🌱 Healdsburg Home Prices + Posadas Navideñas + Rain, Rain, Rain

Happy rainy Thursday, Healdsburg! It's me again, Simone, your guide to everything you need to know about what's happening locally. Here's the deal for today.

First, today's weather:

Rain, rain, rain — and possibly a thunderstorm. High: 55 Low: 44.

Shoutout to our premier local sponsor:

If you still need a last-minute Christmas tree and would rather find it locally than go to one of those big pop-ups, Grandma's farm at 17740 Healdsburg Avenue, just north of the Alexander Valley Road turnoff, is your best bet. They've still got some beautiful, fresh-cut, 6-to-7-foot Noble, Douglas and Nordmann firs, as well as wreaths, garlands and mistletoe. If you wanna hang out a while, there are other fun things to do, too — like sit on tractors, listen to grandma's wild stories, check out the farm animals, buy some eggs, make some s'mores, sip hot drinks, etc. You can even bring your dog! Stop by today or tomorrow between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Want to see your business featured in this spot? Click here to apply.

Here are the top 3 stories in Healdsburg today:

1. Quick storm update for you! A flood advisory issued by the county is set to expire this afternoon — but the rain is expected to keep comin' down steadily through the holiday weekend, including on Christmas Day, and into next week. Healdsburg proper appears to have gotten between 1 to 2 inches of rain over the past couple days, and the mountains just to our west got 3 inches. Water levels in our reservoirs and the Russian River are also rising, with the river expected to surpass 8 feet deep around Christmas Eve at the spot where they measure it in Healdsburg. But "the current storm shouldn’t be strong enough to cause the Russian River to crest its banks," a local meteorologist tells the PD. (NWS & NOAA & Sonoma Water & Press Democrat; paywall)
2. Curious about the "posadas navideñas" being held at different apartment complexes across Healdsburg this week? The Tribune has a great writeup on this new local tradition organized by Corazón Healdsburg — a re-creation of the Mexican "celebration where people commemorate the journey that Joseph and Mary made from Nazareth to Bethlehem" by chanting and singing for food and lodging. For Monday's posada at the Foss Creek Apartments, for example, a group of people "walked with battery-powered candles as baby Jesus was being carried and sang along as well as prayed through the corridors." Then they sat down to eat some homemade "pozole" stew and other treats. One mom who attended told the Trib it was "great to have a posada in order to teach children what Mexican culture can be." Another said: "I hope this continues for more generations and we don’t lose them." (Facebook & SoCoNews Healdsburg)
3. Healdsburg home prices have increased 30 percent over the past year, and homes are now going for more than $1 million on average, according to new data from the Redfin real-estate listing site. The median sale price for a single-family home in our ZIP code, 95448, was about $1.1 million from the beginning of September through the end of November this year, the data shows. These numbers are based on 77 home sales that Redfin tracked during this three-month period — 38 percent of which reportedly sold above list price. (Healdsburg Patch)

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Today and tomorrow in Healdsburg:

Thursday, December 23

• Free Zumba Class at TCElite Healdsburg (Weekly on Thursdays, 10AM)
• Advanced Spanish Conversation Virtual Session at Sonoma County Library (1:30-2:45PM)
• Community Posada Navideña at Healdsburg Avenue Apartments (6PM)
• Healdsburg Running Company Foss Creek Path Run, Ending in Puerto Rican Parklet Party & Potluck at HRC (6PM)

Friday, December 24

• Community Posada Navideña at March Avenue Apartments (5PM)
• Friday Evening Wine & Song at Hudson Street Wineries (5-8PM)

As you can see above, I'm trying out a new format for this section where I list both today and tomorrow's events, so you can plan ahead a little better. Thoughts? Let me know.

From my notebook:

• Sonoma County hospitals are bracing for "another manic, dangerous winter" as the omicron variant spreads "at breakneck speed, especially among the unvaccinated," the Press Democrat reports. Currently, Healdsburg Hospital is at 62 percent of its total capacity. (Healdsburg Patch & Press Democrat; paywall)
• A helpful reader sent me this recommendation for where to see some epic holiday lights in Healdsburg: Saddle Draw in Parkland Farms. (Inbox & Google Maps)
• For all those last-second holiday shoppers out there — you might check out the new Healdsburg Center for the Arts location at 334 Center St. near the plaza, where they're selling "wonderful ceramics, jewelry, photography, woodworking, prints, sculpture, paintings" and more from local artists. (Facebook)
• Or if you're looking for something a little less folksy, the Healdsburg Chamber of Commerce has compiled a list of more "holiday specials" being offered by local businesses, as well as a full directory of Healdsburg shops and what they offer. (Healdsburg.com & Healdsburg.com)
• Sonoma County has officially been designated a "bilingual county" for election purposes. (Patch Press Release Desk)
• Heads up, Healdsburg's senior center and community center, as well as the Corazón Healdsburg offices, are closed from now through Sunday, Jan. 2. And City Hall will be closed tomorrow for Christmas Eve. (City of Healdsburg & Facebook)
• PSA from Corazón Healdsburg: There's a bilingual computer literacy class coming up through Sonoma County Adult Education, starting Feb. 8 and lasting through March 15. (Facebook)
• Marie Butler has a great column in the Tribune on everything you can do in Healdsburg for the Christmas holiday this year. (SoCoNews Healdsburg)
• Sonoma County Airport officials want to remind everyone traveling for the holidays that parking at the airport is very limited these days. Here are some tips for planning ahead. (Facebook & Facebook)

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That's it for today! I'll see you back in your inbox tomorrow morning with another update.

— 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.