists who study tree rings), to legendary documentarian Werner Herzog. At the center of the film is a timely question: “What from this world is worth saving?”
“A really fun film. Guy in Maine decides to build a wooden ark on his
parents’ property to store data. Through this, he brings in people involved in all aspects of the world, including nature and data. Rings of trees are data storage, as are fossils,” notes Cooper.
Invisible Beauty No fashion industry figure has the fight of Bethann Harrison. Coming to prominence in the ‘60s and ‘70s as one of the first Black models to attract major attention, she used her platform to elevate other people of color in the space, opening her own modeling agency and garnering awards for her activism in the name of racial diversity in modeling. Invisible Beauty delves into the struggles and triumphs of Harrison’s life and career, with insightful interviews with the legend herself.
“She turned from the high fashion world to having her own modeling agency where she brought in people of color," says Cooper. "She is amazing, and she’s still incredibly active!”
BY JIM WOOD
If it’s local color you want — without leaving your car — drive east on Tiburon Blvd. for a mile off Highway 101 to Trestle Glen Blvd. where an acre of wildflowers awaits. Now in its fourth year of development, the meadow features stands of purple phacelia, sky blue lupine, yellow tidy tips, white yarrow, red valerian and, of course, patches of bright orange California poppies — all grown from seed. Better yet, for an up close and personal experience, park in the Blackie’s Pasture lot and walk a short distance to Trestle Trail, where a 600-foot pathway, replete with 75 bronze plates engraved with memorials, quotes and loving thoughts, joins plaques that discuss Tiburon’s colorful 140-year long railroad history — all of which is surrounded by blossoming wildflowers
1. CONSIDER THE WEATHER
SUMMER IS APPROACHING AND SO IS THE SUN! BE SURE TO PACK THE FOLLOWING:
CAMELBAK/WATER - HYDRATION IS KEY TO ANY GOOD TIME - DRINK WATER!
SUN SCREEN/HAT - ANY SUN PROTECTION IS A MUST FOR A DAY IN THE CROWD
BANDANA - TO KEEP WET IF IT’S VERY HOT TO KEEP BODY HEAT LEVEL AT EASE.
IF THE FESTIVAL IS GOING AFTER DARK IT MAY GET COLD - BRING A LIGHT SWEATER OR SWEATS YOU CAN PACK AWAY
2. ONLY BRING THE BEST
NICE GUYS CARRIES A MULTITUDE OF PRODUCTS THAT ARE PRIME FOR A FESTIVAL, HERE’S WHAT OUR STAFF IS PACKING FOR THEIR NEXT SHOW
NICE GUYS INFUSED PREROLL 5-PACK
CAMINO SPARKLING PEAR GUMMIES
RAW GARDEN DIAMOND PREROLLS - 3PK
BLOOM DISPOSABLE .5G LIVE RESIN VAPE
BY KASIA PAWLOWSKA
Felecia Gaston, founder of the Marin City Historical and Preservation Society, has published a new book about Marin City titled A Brand New Start . . . This Is Home, that documents the city’s origins as a shipbuilding community during WWII to the present day. Gaston’s book focuses mainly on the workers who migrated from the American South and Midwest to create Marin’s only Black enclave, and the housing and social challenges they have faced — highlighting the community’s strength and resilience throughout. In 2022, to celebrate Marin City’s 80-year history, Gaston created the Marin City Historical and Preservation Society and started the Marin City 80 project to tell the story of African-American perseverance in the county. The book, filled with dozens of historical photos and documents, is available at Sausalito Books by the Bay and Book Passage, where she recently had an in-store conversation with owner Elaine Petrocelli. bookpassage.com
The University of Wisconsin, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, released the annual County Health Rankings & Roadmaps findings in late March, and once again, Marin ranked the healthiest of California’s 58 counties.
A high quality of life and low amount of premature deaths factored into this decision, but the county isn’t turning a blind eye to the more unsavory distinctions. High rates of substance use in all Marin communities is a consistent theme in the rankings, and after cancer and heart disease, accidental drug overdose is the third most common cause of death among residents under 75. A recently announced settlement with pharmaceutical companies will infuse Marin with $800,000 annually for nine years for companies’ role in downplaying addictive and lethal impacts of prescription opioids, and will be used to help mitigate these discrepancies. Here are some more crucial numbers. marincounty.gov K.P.
#1 Average Marin resident life expectancy
healthiest county
13 out of 14 years
78.3 African-American life expectancy in Marin
1 Fatal overdose weekly on average
85.2 $800,000
annually for 9 years in pharma settlements
My name is Kathryn Keown. I washed up on the shores of San Francisco after my last really big two-year bender in the U.S. Virgin Islands. I had fled to the Caribbean after a brief marriage to a wealthy businessman in Denver, Colorado. He was older, serious and intense — I was young, irresponsible and goofy. Together we were going to be like a madcap rom-com in which we each made the other better people.
We did not.
While partying, and trying to blot out the humiliation of my failed marriage amongst Denver society on the idyllic island of St. John, a friend from Boulder sent me a mixtape from a radio station in San Francisco, KFOG. After two years of working my ass off as a DJ at a reggae radio station, a wedding planner, and as a sometimes model on visiting cruise ships in the sweltering Caribbean heat, I
BY KATHRYN KEOWNwas desperate to get back to some sort of normal life.
Somehow, I convinced the sales manager at KFOG that the above work history provided sound work experience for selling airtime.
When I started at KFOG in the late ’90s, radio was at its zenith. From Steve Young to Ben Harper, David Bowie and Dave Matthews, you never knew who you might stumble into in the hallways.
I understood that for me, at that time, the job was perfect. However, I also understood that my nightly drinking was troublesome. During my first year in San Francisco, I had no one and nothing in my life but that job at KFOG. I ran, I worked, and I drank.
One night in a moment of clarity, I realized that something was seriously wonky with my drinking. Growing up, my parents didn’t really drink much, and youthful college “partying” should have been way in my rearview mirror. The thought occurred to me that I was alone. I had no friends and no boyfriend. Just the long runs before work, trying to prove myself at the office, and drinking to black out at home alone.
For some reason, I simply called Alcoholics Anonymous. The nice person on the phone suggested I go to a meeting the next night. I did. The rest, out of respect for brevity, is history.
Early on in my sobriety, an acquaintance brought me to my first hot yoga class at Global Yoga in the Marina, an iconic studio that was the yoga gateway drug for many current Marin yogis. On the Saturday morning of my first class I had gone for a long run to get a “real” workout in before going to what I was sure would be some weirdo yoga studio reeking of patchouli.
Words cannot describe how much I hated that first hot yoga class. I got my ass handed to me. It was like someone poured a blinding bucket of sweat on me, then smashed the back of my head with a baseball bat. Nothing in my body worked in that heat, despite the fitness from running and years of ballet in college. I vowed never to return.
About three months later, I woke up pudgy and puffy and feeling out of shape. Sitting in a cubicle can do that to a person, even a cubicle at a place as cool as KFOG. I went back to that studio, but this time with resolve. I approached the class more calmly, I allowed the sweat to
flow off my body without trying to mop it up in a panic. I leaned into the heat. I listened to the instructor who told us that “suffering is optional.” After class I felt refreshed. I felt lighter, leaner and more clear than I had ever felt in my life. She told us that if we really wanted to change our bodies and minds, we should do 100 classes in 100 days.
Being a good addict, albeit a sober one, I did just that.
What I found at that studio changed my life. Yes, I got stronger, leaner and more flexible over years of practicing hot yoga. But more importantly, the excruciating loneliness that had hung over my entire life started to dissipate. By standing next to people every day, drenched in sweat, high on endorphins, vulnerable, I met so many wonderful people, people who are still my closest friends 25 years later. I found a place, a sober bar really, that guaranteed I never ever had to be lonely, or inauthentic, ever again.
In 2016 when I met my business partner, Jessica Smith, yoga was no longer an obsession, it was a calling. And in her, I recognized the same passion. Not only had yoga healed my loneliness, but practicing yoga with my yoga community had healed my broken femur, as well as a few blood-related issues from the massive blood transfusions that were necessary after that accident. My yoga community also provided me support through the devastating loss of my mom to breast cancer.
Jessica had practiced hot yoga to heal her knees after seven knee surgeries from injuring herself during her college soccer career. She too found real friendships and laughter in her yoga community. We both admitted that, against the advice of our male doctors, we had practiced hot yoga through our pregnancies, and subsequently had easy deliveries and fast recoveries. We were both back in the hot room two days after delivering each of our children.
In late 2019 Jessica and I signed a lease for the location of Hot Yoga Republic, we were set to finish our build-out and open around May of 2020.
A lot has been said about how the Covid shutdown affected yoga and fitness studios in Marin and the Bay Area. For Jessica and I, we have come to understand that actually the pandemic provided us something very few new entrepreneurs and partners get to have… time together to communicate. When the shutdown hit, Hot Yoga Republic was still nothing more than a website and an unfinished yoga studio. During the shut down, in between trying to keep my day job, Jess and I would Zoom classes twice a day and then discuss every tiny hope and dream we had for the studio. From how we wanted our staff to feel, to how we would greet our guests, to what we wanted the place to smell like (mint!), no detail was too small or too unimportant.
We put big white sheets of paper all around my tiny living room, which also became our Zoom “set” for more than 379 days. On these sheets of paper we wrote down our HYR mission statement, as well as all of the things we wanted to accomplish and contribute to our community. At the top of the list? We wanted to help alleviate loneliness.
It’s this foundation of trying to make the world a less lonely place that has attracted our incredible team of thoughtful, instinctively giving instructors. We are nothing without the HYR teaching staff, both Jess and I are clear on this. There was a moment in time when we had no money, and we had to choose between installing countertops in the bathrooms, or putting aside money to hire the best team in the market. We chose to invest in the people, and we still don’t have countertops.
As for the health benefits of hot yoga, we are unshakable in our beliefs based on our own experiences, and the world of medicine and research is now starting
Hot Ticket photos at facebook.com/marinmagazine.
[UPCOMING EVENTS]
WHEN WHERE
WHEN WHERE
WHY YOU SHOULD GO COST
May 12, 6:00 - 10:00 p.m.
Pier 27, The Embarcadero, San Francisco
Be moved at the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) Celebration of Heart at its new location. Explore movement and mobility as a form of healing the mind, body, and spirit. Connect with adaptive athletes, learn about CAF’s impact in Northern California and beyond, and dance the night away after you dine on epicurean delights.
$500 per ticket, tables start at $5,000 celebrationofheart.com, 858.210.3502
WHY YOU SHOULD GO COST
May 19, 2023, 5:30 — 8 p.m. Maple Lawn Estate, San Rafael
Join Community Action Marin – the county’s largest anti-poverty agency – as they focus on taking the talk about racial equity into moves towards justice. Hear the voices of our Marin neighbors, become inspired by stories of hope, and meet Guest of Honor John Lam who was once a Marin preschooler and is now a Principal Dancer at the Boston Ballet.
$75 to $125. Tickets go on sale April 1. camarin.org/stepupmarin
to catch up. It is now commonly known that working out in a hot room increases caloric burn and metabolism, as well as improves vascular function, and reduces blood pressure. This in addition to the more visible benefits of glowing skin, leaner, stronger muscles and greater flexibility. There is even evidence that the increase of blood flow to the brain, stimulated by working out in the heat, can reduce the risk of dementia.
Interpersonally, Jessica and I guard the health of our relationship as closely as we work on our physical health. We were given the advice early on to form an HYR Business Advisory Board, and to hire a really good business coach, our marriage counselor really, to keep our relationship open and clear of resentments. When Jess and I hit an impasse, rather than us tearing each other apart, these two entities act as tie-breakers. They have saved us over and over again from making huge financial and emotional mistakes.
We are fascinated by the founders of SoulCycle, Julie Rice and Elizabeth Cutler. They are two female entrepreneurs who admit that they are diametrically opposite in nature. Once again they have come together to form a new company, Peoplehood. Interestingly enough, their new company also focuses on helping people to stay connected. But what we find the most compelling about Rice and Cutler is their commitment to their own relationship. Having banked tens of millions of dollars, butted heads, fought, forgiven, and been seduced by other major brands, in the end, they’ve once again chosen each other.
At this moment, my world feels so full with new and old friends, it literally takes my breath away. It is astounding the amount of joy and love around me, and it is all from the simple act of unrolling a yoga mat, in a hot room, one day at a time.
Area events you’ll want to attend
You’re invited to Step Up Marin! on May 19 in San Rafael.
This annual gathering highlights our shared commitment to racial and economic equity, and features guest of honor John Lam, once a preschooler at our Canal Children’s Center and today a principal dancer with the Boston Ballet.
background and her commitment to supporting the people of Ukraine.
Tell me about your youth. Were you born in Ukraine?
I grew up in the Soviet Union, in Western Ukraine. Historically there was an occupation by Russia in Ukraine. My grandmother lived with us so I heard family stories of the occupation. But I lived in a dual world. At school, growing up in the Soviet Union, I would hear Soviet propaganda, but then I would come home at night and my grandmother would tell me these stories. I trusted my grandmother over the propaganda and knew that what they were telling us at school was not true. The teachers knew too, but they had no choice but to teach us the propaganda.
How and when did you come to the United States?
In 1992 this professor helped to get me a scholarship to the community college. When I was studying there I wrote letters to other professors I had met. One was from the University of Kansas, who said the University would consider my three years of education in Moscow and one year at community college in the U.S. a bachelor’s degree and take me into the master’s program. I got a master’s degree in Financial Accounting at University of Kansas. In 1999 I got into Stanford Business School. Afterwards, I stayed in the Bay Area and founded Svitla Systems.
You also cofounded a nonprofit organization called Hromada. What are the priorities of the nonprofit?
Nataliya Anon immigrated to the U.S. from Western Ukraine 30 years ago, as a college student. Now the Tiburon resident, a mother of young children and the founder and CEO of Svitla Systems — a global software development company based in Corte Madera — devotes much of her energy to Hromada, the nonprofit she cofounded in 2017 to support the people of her homeland. Over the past year, as Ukrainians fight a war with Russia, Hromada’s mission has gained urgency. We sat down with Anon to hear about her
Growing up I was a very good student and graduated from high school with accolades. I won the all-Ukrainian academic contest twice, in English. Because Ukraine was still in the Soviet Union, the best students went to Moscow. I applied to the elite Moscow Financial Academy and went to school there for three years, starting in 1989. The wall came down that year, and then, in 1991, Ukraine became independent and perestroika (reform) came. A delegation called the People to People traveled from the U.S. to Moscow that year. I was able to meet a professor from the Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, who asked if I wanted to come to the United States to study. I never imagined I’d have such a chance.
Yes, Hromada is a local 501(c)(3) sending micro-grants of financial aid to Ukraine, directly to people who need it. There is no overhead, everyone is an unpaid volunteer, so every dollar goes directly to the people who need it the most. Since the beginning of the war, we have sent more than $450,000 in aid. In some cases, this is lifesaving for these families. For example, we work with a volunteer who directs funds to women who have children and their husbands have either died in the war, or, in some cases, the husband has come back from the war and committed suicide. When that happens, they do not qualify for state benefits. If the husband dies in “non war-related actions” such as working in a mining field, they also do not qualify for help. When they receive even $500 from our organization, it is life changing.
How do you ensure that donated funds go directly to people who need support the most?
We work directly with more than 80 volunteers and nonprofit organizations on the ground from all over Ukraine. In the beginning of the war we were using
the money only for food and water for the people left in the cities that were bombarded. We would send money to an organization in Dnipro, and they would load the trucks with food and water and take them to Kharkiv, because Kharkiv was a city that was under heavy bombardment. Our volunteers would go on the streets, distribute food and water, and then load the trucks with women and children to evacuate them to Dnipro, because at that time it was safe. Now we are supporting everything from orphanages and other community programs to families that have been directly impacted.
Do you have family in Ukraine?
Yes, I do. When people ask me that question I say, “They are all my family now, every Ukrainian.” I am from Western Ukraine. The whole country is affected because the whole country is at war, but Western Ukraine is not occupied. Compared to the rest of Ukraine, it is relatively safe, although they shower rockets on all of Ukraine. Every time I say that I have to pinch myself. Is this happening?
What message do you have for your fellow Marin and U.S. citizens?
It is difficult to reconcile how this war could be happening at this time, in this age. The “never again” is here again. It is all developing right in front of our eyes. People are lost, feeling hopeless and like there is nothing they can do. But we live in democracy here, and majority opinion matters and advocacy matters.
I hope people understand that the war in Ukraine is not just a war that is happening far away. What happens in Ukraine matters very much for our future here in the United States, and the people of Ukraine are just the same people as we are. They have the same dreams and the same aspirations. It is just so unfair, especially for the young people who cannot pursue their dreams because of the war.
Scan for the full story.
