North Bay Bohemian December 18-24 2019

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Bohemian santarosa.edu/choose-srjc

CEO/Executive Editor Dan Pulcrano

Publisher Rosemary Olson, ext. 201

Interim Editor Daedalus Howell, ext 202

Arts Editor Charlie Swanson, ext. 203

News Reporter Will Carruthers

Contributors Rob Brezsny, Harry Duke, Karen Hess, James Knight, Jonah Raskin, David Templeton, Richard von Busack

Copy Editor Mark Fernquest

Editorial Assistant Alex T. Randolph

Design Director Kara Brown

Art Director Tabi Zarrinnaal

VO TE

Production Operations Manager Sean George

Senior Designer Jackie Mujica, ext. 213

“Attending SRJC was one of the best decisions of my life.” NICK RILEA

SRJC GRADUATE, FUTURE LAWYER

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The Sonoma County Junior College District does not discriminate on the basis of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, ethnic group identification, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic condition, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information or sexual orientation in any of its policies, procedures or practices; nor does the District discriminate against any employees or applicants for employment on the basis of their age.

This non-discrimination policy covers admission, access and treatment in District programs and activities--including but not limited to academic admissions, financial aid, educational services and athletics--and application for District employment.

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NORTH BAY BOHEMIAN [ISSN 1532-0154] (incorporating the Sonoma County Independent) is published weekly, on Wednesdays, by Metrosa Inc., located at: 847 Fifth St., Santa Rosa, CA 95404. Phone: 707.527.1200; fax: 707.527.1288; e-mail: editor@bohemian.com. It is a legally adjudicated publication of the county of Sonoma by Superior Court of California decree No. 119483. Member: Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, National Newspaper Association, California Newspaper Publishers Association, Verified Audit Circulation. Subscriptions (per year): Sonoma County $75; out-of-county $90. Thirdclass postage paid at Santa Rosa, CA. FREE DISTRIBUTION: The BOHEMIAN is available free of charge at numerous locations, limited to one copy per reader. Additional copies may be purchased for one dollar, payable in advance at The BOHEMIAN’s office. The BOHEMIAN may be distributed only by its authorized distributors. No person may, without permission of the publisher, take more than one copy of each issue.The BOHEMIAN is printed on 40 % recycled paper.

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Rhapsodies BOHEMIAN

Use of Force The “No Holds Barred” article (Dec. 11) was upsetting to read. I was left feeling shocked and sad and angry.

After a “car chase” with an innocent man, “the situation soon escalated”? Aren’t the officers on scene the ones that escalated it?

David Ward DIED from an “attempted neck restraint” through a car window. I wonder if we’ll see body camera footage and I wonder if any of the other officers present thought maybe it was a bad idea.

The newly-appointed head of the IOLERO has fired every single activist member of the Community Advisory Council?!

She mentioned researching the carotid restraint—why? David Ward is DEAD now. Who cares about the research, it’s obviously a terrible thing to do.

Another comment is either out of context in the writing, or just weird; she “never understood“ the CACs previous approach to policy recommendations; “My question to the CAC was why should the sheriff’s office dictate what

THIS MODERN WORLD

recommendation to me”? What does that even mean?

Navarro is currently searching for new members? Could Will Carruthers have gone into a bit of detail there? Lastly, Navarro says that in July some assistant sheriff told the CAC “I’ve already talked to you about use of force policies.” Oh, so we’re done? Move on?

Please continue reporting on all of this!

MEGAN GORDON

Santa Rosa

By Tom Tomorrow

Yiddishe Chrisgiving Nicole R. Zimmerman’s article, “Finding Hanukkah in the Happy Holidays,” (Dec. 4) brought a smile to my face, and in this season of sharing, I thought I’d share one of my fondest memories.

It was about five years ago when my Christmas, my partner’s Hanukkah, and our mutual Thanksgiving made for a perfect storm of a celebration.

We have dear friends in England, a family of five: Mum, Dad, two teen boys and a 7-year-old princess, who were coming to visit us at Christmas. They had two requests: “Would it be possible to experience a traditional American Thanksgiving dinner?” Sure!

Said Mum, “The turkey needs to be kosher, is that okay?” Ohhhhhkay.

So, off I traipsed to Safeway. Nada. Raley’s.

Zip. Lucky’s. Nada. Petaluma Market. Bupkis.

As a last resort, I tried Whole Foods. The butcher said, “We don’t carry them, but we can special order one for you.” Done!

The day came for the pick-up and the cost – oy vey! – was a combo of Whole Food’s premium pricing + a bird practically as rare as the dodo = ka-ching! Hey, it’s only money!

As the resident roast-turkey maven, my partner cooks only twice a year— Thanksgiving and Christmas—and he does it incredibly well, including excellent stuffing, gravy and a killer sweet potato casserole. I do the rest.

Dinner was terrific…for our Brit buddies, just “meh” for us. Apparently, our yiddishe turkey was not exactly a “spring chicken.”

But it didn’t matter. The joy in sharing our bounty with good friends at “Chrisgiving,” as we dubbed it, is what makes these times so special.

Happy Holidays to all! (You too, Donald!)

BOB CANNING Petaluma

Write to us at letters@bohemian.com.

Made in California International enterprises boost the state’s economy BY NANCY MCLERNON

A

longside traffic and coffee, news radio is a staple of my morning commute. As I flip through the stations, I’ll sometimes hear a pundit lament that “Nothing is made in America anymore.”

In reality, there are nearly 13 million manufacturing workers in the United States, including thousands in California. Some of these folks are employed by U.S.-based firms. Many others work for companies headquartered abroad.

These international companies employ more than 769,000 Californians. That includes 199,900 employees in manufacturing jobs—or nearly 26 percent of all California jobs created by international companies.

According to the latest government data, the number of California jobs created by international companies jumped by 29 percent during the past five years. More than 1,980 different international companies employ California workers.

International firms pay better. Americans who work for global companies earn 26 percent more compensation than the average worker in the same geographic area, according to a new analysis from the National Bureau of Economic Research.

International companies benefit all workers, not just the ones they employ directly. When an international firm sets up a manufacturing plant and creates 1,000 new jobs in America, workers at domestic firms in that geographic area experience a collective $16 million boost in wages. So, for every local job created by an international firm, the wage pool for employees in the area increases to the tune of $16,000 annually.

International companies also benefit U.S. small businesses. Over the past one and a half decades, international companies increased the amount of business they do with U.S. suppliers by nearly 30 percent—jumping from $1.5 trillion to $2.4 trillion, after adjusting for inflation.

Sourcing locally is important for reasons beyond just economics—it allows U.S. small businesses to demonstrate a commitment to social equity and environmental sustainability.

As we celebrate local manufacturers statewide, let’s recognize how international companies catalyze local economic growth—giving a whole new meaning to “made in California.”

Nancy McLernon is the president and CEO of the Organization for International Investment. We welcome your contribution. To have your topical essay of 350 words considered for publication, write openmic@bohemian.com.

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Rants

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Relax & Rejoice,

Paper THE

POTENTIAL The current site of Petaluma’s second SMART station is currently vacant.

Train Pains

SMART development concerns activists BY WILL CARRUTHERS

F

or several years, a southern California businessman has been pushing to develop a 6.5-acre piece of land at the eastern end of Petaluma.

The land, owned by Todd

Kurtin’s company, Lomas Properties, is adjacent to the proposed location of the Corona Road SMART station. Once completed, it will be the second station serving the city.

According to Petaluma’s 2013 SMART Station Area Plan, city planners expected the Corona

Road Station to serve as a parkand-ride to offset parking at the Downtown Station, with the possibility of turning into a denser development later on.

“In the short-term, the Corona Road SMART Station will likely function as a suburban park-andride station. However, in the long

Daedalus Howell

NORTH BAY BOH EMI A N | DEC E M BE R 1 8-24, 20 19 | BO H E M I AN.COM

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term, the Corona Road Station Area may evolve to include transit-oriented development,” the report states.

But some residents opposing the current proposal argue that now is the time to develop the property in a transit-friendly fashion, not later.

Lomas Properties’ current plan, which the Planning Commission considered twice in November, calls for primarily single-family homes—some attached and some detached—on a land directly next to the proposed train station.

Lomas Properties’ first proposal, presented at a Nov. 12 Planning Commission meeting, called for 110 single-family homes across 5.23 acres of the 6.5-acre piece of land in question.

A second, revised proposal, unveiled at a Nov. 19 Planning Commission meeting upped the total number of units to 116.

Lomas Properties also dropped their request for a zoning adjustment on the property.

Brian Barnacle, a resident working against the current proposal, says it is a wasted opportunity of a prime piece of land located next to public transit.

“From top to bottom, it’s more of the same,” Barnacle says, referencing the urban sprawl development that covers much of Petaluma.

Last week, Barnacle and other residents sent a 15-page letter to the Petaluma City Council outlining numerous criticisms of the plan and the city’s planning process.

“It would be incredibly shortsighted to approve the project when we so desperately need long-term vision,” the letter states in part. “We residents are relying on you to be bold, encourage density, discourage the automobile, and ensure we are implementing good business practices.”

