Here are some highlighted stories from recent ‘Healdsburg Today’ e-blasts.
A childcare center and preschool just opened in town. It’s an outpost of the YWCA at the Healdsburg Community Center—the org’s sixth location in Sonoma County, and the first to accept infants. “The center offers year-round care, Monday through Friday, from 7:30am to 5:30pm, with half-day options available from 9am to 12pm,” the city says. “Don’t delay! Email en********@yw****.org to secure your child’s spot in this nurturing and enriching program.”
Healdsburg is also getting a new dance studio. And it’s inside a barn at a flower farm! A local group called the Healdsburg Dance Collective, founded by four ex-pro dancers early last year, is building out its own physical space. Sounds like a pretty idyllic setup: The studio will be located inside a converted barn on the Dragonfly Farm & Floral property on Westside Road, everyone’s favorite local flower emporium. The collective is planning a big “studio reveal” and fundraising event to help with finishing touches on Sept. 7 at the farm. Attendees are encouraged to “wear their favorite twirly, sparkly dance wear and try out their own moves in the new studio.”
Our new downtown movie theater might not be far off, either. At last, construction kicked off this month on the True West Film Center near the plaza, behind the old Bear Republic brewpub space. The two-story theater, which will show a mix of artsy and mainstream films on three screens, is reportedly now slated to open sometime next year. “This is the start of more than just a movie theater—this is a revolution,” the True West team writes on Facebook. Showbiz, baby!
The Healdsburg Museum’s latest exhibit is an ode to Fitch Mountain. The exhibit—called “Trails to Fitch Mountain: The Land. The People. The River.”—takes a deep and interactive dive into the history, culture and nature that makes our little mountain so magical. Check it out through early October. And alongside it, another new exhibit celebrates the 135th anniversary of the Garrett Ace Hardware store on Healdsburg Avenue. (FYI, Garrett’s will also host a customer appreciation party on Aug. 31, to close out its anniversary month.)
West Side School’s viral “Peptoc” project is now a book. Remember that inspirational hotline, set up by local art teachers Jessica Martin and Asherah Weiss, that we could call to hear words of encouragement from students at West Side Elementary in rural Healdsburg? Organizers say the hotline has received more than 17 million calls since it was set up last year. Peptoc also grew into a poster-making project, where the students drew pick-me-up messages and hung them around town—and now, their teachers have published an actual book, filled with similar messages submitted by kids across the globe. It’s called You Are Amazing Like a Rocket: Pep Talks for Everyone, From Young People Around the World. They’ll show it off at a book event at the Copperfield’s in Santa Rosa at 7pm on Aug. 30. Oh, and for anyone having a rough day, the West Side hotline is still live and as delightful as ever: 707-8PEPTOC.
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