BY KIRSTEN JONES NEFF
Bruce and Kimpton met over 15 years ago when they were both working on Hilary Clinton’s 2008 political campaign. “I had always wanted to learn to weld,” says Bruce, who designs striking textured pieces in her bayfront Sausalito studio. “Laura invited me out to her ranch in Nicasio to learn to weld and to work on her crew.” Kimpton’s massive installations require large crews, sometimes 50 or 60 people, and soon after the visit to Nicasio, Bruce joined Kimpton’s crew at Burning Man, installing Kimpton’s Celtic Forest, which, according to Kimpton, was her most ambitious installation. The forest involved massive steel trees (up to 22 feet) topped by flames, and surrounded by multiple sculptures, including a fiery moat containing a sculpture of the Celtic goddess of fire.
on their creative brilliance and successes? This phenomenon, which has been called everything from The Shine Theory to freudenfreude, is a joyous reality for three local female artists who instinctively understand that neither creativity nor success are a zero-sum game. Over the past decade and a half, fashion designer Rebecca Bruce, photographer Eleanor Preger, and mixed-media and sculpture artist Laura Kimpton have bonded through their artistic pursuits, as well as through their love of and commitment to Burning Man.
In January, a show at the Sausalito Center for the Arts entitled “Jewels of the Playa: The Photography, Art and Fashion of Burning Man” highlighted the works and collective radiance of these women. The opening night featured human beings in art form, wandering through Kimpton’s towering metal trees, adorned in Bruce’s dramatic garb, often the same outfits displayed in Preger’s photographs, which, in many cases, featured Kimpton’s installations. This complex cross-pollination makes perfect sense in the context of the “hive” metaphor that Bruce uses to describe the friendship tribe the three Marin County-based women have created. “It is the idea of a hive, and we all have different pieces that we offer each other,” says Bruce.
“When you put yourself out there you begin having these collective experiences where everybody needs each other and the pieces they offer.”
As their friendship deepened, Kimpton fell in love with Bruce’s designs and asked her to create bespoke pieces for her for Burning Man and other openings and events. “Becky makes me funky,” says Kimpton. “She has dressed me for so many events, including the Artumnal (a fundraiser for Burning Man artists each fall), Art Basel Miami, a keynote at the University of Chicago… so many important events.” Bruce, for her part, says she has developed a nuanced sense of what Kimpton will like. “My whole ethos is that every human is an art form. How do you dress your narrative?” she says. “Laura likes layering. She likes textures. And, she can go grunge.”
Bruce has also developed a strong sense of what Preger loves to wear, and has made approximately 50 pieces for Preger over the years. Bruce and Kimpton both met Preger at Burning Man over 10 years ago as Preger documented the experiential and material artistry of the Playa and, on the power of her images, was invited to become a member of the official Burning Man Documentation Team. According to Bruce, Preger does not do grunge. What she does do is repurposed designer pieces and eyecatching fabrics, such as the flowing and fiery orange, yellow and black Rebecca Bruce piece Preger wore to the Jewels of the Playa opening night. “Rebecca has patterns for me,” says Preger. “We collaborate… and sometimes I’ll just say ‘make something!’ She took my husband’s wedding jacket from 28 years ago and added pewter buttons and a chain down the side and a serpent on the back. It is fantastic.”
Preger developed the idea for the Jewels of the Playa show with Louis Briones, the director of the Sausalito Art Festival Foundation. In 2010 she discovered the magic of Burning Man through happenstance. Living part-time in Incline Village at Lake Tahoe, she is a patron at the Nevada Museum of Art in Reno, which afforded her the opportunity to go to Burning Man.
What if the brilliance of one woman’s creative success does not leave her friends in the shadows, but rather shines
“When I was invited I said, ‘Why would I want to go to Burning Man?’” she recalls. But upon arriving at the Playa, Preger knew immediately that she would return the following year. “I took a friend that first year and we went from 7 a.m. to midnight. There were over 200 art pieces and we both said immediately, ‘We are coming back next year.’ Then the next year I was injured, but I told the doctor he had to take the cast off before I went. I got a golf cart and a handicapped pass and I covered the whole place. And that was the beginning of my serious photography.”
As Preger speaks about her photography, she sounds most proud of the moments when she has captured the spirit of a friend. One example is a photo she took at Burning Man last year, an image of Kimpton at dusk, standing amidst the trees in her Forest of Dreams installation. “I hooked up with Laura one sunset and took a picture that I think really captured her — in between her art, after a dust storm. She just looks fierce,” says Preger.
Kimpton’s large-scale sculptures and assemblages have been displayed in major cities and art shows across the nation. Like her father, the late hotelier Bill Kimpton, Laura Kimpton is dyslexic, and struggled with academics when she was young. “I am not a facts person. I will not give you facts. In fact, I’ve found that facts are really only useful at cocktail parties and for Trivial Pursuit,” she says, laughing. Kimpton was naturally drawn to sports and art, and thrived working in three-dimensional space. Making art
As she designs clothing for her clients, she wants to understand the meaning of their Playa name, a Burning Man name that allows “Burners” to express new identities or ways of being, so she can better understand their narratives. Her own Playa name is Mandala, which, for her, means she is “in the center of my selves, with many paths leading out from the center. Each path is a good path. I am not ruling anything out.”
Preger, who chose the surprising new path that led to the Playa back in 2010, believes that Burning Man chose her, drew her in, and gave her a “posse” that includes
at Burning Man, including massive word structures, she says, has helped her to appreciate her dyslexia as a gift, a superpower even. “It is a whole different world at Burning Man. There is a feminine energy, and art is put on a pedestal,” she says. “I have two ideas I want to express. One is that humans are not number one on the planet. We are all equal. And number two is that right brain intelligence is not inferior to left brain intelligence.” In her previous career as an art teacher in Marin schools, Kimpton strived to help young people understand and honor their own creative superpowers. She believes her own differences have made her especially resilient — that fierceness captured in Preger’s photo on the Playa.
Rebecca Bruce echoes Kimpton’s praise of the expansive power of Burning Man, especially when it comes to art as a device for communication and expression.
Bruce and Kimpton. “The three of us have so much fun together. We know all kinds of people, we support each other’s work and always introduce each other to all kinds of people,” says Preger. The three artists refer to the core principles of Burning Man, and, indeed, the story of their personal and collaborative journeys, their distinct but intertwined paths, are a manifestation of the sixth principle, which is Communal Effort. “We are all just a few degrees of separation” says Bruce. “We are not in competition, and we celebrate each other’s individual artistry, always finding ways to support each other. We also support younger emerging artists… and bring them into the vortex.”
We are not in competition, and we celebrate each other’s individual artistry.”Bruce, Preger and Kimpton
Artwork by Laila Rezai
speaking
three local iranian women use their art to fight discrimination overseas.
BY JASMIN DARZNIK
On a Saturday afternoon in October, in a place that feels, just then, like a kind of country, I join a group of other Iranians in an alley in San Francisco. They haven’t traveled far — physically at least. Most have walked from their homes in the city or driven in for the day from the nearby suburbs to Clarion Alley, in the scruffy, vibrant heart of the Mission.
I shoulder my way past the crowd to where a woman in a blood-red gown stands bound to a chain link fence. She’s crying, I think, only to realize I’m wrong.
She’s singing.
At heart, this performance is meant to mark the recent death of Mahsa Zhina Amini, a young Iranian woman who died while in the custody of Iran’s brutal morality police. What it will become — part of a pulsing network between local women artists and the Bay Area’s Iranian American community — I can’t yet see on that Saturday afternoon.
A lot has happened in the months since that performance in Clarion Alley. Protests in Iran grew and reached a fever-pitch in the last months of 2022. The ensuing brutal government crackdown has taken over five hundred lives, most of them young people and children.
In Marin’s Iranian immigrant community, as in all Iranian immigrant communities around the world, grief and hope now exist in an uneasy mix. Even as the world’s attention has turned elsewhere, we remain besieged by the heartrending images of our homeland streaming on our social media accounts.
If there’s one thing for which I’m grateful, it’s that the events of the last year have introduced me to many remarkable Iranian women artists right here in the San Francisco Bay Area. Amidst so much heartbreak, fear and worry, these women and their art have become a bolstering, empowering force.
amidst so much heartbreak, fear and worry, these women
“The Mirror” by Katayoun Bahrami
I can pinpoint the moment I first became aware of what would eventually take the shape of a global movement. It was the moment I encountered the Instagram page of artist Katayoun Bahrami. Under a grainy photograph of a young woman lying in a hospital bed, she’d written a simple plea: Don’t look away.
Not looking away has long been Bahrami’s ethos as an artist.
After completing her university degree in Tehran, Bahrami lived in Los Angeles before moving with her husband to San Francisco to attend graduate school at California College of the Arts. Her multimedia artworks are riddled with love for the country of her birth.
That profound love for Iran and a desire to amplify its fight for human rights are foremost in Bahrami’s mind when she flicks on her iPhone to connect with an engaged community of followers around the world.
“I have always had this question, ‘Why do women need to cover their hair and their bodies?” Bahrami reflects on her journey to becoming an artist in Iran. "Why do the strictest rules focus on women and their bodies? I have been looking for answers, but little by little, it's become clear that these rules and laws are there for us to obey. Schools and the educational system also have a great role [in insisting women] must remain weak. I always asked this simple question, ‘Why?’”
The performance I attended last fall in the Mission was Bahrami’s brainchild. Presented in collaboration with the Clarion Alley Mural Project and California College of the Art’s Center for the Arts and Public Life in San Francisco, the multimedia event was created to show solidarity with the Iranian protesters. The title, borrowed from exiled activist Masih Alinejad’s book The Wind in My Hair, encapsulates Bahrami’s dreams for the women of Iran.
What struck me as especially powerful about the event was how it brought together not just a diverse range of artists, but also a broad cross-section of Iranian Americans, reminding us how art can create and hold a space for a community splintered by grief.
and their art have become a bolstering, empowering force
Mobina Nouri cuts an unforgettable figure. A multidisciplinary artist based in San Francisco, Nouri’s practice reflects her personal history as an Iranian immigrant woman. She received her BA in performance art and MA in art and design from Tehran University of Art in Iran and her PhD in creativity from City University of London. Working across a variety of media, she mines Iranian traditions of music and storytelling, often turning to philosophy and mysticism to probe the contemporary Iranian moment.
When Mahsa Amini died last summer, Nouri’s work came to a sudden standstill. She felt her then-existing practice, which drew on traditional Persian calligraphy and iconography to tell the stories of immigrant women, felt inadequate. Eventually, she turned to AI-generated art, creating digital renderings that weave together the beauty of Iranian culture and the violence so long inflicted on its women. They’re hard images to look at — to which Nouri replies that beholding such violence is nothing next to living it.
In the wake of Mahsa Amini’s death, chopped hair and discarded hijabs quickly became worldwide symbols for Iranian women’s liberation. Nouri seized on this imagery.
As part of her performance at Clarion Alley, she sectioned off locks from her long, dark hair. Each bore the picture and name of an imprisoned protester. She attached dozens of pairs of tiny scissors to her red gown and stood with strands of her long black hair tied to a gate. In a stirring gesture, she then invited people to cut her hair and keep the pictures as sobering reminders of the individuals’ fates.
“Art creates reality for all of us," says Nouri. "This awareness empowers women and society, and more importantly, the hope and the future that we are creating collectively for girls and females around the world.”
As the crackdown against protestors in Iran continues, Nouri’s performance, which has since been repeated at the Legion of Honor, grows more poignant.
shaghayegh cyrous Women. Life. Freedom. It’s the slogan that has defined the movement for human rights in the wake of Mahsa Amini’s death. Thanks to one Iranian-American woman, this past autumn these three words were emblazoned on the San Francisco skyline.
On a clear night, the crown of Salesforce Tower is impossible to miss. Illuminated by 11,000 LED lights, the top eight floors of the tower are the site of "Day for Night," a stunning public light sculpture created by artist Jim Campbell and launched in 2018.
When local Iranian-American artist Shaghayegh Cyrous collaborated with Campbell last fall, Salesforce Tower was transformed into a beacon of human rights.
Cyrous dedicated “When the Sun Rotates” to all dancers who have been arrested in Iran, as dancing in public is illegal there. In the piece, the sun represents the light that dances and rises throughout the night, beating back darkness.
The Farsi writing on the tower read , “In Honor of Iranian Women,” to honor women of Iran’s continued fighting in April 2022, and was projected again right at the beginning of the movement in September 2022 in memory of Mahsa
Amini, as well as the Woman, Life, Freedom movement in Iran.
“It has been tough being away from Iran for the past 10 years, but it has been empowering to witness the movement by women is continuing in Iran and the world is finally listening," says Cyrous. "I would do anything to use my privilege of freedom of speech to amplify voices of women, and all Iranians who keep getting muted, but never give up.”
Giving up is not an option anymore — not for Cyrous and not for Katayoun Bahrami or Mobina Nouri. They’re too busy collapsing time and distance, bringing Iran into bright relief for the world.
In her own way, each artist is recasting the image of one of the most demonized countries in the world and opening a lens onto how Iranian women actually live today. Their work is also about stepping away from stereotypes that have defined Iranian women for too long — women who seem impossibly foreign and who must be forever pitied.
One painting, film and performance at a time, they’re offering a new story about what Iran and its women are and might yet become. women.
Salmon are one of the most remarkable and resilient fish on the planet — living between ocean and land. After three years of fattening up in their Northeast Pacific feeding grounds, the Central Valley’s spring-run Chinook (or King salmon) are returning to their natal spawning grounds in the Sacramento and San Joaquin River systems. Unfortunately, this year’s salmon count shows signs of collapse. Like most iconic populations south of Alaska, Pacific salmon are facing an extinction crisis. It raises the question of how we can better support our greater wild salmon watersheds. The answer may lie in Marin’s success in scaling salmon habitat restoration and regenerative agriculture. You also may want to think twice about ordering farmed Atlantic salmon.
*Stay tuned for upcoming documentary of the same name
Salmon are a cold-water keystone species, native to the cool, clear rivers of temperate rainforests in the Northern Hemisphere. While only one species of salmon exists in the Atlantic Ocean, there are seven species found along the Pacific Rim — five of which thrive on the North American West Coast, including Chinook (King), Coho (Silver), Chum (Dog), Sockeye (Red) and Pink (Humpback). The endangered Central Coast Coho are the dominant species found in Marin creeks, whereas larger rivers like the Sacramento River primarily support the largest of the salmon species, Chinook. There’s also a land-locked subspecies of bright red Sockeye that can be found in the alpine rivers of Tahoe.
Salmon are anadromous fish, meaning they are born in a river and then journey thousands of miles to the productive northern ocean for one to three years to feast on herring, squid, crustaceans and krill. Once they reach maturity, salmon smell their way back to their natal river or stream, using Earth’s magnetic fields
to navigate, where their bodies transform (e.g., males develop hooked snouts) in preparation for their mating ritual. Once they arrive at their place of birth, the mature female selects a male to fertilize her nest of eggs, called a redd. They perish shortly after.
My salmon journey began in my younger days serving as a naturalist in Alaska, where salmon returned in the millions each summer. Venturing up the Kenai River from Homer, we’d witness athletic salmon leaping up cascades, getting swiped by grizzlies, and dragged into the forests by bald eagles and wolves. The salmon carcasses saturated the forests and riparian zones with marine nutrients, feeding the entire ecosystem, including their offspring. Usually, Steelhead, also called Rainbow trout — a salmonid cousin that can swim back and forth from the ocean — will lurk around feeding on salmon eggs. This prolific lifecycle is what makes salmon a “keystone species'' in the Pacific Northwest. They are also a way of life for Indigenous peoples, like the Yurok and Winnemem Wintu tribes in Northern California, who to this day tell stories of
crossing rivers on the backs of salmon, regarded as their ancestors.
In Marin, there’s no need to go to Alaska to observe the salmon lifecycle. They return each January from the ocean to Redwood Creek, Lagunitas Creek and Walker Creek, enriching our redwood forests. Just last year, the San Geronimo Golf Course was restored to its native habitat, providing gorgeous walking trails along Lagunitas Creek’s spawning grounds that are easily viewed from Geronimo Commons and Roy’s Riffles. Directly west is, Leo T. Cronin Fish Viewing Area and Inkwells, where salmon leap up small cascades near Shafter Bridge, and over at Camp Taylor in Samuel P. Taylor State Park Turtle Island Restoration Network (TIRN) offers guided tours of salmon spawning sites on weekends from January 7 to 28 for $15.
Eric Ettlinger, an aquatic ecologist for Marin Water, summarized Marin’s 2023 salmon count. “We saw both positive and negative signs for Marin’s salmon population,” he advised. “Roughly 200 fish returned from the ocean to Lagunitas Creek this year. That’s well below average, but
a generational improvement from three years ago. The exceptionally wet winter likely washed away many of the eggs that salmon laid in Lagunitas Creek, but — on a positive note — the surviving juveniles will have plenty of water all summer.”