At the center of the critique is the issue of Transit Oriented Development (TOD), a form of urban planning which prioritizes dense developments within walking distance of public transportation options.

TOD has become something of a buzzword among urban

the city, Lomas Properties would donate a 1.27-acre sliver of the property for use as a SMART park-and-ride.

Under a separate, existing deal with SMART, Lomas Properties would purchase a piece of downtown real estate.

“The applicant is also in contract with SMART to purchase the approximately 4.65-acre parcel adjacent to the downtown SMART station. Approximately $6 million in proceeds from that sale are designated for construction of the second SMART station at Corona Road. The [proposed] development agreement [with the city] includes reference to this requirement as an essential part of securing development of the Corona Road Station,” the staff report states.

And then there’s the time crunch, according to staff. The report presented at the Nov. 12 meeting warns that “If the necessary entitlements are not secured by March 2020 [to align with an existing construction contract] the needed construction contracts will not be able to be secured until construction of the Cloverdale station, which remains uncertain.”

All in all, both stations’ development could have a big impact on the future of Petaluma.

Whatever the city builds will likely remain in place for decades.

The proposal is expected to be considered at additional city meetings in January.

Supreme Court Decision Top court affirms Martin vs.

City of Boise decision

A

s pressure mounts on local politicians to humanely relocate the residents of a growing encampment along the Joe Rodota Trail, the U.S. Supreme Court has weighed in on a case that may impact future policies.

On Monday, Dec. 16, the high court opted not to consider the ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals 2018 decision on a case concerning the City of Boise’s policies for punishing people living on the city’s streets.

Ultimately, the Appeals Court, which serves California ) 10 and seven other states,

9 NO RTH BAY BO H E M I AN | D EC E M BE R 1 8-24, 2019 | BOH EMI A N.COM

planners in recent years. As California and the North Bay face interlocking threats— unaffordable housing prices, income inequality and the increasing impacts of global warming—TOD supporters say implementing the development principles is a way of combating multiple problems at once.

There are many benefits to TOD, including reduced urban sprawl, reduced reliance on cars—thus reducing vehicle miles traveled, expense on working families, and traffic congestion—and, hopefully, a more diverse and affordable range of housing options.

For the North Bay, the SMART stations are a oncein-a-generation opportunity to prioritize this kind of development, Barnacle argues.

Barnacle’s letter suggests that the Petaluma City Council rejects the current proposal—which they expect to consider early next year—consult TOD experts, pursue millions of dollars in state funding for TOD projects, and review Lomas Properties’ prior experience completing TOD developments.

However, there is already a lot of momentum behind the current plan. According to the Nov. 12 Planning Commission report, Lomas Properties may end up with interlocking agreements with the city and SMART. As part of a proposed development agreement with

Supreme Court Decision

(9 Anna Sullivan/Unsplash

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TOP COURT The Supreme Court Building in Washington DC.

concluded that “as long as there is no option of sleeping indoors, the government cannot criminalize indigent, homeless people for sleeping outdoors, on public property, on the false premise they had a choice in the matter.”

Because the Supreme Court decided not to hear the case, known as Martin v. City of Boise, the Appeals Court’s decision will stand. The case may have some impact in Sonoma County, where local homeless advocates reached a temporary legal agreement with Santa Rosa and the county regarding their rules for relocating people living outside.

The local injunction, which the parties agreed on this July, cites the Martin v. City of Boise case as an uncertain factor. With less uncertainty around the court case, the local parties will have to consider the new legal standing when they revisit the injunction, which currently sunsets in June 2020.

Under the injunction, the city and county are not allowed to move encampments, unless they have shelter beds, hotel vouchers or another alternative which

meets the person’s needs to offer as an alternative.

Over the past several months, an encampment along the Joe Rodota Trail has swelled to an estimated 180 residents, sparking conversation and criticism of the lack of action by Santa Rosa and Sonoma County politicians to shelter⁠—and move off of the trail—the people living there.

On Tuesday, Dec. 17, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors considered temporary housing alternatives for the people living on the trail, including housing them at the fairgrounds in Santa Rosa.

Reached by phone on Monday, Dec. 16, Alicia Roman, an attorney who worked on the local injunction, said she was “excited that the supervisors are having this discussion” and that the Supreme Court declined to change the lower court’s ruling on Martin v. City of Boise.

Still, there are a lot of questions needing answers, including where and how the county and other local governments will offer temporary housing options, she added.

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BOOKED The Botanical Dimensions Ethnobotany Library founder Kathleen Harrison looks through ‘History of Sonoma County’ by Honoria Tuomey.

Ethnobotany!

Kathleen Harrison’s library of legacies BY KAREN HESS

T

ucked away at the downtown Occidental Art Center, the Botanical Dimensions Ethnobotany Library is a surprising, rare jewel featuring a collection of over a thousand books.

Many are rare or hard-to-find and are about plants, indigenous cultures, psychedelics, mycology, mythology, cultural anthropology, herbalism, ritual, shamanism, healing, art and more. The study

of ethnobotany looks at the relationship between plants, humans and fungi over time and between cultures and therefore involves many interconnected subjects.

At a time when even used bookstores are hard to find, one can walk into this quiet, magical world of unusual books, make a cup of tea and read all afternoon.

Library members have access to the lending shelves, members’ events and special discounts on a range of unique classes, including Global Ethnobotany or Cannabis

and Spirituality: An Explorer’s Guide to an Ancient Plant Ally.

Kathleen Harrison and Terence McKenna founded Botanical Dimensions (BD) in 1985, and Harrison established the Ethnobotany Library in November 2015. BD’s original mission was to collect, protect, propagate and understand plants of ethnomedical significance and their lore.

“We do all that and more,” Harrison, an ethnobotanist, teacher, artist and writer, says.

“We work to preserve biodiversity,

respecting natural ecosystems and traditions of ecological knowledge. We appreciate, study and educate others about plants and mushrooms that are felt to be significant to cultural integrity and spiritual well-being.”

Besides the library, BD implements other plant-focused educational programs, including the Mazatec Project in Mexico, the Amazon Herbarium Project in Peru and the Forest-Garden in Hawaii. The latest project with Harrison’s daughter, photographer Klea McKenna, is a film called Almost Visible about a multi-generational, decades-long relationship between Harrison and McKenna’s family and a Mazatec clan in Mexico. There is currently an end-of-year Giving Campaign underway on their website to raise funds for the library and educational programs.

The library reflects Harrison’s unified perspective and comes from her own personal collection, curated over the years. She accumulated a huge collection of books—including many rare titles—during her decades of study and travel.

“I had way too many books,” she laughs. “I’ve always bought used books; if I’m interested in something I buy books about it.”

Five years ago she decided to thin her collection, so she distributed a few boxes of books to her students at the California School of Herbal Studies, where she’s taught an annual, day-long ethnobotany class for the past 20 years. While Harrison was grateful that her plant books went to appreciative, budding herbalists, she wondered if the rest of the collection might benefit more people if it were grouped together and made publically accessible.

“My book collection is my

Karen Hess

13

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worldview,” she says. “It’s a 360-degree view of the planthuman-fungal matrix and I decided to keep it all together.

Because it represents an inquisitive, full-circle way of seeing the world.”

Harrison is unusually wellintegrated. While part of the library reflects her work with psychedelic plants, she respects all aspects of the cultures that use them. Though she never shies away from the topics of ayahuasca or “magic” mushrooms, she places as much importance on plants involved in basket-weaving or cordage as she does on plants involved in shamanic ceremonies.

“I brought over 1,000 books to start the library,” Harrison says.

“I also brought art, objects and artifacts. When I teach, I ransack my house for objects, and some of them end up staying here.”

Over the course of the past 20 years, Harrison took hundreds of students on ethnobotany field trips to Hawaii, Mexico, Ecuador and the Peruvian Amazon.

Nowadays, she teaches close to home in Occidental.

“It was intense to take a lot of college kids to the Peruvian Amazon,” she says. “I got tired of traveling so much.”

The library includes an adjoining 40-person classroom where she and others teach a variety of unique classes. Her teaching style is conversational

and flows with the group in attendance. Classes range from Botanical Illustration to Psychedelic Plants: An Introduction to the Biology and Ritual Ethnobotany of Peyote, Tobacco and Ayahuasca.

“Once you get into worldview you have a lot of branches to follow,” she says, pulling out a book called Translated Woman by Ruth Behar. “There’s mythology, nature, spirituality—even writers about animism here.”

Her own writing can be found in the new book Psychedelic Mystery of the Feminine edited by Maria Papaspyrou, Chiara Baldini, David Luke and Allyson Grey.

“All our work protects and distributes knowledge about plants, cultures and how they weave together over time,” Harrison says. “It’s always evolving and changing. The library represents the many aspects of the ever-evolving, complex relationship between humanity and the plant-fungal world.”

Botanical Dimensions Ethnobotany Library is located at Occidental Center for the Arts, 3830 Doris Murphy Ct., Occidental. Hours are Tuesdays and Thursdays 11am to 4pm; second Tuesday of each month ‘til 7pm; last Saturday 11am to 3pm.

