HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Soccer season starts Girls take undefeated streak into 2026 6
Final harvest Liza Gershman remembers the Yule logs of yore 4
Renovated sanctuary Changes come to Community Church, unwrapped just in time for Christmas 3
HEALDSBURGTRIBUNE.COM
O U R 1 6 0T H Y E A R
NO 52
DECEMBER 25, 2025
New Year’s Eve Dining ● Healdsburg’s favorite places to dine on the last day of the year Staff Report
Photo by Rick Tang
Seems like we’re going in circles … We’ve cycled through political division and district mapping, casino wars and formula stores, and the final year of holding the Healdsburg Farmers’ Market in a parking lot. Guess what? That’s only half the year—Part Two arrives Jan. 1, 2026.
2025 slips into memory ● First six months of Healdsburg’s year By Christian Kallen Remember those cartoons during the Covid Era where people from the expiring year would look in terror around
the corner at the arriving year, saying, “What now?” It’s sort of like that all over again, as so much has changed since January it doesn’t seem possible that there’s more to come. We take a look here at the local scene for the first six months of the year … but there is much more to come. Last New Year’s Day, Jan. 1, 2025, we were immersed in coverage of the required separation of Healdsburg into five districts,
with a council-selected mayor. The squabbling got rather heated between December 2024 and April 2025 when the maps were finally settled. But not till this new year, 2026, will we see our first election by district of new council members. Districts 2 and 4 will hold elections this year for their representative; the odd-numbered districts will do so in 2028. — More on page 7
Is there such a thing as “the most coveted New Year’s Eve party in Healdsburg”? According to the Quinn Public Relations firm, there is—and it’s at the new Appellation Healdsburg. Considering it only opened for business in September, that’s quite an accomplishment. Guests can ring in 2026 with a “must-attend” evening featuring a five-course dinner at Folia Bar & Kitchen, domain of Chef Charlie Palmer’s culinary team, complete with a live band followed by festive DJ beats, a sparkling midnight toast under the stars (weather permitting) and a few special surprise appearances. The dinner menu highlights include a Tsar Nicolai caviar par-
fait, Maine lobster with vanilla butter and winter truffle pasta. Folia is one of several local restaurants touting a New Year’s Eve menu—many on the heels of a similar Christmas dinner, though presumably by the time one reads this article that will be irrelevant. Here follows a number of restaurants that also plan on elevating what is usually just another night of the year (ahem) into a culinary experience worth the anticipation. Chef Charlie Palmer’s local plans include other New Year’s Eve meals, with the team at Dry Creek Kitchen offering two festive tasting menus with seasonally inspired Wine Country fare: from persimmon and burrata — More on page 5