Fishing salmon has been part of the Bay Area’s heritage and nourishment for centuries. Our Chinook salmon season kicks off in May when the summer fog flows over the Marin Headlands and through the arches of the Golden Gate Bridge. Typically, the docks of Sausalito and San Francisco bustle with excited sport fishers telling tales of wrestling 35-lb Chinook from their lures. Fish markets, and restaurants such as Scoma’s, Fish Restaurant and Mill Valley’s newly opened Coho, look forward to featuring the delicious local salmon catch on their menus. These businesses and their customers take pride in sourcing from wholesale fish suppliers like TwoXSea that support local, small-scale artisan fishers.
This year, however, local line-caught salmon is off the menu. The Central Valley spring-run Chinook (a threatened population) had another record low salmon count of 170,000 fish. Historically, the run has numbered in the millions, and is down to a trickle of fish with low genetic diversity. After three years of drought and low fall-run returns, the fishing regulators — California Department of Fisheries & Wildlife and the National Marine Fisheries Service — are declaring a two-year closure for the commercial and sport salmon fishing season. This marks the second closure in California’s history since the 2008 season.
An estimated $1 billion in revenue will be lost in California as a result. “We’ve been through this before. It’s a complex situation that’s especially hard on commercial fishers who depend on the profitable salmon for their livelihood,” says fisherman and fellow conservationist, Dick Ogg from Bodega Bay.
“It’s not a banner season for the Salty
Lady,” admits Sausalito sport fisherman, Captain Jared Davis. “The closures go beyond salmon. This is about equity in water allocation, which is mismanaged in California. I’m not a politics guy, but salmon and the environment deserve a seat at the senior water rights table. Salmon have been here for millions of years.”
Before the Gold Rush, the Central Valley teemed with wetlands and floodplains soaking up the Sierra runoff, rich with biodiversity, wintering birds and fish. Now it is one of America’s richest farmlands, accounting for 25 percent of the nation’s food supply and adding $17 billion a year to the economy. The problem is that agriculture in the Central Valley uses 80 percent of California’s precious water resource, and very little is left for salmon to spawn.
“No one is saying stop farmers. I support mom-and-pop farms,” Davis adds. “It’s the multi-billion dollar corporate farms that maximize profits by exporting thirsty almonds and pistachios to China and India using California’s water subsidies and unreformed water policies from the mining era.”
“The closure of the salmon fishing season is tragic both for the fish and the people who depend on them,” says Ettlinger. “There are no easy solutions. Ultimately it comes down to how much water and land we’re willing to share with the fish.”
Since self-sustaining salmon are under a lot of stress in our greater salmon ecosystems, it’s important we conserve our water use and release enough dam water in California. To survive the dams in the lower Sacramento and San Joaquin River basins, most Chinook depend on government intervention, including a system of hatcheries, truck shipping, and watercooling towers. Like Marin Coho, historically, Central Valley Chinook bred in cool, clear pools in higher-elevation tributary streams, most of which have been cut off 50 percent by dams for agricultural use. (See historic spawning map).
With the added stress of climate change, endangered salmon are also more at risk of perishing in lethally warm water lacking enough oxygen. In February, alarm bells were raised for conservationists when Governor Newsom waived state rules requiring the release of Central Valley reservoirs to protect wild salmon. In addition, warming ocean currents impacts the prey of salmon. Scientists recently discovered Bay Area salmon are suffering from a thiamine deficiency, due to a mysterious climate-driven anchovy boom off California’s coast. The wild salmon diet switched from herring and crustaceans to anchovies, which produce an enzyme called thiaminase that breaks down thiamine in salmon, causing lethargy and mortality.
California Coast fall Chinook salmon distribution
Historical Range
Current Range-Observed
Current Range-Expert Opinion
Salmon are incredibly resilient. After all, they survived over-sedimentation and river destruction caused by mercury-laced hydraulic gold mining and clear-cutting of forests. Salmon have also endured ice ages and warm epochs for millions of years. However, removing problematic dams is now critical for salmon survival.
“Our local salmon in Marin are at the southern end of their global distribution,” Eric Ettlinger explains. “Climate change will likely shift their range northward.” Due to growing drought conditions, Marin’s dams for municipal water are here to stay, as is Shasta Dam.
In regions north of the Bay Area and
COURTESY OF CALIFORNIA TROUT (MAP); PAUL WATERS (FISH)
across the globe, there is a renaissance of removing dams lacking enough benefits. Restoring Washington’s free-flowing Elwha River in 2014 provided immediate results for salmonid abundance. Last year, Newsom moved forward on approving the world’s largest dam removal project — the four Klamath dams at the CaliforniaOregon border — a great success story for the Yurok tribe and for the salmon. The Winnemem Wintu tribe is similarly
made to Northwest tribes and benefit the endangered southern resident orcas, which evolved to exclusively hunt Chinook. The habitat of southern residents extends as far south as San Francisco, where Chinook was historically abundant like Washington’s coast and the Salish Sea. Many wheat farmers in Eastern Washington are on board to support endangered salmon and orcas by transporting their grain on trains instead of river barges. However, replac-
Norwegian companies. Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Ocean (DFO) permitted the farms in the 1970s to be located directly on the Pacific salmon migration path. When I arrived at the Northern Gulf Islands in the Inside Passage to make acquaintances with southern and northern resident orcas in 2019, I was shocked by what was happening around me. Grizzly bears were going into hibernation emaciated and First Nations were protesting (at
hoping California will approve a salmon “swim-way” around Shasta Dam. They are currently piloting a project to truck winter-run Central Valley salmon back and forth to their ancestral spawning grounds in McCloud River. This mitigation effort for impassable dams is commonly practiced in Washington’s over-dammed Columbia-Snake River Basin. Even though trucking salmon around dams is not a long-term solution, the McCloud River finally has salmon reproducing in its waters after 75 years of separation.
Another optimistic possibility is the momentum to remove America’s most controversial dams. The lower four Snake River hydroelectric dams in Washington — which separate salmon from their historic spawning grounds in Idaho — have been the source of protest for decades. The removal of the lower Snake River dams would help resolve treaty promises
ing the barge-port economy and carbonfree energy benefits of Washington’s hydroelectric dams must pass Congress. Preventing the extinction of Idaho salmon and southern residents requires nonpartisanship — which is a challenging task in America.
Salmon fishery closures are not unique to drought-prone California. The global decline of wild salmon is systemic and interconnected. As a researcher specializing in ocean sustainability, I began investigating solutions to the global salmon decline several years ago, after experiencing the repercussions of a messy salmon closure in British Columbia (B.C.).
The wild salmon decline in B.C. was exacerbated by farming Atlantic salmon in hundreds of open-net pens, owned by
times “occupying”) the salmon farms in their traditional territories. The great irony of farming salmon in open-net pens is that farms spread diseases, lice, pollution and bad genes to the native salmon ecosystem. Salmon farms are also known to pollute coastlines with excrement and fishing gear.
Norway spread the farmed salmon industry to temperate coastlines around the globe once their own wild Atlantic salmon fishery collapsed mid-century, due to overfishing. Now, farmed salmon is the fastest-growing food industry in the world. Although improvements have been made, in most cases, the fish food that feeds carnivorous salmon contains pesticides and promotes the overfishing of small fish like sardines in the Global South.
Thankfully, Atlantic salmon farms are banned on the West Coast of the United States, and Canada is slowly doing the same. But farmed salmon remains
ubiquitous across markets and menus. For ocean-conscious pescatarians, make sure to ask the chef if the salmon is farmed in open-net pens. I discovered that many of my favorite restaurants were serving the controversial farmed salmon from British Columbia, further fueling consumer demand.
Having worked for organizations such as the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, which restored Redwood Creek for endangered salmon at Muir Beach, I’ve learned a lot about the successes of salmon restoration and sustainable aquaculture. Here in Marin County our legacy of conservation significantly benefited wild salmon and trout survival. A local partnership, known as “SPAWN,” between Marin Water, NOAA and TIRN, restored Lagunitas Creek. For years, they cleared debris, renewed the historic floodplain with enhanced native plant riparian corridors, and installed large logs in the creek to create side channels for salmonid habitat and protection. Similarly, California Trout restored salmonids in the Walker Creek watershed adjacent to Tomales Bay by working with ranchers to keep more water in rivers for fish. These multi-benefit efforts also help flood protection, endangered California freshwater shrimp and migratory birds.
Like the Central Valley, “Walker Creek’s working watershed has a long history of cattle ranching, commercial farming, [and oyster aquaculture downstream in Tomales Bay at Hog Island Oyster Company,]” states Patrick Samuel, of CalTrout’s Bay Area program. “It represents the need to restore balance between fish, water and people.”
“Our goal is to double the number of wild salmon returning to California,” says Scott Artis, who recently left TIRN to become the new executive director at Golden Gate Salmon Association. “Marin is a microcosm of a bigger shift happening in California. The state’s water policies
aren’t working, and we plan to form coalitions to mobilize positive change for this iconic species.”
Many conservationists call for water rights reform in the Central Valley, like they do hydropower reform in the Columbia Basin. The Nature Conservancy (TNC), California Trout and their partners are backing win-win nonpartisan solutions for farmers and fish. TNC's SalmonScape program and CalTrout's Fish Food on Floodplain Farm Fields develop innovative ways ranchers and farmers can use their water rights to ensure that there is enough water in streams to benefit salmonids. Similarly, TNC’s BirdReturns program functions as a habitat timeshare for migratory birds that incentivizes farmers to keep their harvested fields submerged longer than usual in winter — which also benefits fish by creating much-needed fish food. Scaling these programs, along with water-saving, carbon-sequestering (no-till) regenerative farming practices helps create climatebird-butterfly-fish-friendly farmland.
In recent years, I adopted a plant-based diet, limiting my seafood and salmon consumption to an occasional seasonally line-caught salmon by friends or family. The most sustainable choice is to not support industrial-scale fishing or eat fish. But if you’re buying salmon, choose sustainably caught, wild Pacific salmon. I suggest sourcing from Fish and Whole Foods Markets in Marin, where high-quality fish are sustainability certified, and the price points are competitive.
When it comes to farmed salmon, like all industrial food, there are good and bad choices, which can drive confusion and misinformation. Rules of thumb: If there is no sustainability label on the farmed salmon, it’s not worth consuming. If it’s flown halfway across the planet to your plate, it’s not a climate-friendly choice.
The farmed salmon industry is slowly
moving away from controversial open-net pens to land-based farming in closedsystem tanks to keep the ocean clean. Companies like Bluehouse and Aquabounty continuously recirculate clean water allowing fish to swim in the current and limit pesticide use. If done right, microalgae and bacteria protein is the dominant fish feed ingredient, and the wastewater is recycled into organic fertilizer or reclaimed water. The water and energy intensity are generally very high, but accounted for in the sustainability ratings. If you are seeking the best local option for a salmonid farm, I recommend sourcing from the family-owned Mt. Lassen Trout Farm or McFarland Springs Trout, which is sold at Fish in Sausalito. All in all, there’s room for improvement in protecting our greater salmon watersheds. Even though endangered salmon are likely to continue struggling to survive in California’s warming climate, it’s critical we continue to restore more fish habitat and support our farmers in advancing water conservation and regenerative practices. When fish and farms coexist in harmony, it means we are doing our part to protect the environment for future generations.
A group quietly walks from a parking lot along dark garden pathways in Ross to the top of the sloping property for the Marin Art and Garden Center, where a theater company transformed a large barn into a theater in 1940 and still offers over 100 performances there each year.
The more than 90 years of produc tions are evident upon entering the barn, where the vibrant walls are strikingly painted a warm shade of red and stacked up with a display of three rows of neatly framed colorful theater posters with little space left on the walls.
The Friday night performance was Reservations, written by Joe Brison, part of the Ross Alternative Works (RAW) program. This Ross Valley Players program features new works from emerging Bay Area playwrights. This Friday night, a small group of actors took to a small stage set up as a hotel room
to explore the themes of what it means to be an artist; the creative process; and how to intervene in an attempted suicide through absurd situations, relatable characters and even some humor.
An hour and a half later, the audience gave a round of applause to the six-person cast, including the two understudies, and filed out, passing by volunteer ushers and concession workers. The 13-person production team had collaborated for several weeks preparing for the performances, and some were working backstage that evening. The seats emptied, and the audience walked back to their cars in the dark of the night. This small community within Marin County had shared a moment in time created between actors, producers, directors, production teams and an audience. The darkness made the night sky's stars even more apparent.
Marin residents regularly visit the red barn in Ross and look forward to the annual trek up to The Mountain Play Association to see a musical performance in Mount Tamalpais' outdoor Cushing Amphitheatre or weekend venture over to Novato Theatre Company to see a show or a picnic at a Marin Shakespeare Company performance. Searching for theaters in the MarinArts.org directory of cultural organizations pulls results that reflect the wide variety of theater organizations.
142 Throckmorton Theatre in Mill Valley has placed creativity as the core around of wide variety of performance programs, including live musicals, a 15-year history of an ongoing Tuesday night comedy, fine art classes, exhibitions, and noon-time curated selection of classical music performances, and main stage concerts — taken from a broader arena, rock to bluegrass, Irish band, etc.
"We centered Throckmorton's brand on the quality of performances with a focus on creating memorable experiences where performers build rapport with their audience," says 142 Throckmorton Theatre's Artistic Director Lucy Mercer.
Those not into the theater scene may not know that there's a national gem under your nose. Not your typical community theater, Marin Theater Company (MTC) operates locally but has a broader reach with national and global audiences. Their writer Lauren Gunderson is in residence with the company through the support of the Mellon Foundation's National Playwright Residency Program administered in partnership with HowlRound. Her work is often premiered here in Mill Valley and then travels to other theaters. According to Marin Theatre Company, Gunderson has been one of the most-produced playwrights in America (American Theatre Magazine) since 2015. Meredith Suttles, managing director, appreciates how Gunderson is constantly working with women and amplifying the voices of women and their stories.
The community that came together to attend, produce and perform Reservations with the Ross Valley Players represented a broad range of local and regional participants. The lead actor, Evan Held, recently studied performing arts and now works in the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival’s education department. His understudy David Noel, who also played the supporting role of a police officer, recent-
ly returned to acting after retiring from a long career in healthcare information technology management.
Ross Valley Players Executive Producer Allan Casalou has been impressed with the range of several generations that show up to participate in productions — from young, college-aged students through well into 70s and 80s. They're doing it all.
"Some have worked with us for 30-40 years, and some are brand new," says Casalou. "We want to do shows representing more of Marin County's diversity. The upcoming performance of Enjoying Native Gardens has a majority Latinx cast."
Marin's community theaters are welcoming to all types of people with a variety of interests. If you're a fan of the enduring appeal of William Shakespeare's work, then The Marin Shakespeare Company welcomes you. And according to Marketing and Communications Director Abbey Campbell, the company is standing behind this message of inclusion by developing The Marin Shakespeare Artist Bill of Rights to demonstrate justice and equity and how they are welcoming to all people of all backgrounds.
Marin Shakespeare offers two shows with 36 performances each for a total of 72 performances each summer in their Forest Meadow outdoor location at San Rafael's Dominican University. The rehearsal commitment is four weeks with Mondays off, a theater tradition from the days of traveling groups who use that as the day to travel to the following location.
Local theaters welcome audiences to hundreds of performances happening at community and regional theaters throughout the county each year, encouraging everyone to buy single tickets or subscribe to
a season. But there are also many more ways community members engage with theaters: working as actors, in the many production jobs, or volunteering.
Ross Valley Players and many other theaters open cast announcements to anyone interested. Many auditions are in person and often require a 1-minute monologue. Casting calls are found only online, often on Facebook, and through theatrebayarea.org. Anyone interested in joining community theater as an actor shouldn't be intimidated by the term "equity actors," used for those who are part of the Actors' Equity Association labor union because there are non-equity opportunities — there are also many openings for volunteers (directors, stage managers, choreographer, musicians, playwright, etc.)
At Ross Valley Players, there are 130 other volunteers throughout the year — mainly in the front-of-house staff of ticket takers, ushers and concessions. There is a culture of volunteerism for ushers throughout the county, and these ushers often move from show to show, as do managers for front-of-house. Often, the front-of-thehouse volunteers donate one night to each performance at many theaters. The Ross Valley Players is also always looking for new scrips, board members and front-of-the-house help. Ross Alternative Works pays royalties to selected playwrights. They usually pay the acting and production members because it's a big commitment. On average, many performances are a 10-12 week commitment, 5-7 weeks of rehearsal, and five weeks of performance.
Allan Casalou shares his tips for newbies: "Easiest point of entry is come see a show! See how it is, and introduce yourself. Become a member, which is reasonably priced and shows interest. Or, come to a casting call!"