Library memberships cost $35 per person or $60 for two people. www.botanicaldimensions.org

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STOCKING STUFFER Consider

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VOTE For Sonoma & Napa’s Best

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Oct 2 - Dec 31

giving a corkscrew or fine crystal to the wine aficionado in your life this holiday season.

Blanc Elephant Party Simple gifts for starcrossed wine lovers

BY JAMES KNIGHT

A

re the chains of the Ghost of Christmas Present scraping on the floor already, and you haven’t even checked a wine lover or two off your gift list?

Then it’s time to give the absurdly obvious a go.

Consider a corkscrew as a stocking stuffer. Really, a corkscrew? Yes, really, especially if you’ve ever noted family or friends struggling to strong-arm the vinous precious from the bottle with an old, single-action corkscrew. It’s heroic, sure, but it’s not efficient on a Wednesday night after work

when you’re seriously wanting for a splash of Chardonnay.

Everyone who drinks wine often, or even occasionally, or who plans on maybe having a splash to celebrate the New Year, ought to have a double-hinger, or “waiter’s” corkscrew. It’s simple and effective.

A wooden-handled version adds some class for a gift. The good news is, they’re often for sale as branded items at wine-tasting rooms and make an easy pairing with a bottle from that winery. Now we’ve wine and a means of accessing it—what else is necessary?

Wine glasses. Really? Sounds like a tip from the vineyard of Clos-St-Obvious. If your intended recipient is in the wine business, maybe, but scope the cabinets. Wine enthusiasts know that glassware breaks, perhaps especially in moments of enthusiasm, and is not always replaced. Many homes where a fine Sonoma County or Napa Valley wine brightens but the rare weekend evening simply lack proper wine glasses. This isn’t a matter for wine snobs only—it’s about enjoying the darn wine.

The straight-sided jelly jar had a tortured tenure as the, uh, hipster’s anti-snobbery vessel of choice for sipping artisanal Albariño, but it still kills the aroma. And who wants to do that when our neighbors have braved smoke and blackouts to make sure their fermentations result in a highquality libation? Fine glassware isn’t made much locally, but look to a local business like Corrick’s for experience and advice in choosing Riedel stemware—proper whiskey glasses, too—or Waterford crystal, both in a modern, elegant style and traditional cut crystal designs, decanters and more. Corrick’s, 637 Fourth St., Santa Rosa.

OK, the presents are open and cheeks are getting rosy, but we don’t want to ruin a perfectly cheery celebration by having one glass too many—and wouldn’t want to waste the rest of that good wine, either.

See if a can of Private Preserve doesn’t fit in that stocking, too.

From a company based in Napa, it’s a blend of inert gas—a blast or so in a bottle saves the wine for another merry day. Local wine shops, like Wilibees Wine & Spirits, carry it.

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NORTH BAY BOH E MI A N | DEC E M BE R 1 8-24, 20 19 | BO H E M I AN.COM

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BY CHARLIE SWANSON

SCREEN THE

WORLD Rialto Cinemas celebrates 20-year anniversary

O

n Jan. 14, 2000, “art house” arrived in Sonoma County. That’s the date Rialto Cinemas first opened its doors in Santa Rosa, ushering in a new era of local theaters that showed independent, foreign-language and other small-but-important films on the big screen.

The now Sebastopol-based Rialto Cinemas is planning a yearlong celebration in 2020 for its 20th anniversary. Proprietor Ky Boyd looks back on all the movies and moments that made Rialto Cinemas what it is today.

Reel One Boyd, a native of Great Falls, Montana, moved to the Bay Area in 1993 and worked in healthcare administration. “It wasn’t really fulfilling my soul,” he says of the experience.

He had a background in working for nonprofit arts groups, as well as a lifelong dream of owning a movie theater.

“When I was a young child, like a toddler, I was fascinated with things that went in circles; sprinklers, the washing machine,” Boyd says. “I also remember in kindergarten, one day we had a movie, and I couldn’t tell you what the movie was, but I was fascinated by the projector, which

I can now tell you was a Kodak Pageant 16 mm projector. The reels went ’round and that was the beginning.”

In fact, Boyd operated his first movie theater—complete with a Coca-Cola sign hung on the stairs—out of his parent’s basement as a child, showing Super 8 movies to family and friends.

In Great Falls, Boyd’s film diet was all mainstream studio releases, though he discovered foreign-language films in college and started going to “art house” movie theaters in the ’80s.

“It opened my mind to a whole world of cinema,” Boyd says.

With the support of family and friends, Boyd opened the

Rialto Cinemas Lakeside on Summerfield Road in Santa Rosa in 2000 with that “world of cinema” inspiration. In a county that was dominated by United Artists movie theater chains, Boyd planned to screen films made with artistic, rather than commercial, intentions.

“I wanted to show movies that weren’t just the big, noisy movies with $20 million marketing budgets,” he says. “I wanted to help connect audiences to these independent films that they may have never heard of, but that I thought they may enjoy.”

Though independent movies did play in Sonoma County before the Rialto Cinemas opened, Boyd compares their screen-time to

17 NO RTH BAY BO H E M I AN | D EC E M BE R 1 8-24, 2019 | BOH EMI A N.COM

doing that; Christopher Guest’s Best in Show, British dance drama Billy Elliot, Kenneth Lonergan’s You Can Count on Me and the Coen Brothers’ Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?

“That was the beginning,” Boyd says. “When those films all worked, we were on a roll.”

Reel Two

Boyd stresses that, despite getting on a roll, the overall ride has been far from smooth. In fact, moviegoers may recall that the Rialto Cinemas Lakeside ceased to exist in the Fall of 2010, when the five-screen theater’s master lease reverted back to the family that owned the property.

Determined to keep showing

movies, Boyd took Rialto Cinemas “On the Road,” presenting events like National Theater Live and the Jewish Film Festival at the Sixth Street Playhouse in Santa Rosa until 2012, when the former Sebastopol Cinema 9 on McKinley Street became available.

“It was great, because we had a home,” Boyd says. “We knew we were going to renovate the theater, and renovating while you’re operating is always an interesting challenge. I’m sure there are people who wondered, ‘What the heck are they doing?’”

Aside from updating the look of the Sebastopol location, Rialto Cinemas went about securing a beer-and-wine license ) 18

Photo Courtesy Rialto Cinemas

breadcrumbs. Even if a smallbudget film did well upon release, it was soon taken off the marquee for whatever blockbuster Bruce Willis–versus-an-asteroid-type flick came along next.

“The audience was here (for independent movies), we just had to show that it existed,” Boyd says. “Part of the deal was getting people to trust us. If they keep coming and seeing films they like, they start swinging a little wider and take a chance on a film they might not have otherwise.”

Boyd also knew early on that he had to show the film distributors and the industry that he could gross high numbers of ticket sales in Sonoma County. He credits four movies in 2000 and 2001 with

ON TAP Local beer and wine pair

well with films at Rialto Cinemas.

2020 New Year Celebration

Rialto Cinemas ( 17 Photo Courtesy Rialto Cinemas

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Tuesday, December 31, 2019

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and committed to serving superior food—including paninis, pizza, soups, salads and other shareable bites made onsite in a full kitchen—to the audience.

But don’t worry, old-school movie lovers; their popcorn and soda machines didn’t go anywhere.

“We’re running not just a theater, but a legitimate restaurant,” Boyd says. “People have embraced the concept. I was talking to someone in the lobby last night who just came for dinner, and that’s so cool.”

Reel Three “To be involved in the community was always important,” says Rialto Cinemas General Manager Mary Ann Wade, who has worked with Boyd since 2005. “I get thanked constantly by our customers for having such a wonderful place they can come to in their own community.

Especially in Sebastopol, here in what some people would say is the middle of nowhere, we’re showing world-famous shows like Metropolitan Opera Live and National Theatre Live.”

Today, Rialto Cinemas helps anchor the ever-growing downtown Sebastopol, which has seen the development of the Barlow and other changes during the last eight years. The theater also offers more mainstream films alongside those niche indie-films in its lineup, screening the megapopular Frozen 2 and opening Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker this week. Still, the theater maintains

a commitment to those lesserknown films and continues to work with groups like the Sonoma County Library Foundation, the Sonoma County Jewish Film Festival and the Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival.

“It’s in my DNA, I guess is the best way I can say it, to think the theater is not just a theater—it’s a community center, a gathering place,” Boyd says. “We’re using film to help local organizations, whether it’s bringing awareness to a particular issue or helping to raise money, we’ve done a lot of that stuff over the years and we’ve had some amazing partnerships.

It’s crucial and core to what we do.”

Rialto Cinemas is still planning specific events throughout 2020 for the upcoming 20th anniversary. But for now, in an era where more streaming sites and other film-watching avenues exist than ever, the theater wants to continue to be the place where audiences come together to appreciate films.

“We want every single person who comes to the Rialto Cinemas to feel that they’ve experienced something magical or they’ve opened a different door, a different viewpoint on something in the world,” Wade says. “We want them to leave with a sense that they came in by themselves, but they left being part of a community.”

