🌱 Big Funds For Farm Program + New Mural Downtown + Kids Summer Camps

Good day, people of Healdsburg! I'm back in your inbox today, per usual, to get you up to speed on everything you need to know about what's happening in town. Here we go...

First, your daily weather:

• Monday: Sunny and windy. High: 80 Low: 50.
• Tuesday: More sun, more wind. High: 87 Low: 54.

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Air over Healdsburg:

Here are the top 3 stories today in Healdsburg:

1. Healdsburg nonprofit Farm to Pantry, which collects leftover produce from local farms and delivers it to those in need, says they just got a $1.4 million government grant to support their "Growing the Table" program. Here's how the program works, according to the org's director, Duskie Estes: "We are paying farmers who ‘farm right’ (for the long term and with care for our earth) market prices for the food we give to our hungry recipients. It keeps them in business, no food goes wasted and food-insecure families get fed amazing, nutritious local produce — it’s a WIN, WIN, WIN for our community!" This specific initiative was launched in 2020, the org says, but had been hurting for funds recently. With this new grant, Farm to Pantry "will be able to scale the program back up to its original proportions of 300 boxes per week for 2 ½ years, meaning 39,000 families will receive boxes, the equivalent of 2.3 million servings of premium local produce," according to organizers. The funds reportedly come from a big federal COVID-19 relief bill distributed by Sonoma County officials to local orgs last month. (Inbox & Farm to Pantry)
2. Did anyone spot the pack of more than 50 sunset-colored cyclists riding along Healdsburg's rural roads over the weekend? They were part a fundraiser held by Velo & Vines, now in its eighth year, to raise money for sick kids "whose family’s insurance doesn’t cover or fully cover their medical expenses."And raise money they did — to the tune of $185,000, according to the Press Democrat. Participants each rode between 30 and 62 miles Saturday. Here's how all that pedaling translated to funds: "Cyclists, who paid $100 to enter, got to attend all-inclusive festivities following the ride and received a 2022 Velo & Vines T-shirt. The individual cyclists also raised funds, and those who raised over $1,000 were invited to a pre-ride social event Friday." Now, "the money raised Saturday will go to fund grants of $2,000 to $10,000 for children in Northern California," the PD reports — including 7-year-old Liam Luong of Santa Rosa, who just "received a grant to fund a surgery related to his diagnosis of pneumococcal pneumonia." Cheers to that. (Press Democrat; paywall)
3. Update on the ongoing campaign by local farmworkers and their advocates to demand more wildfire protections from winery bosses, led by an organization called North Bay Jobs for Justice. Around 80 of them showed up to the Sonoma County Department of Emergency Management office last week, according to the PD, to demand more inclusion in the county's "redevelopment of a local policy that would determine when vineyard owners and other employers can bring workers into evacuated areas threatened by wildfire or other natural disasters." This new policy may include updates to the "ag pass" rule that allows winery workers to enter live evacuation zones and keep working. “Workers are feeling frustrated that they are on the front lines and are the most impacted by any potential policy but have not been included this entire year in developing this policy,” a North Bay Jobs for Justice reps. After multiple canceled community input sessions, the county's Board of Supervisors is reportedly planning to "hold a workshop during its July 19 public board meeting to discuss the policy." (Press Democrat & North Bay Business Journal; paywall)

Today and tomorrow in Healdsburg:

Monday, June 13

• Summer Art Camp for Kids Aged 6-9 at the Healdsburg Center for the Arts: "Multiples: Printmaking, Stamping and Stenciling" (June 13-16, 8:30AM-12PM)
• Summer Art Camp for Kids Aged 3-6 at the Healdsburg Center for the Arts: "Eco Garden Art" (June 13-16, 9AM-12PM)
• "Hoop It Up" Basketball Camp at the Healdsburg Community Center (June 13-17, 9AM-3PM)
• Monarch Project: Help Paint Butterfly Mural at Black Oak Coffee (June 13-July 1, 10AM-5PM)
• Week 1 of Summer Art Camp for Kids Aged 10-17 at the Healdsburg Center for the Arts: "Ceramics: Wheel and Handbuilding" With Teacher Linus Lancaster (June 13-16, 1-4:30PM)
• Healdsburg Jazz Festival Opening Night: Tiffany Austin Quintet, Swing and R&B Group, Live at Hotel Healdsburg (5-6:30PM)