Abbey Campbell from Marin Shakespeare adds, "Ushering offers an excellent opportunity to check out their performances, but their Shakespeare Guild is also a fun way to get to know their community."
The Shakespeare Guild is a group of volunteers who brings potluck food to the hungry actors and production team members during rehearsals and shows with potluck meals. The theater company also needs volunteers for special events, office work, backstage costume changes, help with changing the scenery and the board of directors. Marin Shakespeare pays actors and other positions like dramaturges, battle choreographers, intimacy coordinators, costume designers, staff, carpentry and tech.
Lucy Mercer at 142 Throckmorton Theatre agrees that ushering is a great way to volunteer to know the crowd and get a taste of a particular theater community. Throckmorton also invites volunteers to come and build sets with their resident artist Steve Coleman. Young people can apprentice in performance tech roles.
Marin Theatre Company ushers are also very committed and often coordinate with their friends to schedule their regular night. Some are in Mill Valley and Marin, but others travel across the bridges to support and participate in what's happening at the theater.
Taking a class is another way to get involved. Many local theaters include education opportunities where lessons are available for young
or aspiring actors, such as the Stapleton School of the Performing Arts and 142 Throckmorton Theatre. Marin Theatre Company also offers opportunities for those learning the craft from those who have mastered it. The theater recently gave students at Tamalpais High School the opportunity to work alongside union members. The Company also invites students to apprentice with propers and dramaturges. They also have project-based volunteer needs, including day-long projects as needed — reorganizing, spring cleaning, volunteer teams and local postering.
Marin's local performing arts theater culture celebrates creativity, diversity, empathy, and maybe some magic that occurs each performance people come together for a moment in time for a shared experience.
“The theater provides a little respite from our lives, which are always go, go, go. We can stop and begin to look at things from a new perspective,” says Lucy Mercer. “It provides and opportunity to bring people together to create something, to be human together, suspend time, and come into the magic.”
Sophie’s love of business came from her parents who started Sofia Jewelry in Mill Valley in 1994. It was there she learned how important small businesses are to the community. As the owner of Sofia Jewelry and Johann Paul Fine Jewelry, Sophie is honored to continue both boutiques as second generation jewelers. Stop by to find something unique for every occasion and every celebration!
80 Throckmorton Avenue, Mill Valley, CA 415.388-8776 • sofiajewelry.com
Growing up in culture rich Chicago, IL, surrounded by culinary enthusiasts, it is no surprise that Amy Svendberg ended up leading a life in restaurants. After earning a bachelor’s degree in French Business and Translation from Northern Illinois University, Amy headed straight for Paris, where her true passion for food and hospitality came to life. In 2007, Amy made her move to San Francisco and soon crossed paths with Larry Mindel. She became managing partner of Poggio in January of 2008, pouring herself wholeheartedly into every aspect of the dining experience. In 2012, Amy added another role to her successful career, that of managing partner overseeing the opening and operations of Copita Tequileria y Comida. In 2016, Amy led the opening of Convivo Restaurant and Bar in the Santa Barbara Inn. The acclaimed restaurant was featured in the New York Times’ 52 Places to Visit in 2019. Overseeing three restaurants 300 miles apart is no easy feat but Amy finds the time to climb some of North America’s highest peaks and spend quality time with family and friends. Amy’s leadership role will grow in summer 2023 when Copita expands to the vibrant Willow Glen neighborhood of San Jose.
777 Bridgeway, Sausalito, CA
415.332.7771 • poggiotrattoria.com
Manes by Sara is a luxury boutique salon in the heart of downtown Mill Valley. Sara Pinckney and her team are serving up some of Marin County’s most coveted hair trends- the perfect lived in blonde, rich dimensional brunettes, and flawless extension transformations. Founded in 2020, carrying a desire to harness deep meaningful connections with clients and create a sanctuary like space, this team is sure to provide anyone who comes through the door with nothing but the best!
415.895.8778 • manesbysara.com
Kari Iverson was working in the stress-filled tech industry when she first experienced the sensation of chronic pain, something so fierce that she labels it as “a feeling you never forget.” She tried acupuncture, yoga, even visiting a chiropractor, but nothing helped.
Everything changed once she began getting massages regularly. Her pain dissipated, but her insatiable curiosity about the power of massage led her to attend a San Francisco-based massage and bodywork school and form her own practice, HELLO Modern Massage.
Today, Kari’s deep tissue techniques and firm pressure are sought out by her clients from all over Marin, many of whom overcome chronic pain and avoid uncomfortable surgeries by working with her regularly. Her therapeutic techniques do wonders for functional and postural issues related to aging and overuse, and she’s the massage therapist of record for UCSF’s ultrasound sonographers, helping them with their repetitive stress injuries.
Code MARIN25 for $25 off your first massage.
North Coast Tile and Stone walks hand in hand with the North Bay Community with an open, direct dialogue with homeowners to better serve their needs and wants. In doing all the work in house they guarantee the workmanship and final product to be exactly your vision.
NCTS has provided award winning service to their clients for over 30 years. NCTS has a dedicated team of 7 designers, the most talented tile and stone craftsmen along with the largest stone slab yard in the North Bay and gorgeous tile showroom that will bring your projects from idea to reality.
Martha leads the showroom team in working with architects, contractors, designers and homeowners with a confident, thoughtful and professional attitude.
NCTS is a one stop shop that offers – design and installation services, as well as a wide variety of stone and tile. One client said, “Being in Martha’s showroom is like being in her own home. The care and time that was taken with my project made us feel like family.”
Open Monday thru Friday 8:30 to 5:00 and Saturday 9:00 to 5:00
RBC Wealth Management
300B Drakes Landing Road, Suite 155, Greenbrae, CA 415.445.8468
us.rbcwealthmanagement.com/helen.abe
RBC Wealth Management, a division of RBC Capital Markets, LLC, registered investment adviser and Member NYSE/FINRA/SIPC.
Helen Abe understands the importance of financial education. As a Financial Advisor and Wealth Manager, Helen often hears her clients lament that if they had been taught the basics of personal finance when they were young, they would be better off today. Her adult students tell her they wish they had learned this when they were younger.
Today, parents are searching for tools to help their children learn important financial skills.
Helen was fortunate to have lived in an immigrant household; where her parents taught hard work and the importance of having savings.
Helen hears the cry loud and clear and has set out to educate as many young people as possible. Helen is offering to teach financial empowerment programs to students in middle school, high school and college levels. The program will help them understand fundamentals of banking, budgeting, credit and investing.
Helen’s own experience with her mother’s modest background as an immigrant has inspired her to teach those not as fortunate as her when growing up.
Please contact Helen if you would like to invest in our youth.
Investment and insurance products offered through RBC Wealth Management are not insured by the FDIC or any other federal government agency, are not deposits or other obligations of, or guaranteed by, a bank or any bank affiliate, and are subject to investment risks, including possible loss of the principal amount invested.
B12 LOVE is an empowered woman-founded, family-owned, Naturopathic practice based in Marin County. Dr. Shannon Wood Gallegos and her team of knowledgeable medical professionals go above and beyond to help a community of clients reach their health goals and achieve optimal wellness. B12 LOVE offers a variety of premium-grade nutrient IVs and shots in a relaxing, spa-like setting. B12 LOVE offers one-on-one personalized Naturopathic Medical care with onsite NDs for private consultations.
B12 LOVE can help you through personalized care, testing for various health conditions, and support through life’s changes. B12 LOVE Mill Valley offers non-surgical beautification services such as PRP Skin Rejuvenation, PRP Hair Restoration, and Microneedling to make you look as good as you feel from the inside out. They have eight Bay Area locations conveniently located to serve local communities. Walk in or schedule online, same-day appointments are offered for convenience. Take advantage of the new client special, $10 off a shot or $30 off an IV Drip. B12 LOVE is here to help you Nourish Your Life!
37 Miller Avenue, Mill Valley, CA 415.569.2099 • millvalley@b12love.com
As CEO of Domaine Carneros, Remi continues a long history of female leadership at the iconic winery. “Sustainability, diversity, and excellence in winemaking and hospitality are the values that guide everything we do at Domaine Carneros, which align with my core values and leadership approach. I’ve enjoyed building upon the sustainability and equity initiatives established by founding winemaker Eileen Crane.”
1240 Duhig Road, Napa, CA 800.716.2788 • domainecarneros.com
Golden Gate Sotheby’s International Realty
Marcia Skall, MBA
415.533.5721 • m.skall@ggsir.com • Lic #01077678
Jennifer Glassman
415.309.5331 • j.glassman@ggsir.com • Lic #02059113
SkallGlassman.com
The Skall + Glassman Group believes in relationships, quality of service, and the delivery of a real estate experience that is nothing short of exceptional. As Marcia and Jennifer have raised their children in Marin for a combined 37 years, they are deeply ingrained in our community and are familiar with Marin’s best schools, neighborhoods, and unique microclimates. Their successful backgrounds in corporate America have laid the foundation for their expertise in the art of negotiation, business ethics, and communication, all serving as the pillars for their clients’ satisfaction.
They were recently awarded Top Producers in Marin County at their brokerage, and have rightfully earned the confidence and trust of their clients. They are stewards of our communities, consummate professionals, mothers, and women who are dedicated to what they believe in—the power of partnership. From Belvedere, Ross, Mill Valley, Tiburon, Kentfield and beyond, they are here to serve your real estate needs. Whether maximizing the value of your home, or finding the home of your dreams, they invite you to discover the difference with them.
What started as two moms with a dream has steadily become a flagship business and community gathering place in quaint Old Town Novato. Village Child provides their local community with more than just a great selection of children’s clothing. Co-owners Emily Rich and Mary Price have made it part of their mission to incorporate an authentic sense of community into their “Wear, Gather, Grow” logo.
“We wanted for our local families to feel like they had a real partner to walk with on their parenting journey,” says Founder and President of the Downtown Business Association Emily Rich. “We’ve intentionally focused on creating enriching activities for our downtown to provide families opportunities to connect and build relationships. Our First Fridays on Grant and Princess Storytime events are great examples of that.”
The journey to build community for Downtown Novato continues in 2023 with the opening of Village Collective, a space that features handmade goods from local artist and will soon be the home of a large immersive mural highlighting local Novato landscapes. Weekend popups with local food artisans are also a common occurrence in their new space.
869 Grant Avenue Novato, CA
415.493.6924
shopvillagechild.com
Susan Hauser’s yoga journey began 18 years ago in Marin County. Experiencing the physical and mental benefits made her enthusiastic about her practice. Her passion grew and she opened NOW Power Yoga in 2015. Beyond being a business owner she loves teaching and sharing the benefits of yoga. Hauser enjoys making a difference in people’s lives which in turn enriches her practice and life.
She teaches an all level Vinyasa Style Power yoga class. People are skeptical with “all levels classes” especially beginners, but she gives options for the majority of the poses. Her class is a combination of Yin (Greopening connective tissues) and Yang (building strength). She incorporates upbeat music with a fun vibe which creates a positive environment for everyone. Their staff is filled with an array of talented, experienced and vibrant instructors all with unique styles of teaching. Come check out the brand new studio opening in May of 2023 at 59 Tamal Vista Plaza Corte Madera.
In 2004, Dr Kathryn K. Najafi-Tagol founded Eye Institute of Marin with the intent to be a regional leader in comprehensive eye care emphasizing personalized treatment and patient education. With her highly trained staff, Dr Najafi-Tagol continues to provide first class Ophthalmologic care in a state-of-the-art facility for all her patients’ needs. This includes the best technology available for the treatment of routine as well as serious eye conditions including Cataract, Glaucoma, Diabetic Eye, Macular Degeneration, and Dry Eyes.
After graduating with honors with a BS in Chemistry from UC Davis, Dr. Najafi-Tagol completed her doctoral degree at UCLA Medical School in 1995. Throughout her career as clinical researcher, author, inventor, physician and surgeon, she has been at the forefront of medical and surgical treatment for eye diseases. As well as the Director of the Eye Institute of Marin, Dr Najaf-Tagol is currently the Chief of Ophthalmology and Vice Chair of the Department of Surgery at MarinHealth Medical Center.
Credentials and accolades aside, the hallmark of Dr. Najafi-Tagol’s practice is that she listens. “I believe in offering the best quality care possible to my patients,” she says. “This starts by being a good listener. You can identify many problems just by listening to your patients’ description of their problem.” A natural extension is patient education. “I want each patient to thoroughly understand his or her condition and I encourage questions. I also stress the importance of regular vision check-ups and screenings for eye diseases.”
Your eyesight is a precious gift. Dr. Najafi-Tagol can help you preserve it for a lifetime!
From preschool teacher to social entrepreneur, you could describe Susan Gilmore as visionary, passionate, relentless, innovative, nimble, problem solver, and change maker! Armed with a degree in early education and nine years of teaching experience, Susan founded the North Bay Children’s Center (NBCC) 35 years ago at the age of 28. Today NBCC’s programs have grown into a leading, regional safety-net organization with thirteen sites throughout the North Bay that has helped thousands of families while addressing two nationally recognized problems that threaten the futures of our children: the education achievement gap, and the childhood obesity epidemic.
Recognizing the direct correlation between the lack of affordable childcare and the high cost of employee turnover; and quality early education with later academic success; Gilmore set out to create a model for full-day, year-round childcare for families across the income spectrum with a focus on breaking the cycle of poverty for vulnerable families within our communities.
As President and CEO, Susan’s next project is leading the Bright Futures Capital Campaign to complete the construction of a vibrant, 21st-century child development center at the decommissioned Hamilton Airforce Base. Once complete, NBCC’s headquarters will double the number of children served and continue to promote early education and healthy eating to as many young minds as possible for years to come. Visit NBCC’s website to learn more.
Debbie Duering, owner of Architectural Design Carpets, and her team of creative, dedicated flooring experts, have been leaders in the Bay Area flooring industry since 1990. Kate Googins has been Debbie’s right hand for over 20 years; Nicole Kerr has been with ADC for 10 years; Lisa Almquist joined the team just last year. They have a passion for exquisite design and vivid colors and their customer service is personalized to your lifestyle while taking into account your project’s future design style.
Using ingenuity, these women constantly think outside the box. Their attention to detail is not only a level of standard at ADC but part of their creative nature. These ladies excel in the top flooring trends ranging from carpet, hardwood, custom area rugs to commercial flooring. ADC Carpets works with the Bay Area’s top interior designers, architects, and realtors on both residential and commercial properties.
Women
1241 Andersen Drive San Rafael, CA
415.454.1623
lampertikitchens.com
Lamperti Contracting & Design recognizes its talented team of women innovators that lead the way to inspired spaces and projects in the design-build industry.
Women are creators not only in construction and residential design, but in many industries of business. Lamperti Contracting & Design is a business with diverse perspectives because of its innovative female team, that continue to pave the way for success in the demanding arena of construction and design.
Kylie Rankin, Designer and Showroom Manager, is an Interior Architecture graduate from Sacramento State. She excels at space planning, cabinet design, product procurement, and project management. Casey Mazzoni chose a career as a Residential Designer because she enjoys the creative process of making a home renovation project a beautiful reality. Danielle Castrejon, Office, and Project Manager is highly organized, determined, and a problem-solver. She excels at client relations and keeping the office performing at the highest level.
As owners, Jennifer, and Sean Kelly value their talented team of designers and recognize their contribution in making Lamperti Contracting & Design the best design/build firm in Marin County. The Lamperti Contracting & Design team is eager to collaborate and create the kitchen, bathroom, and home of your dreams – from custom cabinetry, flooring, luxury finishes to high-end appliances.
Come Visit the Showroom!
Being a female entrepreneur is a full contact sport, one that requires unimaginable vision, stamina, guts and grit. As you embark on your entrepreneurial journey, well-meaning friends will try to stop you from “making a mistake”. Their fears will be masked as “I’m just worried about you!” You will be told your idea sucks, you will run out of money, banks will laugh in your face, and you will be drained from the crushing exhaustion of cleaning your own toilets… be they literal or metaphorical.
But here’s something you should know, Hot Yoga Republic is betting on you.
Every day Hot Yoga Republic’s team of passionate, powerful, crazy-ass fitness instructors transforms the minds, hearts and bodies of entrepreneurs just like you, sending them back out into the world so they can double down and win. Exhilaration, joy, defeat, incredible highs, terrifying lows, the rise, the fall, the redemption… the studio is here to strengthen and support you through it all. They know chasing your dream is a gamble, but their money is on you.