Rialto Cinemas is located at 6868 McKinley Ave., Sebastopol. For showtimes and information, call 707.525.4840 or visit rialtocinemas.com.

DRESSING ROOM READING Actors backstage at a local theater take time out

to browse Tice Allison’s ‘Badass Acting.’

Stage Tales

North Bay native acts out in new book BY DAVID TEMPLETON

T

he front cover of the new book Badass Acting, by Tice Allison, features a photo of the author in the act of devouring an insect. Allison actually makes the critter look, well, kind of delicious.

The picture is a publicity shot from Raven Players’ 2015 production of Dracula, where Allison—a Sonoma County native and recently relocated resident of Vintage Borough in Lancaster

County, Pennsylvania—played the Count’s bug-eating servant Renfield. Allison has a long Sonoma County career of playing characters like Renfield.

“I play creeps,” he says, via phone from his new home, currently dusted with snow. “I’ve made a career out of playing a whole lot of creeps. I like creeps. There’s a lot of meat there for an actor.”

And now, with the book he’s selfpublished and is selling through his website, Allison is hoping to help other actors get in touch with their own inner creep—or hero, ingénue,

romantic lead or supporting character, as it were.

Though Allison sold his Sebastopol home in the spring and then moved across the country, he says that in many ways, Badass Acting has its roots in Sonoma County and environs. Many of the anecdotal experiences he vividly describes in the book occurred at the Raven Theater, Sixth Street Playhouse, Lucky Penny Community Arts Center and other Bay Area institutions.

A professional freelance graphic artist by “daytime” trade, Allison has

been working on the book, in some capacity, for about three years.

“I’ve written and rewritten and rewritten it—I’ve chronicled every single play I’ve ever been in, and tried to determine what I may have learned from it, and what lessons I may have come across over those productions,” he says. “Turns out, I’ve learned a lot. I really wanted my book to be something that people could use to enhance their own acting experiences. So far, the response has been pretty gratifying.”

Admitting readily that some might wonder why an unknown actor would think anyone would be interested in his views on acting, Allison says he wrote the book for people like himself— community theater actors who dream of maybe being discovered and venturing into film or television; people he calls Joe Blow Nobodies.

Asked if he misses Sonoma County, Allison says that while he misses some of the theaters he worked with and some of the people he shared some stages with, the relocation has proven to be extremely positive.

“Moving here was easily the best thing I’ve ever done for myself,” he says. And yes, he’s still acting, having recently appeared in a production of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, in which he played the villain.

“True to what I am best known for,” he says.

That production was at Lebanon Community Theater, in Lebanon (pronounced “Lebnun,” he points out).

“It’s a beautiful little theater,” Allison says. “It reminds me of Cinnabar Theater or the Raven Theater. I look forward to doing more theater here, and who knows, maybe being the author of Badass Acting will help open some doors.”

‘Badass Acting’ can be found at BadassActing.com

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Arts Ideas

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NORTH BAY BOH EMI A N | DEC E M BE R 1 8-24, 20 19 | BO H E M I AN.COM

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The week’s events: a selective guide

GOSPEL TRUTH Legendary vocal group the Blind Boys of Alabama perform their annual Christmas Show on Friday, Dec. 20, at Uptown Theatre in Napa. See concerts, pg 26.

Crush CULTURE

P E TA L U M A

SONOMA

Photo courtesy of Blind Boys of Alabama

R O H N E R T PA R K

GUERNEVILLE

Saucy Christmas

Memories of Christmas

Light Up the Theatre

Parade Stays Afloat

Formed in 2002, three-time Grammywinning Spanish Harlem Orchestra sets the standard for Latin Jazz and Salsa in New York City, and whether they play concert halls or outdoor festivals, they never fail to impress with an ensemble of 13 world-class musicians and vocalists. This week, the orchestra comes to the North Bay for a special holiday concert program, “Salsa Navidad,” that puts a pep in the holiday with infectious rhythms and energy on Friday, Dec. 20, at Green Music Center’s Weill Hall, 1801 E. Cotati Ave., Rohnert Park.

7:30pm. $25 and up. 707.664.4246.

For the last decade, Petaluma Readers Theatre has greeted the festive Christmas season with a special presentation of two holiday classics live on stage. The theater group first offers a telling of Dylan Thomas’ prose poem, A Child’s Christmas in Wales, which recounts the author’s childhood. The theater pairs that with an interpretation of novelist and playwright Truman Capote’s A Christmas Memory, which takes another stroll into holiday nostalgia for a bygone era. See both stories come to life on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 21–22, at Petaluma Historical Library & Museum, 20 Fourth St., Petaluma. Sat, 7pm; Sun, 5pm. $15– 18. Petalumareaderstheatre.com.

Each Christmas, the historic Sebastiani Theatre in downtown Sonoma transforms into a fantastical wonderland of lights, decorations and merriment, thanks to multi-faceted artist Susan Bellach. From massive arrangements of garland and glitter, to the twinkling Christmas Tree and the miniature Santa’s Village, the scene is a sight to behold. See for yourself at the annual Sebastiani Theatre Holiday Open House, which includes a tour of the decor and treats such as cookies, hot chocolate and cider on hand Sunday, Dec. 22, at 476 First St. East, Sonoma. 10am. Free admission.

Sebastianitheatre.com.

In Guerneville, small-town traditions like the upcoming Holiday Parade of Lights are made possible by the actions of community group Friends of Stumptown.

With this autumn’s wildfires and other recent complications, the group has been having an especially difficult time making the parade happen for 2019, though the show is still on. Come out to the parade to see all manner of antique and vintage cars, trucks, tractors and floats lit up in celebratory displays, and help keep community spirits bright on Sunday, Dec. 22, Main Street, Guerneville.

7pm. Free admission. russianriver.com.

—Charlie Swanson

Official Notice from Court-Appointed Claims Representative

Deadline Extended to December 31, 2019

VO TE

Renters, Occupants, Property Owners, Businesses and Anyone Impacted by the Northern California Fires Before January 29, 2019 You can file a claim for losses, including but not limited to: •

Loss of personal property

•

Loss of community

•

Pain and suffering

•

Loss of essential services

•

Emotional and mental distress

•

Loss of wages or earning

•

Evacuation, displacement, and

capacity

relocation expenses

•

Other damages

Things you should know: •

PG&E is not broke.

•

You are eligible to file even if you: • Didn’t own a home/property

•

• •

Don’t know amount of losses Were underinsured

• Had no insurance coverage Claims process is simple (takes less than 15 minutes for Fire Claim).

Act Now Before Time Runs Out: CLAIM

•

Have questions?

Call or visit website for info and free assistance.

For Sonoma & Napa’s Best

VOTE Oct 2 - Dec 31

•

Fill out a Proof of Claim Form.

•

If your claim is allowed, you may receive money from the PG&E bankruptcy estate.

Claims must be filed by 5 p.m. PT on December 31, 2019

Need Free Help Filing a Claim?

1-888-909-0100 www.OfficialFireClaims.com

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Fire Claims in PG&E Bankruptcy

21

Stage Kurt Gonsalves

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IT’S A MIRACLE Lucky Penny adapts ‘Miracle on 34th Street’ for the stage in Napa.

Tidings of Joy

Two productions get into the musical spirit

BY HARRY DUKE

M

usical adaptations of Christmas movie classics close out the year with two shows running through Dec. 22. Sonoma Arts Live presents A Christmas Story, The Musical while Lucky Penny Productions brings Miracle on 34th Street, The Musical to Napa.

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Bob Clark’s A Christmas Story was a moderate film success back in 1983. Based on the writings of humorist Jean Shepherd, repeated TV airings made it a holiday staple which means, of course, it had to be turned into a musical.

All young Ralphie Parker (Tuolumne Bunter) wants for Christmas is an official Red Ryder, carbine-action, 200-shot, range-

model air rifle, with a compass in the stock and this thing that tells time. Thwarted by his mother (Morgan Harrington), his teacher (ScharyPearl Fugitt) and even Santa Claus, things don’t look promising on Christmas morn. Will his Old Man (Rick Love) come through?

The script follows the film fairly closely, with key moments converted to musical numbers by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (Dear Evan Hansen). The Old Man’s infamous leg lamp becomes “A Major Award,” the tongue-on-theflagpole bit is “A Sticky Situation,” and the play turns the standard admonition to any child desirous of a BB gun into the show-stopping, Michella Snider-choreographed tap-dancing extravaganza “You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out.” Turning a 90-minute film into a full-blown musical leads to padding and there’s way too much focus on the parents in this production, but Bunter is very good as Ralphie and the show retains a lot of the film’s charm.

Rating (out of 5): The same cannot be said for Miracle on 34th Street, the Musical.

How Meredith Willson (The Music Man) managed to strip an Oscar-winning story of most of its charm and turn the leads into two very unlikeable people is something of a miracle in itself.

The tale of a little girl (Ava Reynolds, alternating with Grace Martin) who doesn’t believe in Santa Claus and the romance between her mother (Alison Quin) and a neighbor (F. James Raasch) misses on almost every count.

