Mid-summer festivities abound. Send your summer news items to IDlewood 3…” at [email protected]. “Hedda Healdsburg” wants to know all.
There was hoopla and ooh-la-la on July 14, as our farmers’ market celebrated its 40th anniversary, and Costeaux French Bakery observed Bastille Day. The market offered shoppers a choice of yummy chocolate or carrot cake, champagne and cider to mark the occasion.
Music wafted through the stalls, mingling with the scents of basil, berries and peaches. Mr. Healdsburg (in perpetuity) Bob Baker created whimsical balloon animals for the kids. One corridor was reserved for the Sonoma County Traveling Fair, a reminder that the county fair begins on August 2. They had free popcorn and mini-snow cones, an over-sized coloring board, games and animals from Goldridge 4-H in Sebastopol. Human little ones seemed to love the other little ones: bunnies and chickens and Suffolk sheep.
Around the corner, Costeaux held its annual, lively Bastille Day party. A trio of saucy can-can dancers performed to the traditional Galop Infernal song. On the outside patio, the duo Due Zighi Baci performed les chansons Françaises. Children (and adults) could create decorated Eiffel Tower cookies. The day’s special menu included Vichyssoise, escargots à la Bourguignonne and pommes frites. The pop of champagne corks added to the atmosphere.
The Boy Scout’s annual pancake breakfast was a delicious start to the Fourth of July. Held at the Villa Annex, the line of hungry diners wound down the hill past the main Villa and scouts served coffee to the waiting crowd. A mini-campsite was set up at the entrance and Uncle Sam (aka Kip Miller) greeted guests inside. Assistant senior patrol leader Massimo Tuscany commented that there were a lot of people in attendance. “We’re thankful for the people who came and supported us,” he said.
Other scouts were bustling around, serving, setting up and cleaning. Diner Barbara Thomas commented, “The scouts are so polite and helpful. They make the event what it is.” Assistant Scoutmaster Jasper Carter said, “It takes a lot of volunteers and parents to make it work.” Last year they served about 1,000 people and were on course to serve at least that number. Observing the long lines, he suggested that with the holiday in the middle of the week, more residents probably stayed in town and came to the event. “And as the community grows, so do we,” he added.
A display table, complete with vintage 1942 and 1948 scouting handbooks, flags and canteen, had a sign-up sheet for Troop 21 alumni. Anyone who had ever been a member was invited to check in.
If you had room for pie after the pancakes, you were at the Sunrise Rotary’s Kids’ Parade and Duck Dash in the Plaza later in the day. Costeaux baked a six-foot round apple pie for the spirited crowd. Besides pie, there was free ice cream, compliments of Umpqua Bank, and hot dogs courtesy of the Rotarians. The Pacific Coast Air Museum had a Blue Angels F-4 Phantom cockpit simulator. A bouncy house, face painting and games kept the younger set amused.
The kiddy parade brought out a few Ladies Liberty, Uncle Sam, red-white-blue decorated bikes, scooters and wagons, and even a Ben Franklin with kite. Yellow duckies raced down a flume in a contest that offered prizes for the fastest ducks. The community band performed patriotic Sousa songs and up-tempo tunes.
In keeping with celebrations, it’s always important to acknowledge milestones, yes? So, congratulations to Chris and Lanny Matson, who recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. You may recall that the Matsons owned Latson’s Paints on Center Street and The Irish Rose Inn on Dry Creek Road.
We’re in vogue, really. Healdsburg was mentioned in Vogue.com. It called us the “… Next California Culinary Destination.” The article made note of local hotels and restaurants and said that we are “bustling with creative culinary energy” and “taking the food scene by storm.” (They didn’t mention the Boy Scout pancake breakfast, though.)
And the town got a nod on the Today Show, when a OneRepublic music fan, Jennifer, had her photo taken with the band on stage in New York. She related how they performed in Healdsburg back in 2007 (and she had the pic to prove it).
Marie Butler is a freelance writer and a full time Healdsburg resident for over 30 years. Growing up, she spent delightful summers at her family’s Del Rio Woods home and had an Idlewood phone number. She is the author of “Herbie – A Toy’s Adventures in Healdsburg,” and various articles about our area, including the recent “Healdsburg, bikers and bears” (Healdsburg Tribune, June 7, 2018).