4050 Redwood Highway, San Rafael, CA
415.300.6533 • hotyogarepublic.com
When choosing a real estate partner, Cara Mia believes it should be about you. Her relationships are built on clear communication and collaboration. With a background in psychology and design she trusts her instincts and her clients do too. She becomes your steadfast champion and your loyal confidant. She ensures you feel understood, supported, and empowered as you embark upon the next chapter of your life.
caramialembi.com
415.786.5995 • caramia@caramialembi.com
500 Drakes Landing Road, Greenbrae, CA
Traci: 415.793.0111 | t.thiercof@ggsir.com | tracithiercof.com
Beth: 415.990.7186 | b.sasan@ggsir.com | bethsasan.com
Beth and Traci are top agents in Marin County, consistently recognized as part of the top 1% of teams in the US by Real Trends. With over 30 years of combined experience, they possess an intimate understanding of the local real estate market and have a passion for helping people find their perfect home.
They pride themselves on easing the stress of the buying or selling process for their clients and have an extensive network of industry connections, enabling them to provide unparalleled guidance throughout the process. They have also established strong partnerships with architects, developers, contractors, and stagers, which, combined with their superb marketing skills, helps their clients achieve their real estate goals.
As creative thinkers and skilled negotiators, they are committed to going the extra mile to help their clients find their dream home or successfully sell their current one. With their team of experts, Beth and Traci provide exceptional service every step of the way, inspiring clients to create their own Marin story.
California Girl Jewelry is the love child of Mariel Baker and Denise Forbes, mother/daughter designer duo who believe every piece of jewelry begins with an exquisite colored gemstone. Each piece is made without the intention of massproduction. They are leaders in colored gemstone high jewelry. One-of-a-kind jewelry by women for women.
Strawberry Village Shopping Center, Mill Valley, CA californiagirljewelry.com • 650.504.0646
Not only is Barbara Chambers the 2018 winner of the Julia Morgan Award for her excellence in the contemporary practice and support of classical architecture, her brand is instantly recognizable. From kitchens to cabinets, beamed ceilings to bedrooms, her hands-on, full-service approach to design results in comfortable rooms that are as relaxing as they are refined.
chambersandchambers.com
Owner, Rims & Goggles Optical
“The eye exam experience has always felt a little bland, so we jumped at the chance to put our spin on the traditional Dr’s visit–turning it into a chic experience!” Rims & Goggles will soon offer vision exams in their new tele-optometry atelier! The opticians you know & trust + handmade eyewear + the ease of telemedicine is a win-win for our clientele!
606 Strawberry Village, Mill Valley, CA rimsandgoggles.com • 415.383.9480
Belle Marin Aesthetic Medicine is led by Dr. Faye Jamali, who envisioned a concierge medspa offering today’s leading services. The end result of her vision is Belle Marin- an elegant space complete with state-of-the-art aesthetic care.
Belle Marin offers the newest non-invasive technologies to create a customized plan for each patient. Dr. Jamali strives to meet the needs of patients with the most innovative treatments available on the market. They are excited to be one of the top providers in the country offering AviClear. It is the first FDA- cleared energy device to treat mild to severe acne that is a great alternative to Accutaine. They will soon be launching Secret Pro, which features a combination therapy of microneedling with radio frequency and CO2 laser.
Dr. Jamali performs all medical treatments herself to ensure the highest quality in care. She offers dedicated consultations, so her patients may be well-informed and make the right decisions for their treatments. Her incredible aesthetician Victoria performs all medical grade facials, and makes you feel like you are in a world-class spa. Their entire staff is here to provide elite care.
Their goal is to make their patients feel like the best versions of themselves. Belle Marin strives to offer the most advanced options for resultsdriven services, all while creating a beautiful boutique environment with top-tier service.
Nikita Khandheria, a Marin County-born individual raised in India, displays an insatiable thirst for knowledge and a deep desire to make a difference. From early school days, she sought exemptions to exceed her course load, recognizing knowledge as key to a better world. At thirteen, she became certified to conduct pap smears and breast exams, showcasing her maturity and dedication to feminine healthcare. At seventeen, Khandheria’s impromptu pitch for Ditas, a brand with global potential, impressed investors, who took a chance on her.
Today, she remains committed to her vision for Ditas, immersing herself in industry research and working in various roles. Her unwavering passion, ambition, and determination drive her to create a positive impact on the industry and the world. In conclusion, Khandheria’s remarkable achievements, visionary mindset, and dedication to excellence make her a force to be reckoned with, and her future endeavors are sure to be extraordinary.
562 Bridgeway, Sausalito, CA 415.758.8762 • ditasmarin.com
Along with partner Elizabeth Suzuki, the women of Sutton Suzuki Architects, Diane Martin – Project Architect, Alexandra RoseDesigner, Pilar Vives - Designer, Karli Montick – Architectural Designer and Gail Janin – Office Manager/Operations collaborate on creative solutions that are innovative yet timeless and always unique to each client’s needs.
39 Forrest Street, Suite 101, Mill Valley, CA suttonsuzuki.com
Meet Dr. Gila C. Dorostkar, a Board-Certified Pediatric Dentist whose clinical expertise and focus on preventive care helped her build one of the most well-respected and influential pediatric dental practices in Marin. Dr. Gila, as she’s known to her young patients, opened her first office in Marin in 1997 to meet the growing need for specialized pediatric dental care. With two locations in Greenbrae and Mill Valley, Dr. Gila and her team of pediatric specialists provide comprehensive care to thousands of children, teens, and children with special needs.
Key to her success is a philosophy that a lifetime of good dental health begins at an early age through education, healthy habits, and a positive experience at every office visit. Her specially trained clinical team, board-certified partner doctors, and award-winning offices are all intended to meet the unique needs of children in a fun, compassionate environment. Her practice is known for its focus on prevention and the resulting good dental health of her patients. When treatment is needed, modern dental techniques such as a revolutionary dental laser minimize discomfort and help ensure optimal results.
Dr. Gila’s dedication to children has gained both statewide and national attention. She recently concluded a term as the president of the California Society of Pediatric Dentistry and currently serves as a Trustee on the Board of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry where she hopes to have a positive impact on children’s health at a national level.
insurance
“We have worked with Stephanie insuring our homes and cars for 10+ years. Stephanie is thorough, professional, personable and always a fast turn around time, when I’ve left things to the last minute. Thank you Stephanie!”
~ Nancie B., Mill Valley“Stephanie is a stellar, savvy, personable and dedicated agent in every respect. She is truly outstanding and in a league of her own. I enthusiastically recommend Stephanie if you want to be certain that you are in the very best of hands with your insurance needs.”
~ Margaret A., Pacific Palisades“Stephanie is the consummate professional and an absolute pleasure to work with. She is detail oriented, listened intently to my needs and offered suggestions that I would have never thought of.”
~ Christopher L., Belvedere
232 E Blithedale Avenue, Suite 206, Mill Valley, CA 415.388.7979 • agents.farmers.com/ca/mill-valley/ stephanie-cannell
Proprietor,
sa
Donna moved to San Anselmo in 1998 to open a neighborhood spot downtown. She was ready to leave San Francisco for a more family-focused community, and San Anselmo had that small town appeal. Cucina sa quickly became a go-to spot for both families, first dates, and important occasions. The vibe is grownup but comfortable, a welcoming spot to hang out with friends. She recently launched Happy Hour from Tuesday-Friday, 3-5pm.
The
Marin Community Foundation
Marin Community Foundation celebrates Claudia Muralles for her work in education. “Growing up in Guatemala, my father instilled in me the importance of education, despite only having a third grade education himself,” she says. “I migrated to the USA as a teenager to attend school, but the new environment and language, along with the cultural shift, made me an extremely disengaged high school student. But I persevered.”
“I am now pursuing a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Environmental Sciences, Geography, and Management, with a minor in Geology, from Sonoma State University; I’m scheduled to graduate in May 2024,” she continues. “My goal is to pursue a Ph.D. degree in Emergency and Natural Disaster Management, Urban Planning, or Environmental Health and Policy. My passion lies in engaging and serving underrepresented communities through environmental justice projects, land planning, and natural disasters mitigation and adaptation. I want to be a role model not only for my four daughters, but to other females in my community.”
“Most recently I attended the Oxford Consortium for Human Rights Fellowship, in Hertford College, University of Oxford, to support my research and efforts in mobilizing communities for environmental change and non-violent activism,” she says. “I realized that education is much more than just creating a financially stable life for my future; it is also a rewarding and empowering experience.”
Samantha Fazio will be the one who answers your call when you ring Hawser Marine Insurance Services. President and owner of the maritime insurance brokerage, Sam is a specialist who takes pride in that old fashioned service of actually being available to people. When you are insured through Hawser, you can be assured that the voice on the other end of the phone is a hardworking, knowledgeable, local woman.
You can expect thoughtful attention from an experienced broker who will evaluate your circumstances, answer your questions, and take your unique needs to heart. “I enjoy educating my clients, being a partner with them to find the best solutions to their insurance needs, above all else, I want to help people”. Sam was born on the delta in Stockton California and for the last 26 years has resided in Mill Valley with her family. Her office is located in the Marinship area of Sausalito.
sam@hawserins.com
3030 Bridgeway, Suite 125, Sausalito, CA 415.887.9486 • hawsermarineinsurance.com
Alissa and Cassie turned a passion project into a reality rooted in supporting their strong, healthy, and happy Marin community. They are brought together by a drive to create and serve a unique line-up of authentic fitness classes including Bootcamp, Bounce, and Barre. By joining their knowledge and movement expertise (Cassie is a Physical Therapist), each class is focused on creating an elevated and smartly-driven fitness experience.
208 Bon Air Center, Greenbrae, CA 415.785.7547 • bearflagfitness.com
Co-Owner: Nice Guys Delivery
Two weeks after the birth of their first son, Nice Guys Delivery was incorporated in 2016 by Monica Gray-Fong and her husband Adam Fong. The couple, Marin County residents, saw firsthand how cannabis brings relief to people with illness as both of their fathers had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease that same year but they struggled to obtain quality cannabis and service in the area. Hence, Adam and Monica started Nice Guys Delivery, a knowledgeable, high-level enterprise that offers the highest-grade flowers, edibles, lotions, teas, tinctures and more.
Monica grew up in Mill Valley CA and attended Old Mill, Mill Valley Middle School and Tamalpais High School. After graduating from Tamalpais High School, Monica attended UCLA where she obtained her BA in World Arts and Cultures. Directly after graduating, she flew out to New York City and spent 7 years working in product development in Footwear and Apparel where she worked at Calvin Klein and J Crew. She then moved to Los Angeles and worked at Skechers before moving back to Marin to work at a startup footwear company located in San Rafael called Vionic Shoes.
While continuing to navigate the complexities of the cannabis industry, Monica also volunteers on the Board of Directors at the Center for Domestic Peace, which leads a comprehensive community effort to end domestic violence in Marin County.
415.855.5914
info@niceguysdelivery.com
niceguysdelivery.com
Founding Director, Rebecca Hobbs opened Headlands Preparatory School in 2017. Headlands Prep quickly established itself as a thriving school in the Marin community, offering a quality program responsive to the needs of its students. While the majority of Headlands Prep families live in Marin, a growing number of students cross the Golden Gate Bridge each day to attend school in beautiful downtown Sausalito.
Headlands Prep is a WASC-accredited, college preparatory school for grades 6 through 12 with a long history of helping students succeed through its one-to-one, mastery learning model. From highly gifted learners who find a traditional classroom limiting, to students with learning differences who benefit from a specialized teaching approach, Headlands Prep meets students where they are to maximize both their learning and their academic self-esteem. While the individual is the focal point of the learning experience, HPS has a vibrant sense of community among its students and faculty. Students form friendships based on common interests discovered through our small group electives, lunch time social clubs, and community building and service activities.
1050 Bridgeway, Sausalito, CA 415.944.2254 • headlandsprep.com
Lauren moved to Mill Valley given her love of Marin and the vibrant community. As a breast cancer survivor and working mother, she values living life to its fullest. Lauren left the tech industry to follow her passion, opening Surf + Sand in 2022. Offering sustainably made goods for coastal living, Lauren is paving the way for positive change in fashion.
55 Throckmorton Avenue, Mill Valley, CA 415.634.8272 • surfandsand.co • @surf.sand.co
‘The
When Celeste’s husband had a crazy idea, this time for a school that integrates every lesson to a single historical timeline, she responded, “We can do that.” And she did. She created a curriculum: a four year schedule of weekly topics in history, math, science, grammar, art, and literature, writing assignments and Making projects. Then she wrote and recorded 200 short songs for memorizing weekly history, skip counting math, the countries of the world and a 15-minute timeline medley spanning the past ten thousand years.
A school was born. Chronos Academy reaches kids who otherwise languish in traditional curricula. These children breeze through their assignments or understand the topics deeply and wait for their class to catch up. But Chronos Academy turns on the academic firehose and offers students a drink. Gifted and talented students are motivated by that challenge.
A gifted child herself, Celeste challenges her English and Latin students to grow their skills, recruits new families, trains teachers, and choreographs the history songs to make them even more memorable and fun. Her greatest gift to her students is her social emotional coaching: caring for each child and helping them individually navigate their challenges and celebrate their successes throughout the day.
110 Magnolia Avenue
Larkspur, CA
415.383.2283
celeste@chronos.academy
www.Chronos.Academy
MORPHEUS MEDICAL AESTHETICS is a woman owned and operated Medical Spa with locations in Larkspur and Santa Rosa, CA. Morpheus Medical Aesthetics prides themselves on constantly providing the most impactful and innovative treatments for their patients. They are all about women empowerment, and feeling good in your skin, always. No matter where you are at in your aging journey, they are there to help you correct, maintain, or restore your skin health.
Morpheus Medical Aesthetics is excited to be the first in the area to offer the newest radiofrequency microneedling Matrix Pro™ treatment, with the all-new Profound Matrix™ system from Candela Medical. This treatment helps to build new collagen, and improve the overall skin appearance and texture, including fine lines and wrinkles. Morpheus Medical Aesthetics believes that you are beautiful and powerful just as you are, but if there is anything they can do to help you feel more ready to take on the world, they are here to help. Give them a call or send an email to schedule your free consultation with one of their skilled providers, today!
5 Bon Air Road, Suite 107
Larkspur, CA
415.924.1330
morpheusmedspa.com
info@morpheusmedspa.com
What do you get when you combine consistent sunshine, a 77 degree ocean, world-class dining, nightly live music and a dozen women in Waikiki? A really good time.
BY MIMI TOWLE
Last December we hosted our first company retreat at the Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort, called Waves & Wellness. We had launched the Local Getaways website and quarterly print publications in 2021, a sister pub to Marin Magazine, and wanted to test out a product concept and coincidentally celebrate the Outrigger Reef’s property’s renovations. Simple concept, right? Pick a weekend, throw out an invite and herd cats. Nope. I realized I needed help, so I enlisted one of my besties, Kristen Addicks. Kristen leads yoga retreats around the planet, as in Mexico, Vietnam and the Galapagos, and as a former dancer and mindfulness coach, she teaches an amazing combination of flow yoga with some soulful doses of wisdom for the heart.
I’m not the easiest person to partner with because for the most part my ideas live in my head along with unfinished sentences and half-baked itineraries, so, I am grateful that Kristen’s professionalism rose above the fact that I ordered twice as much food for every meal that we needed, accidentally paid for everyone’s cocktails when we split the bill to avoid this exact expense and threw in last minute Yo-Yo Ma tickets at the Waikiki Shell (this was so worth it!). So the P&L was a lot more “L” than “P.” Also, the guest list ended up being friends of mine from college, who brought their adult daughters and a sprinkling of fun ladies from Marin, not
Kristen's usual client base. Despite the fact that this “first pancake” was nothing like the tightly run, health-focused, profitable retreats Kristen normally leads, she did like yogis do and flowed with the program. The retreat was a blast. Nothing is mandatory, so as a group leader, you can’t take it personally if people want to skip out on an activity. Once I accepted this, I realized everyone was happy being together, and if a few people choose to just sit around the pool and order cocktails instead of participating in a hike, or surf lessons, the goal of group happiness has been met.
Setting is key. Choosing an environment guests feel happy to be in is half the battle, and the new lobby of the Outrigger Reef is the epitome of a well-appointed vacation chill spot, whether you want to read a book, or wait up for the rest of your group to meet. The outdoor eatery, Kani Ka Pila Grille, serves tasty food and beverages all day (including poolside) and has live Hawaiian music every night. A few of us also made kukui nut leis at the new A‘o Cultural Center and listened to Auntie Luana Maitland "talk story" about how the resort is located adjacent to what is now called Grey’s Beach. This is the site of one of four healing springs, where the ali’i would practice a healing practice called Kawehewehe, a removal of ailments, relieving those of all physical, spiritual and emotional burdens. At the end of the weekend we created our own version of this ceremony.
The property provided rooms for daily yoga, and we utilized their shared spaces, to lounge, play games, read magazines and chill. The Voyager 47 Club Lounge was the perfect place to meet up for happy hour and share experiences and life philosophies, which is especially heartwarming with multiple generations. Waikiki is the ideal place to learn to surf or hone skills — definitely one of my highlights was watching moms and daughters cheer each other on as they caught knee-high waves.