The cast tries hard, with Tim Setzer’s Kris Kringle and Jill Wagoner’s prosecuting attorney giving the best performances, but there’s zero chemistry between the leads and there’s little love evident in a show whose original title was Here’s Love.

HH

‘A Christmas Story: The Musical’ runs through Dec. 22 at Andrews Hall in the Sonoma Community Center, 276 E. Napa St., Sonoma. Thu–Sat, 7:30pm; Sun, 2pm. $25–$42. 707-939-9018. sonomaartslive.org.

‘Miracle on 34th Street: The Musical’ plays through Dec. 22 at the Lucky Penny Community Arts Center, 1758 Industrial Way, Napa. Thu–Sat, 7pm; Sat & Sun, 2pm. $25–$40. 707.266.6305. luckypennynapa.com.

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KINGS & QUEENS Former Philippines First Lady Imelda Marcos is

the subject of a damning new documentary.

Noblesse Oblige ‘Kingmaker’ gets under a tyrant’s skin BY RICHARD VON BUSACK

D

ocumentarian Lauren Greenfield upends the ever-growing field of journalistic plutography; that is, journalistic worship of the filthiest of the filthy rich. Greenfield’s 2012 Queen of Versailles attempted to explain how an 85,000-square-foot, $65 million house could end up with dog turds on the floor.

Greenfield’s The Kingmaker provides remarkable access to a 90-year-old Imelda Marcos.

Hearing the name of the uncrowned queen of the Philippines, one recalls the word “shoes.” In February 1986, mobs found 3,000 pairs of her shoes when they broke into the palace of Imelda and her brutal dictator husband Ferdinand. At a rally for her successful senatorial campaign, supporters serve the grandmother cupcakes decorated with doll-sized shoes made of frosting.

Greenfield observes, without comment, Imelda’s terrific sense of resentment and self-pity. The gentle, fair-minded viewer will worry that the film is making fun of a gaga old lady. Far from it. Underestimating Imelda is foolish; for all her whitegloved charm, she’s busy helping her

son Ferdinand Junior—nicknamed Bonbong—run for high office as part of a family restoration.

The secret to Imelda Marcos is selective vision and iron-clad compartmentalization, in which effect never quite follows cause. She believes in her own willpower: “I gave birth to what I dreamed, and I always got my way.”

With mixed success, she’s held onto the billions she and her husband stole from the Philippines. While the Marcoses stonewall, cracks emerge.

For the camera, Imelda displays her collection of framed photos of meetings with yesterday’s world’s leaders. Ferdinand knew better than to leave the Philippines, since he was allergic to coups. So Imelda went forth for the gripping and grinning with everyone from Henry Kissinger to Muammar Gaddafi.

The lessons Americans can derive from this brilliant and frightening documentary are too obvious to name. One learns a lot about Imelda, but one also learns a little about Melania. It’s to Greenfield’s credit that she caught the mask of glamour slipping for a second, revealing the hideous tyranny beneath it.

‘The Kingmaker’ is playing at the Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael.

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Stars come out for Occidental solstice show BY CHARLIE SWANSON

O

n the longest night of the year, Dec. 21, music will light the way to Occidental for the Cosmic Americana Solstice Dance, featuring Sonoma County favorites Laughing Gravy and the Drifting Cowpokes performing the music of country and rock icons Gram Parsons and Hank Williams respectively.

The show is a late addition to the weekend’s schedule, as Laughing Gravy frontman Doug Jayne and friends agreed to fill the stage at the Occidental Center for the Arts in place of singer Teresa Tudury, who had to cancel an appearance due to illness.

“She called me up and told me her symptoms, and I told her she had to bail on this gig,” says Jayne, who was to emcee Tudury’s concert.

When the OCA asked if Jayne could come up with something to replace the show, he looked to his band Laughing Gravy and their main inspiration, Parsons.

“The thing about Gram Parsons is that he died young, but in the time that he was alive, he was a member of the Byrds, and was part of the seminal album Sweetheart of the Rodeo which started the country-rock thing back in 1968,” Jayne says.

Parsons specialized in what he called “Cosmic American Music,” which blended R&B, rock & roll, country music and blues. That wide appeal of music is on display when Laughing Gravy performs the songs that Parsons made famous, and the group has been a staple of the North Bay scene since forming nearly 20 years ago.

Today, Laughing Gravy is comprised of Jayne on guitar and vocals; Kevin Russell on vocals, guitar and banjo; Allegra Broughton on guitar and vocals; Sam Page on vocals and bass; Dan Ransford on drums; and Kirby Pierce playing keyboard.

Russell is also a member of the Drifting Cowpokes, who first formed back in September as the backing band for a concert hosted by Jayne at the Mystic Theatre in Petaluma which celebrated the release of a 2– CD set, The Songs of Hank Williams: a compilation of Northern California musicians, that raised funds for KRCB-FM. “We’re bringing the band back,” Jayne says. “It’s going to be a real fun night.”

The Cosmic Americana Solstice Dance happens Saturday, Dec. 21, at Occidental Center for the Arts, 3850 Doris Murphy Ct., Occidental. 7:30pm. $15–$20. 707.874.9392.

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Calendar Concerts SONOMA Bone Thugs-nHarmony

Legendary hip-hop group headlines with a DJ set by MH the Verb. Dec 19, 8:30pm. $45.

Mystic Theatre & Music Hall, 23 Petaluma Blvd N, Petaluma, 707.775.6048.

Spanish Harlem Orchestra

Latin big band performs a program, “Salsa Navidad,” featuring world-class musicians and vocalists. Dec 20, 7:30pm. $25 and up. Green Music Center Weill Hall, 1801 East Cotati Ave, Rohnert Park, 866.955.6040.

NAPA Blind Boys of Alabama

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Living legends perform their annual Christmas show with special guest Nicki Bluhm. Dec 20, 8pm. $50-$70. Uptown Theatre, 1350 Third St, Napa, 707.259.0123.

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Jazz singer, multiinstrumentalist and composer returns to Napa for a weekend of Christmas concerts. Dec 21, 6:30 and 9pm and Dec 22, 2 and 6pm. $28-$55. Blue Note Napa, 1030 Main St, Napa, 707.880.2300.

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Clubs & Venues 3 Disciples Brewing Taproom

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Dec 21, Trotta, Walters & Lewis.

501 Mendocino Ave, Santa Rosa, 707.978.2459.

Elephant in the Room Dec 19, Crowbot. Dec 20, Farrow and the Peach Leaves. Dec 21, Derek Irving & His Combo. 177-A Healdsburg Ave, Healdsburg, elephantintheroompub.com.

Fern Bar

Dec 19, Michael Price & Co. Dec 21, Yuka Yu. Dec 22, Pick Your Heart Out. Dec 23, Woodlander and friends. 6780 Depot St, Suite 120, Sebastopol, 707.861.9603.

Flamingo Lounge

Dec 20, Blueprints DJ night.

Dec 21, Rich Little Band.

2777 Fourth St, Santa Rosa, 707.545.8530.

Geyserville Gun Club Bar & Lounge Dec 21, Snaps for Sinners.

21025 Geyserville Ave, Geyserville, 707.814.0036.

Green Music Center Weill Hall

Dec 19, Voctave presents the Spirit of the Season. 1801 East Cotati Ave, Rohnert Park, 866.955.6040.

HopMonk Sebastopol

Dec 19, Bada Boom Cabaret.

Dec 20, Donald Glaude. Dec 21, Frankie Boots. Dec 23, Merry Spliffmas with DJ Smoky. 230 Petaluma Ave, Sebastopol, 707.829.7300.

HopMonk Sonoma

Dec 20, 6pm, Howling Coyote Tour. 691 Broadway, Sonoma, 707.935.9100.

Hotel Healdsburg

Dec 21, 6:30pm, Anne Sajdera Trio. 25 Matheson St, Healdsburg, 707.431.2800.

Hudson Street Wineries

Dec 20, 5pm, Youngblood & Company. 428 Hudson St, Healdsburg, 707.433.2364.

Jackson Theater

Dec 20, Kyle Craft. Dec 21, Callie Watts. 95 Fifth St, Santa Rosa, 707.576.7765.

Dec 22, 3pm, Sing-Along Messiah with Santa Rosa Symphony League. Sonoma Country Day School, 4400 Day School Place, Santa Rosa, srsymphonyleague.org.

The Big Easy

Lagunitas Tap Room

A’Roma Roasters

Dec 20, Awesome Hotcakes.

Dec 21, Sugar Moon. Dec 22, Funday blues jam with Sean Parnell. 128 American Alley, Petaluma, 707.776.7163.

Coyote Sonoma

Dec 21, Roem Baur. 44F Mill St, Healdsburg, 707.385.9133.

6pm, Howling Coyote Tour. 490 Mendocino Ave #104, Santa Rosa, 707.890.5433.

Main Street Bistro

Dec 19, Eric Wiley. Dec 20, Valtierra Jazz Orchestra. Dec 21, Levi Lloyd Blues Band.

Dec 22, Allways Elvis Blue Christmas Show. 16280 Main St, Guerneville, 707.869.0501.