Tuesday, June 14

• Healdsburg Tuesday Farmers Market (9AM-12:30PM)
• "Movers & Groovers" Creative Movement Classes for Kids Aged 3-4 at the Healdsburg Community Center (Weekly, 10-10:45AM)
• Franken-Toys Workshop for Grades 4-6 at the Healdsburg Library (3:30-5PM)
• Westside School Board of Trustees Meeting (5:30PM)
• Healdsburg Running Company Full Moon Run to Geyserville (6PM)
• Tuesdays in the Plaza, Featuring Afro-Cuban Ensemble Jesús Díaz Y Su Qba (6-8PM)
• "The Write Stuff" Open Mic Night at the Raven Theater for Sonoma County Writers (7PM)
• Yuppie Liberation Front Live at the Elephant in the Room (7-10PM)
• Sarah McLachlan Live at the Luther Burbank Center (7:30PM)

Healdsburg pic of the day:

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From my notebook:

• State Sen. Mike McGuire and his family were spotted at the Prune Packers game at Rec over the weekend — the first home game of the season for our very own amateur collegiate baseball team. There will be a few more home games this Thursday through Saturday, if you wanna stop by! (Healdsburg Prune Packers via Facebook & PointStreak)
• I also just learned that a group of Healdsburg women started a women's basketball team that practices at Giorgi Park. Check out their snazzy new uniforms. "Hopefully the city will put lights on the court and follow us," says team member Mary ChuyIker Garcia in Spanish. "Or if someone would like to rent us a basketball gym... 🏀" (Facebook Groups)
• Local fermented foods business Sonoma Brinery — which used to be headquartered in Healdsburg, in a 10,000-square-foot plant off Grove Street — has been bought up by a "fast growing" parent company called Cleveland Kitchen and moved to Santa Rosa. (New Hope Network & Food Business News)
• The two-week painting process for a new butterfly mural outside Black Oak Coffee, just off the plaza, starts today. "All ages and skill levels are welcome to volunteer," says a flyer for the event. "Just show up!" (mattvillano via Instagram)
• Know what else starts today? The Healdsburg Jazz Festival! The Tribune and the PD both ran big features recently on legendary local bluesman Charlie Musselwhite, the unorthodox star of this year's Jazz Fest, as well as some of the other acts. Click through for the full lineup. (Healdsburg Jazz & Healdsburg Tribune & Press Democrat; paywall)
• Healdsburg's popular Fourth of July kids' parade and "Duck Dash" will return to the plaza this summer — and volunteers are needed to "help prepare and sell food, set up for the parade, and clean up after the event." (Corazón Healdsburg via Facebook)
• Hot tip on where to pick up good snacks for Tuesdays in the Plaza, from the Healdsburg Chamber of Commerce: "Head to Asahi Sushi and Kitchen for grab-and-go rolls or grab a chilled bottle of wine (complete with glasses) from The Harris Gallery." Or "Longboard Vineyards is offering a ZERO WASTE option — fill up a growler and head to the Plaza!" (Healdsburg Chamber via Facebook)
• In an ironic twist, staffers for the Sonoma County Department of Health Services say their employer is not doing enough to protect them from COVID spread in the office. (Press Democrat; paywall)
• Healdsburg-based Jordan Vineyards and Winery is hosting all sorts of big 50th anniversary events this summer. The latest, in Denver, was reportedly attended by "NFL greats" and "Top Chef alums," and raised $120,000 for charity. (Wine Spectator)
• There's a very helpful neighbor convo unfolding in the "What's Happening Healdbsurg" Facebook group about how to take advantage of the city's composting program. (Facebook Groups)
• Neighbors are also wondering what happened to Giorgio's over the river. From the sound of it, seems like they may finally have shut down for good. (Facebook Groups)
• Healdsburg Elementary teacher Karen Reynolds is reportedly retiring after 36 years in our local school system. "Those lucky enough to have had her for any of the grades she’s taught know what an incredible teacher she is," school officials say. (Healdsburg Elementary School via Facebook)
• "Magnolias are in bloom around H’burg," Pierre Ratte observes in his latest Healdsburg Tribune column. "Big leathery brown and green leaved trees send out magnificent white-petaled blooms, usually marking the beginnings of Spring. Yet flowering in our nearby magnolia is happening late this year. Its emerging blooms, tightly wound, are only now revealing their majesty." (Healdsburg Tribune)

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Now you're in the loop for today. See you tomorrow :)

— Simone Wilson

About me: I was born and raised in Healdsburg, CA, where I was the editor of the Healdsburg High School Hound's Bark. I have since worked as a local journalist for publications in San Diego, Los Angeles, New York City and the Middle East. I'm currently a senior product manager for Patch.

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Healdsburg Daily? Contact me at simone.wilson@patch.com