We are not unique. The "girls getaways" concept has been gaining traction. In 2021, 75% of the travel booked by women on Airbnb was for women-only groups, the travel search engine Kayak reported a 123% increase in searches for girls getaways in 2021 compared to 2020 and the big daddy, Tripadvisor, reported that searches for "girls' weekend" and "girls' trip" increased by 75% in the first quarter of 2021.
If you are or want to be part of this trend, we’ve done the research
on the best spots in Hawaii and California for any type of group getaway — girls, guys, families — everyone's invited. The following are just a few of our favorites. Go to localgetaways.com for our top picks in San Francisco, North Bay, South Bay, East Bay, Sonoma County, Napa Valley, Tahoe, Monterey Peninsula and many Southern California destinations and each Hawaiian Island. And if you are interested in our next one, let us know!
Ka
One of the first properties built in this world-famous resort, staying at the Ka‘anapali Beach Hotel gives you easy access to Pu‘u Keka‘a (Black Rock), a world-class snorkeling destination, great on-site dining options and a short walk to the action at Whalers Village and other hotels. With a long-standing reputation as the state’s most Hawaiian hotel, the staff not only embraces the Hawaiian cultural value of hospitality, but is responsible for crafting many of the heirloom-quality artifacts in the hotel's public spaces and 432 guest rooms. Recent renovations include upgraded room decor, new native plant gardens, a beachfront restaurant and Hawaiian voyaging academy. kbhmaui.com
Are shopping, surfing, lounging and sipping cocktails on your list? The newly transformed Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort will not disappoint. Spring for the Voyager 47 Club, which includes a swanky oceanfront rooftop lounge, breakfast and happy hour treats. Located in the heart of Waikiki Beach, dining, dancing, live music, world-class shopping and even ukulele lessons are on-site and steps away. outrigger.com
If you’re familiar with Hawaii Island’s Mauna Lani, the Auberge Resorts’ stunning transformation offers two beautiful new pools — one just for adults — next to a beach renowned for sea turtle sightings. Rooms have an understated but chic decor, while the soaring lobby spaces have become inviting, open-air living rooms infused with tropical greenery. There’s a spa and fitness room with first-rate equipment on-site, but guests also have access to the Mauna Lani’s stand-alone fitness center with a large lap pool and tennis courts a short drive away. From here you can tour the island, or simply sway in one of the many hammocks on property. aubergeresorts.com/maunalani
Fairmont
Let’s just say Fairmont (pick your property, Sonoma Mission Inn or the Claremont Resort and Spa) will not disappoint in the group getaways category. Both of these hotels are steeped in history (not your cookie cutter resort), are built to accommodate groups of any size and have award-winning spas with pools for lounging for the day, as well as fun restaurants and cocktail programs. If budget is an issue, check out midweek specials and promotions. These classic hotels have been creating the backdrop for happy memories for decades. fairmont.com
SCP Mendocino Inn and Farm
When SCP took over the existing Glendeven Inn (built in 1867) and Inn at the Cobbler's Walk, they brought their company’s mission of overall wellness to the already picturesque Northern California setting. In other words, you’re ahead of the game as soon as you click the “book” button. S = Soul, C = Caring, P = planet, so proceeds of your stay go towards
adolescent mental health, caring for critically ill children and planting trees. A perfect mix of "away" and "connected," the 15-acre ocean-view farmstead and spa lodge is surrounded by Van Damme State Park and near the quaint restaurants and shops of Mendocino. s cphotel.com/mendocino
Carmel Valley Ranch
Want to try your hand at archery? Falconry? Beekeeping? Or maybe you just want to play a round of golf on a par-70 Pete Dye-designed course? Spread across 500 acres in the foothills of the Santa Lucia Mountains, Carmel Valley Ranch has space for it all — including three different swimming pools. The almost overwhelming activity menu also might include cooking classes, foraging hikes, or yoga in a hilltop pavilion. The extensive fitness program includes barre, circuit training and water yoga while the menu at Spa Aiyana features 10 different types of massage. Among the resort’s 181 rooms are a variety of accommodation styles and levels, many featuring fireplaces, private decks or both for a true hideaway vibe. carmelvalleyranch.com
BY KIRSTEN JONES NEFF
Highway 1 winds its way along California’s scenic coastline, threading itself between wild white sand beaches and open stretches of farmland and wildflower dotted coastal ranges, making the drive itself, from either north or south, a main attraction. Aside from that, it doesn’t hurt that the Central Coast cities of Monterey and Carmel are picturesque and wellequipped for the ever-growing number of visitors who need an EV charge.
“The number of EVs we're helping clients select has increased tremendously over the past five years, from around 10 percent of new cars delivered to over 30 percent,” says David Shapiro, CEO of
Cartelligent, a concierge car buying service based in Sausalito. “It's worth noting that all chargers are not the same. When you're on a road trip, you want to find a fast charger in order to minimize the amount of time it takes.” Fortunately, EV apps like
Plugshare display a landscape dotted with various electric vehicle charging options within a 30-mile radius of Monterey, Carmel-by-the-Sea and Carmel Valley.
In Monterey, the Hyatt Regency Monterey as well as several hotels along Cannery Row near the Monterey Bay Aquarium in downtown Monterey have charge stations, among them the Monterey Plaza Hotel and Spa, the Victorian Inn and Intercontinental’s Clement Hotel. Travelers with children can charge while enjoying the Monterey Zoo in nearby Salinas and, in the opposite direction, toward Pebble Beach Golf Course, the Inn at Spanish Bay and Casa Palmero offer charge stations for guests.
In Carmel-by-the-Sea, Hyatt Carmel Highlands near Point Lobos State Natural Reserve and Carmel Mission Inn have EV charging stations on the property. Inland, in the majestic Carmel Valley, known for fine wineries, golf courses, dining and boutique shopping, travelers will find charge options at Carmel Valley Ranch, Quail Lodge and Bernardus Lodge and Spa.
Top breakfast spots throughout the county, the best live music to see this month, and other excellent events.
In addition to the Mill Valley Music Fest, there's plenty of excellent live shows throughout the county in May.
May 10-11 John Craigie Hailed as a “modern-day troubadour” in the style of Woody Guthrie, this Portlandbased artist has been entertaining audiences with his incredibly funny lead-in’s to beautifully rich and tender songs. sweetwatermusichall.com
May 20 Anna Moss & the Nightshades
With a voice filled with spirit and grit — and roots in the folk and festival scenes in North America — Anna takes her audience on a soulful journey. hopmonk.com/novato
May 21 Steve Pile Duo Sonoma County-based musician Steve Pile is known for his original music, orchestrating star-studded tribute shows, and his James Taylor-esque vocals. thejunct.com
Arts and lectures, concerts and festivals, live comedy, exhibition openings and other not-to-be-missed events around the Bay this month.
May 26 Sirsy Sirsy is a rock-pop duo based in upstate New York, described by both Boston Globe and SXSW as a little band with a big sound. They’ve been touring for 15 years and have played every state except Alaska.
papermillcreeksaloon.com
MAY 6 Laura Dern and Diana Ladd
Acclaimed actresses Laura Dern (Big Little Lies, Twin Peaks, Jurassic Park) and Diane Ladd (Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Chinatown) are coming to San Francisco’s Sydney Goldstein Theater to have a conversation with author Cheryl Strayed. The mother-daughter duo have appeared alongside in Rambing Rose and David Lynch’s Wild at Heart. cityarts.net
MAY 6-7, MAY 13-14 Marin Open Studios
Celebrate 30 years of Marin Open Studios at the opening and fundraiser gala on April 29, at the new Sausalito Center for the Arts, followed by open studios at locations countywide the first two weekends of the month. marinopenstudios.org
MAY 9 John Waters John Waters is a writer, film director, actor, visual artist and Bay Area icon best known for his films, including Hairspray, Pink Flamingos and Serial Mom. His newest book is his first novel, Liarmouth cityarts.net
MAY 16 Tom Hanks One of the most respected actors and filmmakers of our time, Tom Hanks (Big, Forrest Gump, Philadelphia, Charlie Wilson’s War) is also an avid reader. He made his fiction debut in 2017 with Uncommon Type and has recently published his first novel, The Making of Another Motion Picture Masterpiece. Born in the Bay Area, Hanks advocates for community colleges, crediting the two years he spent at Chabot College as enabling his future acting and writing career. cityarts.net
MAY 19 Andy Cohen Award-winning television host and producer Andy Cohen is best known for Watch What Happens Live and as executive producer of The Real Housewives franchise. His new memoir, The Daddy Diaries: The Year I Grew Up, details his experience as a father. cityarts.net
Outdoor Education is at the core of the MP&MS experience. From our Tree School program for the youngest members of our community to our curated overnight field trips for the oldest students, there is something for everyone.
The Oscar-winning film comes to life on stage in this story of how young William Shakespeare is inspired by his muse to write Romeo & Juliet, his romantic masterpiece. See it at the Novato Theater Company. novatotheatercompany.org
MAY 5 Jimmie Allen Live in Concert The multi-platinum selling, Grammy Awardnominated country artist and special guest William Beckmann will be kicking off Kentucky Derby Weekend at the Kendall-Jackson Wine Estate & Gardens. Enjoy country hits while you sip on delicious wines under the stars of Sonoma County. kj.com/kyderby
MAY 6 Mykal Rose The Grammy Awardwinning voice, formerly of Black Uhuru, got his start opening for Roberta Flack and playing with Fab 5. As lead vocalist, he and other Black Uhuru members won reggae's first Grammy award for the album Anthem in 1984. See him at the Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley. sweetwatermusichall.com
MAY 5 ABBAfab Listen to tributes of music produced in the ’70s and ’80s, including ABBA hits such as “Waterloo,” “Fernando,” and “Dancing Queen” and the Marin Center in San Rafael. tickets.marincenter.org
MAY 3 Caroline Rose After releasing two records of folk and country-inspired music, Rose released a pop-rock album Loner in 2018, and her most recent album, Superstar, in 2020 — see her at the Fillmore in San Francisco. livenation.com
MAY 27 Yung Gravy and Joey Valence & Brae Yung Gravy is an American rapper who first earned recognition in 2016 when his song “Mr. Clean” gained traction on SoundCloud. He will be joined by TikTok rappers Joey Valence & Brae on stage at August Hall. augusthallsf.com
Since the release of Kingfish, the Grammynominated guitarist, vocalist and songwriter has quickly become the defining blues voice of this generation. From his hometown of Clarksdale, Mississippi, to stages around the world, the now 22-year-old has already headlined two national tours. Come see him at HopMonk in Novato. hopmonk.com/novato
MAY 5–6 Novato Comedy Festival See the Bay Area’s top standup talent at the Novato Theater Company. novatotheatercompany.org
MAY 5–6 Adam Conover Adam Conover is an American writer and television host who created and hosted Adam Ruins Everything, based on the CollegeHumor series. cobbscomedy.com
MAY 11 Steve Ausburne Standup comedy is back at Novato's Trek Wine. This comedy show will feature Steve Ausburne, who has performed at The Punchline and Cobb's Comedy Club. trekwines.com
MAY 27 Steve Barkley Steve Barkley will be performing at Trek Wine in Novato. Barkley has been seen on HBO, A&E and Showtime, and was the $10,000 winner on ABC's America's Funniest People. trekwines.com
MAY 10–MAY 14 DocLands The California Film Institute returns to San Rafael with a slate of documentary films in three broad categories: Wonderlands, the Great Outdoors and the Art of Impact. doclands.com
MAY 11–MAY 21 CAAM Fest The Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) welcomes audiences back into the theater to celebrate stories that convey the richness and diversity of Asian American
experiences. Look for films showing around the Bay through May 21. caamedia.org
THROUGH MAY 11 Sadie Barnette: The New Eagle Creek Saloon Oakland-based artist Sadie Barnette’s The New Eagle Creek Saloon (2019) is an installation and performance series that reimagines San Francisco’s first black-owned gay bar, opened by the artist’s father, Rodney Barnette, in 1990. sfmoma.org
OPENING MAY 18 Mika Rottenberg: Spaghetti Blockchain One of the most innovative contemporary artists working today, New York-based Mika Rottenberg uses a playful and absurdist sense of humor to confront some of society’s most urgent social issues. Spaghetti Blockchain exposes, delights in, and criticizes the interactions between labor, economics, and the ways in which our emotional relationships are increasingly monetized in today’s hypercapitalist world. thecjm.org
OPENING MAY 20 Frank Bowling: The New York Years 1966–1975 Born in Bartica, British Guiana (now Guyana), Bowling began his career in London and visited Guyana before arriving in New York in 1966, where he participated in critical debates around abstract painting and the role of Black cultural identity in artistic practices. sfmoma.org
OPENING MAY 20 Kinship: Photography and Connection This exhibition will feature six contemporary photographers who share a special affinity with their subjects. Relationships are fundamental to each artist’s practice, whether they are familial, platonic, romantic, cultural or geographic in nature. sfmoma.org
MAY 6 May Madness San Rafael May Madness is the longest running car parade
in Northern California. Hundreds of vehicles of all types, including classic cars, hot rods and customs, line the streets of Downtown San Rafael. maymadnesssanrafael.com
MAY 6 The Kentucky Derby Party at the Kendall-Jackson Estate For the second year in a row, Kendall-Jackson is celebrating the 149th Run for the Roses in Sonoma County. Enjoy their stunning four-acre culinary garden, al fresco patio, wine, horse racing and entertainment. The event proceeds will be benefiting Farm to Pantry. kj.com/kyderby
MAY 7 Woofstock Marin Humane is hosting a fun summer event for animal lovers and their four-legged friends. Enjoy live music from Tom Petty cover band, Petty Theft, a variety of food trucks, local vendors and animal rescue groups. marinhumane.org
MAY 13–14 Mill Valley Music Festival
Marin’s favorite music festival returns with an amazing lineup. Bring a lawn chair, a hat and a refillable water bottle to the field behind the Mill Valley Community Center and celebrate the return of live music in a festival format, outdoors. millvalleymusicfest.com
MAY 18–23 Second Annual Healdsburg
Wine & Food Experience In the heart of California wine country, the second annual Healdsburg Wine & Food Experience is a weekend-long festival that will showcase the region’s makers — farmers, growers, winemakers and chefs — alongside globally recognized wines from the greatest wine regions of the world. healdsburgwineandfood.com
MAY 26–28 BottleRock Napa Valley
Post Malone, Lizzo and Red Hot Chili Peppers will headline three days of a winefueled party over Memorial Day Weekend that features a culinary stage, a sparkle bar, silent disco and a sculpture garden. bottlerocknapavalley.com
As cofounder of Marin Open Studios (MOS), Kay Carlson has worked tirelessly to ensure this annual event promoting local artists’ work has survived — and thrived. A talented artist in her own right, Carlson is a landscape painter who finds inspiration in Marin’s many scenic locales.
What can we expect at this year’s event? We’re excited to present the opportunity to see more than 250 artists in many diverse media and styles. The big surprise is that MOS has a new location for our gallery, formerly at the Corte Madera Town Center. This year we’re being hosted by the new Sausalito Center for the Arts (SCA), opening April 29 at 750 Bridgeway. Visitors can plan their adventure with our tour guide, distributed in this issue of Marin Magazine. You can also pick it up at SCA. Go to marinopenstudios.org to learn about the featured artists. These artists’ studios will be open for the first two weekends in May, countywide.
Are there any new artists participating that we should keep a look out for?
There are 40 new artists in this year’s Marin Open Studios to discover. We’re showcasing Aya Okawa, an environmental artist, and Laura Kimpton, a legendary Burning Man artist. Both are internationally known.
Tell us about your own art. I’m a California colorist working en plein air (outdoors) and in the studio with layers of washes and thick brushstrokes. I bring a vibrant palette to the canvas and am passionate about how light transforms color.
Where are your favorite places to paint? I love walking on the edge of the water in Sausalito behind my studio in the late afternoon with views of Mount Tamalpais from nearly every direction and constantly changing light and clouds. I set up my outdoor easel and then take the small study I do indoors to create paintings, abstracting elements of floating boats and expressing life on the water.
What resources does Marin Open Studios provide for artists? MOS’ yearround website (created by future-bright. com) provides a profile page for each artist, where they can post images of their art, bio and events. We offer a robust social media campaign, email newsletters, an artist Facebook resources page and free workshops on how to promote their work.
How does Marin Open Studios ensure diversity, equity and inclusion? We began formally supporting diversity in 2018 with scholarships to create a 60-foot mural in the lobby of Canal Alliance with Storek Studio Architecture. Now these artists have become professionals, creating three other murals with more coming. Six Canal Alliance artists are exhibiting this year at the Bay Model. They’re also at the Marin Multicultural Center, on our map in the tour guide.