Murphy’s Irish Pub & Restaurant

Dec 20, the Tonewoods. Dec 21, O & the Riots. Dec 22, 4pm, Halter, O’Hara and friends.

464 First St E, Sonoma, 707.935.0660.

Mystic Theatre & Music Hall

Dec 20, Groundation with the Delirians. Dec 21, Ozomatli with La Misa Negra and Suenatron.

23 Petaluma Blvd N, Petaluma, 707.775.6048.

Occidental Center for the Arts

Dec 21, Cosmic Americana Solstice Dance Laughing Gravy and the Drifting Cowpokes.

3850 Doris Murphy Ct, Occidental, 707.874.9392.

The Phoenix Theater

Dec 19, Evil Moisture with Hobo Sonn and DNZG+RLNZ. 201 Washington St, Petaluma, 707.762.3565.

Redwood Cafe

Dec 19, Sean Parnell & South County. Dec 20, the Sorentinos holiday show. Dec 21, Two Lions Band. Dec 22, Irish jam session.

Dec 23, the Blues Defenders pro jam. 8240 Old Redwood Hwy, Cotati, 707.795.7868.

Reel & Brand

Dec 20, Winter solstice celebration with Coyote & the Tricksters. Dec 21, Sidemen.

401 Grove St, Sonoma, 707.343.0044.

Rio Nido Roadhouse

Dec 19, THUGZ Hippie Holidaze Party. 14540 Canyon 2 Rd, Rio Nido, 707.869.0821.

Rohnert Park-Cotati Library Gallery

Dec 21, 3pm, Santa Rosa Symphony Flute & Guitar Duo. 6250 Lynne Conde Way, Rohnert Park, 707.584.9121.

Sebastopol United Methodist Church

Dec 19, Howling Coyote Tour. Dec 20, Bronze Medal Hopefuls. Dec 21, 2pm, DJ Dino & Cam Mistletoe. Dec 22, Dr Mojo. 1280 N McDowell Blvd, Petaluma, 707.778.8776.

Dec 22, 2pm, the Dome presents “A Gift of Holiday Music”. 707.823.7971. 500 N Main St, Sebastopol, 707.823.7971.

Local Barrel

Dec 20, Rider & Sons. Dec 21, Walt the Dog. 8201

Dec 21, Over the Falls. Dec 22,

Spancky’s Bar

Old Redwood Hwy, Cotati, 707.664.0169.

Dec 21, Moonlight Jazz. 441 Healdsburg Ave, Healdsburg, 707.927.1065.

Starling Bar

Dec 21, John Paul Hodge. 19380 Hwy 12, Sonoma, 707.938.7442.

Twin Oaks Roadhouse Dec 21, Mr Smarty Pants. 5745 Old Redwood Hwy, Penngrove, 707.795.5118.

NAPA Blue Note Napa

Dec 19, Peter Harper. Dec 20, SonoMusette: Music of 20thCentury Paris. 1030 Main St, Napa, 707.880.2300.

Buster’s Southern Barbecue

Dec 22, 2pm, Rob Watson and friends featuring Vernon Black.

1207 Foothill Blvd, Calistoga, 707.942.5605.

Holiday Comedy Show Crushers of Comedy presents a night of surprises. Dec 21, 7pm.

Flamingo Lounge, 2777 Fourth St, Santa Rosa, 707.545.8530.

Steve Bruner

Veteran headlining comedian appears in the winery with special guests. Dec 20, 7pm. $20-$28. Buena Vista Winery, 18000 Old Winery Rd, Sonoma, 800.926.1266.

Dance Lincoln Theater

Dec 21, 2 and 7pm, and Dec 22, 2pm, Napa Regional Dance Company presents “The Nutcracker.” 100 California Dr, Yountville. $35-$45. 707.944.9900.

Luther Burbank Center for the Arts

Ca’ Momi Osteria

Dec 20, La Noche Latina dance party. 1141 First St, Napa, 707.224.6664.

Dec 23, 3pm, Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker. 50 Mark West Springs Rd, Santa Rosa. $35-$85. 707.546.3600.

Downtown Joe’s Brewery & Restaurant

Spreckels Performing Arts Center

Dec 20, Salty Dawgs. Dec 21, the Humdingers. Dec 22, DJ Aurelio. 902 Main St, Napa, 707.258.2337.

Roadhouse 29

Dec 20-22, Santa Rosa Dance Theater presents “The Nutcracker.” 5409 Snyder Lane, Rohnert Park. $25-$31. santarosadancetheater.com.

Dec 20, Greenwaldo. 3020 St Helena Hwy N, St Helena, 707.302.3777.

Events

The Saint

Chanukah at the River

Dec 20, Kenji Yoshida. Dec 21, JourneyDay Rhorer. 1351 Main St, St Helena, 707.302.5130.

Uptown Theatre

Dec 22, Windham Hill’s Winter Solstice. 1350 Third St, Napa, 707.259.0123.

Art Opening Graton Gallery

Dec 18-Jan 19, “Now and Then,” new work by Sandra Rubin and Gage Opdenbrouw highlights the exhibit. Reception, Dec 21 at 2pm. 9048 Graton Rd, Graton. 707.829.8912.

Comedy Donner Christmas Party with Evil Comedy Improv troupe performs

The event features a giant menorah, music, crafts, latkes, a new VR experience and more. Dec 22, 4:30pm. Free.

Water Street Promenade, 100 Petaluma Blvd N, Petaluma, 707.559.8585.

First Street Napa for the Holidays

Put something jolly in your shopping bag this season, get photos with Santa and enjoy caroling and decorative lights.

Sat, Dec 21, noon. Free. First Street Napa, 1300 First St, Napa, 707.257.6800.

Guerneville Holiday Parade of Lights

Old-fashioned parade features floats, antique cars, trucks and more all decorated with Christmas lights. Dec 22, 7pm.

Free. Downtown Guerneville, Main St, Guerneville, 707.869.9000.

Holiday Marketplace at CIA Copia Holiday shopping features

27

seasonal and local offerings from Napa and Bay Area vendors. Sat, Dec 21, noon. CIA at Copia, 500 First St, Napa, 707.967.2530.

Holidays in Yountville The town transforms into a winter wonderland with live entertainment, art shows, shopping, food and wine tours, carriage rides and more. Through Jan 1, 2020. Downtown Yountville, Washington St, Yountville, yountville.com.

A LITTLE BIT GERMAN. A LITTLE BIT ITALIAN. A WHOLE LOT DELICIOUS

Montgomery Village Chanukah Festival

Celebration includes live music, grand menorah lighting, hot latkes, dreidels and more. Dec 22, 4pm. Free. Montgomery Village Shopping Center, 911 Village Court, Santa Rosa, jewishsonoma.com.

Santa Train

The Wine Train turns into an enchanting holiday experience with hot cocoa, freshly baked cookies, games and singalongs. Through Dec 23. $39 and up. Napa Valley Wine Train, 1275 McKinstry St, Napa, 800.427.4124.

Sebastiani Theatre Holiday Open House

Enjoy holiday decorations created by Susan Bellach, with cookies, hot cider and hot chocolate and music by Sean Carscadden. Dec 22, 10am. Free.

Sebastiani Theatre, 476 First St E, Sonoma, 707.996.9756.

Shop Party Craft Fair

Local crafters gather to offer their wares in an intimate gathering. Dec 21, 4pm. Free. 3 Disciples Brewing Taproom, 501 Mendocino Ave, Santa Rosa, 707.978.2459.

Winter Solstice Ritual

Healers and musicians conduct a sound-healing ceremony, with optional cedar-enzyme foot baths. Dec 19, 8am. $15$30. Osmosis Day Spa, 209 Bohemian Hwy, Freestone, 707.823.8231.

Field Trips Holidays Along the Farm Trails

Sonoma County farmers and producers open their barn doors to offer a taste of life on the farm. Maps and info at farmtrails.org. Through Jan 1, 2020. Free. Sonoma County farms, )

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Happy Holidays! taking Christmas Eve and New Years Eve reservations now Call us at 707.526.1229 Lunch & Dinner: Tues-Sun | Brunch & Lunch: Sat & Sun | Happy Hour: 4:30-6pm 1229 N Dutton Ave, Santa Rosa | 707.526.1229 | franchettis.com

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Spicy Vines Tasting Room

holiday skits and games.

Dec 20, 7pm. Arlene Francis Center, 99 Sixth St, Santa Rosa, 707.528.3009.

NORTH BAY BOH EMI A N | DEC E M BE R 1 8-24, 20 19 | BO H E M I AN.COM

28 Calendar ( 26

NORTH POLE-BOUND Families are invited to board the annual Santa Train and enjoy treats and games with

colorful characters, through December in Napa Valley. See events, pg 27.

various locations, Sonoma, 707.837.8896.

Solstice Saunter

Naturalist Carolyn Greene leads an exploration of winter in the park. Dec 22, 10am. $5. Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, 2605 Adobe Canyon Rd, Kenwood, 707.833.5712.

Food & Drink Christmas at Bay View Restaurant Choose from a special threecourse menu. Dec 25. Bay View Restaurant at the Inn at the Tides, 800 Hwy 1, Bodega Bay, 707.875.2751.

