New Year’s Lights Shine on Local Stages
here’s quite the variety of live theater from which to choose to warm our hearts and minds, and to escape the North Bay’s cold winter nights. Harry Duke points out a few shows worth seeing...
‘Top o’ the Morning to You!’ Sunday’s Pre-Dawn Parade
For some reason, Healdsburg has become known for its St. Patrick’s Day parade. If it’s not the best, then certainly it’s the earliest. Starting at 6am, give or take—that’s pretty early.
For the past 29 years or so, early risers (or possibly those who stay...
Healdsburg Happenings, April 10-18
Jendala Day and Other Events: On behalf of the Utsch family and her friends, celebrate the life, art and positivity of Jen “Jendala” Utsch, long an energy force in Healdsburg. Includes a ceremony at 1pm in the garden and performances by Todd Bugbee’s Dead Roses. From noon to 3:30pm at Villa Chanticleer.
BloodRoot Ramble: Concert With a Cause
Healdsburg is where you find airy and coastal-feeling tasting rooms and quaint vineyards spanning the slopes of Sonoma County. In contrast, The Ramble is a sexy, loud and grungy indie-rock music festival with bold orangey-red colorways and skull motifs throughout the marketing. The two shouldn’t mix, but they do at the Ramble...
Holiday Happenings, Dec. 25-Jan. 2
“Our Favorite Toys” features toys and photos of the children who loved them. Museum visitors will delight in seeing barbies, Teddy bears, games, stuffed animals, toy trucks and watching the Christmas train toot through town.
Mill District Hotel Gets the Buzzsaw Treatment
The Mill District in Healdsburg is a 9.6-acre development featuring 43 luxury condominiums and a 53-key hotel, but the design of the hotel was met with mixed reviews from the Planning Commission.
Special Olympics Torch Travels Through Town
Early on the morning of the longest day of the year, June 21, residents of Cloverdale noticed an unusual police escort for some runners winding through town. An hour and a half later, at 8:30am, they reached Healdsburg, where they were also granted an...
Redistricting Gets Started, Council Selects Mitchell as New Mayor
While the role of the mayor in Healdsburg is largely ceremonial—to chair meetings, issue proclamations and be the city’s public face—it is not entirely so. With the imminent elimination of the at-large election of City Council members to accord with the 2002 California Voting Rights Act, the role of the mayor could become much more important...
Swamp sisters in Southern Gothic play
Reviewer Harry Duke last spent time with The Sugar Bean Sisters eight years ago at a production by the Spreckels Theatre Company in Rohnert Park. His general reaction at the time was that it was a very strange show. If anything, now it's stranger.
H’Burg Now Top Wine Town
Three quarters of Sonoma County’s best wine lists can be found in Healdsburg, according to the industry’s leading magazine.
Six Healdsburg restaurants were recognized for their wine lists, garnering 2022 Wine Spectator Restaurant Awards. Their names are familiar, and perhaps not surprising: Dry Creek Kitchen...
Arts & Entertainment
Ramble returns to Healdsburg June 6
What began with the Noah and Kelly Dorrance's passion for music and wine has grown into an annual festival that brings people together through a shared commitment to making a difference in the world.






















