“In the year 2525, if man is still alive
If woman can survive, they may find …”
One-hit wonders Zager and Evans, 1969
The auspicious year 2025 starts not with a bang, but a hearing: about the Transition to District Elections policy, at the City Council meeting on Monday, Jan 6. Whatever one may think of splitting sweet home Healdsburg into four or five or six or seven election districts, it’s going to happen. So far it hasn’t been a pretty process, yet it offers an opportunity for residents, workers and businesses to take a close look at what Healdsburg, well, looks like.
The first major event that comes our way in 2025 is the annual Lake Sonoma Steelhead Festival, on Saturday, Feb. 8. This one-day science fair of all things steelhead (and their allies, anadromous and otherwise), draws about 10,000 people on its single day of exhibitions and activities to the Milt Brandt Visitors Center. The festival started over 20 years ago in Healdsburg, but soon outgrew the Plaza and went to the source, the Congressman Don Clausen Fish Hatchery at Lake Sonoma.
The next weekend, Feb. 14-17, brings the Cloverdale Citrus Fair, one of the oldest annual harvest fairs in the state. It offers theme-park rides, plenty of carnival-type vendors, a wine competition, live music and other features. It also usually rains, so bring an umbrella for the big day, Saturday, Feb. 15. Details at cloverdalecitrusfair.org.
March 17 brings the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade (7am) and Celtic Concert that same afternoon. The concert has been a midday event thus far, but the council encouraged the Community Services Department to consider moving it to the afternoon to reduce the impact on the Plaza. Stay tuned for the final March 17 plans.
Earth Day has lately been recognized in Healdsburg by the Climate Fest, which drew some 2,500 people to the Plaza on April 21 last year. However, it’s not going to happen in 2025: The all-volunteer Climate Action Healdsburg has not been able to dig deep enough into the organization to find the energy or talent to produce it again this year.
In May, expect the return of the Giro Vigneti, a semiannual bike tour sponsored by Sunrise Rotary. The May 17 tour consists of four routes ranging from 20 to 100 miles, beginning and ending at Bacchus Landing. Funds raised go to scholarships for local students as well as community and environmental projects. More information is expected soon.
The Wine Year
The Healdsburg-area wine tourism partners are launching into the new year with their intoxicating enthusiasm. For Wine Road it starts this month with Winter WINEland (emphasis unnecessary), Jan. 18-19. Next it’s Wine Trail, Feb. 15, then Barrel Tasting Weekend, March 1-2. Their annual Food & Wine Affair follows on Nov. 1-2 to close out the Wine Road year.
The alternately celebrated and tolerated Healdsburg Wine & Food Experience comes back to town the weekend of May 18, again in the West Plaza Parking lot but hopefully for the last time. There’s high anticipation for Healdsburg event planners to add the Foley Family Community Pavilion to the product line later in 2025.
Come autumn, the tasting experience moves onto Plaza Park itself for Healdsburg Crush, a Boys & Girls Club fundraiser returning on Oct. 13.
City Calendar
“Special events are an important part of the Healdsburg community,” said Parks Director Matt Milde at a recent City Council meeting. “City and City-cosponsored events provide an opportunity to come together, celebrate, enjoy, be entertained and learn.” He estimated an attendance of over 150,000 people at local events, with almost as many “event days” as there are days in a calendar year.
Four new or anted-up Partner events were presented by Milde, including doubling the number of Vamos al Tianguis de Healdsburg from four to eight times this coming summer. The pop-up street market, held last year at the City Hall north parking lot, proved to be a surprise hit with the city as well as the community. It will return there again in 2025 every second Saturday from May to December, with a potential move to the Foley Family Community Pavilion in 2026.
Corazón Healdsburg’s Pachanga & Art event will also return. The first event was held in September as a themed Art After Dark event that highlighted the work of local art grant recipients, in celebration of Latin Heritage Month. The second Pachanga takes place on Sept. 6.
Other key upcoming events on the city calendar include the annual Healdsburg Jazz Festival June 13-22 (plus a new Winter Festival starting this month, Jan. 30 to Feb. 2); the 4th of July Celebration which will probably include fireworks (date TBD); a possible Shakespeare in the Park play in August; the Healdsburg Arts Festival in September; Dia de Muertos on Oct. 26; as well as the Thanksgiving Healdsburg Turkey Trot and Merry Healdsburg on Dec. 5, 2025.
These and other dates have been added to the Master Calendar—which can be found online at healdsburg.gov/901/Special-Events.