Christmas Buffet at Silverado

Partake in a delicious buffet in the grand ballroom.

Reservations required. Dec 25, 12:30pm. $37-$75; kids under 3 are free. Silverado Resort & Spa, 1600 Atlas Peak Rd, Napa, 707.257.0200.

Christmas Eve & Christmas Day Dinner at FARM Gather around the table at FARM for elegantly plated dishes to enjoy with loved

ones. Dec 24-25. Carneros Resort & Spa, 4048 Sonoma Hwy, Napa, 888.400.9000.

Dickens Holiday High Tea

Festive afternoon of high tea celebrates the season in true Victorian style. Dec 22, 12pm. $55. Tudor Rose English Tea Room, 733 Fourth St, Santa Rosa, 707.535.2045.

Holiday Brunch Class

Take your holiday gatherings to the next level with a hands-on class led by chef Frances Wilson.

Dec 22, 10am. $140. Silverado Cooking School, 1552 Silverado Trail, Napa, 707.927.3591.

Mellow Green Solstice Party

Golden State Cider launches its Mellow Green hopped cider with food and music. Dec 21, 5pm. Free. Golden State Cider, 180 Morris St, Suite 150, Sebastopol, 707.331.0125.

wine and food expert Marc Golick. Dec 21. V Sattui Winery, 1111 White Lane, St Helena, 707.963.7774.

For Kids Holiday Gift-Making Workshop Sign up your little elves to make a variety of fun and creative gifts to give for the holidays. Dec 21, 10am-1pm. $25 for Members, $32 for NonMembers. Charles M Schulz Museum, 2301 Hardies Lane, Santa Rosa, 707.579.4452.

Santa’s Workshop Creation stations include cardboard gingerbread houses, sponge-printed Christmas trees and other crafty fun. Dec 20-21, 1pm. $30. Healdsburg Center for the Arts, 130 Plaza St, Healdsburg, 707.431.1970.

Napa Culinary Crawl

Walking food and wine tour features several spots with exclusive bits and sips ready and waiting. Dec 19, 5pm. $40.

Downtown Napa, First Street and Town Center, Napa, donapa.com.

Short-Rib Stew & Cabernet Pairing

Hearty pairing is hosted by

Readings

Petaluma Copperfield’s Books Dec 19, 4pm, Hanukkah Storytime. 140 Kentucky St, Petaluma 707.762.0563.

Theater A Christmas Memory & A Child’s Christmas in Wales Petaluma Readers Theatre’s holiday tradition brings Truman Capote’s early story and Dylan Thomas’ prose poem to life. Dec 21, 7pm and Dec 22, 5pm. $18. Petaluma Historical Library & Museum, 20 Fourth St, Petaluma, petalumareaderstheatre.com.

A Christmas Story: The Musical Sonoma Arts Live presents the new Tony Award-nominated adaptation of the popular holiday movie. Through Dec 22. $28-$42. Sonoma Community Center, 276 E Napa St, Sonoma, 707.938.4626.

Fully Committed Aqus Cafe Dec 21, 7pm, A Night of Protest with Al Haas, featuring local musicians, storytellers and poets. 189 H St, Petaluma 707.778.6060.

Comedy places an out-ofwork actor and his multiple guests at an A-list Manhattan restaurant’s reservation line.

Through Jan 5, 2020. $18$29. 6th Street Playhouse,

52 W Sixth St, Santa Rosa, 707.523.4185.

205 Kentucky St, Petaluma, petalumashakespeare.org.

Le Cirque de Boheme

White Christmas

Old-style circus troupe presents a new show. Through Dec 22. $27-$55. Cornerstone Sonoma, 23570 Arnold Dr, Sonoma, cirquedeboheme.com.

Miracle on 34th Street: The Musical

Apprentice Program of Roustabout Theater presents Irving Berlin’s musical classic.

Dec 20-22. $16-$26. Luther Burbank Center for the Arts, 50 Mark West Springs Rd, Santa Rosa, 707.546.3600.

Heartwarming adaptation of the beloved film features music by the creator of “The Music Man.” Through Dec 22. $25-$40. Lucky Penny Community Arts Center, 1758 Industrial Way, Napa, 707.266.6305.

Willy Wonka

The Mousetrap

Show-stopping musical revue features songs by John Kander and Fred Ebb. Through Jan 5, 2020. $34-$47. Cinnabar Theater, 3333 Petaluma Blvd N, Petaluma, 707.763.8920.

The Seafarer

The BOHEMIAN’s calendar is produced as a service to the community. If you have an item for the calendar, send it to calendar@bohemian. com, or mail it to: NORTH BAY BOHEMIAN, 847 Fifth St, Santa Rosa CA 95404. Inclusion of events in the print edition is at the editor’s discretion. Deadline is two weeks prior to desired publication date.

Curtain Call Theatre presents Agatha Christie’s classic mystery. Dec 22-14. $15-$20.

Russian River Hall, 20347 Hwy 116, Monte Rio, 707.524.8739.

Christmas Eve-set story is about family, Ireland and the power of myth. Through Dec 21. $15-$30. Main Stage West, 104 N Main St, Sebastopol, 707.823.0177.

The Snowman

Petaluma Shakespeare Company brings the animated holiday story to life. Dec 19-21. $10. Hotel Petaluma,

Young Actors Studio presents Roald Dahl’s tale. Dec 20-29.

Luther Burbank Center for the Arts, 50 Mark West Springs Rd, Santa Rosa, 707.546.3600.

The World Goes ’Round

FORCE ME For some fans, the end of

Star Wars is a new beginning.

Spoilers ‘Star Wars’ is ‘Risky Business’

BY DAEDALUS HOWELL

T

he latest Star Wars movie drops this week and the internet is abuzz with speculation about how The Rise of Skywalker will end the nine-part family space saga.

Given the sense of ownership fans have for the franchise, the producers might consider including a fan or two in one of their future films. Someone, say, like me. Fortunately, I’ve written some notes for my Star Wars spin-off.

FADE IN: A long time ago, in a pipe dream about 15 minutes ago...

Anyone who’d pitch a Star Wars flick based on themselves would hail from the oilier side of the galaxy. I accept this. There you’ll find me as Lando Calrissian’s PR guy, having discredited myself as a reporter at the Dagobah Post Dispatch (we’ll get back to that). I’d have my own humanoid protocol droid (“E-3PO,” the snarky silver one from The Empire Strikes Back) and maybe a pet Ewok with a drinking problem (for comic relief).

Things are copasetic, that is until house-sitting Lando’s bachelor pad gets out of hand. Let’s just say a small house party for a couple of hundred close friends turns into

mayhem when some Wookies crash it. Meanwhile, the ravishing adopted daughter of Grand Moff Tarkin, makes off with my boss’s prized Kyber Crystal (it enables practitioners of either side of the Force to raise the dead). But we don’t know this yet. No one knows this, which is why it’s just sitting on Lando’s fireplace mantle.

So, I’m basically screwed when the boss comes back, unless … She calls.

Tarkin’s daughter is blackmailing me for the crystal. She agrees to meet me and my droid at some fancy Coruscant bar to discuss a price. She brings her partner in crime, Boba Fett.

Our negotiations don’t go well (Fett just nods his head a lot and shoots stuff). E3 panics and farts a smoke bomb. We run. They follow. We get in the Millennium Falcon (Lando left the keys) and they get into Fett’s ship.

Space chase!

E3 and I crash Lando’s beloved Falcon on some desert shithole called Tatooine. There, we evade capture by disguising ourselves as Jawas.

“Aren’t you a little tall for a Jawa?” asks a plucky gun moll we meet at a nightclub while on the lam (Note: At some point, Fett should fall into the Sarlacc Pit again and say “Deja vu all over again!”).

I try to light the gun moll’s hookah (chivalry’s not dead) but learn that I’m messing up her investigation—it turns out she’s an undercover space cop. And probably a princess, too.

BUT NOT MY SISTER. She’s been tracing a conspiracy to bring Darth Vader back from the dead. And they need the Kyber Crystal. Hijinks ensue and I make the Kessel Run in 11 parsecs (that’s right, 11—suck it, Solo) and I blow up the third Death Star (“Third time’s the charm”) and then I kill the resurrected Darth Vader with—get this—Ben Kenobi’s lightsaber (the irony!) and then the gun moll tells me—wait for it—the lightsaber was her dad’s. Chills, man.

By the end of this adventure they’ve shined up E3 and repaired the Falcon, my Ewok gets sober and I put the Kyber Crystal back on the mantle just as Lando opens the door. “Why, you slimy, double-crossing, no-good swindler,” he says, then gives me a big hug. The Force is with me. Always.