In 2020, director Oshalla Marcus opened the Marin City Art Gallery, and we supported the gallery with lights and supplies. Now their artists exhibit in the MOS gallery, and we plan to collaborate on more projects.
Breakfast still means eggs and plenty of protein at restaurants around Marin, but the county’s passion for pastry means expansive offerings of laminated dough in every nook and cranny.
Bayside Café
Calling this homey café “Southern-inspired” captures the chicken-fried steak and eggs vibe as well as the from scratch biscuits. But that would leave out the Smokin’ Philly Omelette and breakfast nachos with bacon or chorizo so let’s just agree on “all-American.”
1 Gate 6 Rd, Sausalito; 415.331.2313; baysidecafe-sausalito.com
Salt & Pepper
We know it's dessert, but an affogato espresso could stand-in for brunch with its topper of ice cream and whipped cream on the side. For something a little easier on the waistline, you can’t go wrong with a tofu scramble or spinach frittata. 38 Main St, Tiburon; 415.435.3594; saltandpeppertiburon.com
Cup of Joe’s at Taco Joe’s
A cart in front of Taco Joe’s is open as early as 6 a.m. weekdays for fresh baked goods from Berkeley’s Starter Bakery and hot lattes or Oaxacan hot chocolate. A small menu of morning fare — breakfast tacos, burritos and sandwiches — can be enjoyed inside or on the newly built patio. 382 Miller Ave, Mill Valley; 415.383.8164; joestacolounge.com
Half Day Café
Breakfast at lunch is definitely a thing and you can have all the eggy goodness — coffee-Kahlua battered French toast or green eggs and ham — weekdays, just like you can on the weekends. 848 College Ave, Kentfield; 415.755.4575; halfdaycafe.net
Barefoot Café
Plate-sized buttermilk pancakes generously topped with blueberries are enough to satisfy a teenage boy’s appetite (for real). And though
we don’t know who the Eggs Brady are named for, they are topped with lox, or salt-cured salmon. 1900 Sir Francis Drake Blvd, Fairfax; 415.460.2160; barefootcafe.com
Farm House Local
Though inside is cozy on chilly days, the covered, enclosed back patio is a major draw for regulars who come for the Bicycle Coffee and homemade biscuits with sausage gravy. The menu changes with the seasons but house made gravlax draped over a celery root pancake is eternal. 25 Ward St, Larkspur; 415.891.8577; farmhouselocal.com
Fox & Kit
The play space may be geared towards the littlest ones, but the coffee, from Sacramento’s Temple Coffee, and chic space is aimed squarely at the adults. Pair an Einspänner (that’s a Viennese style coffee drink topped with whipped cream) with a pastry from Berkeley’s Starter Bakery or a house made burrito or slice of quiche.
A grilled cheese menu is in the works. 1031 C St, San Rafael; 415.991.5061; foxandkit.com Scan here for more.
Burmatown Asian
Though the menu remains largely the same (that tea leaf salad! Those bao!) at the new location down the street from the original, the addition of a grill boosts the menu with dishes like kalbi ribs or smoked salmon collars. A long bar on one side of the room serves wine and beer and the front windows slide open for easy access to a large patio. 18 Tamalpais Ave, 415.985.5060; burmatown.com
$ BB
Flores Mexican
With an emphasis on regional Mexican dishes and flavors sourced from family recipes, the menu is based on California seasonality and revolves around gluten-free masa. The daily-made tortillas are a highlight. 301 Corte Madera Town Center, 415.500.5145; floressf.com
HH BB
Marin Joe’s Italian
A mainstay for over 50 years for a reason: the menu calls to you with garlic bread, a calamari sandwich and mesquite-grilled prime rib. Sautéed classics of the ItalianAmerican canon as well as oysters doré and pastas have withstood the test of time.
1585 Casa Buena Dr, 415.924.2081; marinjoesrestaurant. com
Zinz Wine Bar
Californian
Locals pop by the petite wine bar for its cozy, sophisticated
atmosphere and an eclectic array of boutique wines and craft beer, all available for takeout. A short menu of prosciutto-wrapped dates, charcuterie and cheese boards is perfect for enjoying during a Friday night tasting event. 207 Corte Madera Ave, 415.927.9466; zinzwinebar.com
HH $
Barefoot Cafe American Chef Tony Senehi’s all-day cafe in the heart of town is known for Californiainspired dishes made from local, organic ingredients. Pear almond pancakes and eggs Benedict (ask for “the Brady” to get lox) are popular at breakfast, while a BBQ pulled pork sandwich is a hot seller at lunch. 1900 Sir Francis Drake Blvd, 415.460.2160; barefootcafe.com
$ BB
Sorella Caffe Italian
feature local cheeses, oysters, and produce while the cheeseburger with Stemple Creek beef and the miso-glazed black cod have dedicated followers. 23 Broadway, 415.524.8478; stillwaterfairfax.com
HH
Guesthouse
Californian
Jared Rogers, the former executive chef of Picco, heads up the kitchen, partnering with restaurateur Dustin Sullivan on this 110-seat space. Look for well-executed California cuisine with weekly specials like Prime Rib on Mondays and fried chicken on Sundays. 850 College Ave, Kentfield, 415.419.5101; guesthousemarin.com
HH
Half Day Cafe
American
Tucked away in a setting of intertwining ivy and large open windows, this cafe is the quintessential breakfast nook and is also open for brunch and lunch, including coffee drinks, pastries and much more. Enjoy a casual daytime meal inside or out on the patio. 848 College Ave, Kentfield, 415.459.0291; halfdaycafe.net
Run by sisters Sonia and Soyara, Sorella, which means “sister” in Italian, serves fresh Italian with a northern influence. Favorites include the cioppino, butternut squash ravioli, and pollo alla Sorella, others insist on returning just for the garlic bread. 107 Bolinas Rd, 415.258.4520; sorella caffe.com HH $ BB HH $ BB
$ BB
Stillwater Californian
Fairfax native Margaret Ruiz and her life and business partner, David, bring the bounty of the county to the table.
Appetizers and salads
community for more than two decades. Whether on the patio, bar or in the elegant main dining room with a huge fireplace, it’s a fun experience. The menu features authentic French cuisine utilizing seasonal, local and organic ingredients.
507 Magnolia Ave, 415.927.3331; leftbank.com
Perry’s American Perry’s on Magnolia has the same classic American cuisine, bustling bar and warm service and personality the San Francisco original has always been famous for. Plentiful outdoor dining options. It’s bar is a perennial best of the county winner. 234 Magnolia Ave, 415.927.1877; perryssf.com
BB
Pizzeria Picco Pizza
This family-friendly parlor next door to Picco offers California-influenced Neapolitan pizzas cooked in a woodburning oven. Fresh mozzarella is pulled in-house and the menu also features organic salads, antipasti and Straus Dairy soft-serve ice cream. Heated outdoor seating is available. 316 Magnolia Ave, 415.945.8900; pizzeriapicco.com $
R’noh Thai Thai
Left Bank Restaurant French
This Parisian-style brasserie by Chef Roland Passot has been serving the
For an indulgent treat, try the fried sweet potato appetizer. 1000 Magnolia Ave, 415.925.0599; rnohthai.com
Rustic Bakery Californian
The Marin-grown bakery is known and loved the world over: Pope Francis famously requested Rustic Bakery flatbread and crostini when he visited the U.S. in 2015. Organic bread and pastries baked fresh each morning and salads, sandwiches, and soups make this a staple. 2017 Larkspur Landing Circle, 415.461.9900 and 1139 Magnolia Ave; 415.925.1556; rustic bakery.com
$
Bungalow 44 American
The bustling bar is ideal for savoring a seasonal cocktail or an order of the house’s famous kickin’ fried chicken. The one-dollar happy hour oyster program still operates from 5–6 p.m., Monday–Thursday and the heated outdoor patio is a town hot spot. 44 E Blithedale Ave, 415.381.2500; bungalow44.com
Floodwater Californian
or dive into Shorty’s Tall Reuben. The Patio features multiple fire pits. 152 Shoreline Hwy, 415.843.4545; floodwatermv.com
HH $
Gravity Tavern
American
With ingredients suited to reflect modern tastes, American classics like grilled chicken Waldorf salad with pickled grapes, lobster roll with toasted challah and veggie slaw, and a land and sea pasta with housemade egg pasta, pork belly and crab, may have also been familiar fare for passengers of the Mt. Tam gravity car for which this saloon was named. 38 Miller Ave, 415.888.2108; gravitytavern.com
BB HH
Harmony Chinese
A warm, inviting place to enjoy classical and innovative Cantonese fare with the house specialty, hand crafted dim sum. Local favorites include savory Peking duck with steamed tea buns, juicy Shanghai dumplings, and unique bites like minced lamb with radicchio cups. The famous signature beef is a definite must. 401 Strawberry Village, 415.381.5300; harmonyrestaurant group.com
Hook Fish Co Seafood
This cozy place with a patio by the Corte Madera Creek has a reputation for fresh flavors. It’s all here, from curries and Thai barbecue to noodle dishes and the classic tom kha (coconut lemongrass soup).
Order a handcrafted “Gold Rush” (Old Forester bourbon, local honey, lemon) at the long 20 seat bar and watch the game on five huge 4K TVs while noshing on pork belly steamed buns,
The wood-ceilinged dining room feels like a boat’s galley and the spot’s popular outdoor beer garden adjacent to Mill Valley’s Proof Lab at Tam Junction has 13 taps, but the draw at this counter-service joint is the seafood.
The transparent supply chain means you can enjoy the poke, fish and chips or fish tacos knowing where and on what boat your meal came from. 254 Shoreline Hwy; hook fishco.com
Piatti Ristorante and Bar Italian
A fireplace lounge and open format concept invites lingering over refreshed menu items such as house made ravioli with lemon cream and citrus gremolata, roasted mushroom pizza with taleggio fonduta and black truffle oil or roasted salmon with artichokes and Calabrian chili. 625 Redwood Hwy, 415.380.2525; piatti. com
Tamalpie Italian
With views of Mt. Tam from the covered, heated patio, this spot known for its local sourcing also features two fireplaces and a full bar serving craft cocktails, wine and beer. The difference is in the dough, small batch, housemade and gluten-free. 477 Miller Ave, 415.388.7437; tamalpiepizzeria.com
Watershed
Californian
Gather ’round the fire pit in front of the restaurant at the Lumber Yard or hang out at the long bar for a pre-dinner glass of wine before sampling one of the many dishes curated to reflect the bounty of Marin. The Stemple Creek Ranch burger and fresh pastas are matched with a bevy of simply prepared, easy to share dishes.
129 Miller Ave, 415.888.2406; watershed.com
Ayawaska Latin American
An outpost of the Petaluma original fills the space that once housed Hilltop 1892. A menu of Peruvian classics includes lomo saltado and the country’s famous ceviches (try the a la Huancaina with the catch of the day). 850 Lamont Ave; 415.944.2066; ayawaskasf.com
BB HH
The Speakeasy American
There’s nothing like the comfort of a solid burger and beer when you’re kicking back and watching the game. In addition to the 10 beers on tap, cocktails range from the 1920’s to the 2020’s. A shareable, tapas-style menu includes grilled maitake mushrooms, escargot and mini street tacos. 504 Alameda del Prado, 415.883.7793; thespeakeasynovato. com HH $
Toast American
With outdoor dining and spacious inside seating at Hamilton Marketplace, large parties, families and everyone else dives in on comfort food favorites like corned beef hash, buttermilk pancakes and at dinner, chicken schnitzel and shrimp scampi.5800 Nave Drive, 415.382.1144; toastnovato.com
$
Trailhead American Order breakfast (the vegan egg sandwich is a must), shareable snacks (pretzel and Pliny beer cheese), paninis, salads, and Equator coffee drinks at the counter before grabbing a seat on the all-day café’s shaded patio. The baked goat cheese is a standout and pairs with the 10 local beers and two wines available on tap or from the craft can program. 127 San Marin Drive; 415.493.6902; trailhead novato.com $
The Baan Thai Cuisine Thai
Known for its mango sticky rice, crispy corn cakes and The Baan Thai salad, new menu items like fresh spring rolls and steamed dumplings and old favorites such as the tom kha soup entice with fresh flavors and just the right amount of sweet heat. 726 San Anselmo Ave, 415.457.9470; baanthaimarin.com
Comforts Cafe
American
Established in 1986, Comforts has a cozy sit-down cafe, serving breakfast, lunch and weekend brunch.
Besides the famous Chinese chicken salad, other winners are the stuffed
pecan-crusted French toast, chicken Okasan (nicknamed “Crack Chicken” by fans), Korean BBQ flank steak and Wor Won Ton soup. 335 San Anselmo Ave, 415.454.9840; comfortscafe.com
$ BB
Creekside Pizza & Tap Room
American
A perennial Best of the County winner known for their artisan pizzas, hearty sandwiches, flavorful pastas and fresh salads, Creekside offers plentiful gluten-free and vegan options too. Their copper bar with a 40-handle selection of craft beer (including gluten-free beer), plus wine and kombucha on tap.
638 San Anselmo Ave, 415.785.4450; creeksidesa.com
Cucina sa Italian
Open for lunch, weekend brunch, and dinner six nights a week for the house’s famous homemade pastas, seasonal salads, and wood-fired pizzas that strike a balance between southern Italy and northern California. 510 San Anselmo Ave, 415.454.2942; cucina-sa.com
Flour Craft Bakery
American
Along with artisan gluten-free and an assortment of vegan pastries, breads, and specialoccasion cakes, this petite cafe serves a lunch menu of socalled fancy toast (avocado, ricotta)
and big green salads with seasonal flair. Customer favorites include oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, decadent cinnamon rolls, flourless hazelnut brownies, and the bakery’s signature granola. 702 San Anselmo Ave, 415.453.3100; flourcraftbakery.com
$ BB
Marché Californian
Into the former Marche aux Fleurs space comes Marché from owners Darren and Alicia Banks. Their focus on seasonal ingredients in plates of avocado toast with Urfa chile, shishito peppers with togarashi, house made gnocchi with shiitakes, and corn and duck confit with green lentils is Californian all the way. 23 Ross Common, Ross; 415.925.9200; marchemarin.com
N
Marinitas Mexican
This sister restaurant of Insalata’s
Valenti & Co.
Italian
The bright yet cozy indoor space and warmly lit back patio are ideal environments for authentic Italian dishes made with local ingredients. The menu changes daily but look for the carpaccio of beef, the pan-seared Pekin duck and chef Valenti’s famous tower of triple chocolate love at dessert.
337 San Anselmo Ave, 415.454.7800; valentico.com
Cafe Arrivederci
seasonal marketinspired cuisine like stone-oven-baked flatbreads, handmade pastas and organic salads, all innovatively prepared. Black sesame-crusted tuna is classic, even better with an Il Capo negroni. 881 Fourth St, 415.721.0600; vinantico.com
BB N
Angelino Restaurant
Italian
continues to flourish as a bastion of creative Mexican and Central and South American cuisine. Not your typical south-of-theborder spot, they serve up top-notch margaritas and Latin lusciousness. 218 Sir Francis Drake Blvd, 415.454.8900; marinitas.com
HH $ BB
Taco Jane's Mexican
The full bar features plentiful tequila and mezcal selections and its regional Mexican cuisine includes Oaxacan mole, fish tacos and vegetarian options.
Black Gold salsa arrives with complimentary chips and is created from charred blackened tomatoes and roasted chilis.
Enclosed patio seating is available year round. 21 Tamalpais Ave, 415.454.6562; tacojanes.com
HH $ BB
Italian
Cafe Arrivederci has been located in the heart of San Rafael for the past 27 years. Chef Tito is proud to serve fresh homemade pastas and dishes from all over Italy. Visit the expansive dining room, full bar, garden patio and private rooms for parties and events.
