Sonoma County towns’ neighborhood news

CLOVERDALE

Seeking donated ?items for veterans

Sons of the American Legion Squadron No. 293 from Cloverdale will join squadrons from Healdsburg and Napa at the Veterans Home of California-Yountville on Dec. 11, a Friday, for their second annual Christmas barbecue and gift-giving celebration.

Donations for the veterans of new and unopened packages of basic-need items, such as batteries, postage stamps, stationery, pajama bottoms, toothbrushes and toothpaste, can be dropped off at Josie’s Star Café, 1123 S. Cloverdale Blvd., in the Furber Ranch Plaza.

CLOVERDALE

Local grower honored ?by trade magazine

Vineyard & Winery Management magazine recently named Ulises Valdez, of Valdez & Sons Vineyard Management and Valdez Family Winery, as one of the Top 20 Most Admired Grape Growers in North America.

A few years ago, Cloverdale resident Nina Sibert was visiting Washington, D.C. with her daughter. While waiting in line to tour the White House, one of the guards asked where they were from. When she told him Sonoma County, California, he said, “Well, you must know Ulises Valdez. His wine was served here last week.”

Sibert was beside herself and told him she not only knew Ulises Valdez, but they even lived in the same small town.

SONOMA

Choral group plans Christmas concert

The 15-member MusicWorks!Sonoma choral group returns to St. Francis Solano Church for a holiday concert featuring traditional carols and new musical stylings.

“Christmas in Sonoma” begins at 7 p.m. Dec. 13, a Sunday, at the church, which is located at the corner of West Napa Street and Third Street West. Admission is free, with goodwill offerings accepted.

James Griewe serves as artistic director, with John Simon as accompanist.

The holiday event will feature Bay Area professional flutist Judy Coe as guest artist. The guest performers are music students under the direction of teachers Carolyn Niehaus of Altimira and Adele Harrison middle schools and Casey Jones of Sonoma Valley High School.

Established in 2011, the group has assisted numerous nonprofit organizations with fundraising efforts, both performing for free and donating goodwill offerings to local charities.

The group’s efforts have helped raise more than $100,000 for local nonprofits, including the Sonoma Moose Lodge, Kiwanis and Voice Our Independent Choices for Emancipation Services (VOICES).

Its diverse repertoire includes sacred, contemporary, gospel and tunes from the Great American Songbook. For more information, visit the Facebook page of MusicWorks!/Sonoma.

WINDSOR

Council approves?new public artworks

The Windsor Town Council has approved two sculptures that will be installed in January in the roundabouts on Old Redwood Highway.

“The Offering” by Cazadero artist Bruce Johnson consists of a giant copper boulder resting on a redwood tripod. The 14-foot sculpture has a 14-by-14-foot base. It was on display in Oakland in 2013-14, and its new home will be the roundabout at Old Redwood Highway and Market Street.

“Hyper-Conical Pic-Nic Pyramid” by Canadian artist Claude Boullevraye De Passille is a multi-level, 10-foot-tall, 19-foot-wide circular sculpture comprising a series of picnic tables and benches that will be fabricated in Sonoma County and installed by local labor. The color scheme has not been determined.

Windsor’s Public Art Advisory Committee, formed in February, called for two public art entries that express the theme “Art is Energizing the Community.” The theme was inspired by artistic tree-shaped wind turbines that were installed in Paris.

The PAAC received 152 individual art entries, 88 of which were withdrawn by the artist or disqualified for not meeting the theme or submission criteria. Sixty-four pieces were than rated with scores of 1-7 by the committee, and 14 of pieces were selected as finalists. The two sculptures recommended by the PAAC and approved by the Town Council on Nov. 18 were among the final Top 10.

The plan is for the sculptures to remain at the 20-foot-wide roundabouts until July 2017, but they could possibly remain longer. Each piece is valued at $75,000, and the artists are receiving a $2,500 stipend to display the pieces.

The Town Council unanimously approved Bruce Johnson’s “The Offering” sculpture, but Councilman Dominic Foppoli voted against the “Hyper-Conical Pic-Nic Pyramid.”

“I don’t see where it exactly fits Windsor,” Foppoli said.

Mayor Bruce Okrepkie effusively approved of “The Offering,” calling it a bold redwood sculpture that represents Windsor itself.

Councilwoman Debora Fudge noted the town has been posting signs proclaiming Windsor as a fun, playful city.

“What’s more playful than a round, colorful picnic bench on your street?” Fudge asked. “We haven’t done anything this fun in a very long time.”

Photos of the sculptures are available at the town website under the Town Council’s Nov. 18 meeting agenda.

WINDSOR

Many ways to ?celebrate the season

Windsor’s holiday celebration begins this afternoon with the decoration of 200 holiday trees in the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree Grove at the Town Green. The trees, most with themes, were purchased by individuals, students, businesses, sponsors and community groups.

This is the first year that the Windsor Parks and Recreation Foundation, a nonprofit organization doing business as People4Parks, organized the event. Thousands of people come to Windsor in December to enjoy the festive ambiance of the trees and a ride around the Town Green on a horse-drawn carriage.

Volunteers unloaded the one-quarter-size wine barrels, attached tree stands and strung electric lighting in the grove on Nov. 21, and installed the trees on Saturday . The trees will remain on the Town Green until Jan. 2.

This year’s celebration includes Fun Friday Nights, set for 5-7 p.m. through Dec. 18, with live music by the Windsor High School Jazz Band on Friday, the Memory Lane Trio on Dec. 11 and the Vinyl Quartet and Memory Lane Trio on Dec. 18.

Kids make “Peanuts” holiday cards on Friday and “Peanuts” ornaments on Dec. 18. Snoopy and Charlie Brown visit the Town Green on Dec. 11, when kids will decorate Snoopy’s dog house. The kids crafts, mulled cider and treats are courtesy of the Windsor Certified Farmers Market.

The television movie “A Charlie Brown Christmas” will be shown at 7 p.m. Dec. 18 in the Huerta Gymnasium at the Green.

Old Downtown Windsor scavenger hunts for all ages are scheduled for next weekend and the weekends of Dec. 12-13 and Dec. 19-20.

The Town of Windsor’s Holiday Celebration on the Town Green is 5-8 p.m. Thursday. Windsor school children present a holiday music concert 5-7 p.m. The tree lighting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Horse-drawn carriage rides are $3, Jingle Bell wagon rides are $1 and a ride on the Polar Express train in the Huerta Gymnasium is $1.

The gym also hosts the Windsor Senior Center’s See’s Candy fundraising sale, gingerbread cookie decorating, crafts workshop and photos with Santa for $8. Children can mail their letters to Santa in “Santa’s special mailbox” next to the Central Pavilion. Postage and return address are required for North Pole delivery.

The Windsor Fire Protection District will hold the Marv Stubbs Memorial Toy Drive on Thursday. Take unwrapped toys to the fire truck at McClelland Drive and Honsa Avenue.

Towns correspondents