NO RTH BAY BO H E M I AN | D EC E M BE R 1 8-24, 2019 | BOH EMI A N.COM

John Moeses Bauan

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Dec 20 8:30, Dec 21 8:30, Dec 22 7:00

Santa & Mrs. Claus 2:00–4:00 Dec 22 Tim Cain’s “Family Christmas Sing Along” 4:00–5:00 Sun

Tue

Gospel Christmas Eve

Dec 24 Dinner Show

Sons of the Soul Revivers 7:00

Celebrate the “High Holidays” Dec 27 with Terry Haggerty & Safety Meeting Fri

7:30 ⁄ No Cover

Sat

“Year End Beatle Fest” Dec 28 & Sun

The Sun Kings

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Dec 29 “The Dec 28, 8:30 & Dec 29, 7:00 Tue

Our Annual Dec 31 New Year’s Eve Party with

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30

Jonah Raskin

NORTH BAY BOH EMI A N | DEC E M BE R 1 8-24, 20 19 | BO H E M I AN.COM

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BY JONAH RASKIN

H

is real name is Mitchell Thompson, but I know him as Mitcho. He’s a gentle soul who played a big role in creating Sebastopol’s first dispensary, Peace in Medicine. This spring, he’ll be an even bigger presence in the industry when he launches his new company, Phytomagic (www. phytomagic.com), which will make organic tinctures and salves in small batches using the best buds, along with other healing herbs and flowers.

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Sarah Schrader, the co-chair of the local chapter of Americans for Safe Access (ASA), says, “Mitcho is the Martha Stewart of our industry and one of the most knowledgeable

people about the synergy of herbs.”

Mitcho calls his concoctions “cannacentric.” Indeed, weed is at the center of his world.

“Phyto is Latin and means plant,” he says. “We don’t know exactly how THC and CBD work in the human body, but they do. That’s the magic of the marijuana plant.”

In San Francisco, Mitcho used weed therapeutically to rescue homeless kids. One of those kids, Robert Jacob, later founded Peace in Medicine and was the first person from the medical marijuana industry to become the mayor of an American city. Mitcho worked one-on-one with Peace in Medicine patients to help them figure out remedies that worked best. “It wasn’t necessarily cannabis,” he says. “We were trying to help, not make a ton of money.”

This afternoon, on the plaza in Sebastopol, Mitcho remembers his boyhood in Burbank, where he was born and raised and embarked upon his career as a Disney extra. He might have gone on to become a movie star, but other magical kingdoms beckoned. He smoked his first joint at 13, studied the herb and realized that the feds were lying about it. “I remember telling my dad that on the subject of marijuana the government lost its credibility,” he says.

From the time he was a teenager, and all through the decade of Reagan’s Drug War, he believed weed had the potential to bring peace. He still does. His hope for 2020 is that the U.S will decriminalize and legalize weed on the federal level.

“It’s time to stop arresting and jailing people for possession of marijuana, and also time that we’re allowed to put our money in banks,” he says.

In the decade ahead he wants more events where weedsters can use the herb legally in public.

“When tourists arrive in Sonoma from states where it’s still illegal, they can’t believe the availability here,” he says. “When you travel to those places you’re made to feel like weed is something dirty. Thankfully, that’s not us.”

Jonah Raskin is the author of ‘Dark Day, Dark Night: A Marijuana Murder Mystery.’

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ARIES (March 21-April 19): The English word "hubris" means prideful, exaggerated self-assurance.

In the HBO TV series *Rome*, the ancient Roman politician and general Mark Antony says to his boss Julius Caesar, "I'm glad you're so confident. Some would call it hubris." Caesar has a snappy comeback: "It's only hubris if I fail." I'm tempted to dare you to use you that as one of your mottoes in 2020, Aries.

I have a rather expansive vision of your capacity to accomplish great things during the coming months.

And I also think that one key to your triumphs and breakthroughs will be your determination to cultivate a well-honed aplomb, even audacity.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): For years I've

lived in a house bordering a wetland, and I've come to love that ecosystem more than any other. While communing with reeds and herons and muddy water, my favorite poet has been Taurus-born Lorine Niedecker, who wrote about marshes with supreme artistry. Until the age of 60, her poetic output was less than abundant because she had to earn a meager living by cleaning hospital floors.

Then, due to a fortuitous shift in circumstances, she was able to leave that job and devote more time to what she loved most and did best. With Niedecker's breakthrough as our inspiration, I propose that we do all we can, you and I, as we conspire to make 2020 the year you devote more time to the activity that you love most and do best.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In the English language, the prefix "re" comes at the beginning of many words with potent transformational meaning: reinvent; redeem; rediscover; release; relieve; redesign; resurrect; rearrange; reconstruct; reform; reanimate; reawaken; regain. I hope you'll put words like those at the top of your priority list in 2020. If you hope to take maximum advantage of the cosmic currents, it'll be a year of revival, realignment, and restoration.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): I won't be surprised if you're enamored and amorous more than usual in 2020. I suspect you will experience delight and enchantment at an elevated rate. The intensity and depth of the feelings that flow through you may break all your previous records. Is that going to be a problem? I suppose it could be if you worry that the profuse flows of tenderness and affection will render you weak and vulnerable. But if you're willing and eager to interpret your extra sensitivity as a superpower, that's probably what it will be.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Does the word "spirit" mean anything to you? Or are you numb to it? Has it come to seem virtually meaningless—a foggy abstraction used carelessly by millions of people to express sentimental beliefs and avoid clear thinking?

In accordance with astrological omens, I'll ask you to create a sturdier and more vigorous definition of "spirit" for your practical use in 2020. For instance, you might decide that "spirit" refers to the life force that launches you out of bed each morning and motivates you to keep transforming yourself into the ever-more beautiful soul you want to become.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): "There are people who take the heart out of you, and there are people who put it back," wrote author Charles de Lint. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, your heart will encounter far more of the latter than the former types of people in 2020. There may be one wrangler who tries to take the heart out of you, but there will be an array of nurturers who will strive to keep the heart in you—as well as boosters and builders who will add even more heart.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Composer Igor Stravinsky was born a Russian citizen, but later in life became a French citizen, and still later took on American citizenship. If you have had any similar predilections, Libra, I'm guessing they won't be in play during 2020. My prediction is that you will develop a more robust sense of where you belong than ever before. Any uncertainties you'd had about where your true power spot lies will dissipate.

Questions you've harbored about the nature of home will be answered. With flair and satisfaction, you'll resolve long-running riddles about home and community.

31

BY ROB BREZSNY

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): "Friendship is a

very taxing and arduous form of leisure activity," wrote philosopher and educator Mortimer Adler.

He was exaggerating a bit for comic effect, but he was basically correct. We all must mobilize a great deal of intelligence and hard work to initiate new friendships and maintain existing friendships.

But I have some very good news about how these activities will play out for you in 2020, Scorpio. I expect that your knack for practicing the art of friendship will be at an all-time high. I also believe that your close alliances will be especially gratifying and useful for you. You'll be well-rewarded for your skill and care at cultivating rapport.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In 1933,

Sagittarian artist Diego Rivera was commissioned to paint a huge mural in one of the famous Rockefeller buildings in New York City. His patrons didn't realize he was planning to include a controversial portrait of former Soviet Communist leader Vladimir Lenin.

When the deed was done, they ordered him to remove it. When he refused, they ushered him out and destroyed the whole mural. As a result, Rivera also lost another commission to create art at the Chicago World's Fair. In any other year, Sagittarius, I might encourage you to be as idealistic as Rivera.

I'd invite you to place artistic integrity over financial considerations. But I'm less inclined to advise that in 2020. I think it may serve you to be unusually pragmatic. At least consider leaving Lenin out of your murals.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): "People mistake their limitations for high standards," wrote Capricorn author Jean Toomer. In my astrological opinion, it's crucial that you avoid doing that in 2020. Why? First, I'm quite sure that you will have considerable power to shed and transcend at least some of your limitations. For best results, you can't afford to deceive yourself into thinking that those limitations are high standards. Secondly, Capricorn, you will have good reasons and a substantial ability to raise your standards higher than they've ever been. So you definitely don't want to confuse high standards with limitations.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Historians once thought that 14th-century Englishmen were the first humans to track the rhythms of the planet Jupiter using the complicated mathematics known as calculus. But in 2015, researchers discovered that Babylonians had done it 1400 years before the Englishmen. Why was Jupiter's behavior so important to those ancient people? They were astrologers! They believed the planet's movements were correlated with practical events on earth, like the weather, river levels, and grain harvests. I think that this correction in the origin story of tracking Jupiter's rhythms will be a useful metaphor for you in 2020. It's likely you will come to understand your past in ways that are different from what you've believed up until now. Your old tales will change.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): China produces

the most apples in the world. The United States is second. That wasn't always true. When Europeans first reached the shores of the New World, crab apple was the only apple species that grew natively.

But the invaders planted other varieties that they brought with them. They also imported the key to all future proliferation: honeybees, champion pollinators, which were previously absent from the land that many indigenous people called Turtle Island. I see 2020 as a time for you to accomplish the equivalent, in your own sphere, of getting the pollination you need. What are the fertilizing influences that will help you accomplish your goals?

Go to REALASTROLOGY.COM to check out Rob Brezsny’s Expanded Weekly Audio Horoscopes and Daily Text Message Horoscopes. Audio horoscopes are also available by phone at 1.877.873.4888.

NO RTH BAY BO H E M I AN | D EC E M BE R 1 8-24, 2019 | BOH EMI A N.COM

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