11 G St, San Rafael; 415.453.6427; cafearrivederci.com N
Cafe del Soul
Californian
Healthy options become addictive at this eatery that now has locations in Tam Junction and San Rafael. Once you stop in for the deliciously fresh quinoa wrap, you’ll want to return to try the chipotle rice bowl. 1408 Fourth Street, 415.457.5400; cafedelsoul.net
Vin Antico American
Vin Antico, “where passion meets the plate,” serves
Italian ingredients. 777 Bridgeway, 415.332.7771; poggiotrattoria.com
BB
The Spinnaker
Seafood
Multiple generations of the Arcona family create an authentic Italian eatery with handmade pastas and seasonal antipasti that has showcased the cuisine of the Campania region for more than 20 years. 621 Bridgeway, 415.331.5225; angelino restaurant.com
Fish Seafood
It has been said that this restaurant and fish market launched the sustainable seafood movement, making it the ultimate place for freshly caught, unobjectionable fare. Order any of the day’s offerings – the menu changes daily but usually has a variation of fish tacos, ceviche and grilled fish. 350 Harbor Dr, 415.331.3474; 331fish.com
Poggio Italian
Vitello sliced excruciatingly thin and topped with lemon and tonnato sauce is a singular dish in the hands of executive chef Benjamin Balesteri who creates Northern Italian fare using local and
Chef Phil Collins excels at preparing seafood, and it shows in the beautifully plated presentations like a classic shrimp Louie salad or linguini with clams. Set right on the water with sweeping views of San Francisco. 100 Spinnaker Dr, 415.332.1500; spinnakersasausalito.us
The Caprice
Californian Expansive bay views from every seat are just one of many charms after an extensive remodel. The revamped menu of well-crafted comfort food from land (bone-in filet mignon, Colorado lamb chops) and sea (gnocchi with crab, abalone dore). 2000 Paradise Drive, 415.435.3400; thecaprice.com
HH BB
Petite Left Bank
French
A smaller version of the Larkspur original features an all-day menu of French bistro classics. A notable wine list, artisan craft cocktail menu, and spirit-free beverages round out the lively experience. 1696 Tiburon Blvd, 415.910.1010; petiteleftbanktiburon. com $ N
Salt & Pepper
American
A locals favorite for classic American
fare. From morning’s Bloody Mary and eggs Benedict through lunch’s clams bouillabaisse and hamburger to dinner’s crab cakes with jalapeño dipping sauce and skirt steak tacos. 38 Main St, 415.435.3594; saltandpepper tiburon.com
BB
Tiburon Tavern
Californian
Food service at the Lodge at Tiburon is in the hands of Luna Blu’s Renzo and Crystal Azzarello who run the Tiburon Tavern bar, restaurant and other on-site eating opportunities. Executive chef Selvin Vicente is on board to handle the flow from breakfast and brunch through dinner. The wide patio is in service, too. 1651 Tiburon Blvd, 415.435.3133; lodgeattiburon.com
HH BB
BB Brunch
Date Spot
Dogs Welcome Full Bar Grab ’n Go
HH Happy Hour
Kid-friendly New Hot Spot
$ Meal under $20 Outdoor Seating Private Party Room
Come join us for breakfast, lunch and weekend brunch! From stuffed, pecancrusted french toast to delicious scrambles, juicy burgers and fantastic salads, our menus change to reflect the seasons. With graduation season upon us, let Comforts provide all your grad’s favorites, for an easy and delicious celebration party! View our catering menu on our website for more information.
COMFORTS
335 San Anselmo Ave, San Anselmo, CA 415.454.9840 comfortscafe.com
Intimate Dining • Exceptional Views
Brunch/Lunch: Fri, Sat & Sun 12-8pm
Dinner: Everyday 5-8pm, Serving till 10:30pm
Complimentary Evening Valet Parking
2000 Paradise Drive, Tiburon • (415) 435-3400 • thecaprice.com
Café Zoetrope is located in the majestic Sentinel Building, a San Francisco historic landmark in the heart of North Beach, and the home to Francis Ford Coppola’s American Zoetrope Studio (film production company where the origin of the Café name comes from).
Pull this guide out to learn about this year’s Open Studios.
Marin Open Studios 2023 is an opportunity to meet artists, discover new neighborhoods and purchase affordable art.
BY DONNA BERRY GLASS
First Annual Marin Powwow The Marin American Indian Alliance hosted the county’s First Annual Marin Powwow on March 19 at Miller Creek Middle School, bringing together 1,000 individuals to celebrate the cultural diversity of several Indigenous peoples. The festivities included three drum groups: All Nations, The Braves and Red Buffalo; a number of indigenous arts and crafts vendors; and performances by traditional Native American dancers, Pomo/Miwok dancers, Aztec dancers and Hawaiian dancers. Scan here for
On March 23, Club Evexia and The Hivery, in partnership with Marin Magazine, hosted a fundraiser for local nonprofit Play Marin — an organization providing opportunities for kids of diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds in Southern Marin to learn and grow together through play. Supporters packed Club Evexia’s event center to hear Paul Austin, the nonprofit’s CEO and founder, share his vision for its future. By the end of the evening, Play Marin had secured $20,000 in total pledge commitments.
Marin Ballet Celebrates 60th Anniversary Marin Ballet held a full weekend of activities to commemorate its 60th Anniversary, beginning with a fundraising gala at its ballet school on March 24, raising $60,000 to benefit Marin Ballet’s scholarship program. Guests were treated to a luscious dinner by Insalata’s, and president Nancy Rehkopf made a tribute to dance instructor Laurie Klein for her 50 years of teaching at the school. On March 26, the company presented two performances at the Marin School of the Arts, including world premier works by Julia Adam, Catherine Hader, Corinne Jonas, Amy London and Charlie Martin.
Fostering a culture of inclusion and collaboration since day one.
For nearly 40 years, Vanguard Properties has dedicated itself to creating a space in which communication and collaboration act as cornerstones to our business – providing our agents and clients alike with the most up-to-date and innovative luxury service.
In San Rafael, an Eichler remodeled with an Asian-inspired aesthetic radiates warmth, light and serenity.
BY LOTUS ABRAMS | PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHAEL HOSPELT
After living in their Eichler for 30 years and celebrating their empty nest status, a San Rafael couple knew it was time for a change. While they loved the overall aesthetic of the 2,300 square-foot fourbedroom, two-bath Eichler, with its double gables elegantly flanking a light-filled atrium, the interior had become worn over the years, and some of the spaces were no longer meeting their needs. Among the couple’s frustrations were the dysfunctional kitchen and adjacent makeshift family room; the poorly designed closet in the primary bedroom, which was awkwardly accessed through a tiny bathroom; and the home’s outdated appearance.
Seeking a major update, they turned to Larkspur-based interior designer Candace Killman for help remodeling their home. “They first considered buying a different house, but then they decided they had been so happy with their Eichler and neighborhood that they would just fix it
rather than buying something new,” says Killman, who has completed nearly three dozen full-scale projects in Marin.
In addition to improving the functionality of the home’s interior spaces, the couple wanted to update the decor with an Asian aesthetic inspired by a folding painted Chinese screen they already owned — the only major element of the original decor they ultimately decided to keep. With a team that included architect David Ludwig, con-tractor Landmark Builders and landscape designer Lynne Steinsieck, Killman set out to transform the home.
Eichlers can be challenging to update, so the approach had to be carefully considered. “They’re difficult technically to remodel
because the concrete floors limit electrical and plumbing options,” Killman says.
Starting in the living room, where guests arrive by entering through the atrium, Killman replaced the dated yellow brick fireplace with one made of integral colored plaster that reaches all the way to the ceiling and added a gas insert. “I think it was the biggest improvement in the entire house,” she says. “It has a soulful quietness about it.” She also reframed the couple’s folding screen and mounted it on the wall, illuminated by surface-mounted canister lighting. Adding further warmth to the room is the custom-designed rug by Vaheed Taheri in San Francisco.
The kitchen also reflects Eastern
influences with custom white oak cabinetry that echoes the look of Japanese tansu chests and details like Asian-inspired hardware. The striking peninsula top is constructed with both stone and walnut, which serves both an aesthetic and practical purpose. “Two-thirds of the countertop is stone to match the rest of the perimeter, and the part facing the bar stools is wood so that when you put your arms down on the surface it’s warm instead of cold,” Killman says.
The improvised family room adjacent to the kitchen, where the husband enjoys watching TV while having a bite to eat, needed a makeover as well. After removing an old pot belly stove, Killman outfitted the space with a love seat, as well as a table from Resource Furniture in San Francisco that converts from a coffee table to dining table with a simple touch.
In the primary suite, Killman and the team reconfigured the space to create a more organized closet and a larger tworoom bathroom. The vanity room features a Sonoma Cast Stone NuCrete countertop, and in the shower room, the team removed the exterior wall and replaced it with a large, frosted-glass panel and narrow, transparent awning window at the top that allows for ventilation and light while maintaining privacy.
The team also replaced the front of the home with a frosted-glass door and panels to fill the atrium with even more light. Throughout the home, the white oak flooring and tranquil taupe-beige color palette keep the spaces feeling warm, soothing and inviting, which was exactly what Killman’s clients set out to achieve.
“They said they wanted to make the house that they love into a jewel box, and that’s exactly what we did,” she says. “We did everything top-drawer with beautiful materials and the best craftsman. It’s such a pleasure to work with clients who feel this way.”
Top: Guests enter the house through the atrium; inside, a dated yellow brick fireplace was replaced with one made of integral colored plaster. Bottom: Custom kitchen cabinets evoke the look of tansu chests, and a coffee table in the adjacent family room transforms into a dining table.
Luxury and design unite in the offering of one of the Belvedere Lagoon’s finest estates. This custom residence blends the elegance and character of Santa Barbara with the coastal appeal of the Tiburon-Belvedere Peninsula.
• Unparalleled craftsmanship and refined finishes are shown throughout this incredible residence; upon entry you will be captivated by the inviting private courtyard, showcasing picturesque landscape, trumpet vines, mature greenery, incredible citrus trees and a tranquil water feature
• Grand scale living with multiple glass doors opening to the waterfront terrace and courtyard, oversized dining and living rooms, media room, newly updated kitchen with casual dining, private office with built in wet bar, gallery walls with custom lighting, and spectacular primary suite with extraordinary custom wardrobe closets
• The beautifully designed formal living room is complete with a gas fireplace, floor to ceiling bookshelves and cabinetry, and french doors opening to the entertainment terrace and dock
• The upstairs primary suite transports you to a private retreat featuring views of the lagoon, vaulted shiplap ceilings and a magazine worthy dressing area featuring two custom walk in wardrobe closets, built in shoe storage and drawers, and five additional closets; spa like primary bath with oversized shower and private bathrooms on each side
• The entertainment areas are designed to perfection offering a sprawling stone terrace, mature landscaping and a dock for all your water toys
• This extraordinary residence evokes sophistication and style, located in one of the most sought after Belvedere neighborhoods
• Close proximity to downtown Tiburon’s shops, gourmet restaurants, waterfront pathways, San Francisco and Angel Island ferries, and the Boardwalk shopping center, home to the popular Rustic Bakery and gourmet Woodland Market, the Belvedere Community Center, Belvedere Park, and the San Francisco and Corinthian yacht clubs
MILL VALLEY | $3,200,000
Kim Strub 415.218.4255
kstrub@cbnorcal.com
CalRE #01402651
COVER PROPERTY
SAN ANSELMO | $2,875,000
Darlene Hanley 415.717.7531
darlene.hanley@cbnorcal.com
CalRE #00945576
SAN ANSELMO | $2,285,000
Splendid
Lynnette Kling 415.847.2576
LK@FindaMarinHome.com
CalRE #01318366
This inviting home sits at the top of a private cul-de-sac in Mill Valley’s Boyle Park neighborhood offering privacy and stunning views.TIBURON | $6,650,000 Gated 7br/4.5ba home w/expansive views!
Tamara Fisher 415.871.7737
tamara@tamararealestate.com
CalRE #01376345
guiding you home since 1906
SAN RAFAEL | $2,699,000
Newly remodeled 4br/3.5ba single level home with water views!
Aileen Tong 415.806.7086
aileen.tong@cbnorcal.com
CalRE #01884175
SAN RAFAEL | $3,330,000 Loch Lomond: Gorgeous home with pool, lot, views.
Rose Capurro 415.690.6762
rosecapurro@yahoo.com
CalRE #01911774
NOVATO | $2,288,500
Expansive 4br/3.5ba solar & green home with hillside views!
Julie Widergren 415.827.8727
julie.widergren@cbnorcal.com
CalRE #01402872
SAN RAFAEL | $2,225,000
Timeless elegance meets modern luxury. Single-level townhome.
Jennifer Kuleto 415.940.1548
jennifer.kuleto@cbrealty.com
CalRE #01834112
NOVATO | $2,195,000 Single-level gem with office and atrium!
Abby Tanem 415.497.9542
John Hendricks 415.306.3060
CalRE #01301798 | CalRE #01914863
NOVATO | $1,950,000
Stunning 3br/3ba waterfront property boasting breathtaking views!
Lorraine Watkins 415.328.6797 lorraine.watkins@cbnorcal.com
CalRE #01321761
SAN RAFAEL | $1,499,000
3 bedroom, 2 bath ranch-style home in Villa Real!
Susan Coleman 415.378.2350 coleman.susan@comcast.net
CalRE #01336715
NOVATO | $1,298,000
Stunning property w/backyard oasis w/heated pool & tiki bar.
Kristie Martinelli 415.412.4720 krissrose12@gmail.com
CalRE #01943588
CORTE MADERA | $1,695,000
West side 3br/2ba, Kitchen/Family Room, Flat yard & Mt. Tam views!
Peter Pickrel 415.385.8800 ppickrel@cbnorcal.com
CalRE #01156183
NOVATO | $1,459,000
Beautifully designed 4br/4.5ba Auberge Model Home in Hamilton!
Manju Devi 415.595.3018 manjudevihomes@gmail.com
CalRE #02040789
FAIRFAX | $1,250,000
Rare 3 bedroom, 3 bath spacious single-family home.
Keith Hennessey 415.450.0260 keith.hennessey@cbnorcal.com
CalRE #01952073
SAN RAFAEL | $999,000 Lincoln Hill 4br/2ba home w/panoramic views of the bay and beyond.
Peter Pickrel 415.385.8800 ppickrel@cbnorcal.com
CalRE #01156183
guiding you home since 1906
NOVATO | $820,000
Rare 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath move-in ready home.
Bruce Wilmott 415.378.2751 brucewilmott@aol.com
CalRE #02069282
CORTE MADERA | $899,000
Delightful 4br/2.5ba boho-chic townhome w/south-facing patio!
Andrea Dyer 415.786.7997
Jennifer Chou 415.847.8880 CalRE #02004989 | CalRE #01979201
SANTA ROSA | $799,000
Newly updated 3br/2ba home with an atrium, patio and garden!
Karyn Asfour Kambur 415.516.3221 kkambur@cbnorcal.com
CalRE #01785669
LARKSPUR | $636,000
Updated 2br/2ba condo w/contemporary kitchen & water views!
Angie Maroevich 415.328.5293
angela.maroevich@cbnorcal.com
CalRE #02001526
SAN RAFAEL | $615,000
Updated 2br/2ba end unit home w/views.
Johnson Team 415.899.9260 britt.johnson@cbnorcal.com
CalRE #00985355
SAUSALITO | $565,000 Well-maintained 2br/1ba poolside condo!
Dorsi Bonner 415.497.7944 dorsibonner@gmail.com
CalRE #02031458
ColdwellBankerHomes.com
An exceptional property perched above Roundhill Country Club on 1.32 acres with stunning 180° picturesque views. This five-bedroom, three-and-a-half bathroom home features walls of windows which give an abundance of natural light, 4,987+/- square feet of living space over two stories which have been completely remodeled from top to bottom with luxury finishes. It includes executive office, bonus room, hobby room, and a large wrap around deck on both levels.
JILL FUSARI
#1 TOP PRODUCING AGENT IN OFFICE 2020-2022 JILL.FUSARI@THEAGENCYRE.COM 925.817.7818 | LIC. #01775608 THEAGENCYRE.COM | JILLFUSARI.COM
CalDRE #01904054
A 1921 snowstorm was harbinger of better things.
Don’t think those recent late-winter storms were the first time Mount Tamalpais has been covered in snow. Nearly 102 years ago, Marin County received a Christmas Day blast that shrouded Mount Tamalpais in white and left the City of Belvedere with battered-down homes and fences. In the photo below, taken in late December 1921, Mount Tam is wearing a white shawl while overlooking the damage. The thin strip of land barely above water in the background is today’s San Rafael Avenue; and the road in the foreground is Beach Road. The two-story buildings at the far right and far left not only survived the storm, but are both still standing today. So why does this area look so different now? Well, for the next 20 or so years the area depicted in the 1921 photo remained
dominated by that large bay. Then in the early 1940s, according to A Pictorial History of Belvedere, 1890 - 1990: A California Island Town, “Developer Harry Allen, owner of the Belvedere Land Company, got the grand idea to fill in most of that bay and create fingers of land where waterfront homes could be built.” Today the completed project includes 234 homes that are priced into the many millions of dollars and are scenically surrounded by acres of placid water. However, following World War II, when Allen first started asking $5,000 for a lagoon-front lot, there was considerable sales resistance. Again, according to the same book, many a lookie-loo would leave Allen’s sales office muttering, “Who’d ever want to live in a mudflat?”
My paintings are poetic explorations of the deep-rooted relationship we have with Nature. The work visually embodies the emotional realm and serves as a reminder of our inherent connection to Earth. Things we cannot necessarily see, but feel deeply within.
New paintings - Exhibition begins May 5, Opening reception Saturday, May 6, 4-6 pm
Rober t Green Fine Ar ts, established 1969, exhibits primarily painterly, abstract expressive work by painters that thoroughly take advantage of the sensually evocative nature of color and form.
