🌱 Plaza Lights Up + Rare Truffle Found + Vanity Salon Moving

Hey, everybody — Simone here with your weekend edition of the Healdsburg Daily. Sorry the newsletters have been spotty this week! I'm making it up to you today with a jam-packed weekend event roundup that's sure to leave you with a holiday spirit hangover. Here we go...

First, your weekend weather:

• Friday: Fog in the morning, sun in the day and clouds at night. High: 65 Low: 43.
• Saturday: Some more fog and clouds, turning to sun in the afternoon. High: 63 Low: 41.
• Sunday: Mostly sunny. High: 68 Low: 44.
• Monday: Partly cloudy and cooler. High: 59 Low: 41.

Air over Healdsburg:

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Here are the top 4 stories in Healdsburg today:

1. The transformation of the Healdsburg Plaza is underway as we speak for the big "Merry Healdsburg Weekend" event that kicks off tonight. The centerpiece of the event will be the lighting of a huge, live tree at the north end the plaza around 6 p.m. There will be a slew of other family-friendly activities, as well, including photos with Santa, a screening of the "Grinch," hot chocolate and desserts, etc. — all to the tune of the Healdsburg Chorus and a jazz quartet playing holiday music. According to the Tribune, "The festivities will start in the Plaza at 5 p.m. with a Hanukkah ceremony, followed by Christmas carolers who will be in the Plaza until about 6 p.m., when Santa will arrive by fire truck. Santa will then help the city council with a countdown for the lighting of the Plaza Christmas Tree." For the rest of the weekend, downtown businesses will host a sidewalk sale and the chorus will perform a few times around town. (Facebook & Facebook & SoCoNews Healdsburg)
2. After years of searching, Alexander Valley truffle farmer Seth Angerer and his trusty truffle dog Leo have unearthed what the Angerer family is claiming to be "the first cultivated truffle found in Alexander Valley." Seth was reportedly "pacing through his family’s Geyserville hazelnut orchards" last week when he came across the "5.03-ounce Sonoma County black melanosporum." Says his dad, Fran: “We’ve been waiting nine years and eight months, and we haven’t found anything. Every year we get more and more discouraged." Sonoma Magazine reports that "the truffle hunting season typically runs from January to March, so an early truffle in November was a particularly exciting find for the Angerers. The fact that black truffles can command up to $95 per ounce is just as exciting." Read the full story here. (Sonoma Magazine)
3. The proposed 316-mile Great Redwood Trail through Healdsburg is "one step closer to becoming a reality" after getting millions in new funding via the state budget, according to the trail's champion, Healdsburg's own State Sen. Mike McGuire. "This is a game changer," he says. The trail would run from Humboldt Bay to San Francisco Bay, much of it alongside the SMART train tracks, and would utilize our recently finished Foss Creek Pathway for the Healdsburg stretch. “When constructed, the Great Redwood Trail will become the longest rail-to-trail in the United States of America,” McGuire says. “That trail will traverse through and near some of the most spectacular landscapes on Earth including ancient redwoods state parks and national forests, golden oak-studded hills, lush vineyards, and of course, along the shores of the Russian and Eel rivers.” Click through for more on the remaining hurdles before it becomes a reality. (Eureka Times-Standard)
4. Did you know Tour de France champion Cadel Evans ran in the Healdsburg Turkey Trot last week on Thanksgiving? From the pages of the PD: "Tucked in among those wearing felt turkey hats, the guy dressed up as a wine bottle (I see you Press Democrat contributor, Matt Villano), 47 dogs, one goat and two cats who lined up to run Healdsburg’s ever-festive Turkey Trot last week was a four-time Olympian and Tour de France champion." Evans reportedly competed in four Olympic games and won the Tour de France before retiring from pro cycling in 2015. He finished sixth in the Healdsburg Turkey Trot. (Press Democrat; paywall)

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This weekend in Healdsburg:

Friday, December 3

• City of Healdsburg Zoning Administrator Hearing (11AM)
• Service for Geraldine Perrelli Holt at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church (2PM)
• Healdsburg Hospital Stroke Survivors Support Group (3-5PM)
• Pediatric COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic at Healdsburg Elementary School's Fitch Mountain Campus (3-6PM)
• Sing Noël Holiday Concert at St. Paul's Episcopal Church (5-6:15PM)
• Merry Healdsburg Weekend: Tree-Lighting Ceremony, Photos With Santa, Hot Chocolate, Menorah Lighting, Live Music, Holiday Movie & More at Healdsburg Plaza (5-8PM)
• Max Vogel Live at Coyote Sonoma (7-10PM)

Saturday, December 4

• Healdsburg Running Company Saturday Morning Run: Annadel From Spring Lake, With Trail House Finish (8AM)
• Healdsburg Saturday Farmers Market, Feat. Holiday Craft Market (8:30AM-12PM)
• Hike & Holiday Wreath Making at Healdsburg Ridge Open Space Preserve (10AM-2PM)
• "We Shall Not Be Moved": Songs and Stories of Civil Rights at Bishops Ranch (10AM-4PM)
• Clarice & Beau Marchais Pick-Up Party & Tasting at Limerick Cellars (11AM-3PM)
• "Mercatini di Natale" Italian Christmas Markets at Orsi Family Vineyards (11AM-4PM)
• Breakfast With Santa at Costeaux French Bakery (9-11AM)
• Alexander Valley Ladies Aid Presents: Old-Fashioned Christmas Bazaar (10AM)
• Holiday Bazaar at Bacchus Landing (12-4PM)
• Healdsburg Holiday Gift Pop-Up at 248 Collective (12-4PM)
• Star Book Ornament Making Workshop at Healdsburg Center for the Arts (1-4PM)
• KITKA Women's Vocal Ensemble: Wintersongs (1PM, 7PM)
• The Great Raven Costume Sale (1PM)
• Christmas Party at Jordan Winery (1-4PM)
• Healdsburg Chorus Performs Holiday Concert, Singalongs in Plaza Gazebo (2PM)
• Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods Holiday Auction & Volunteer Celebration (2-5PM)
• Mimi & Gabe Pirard Live at Spicy Vines (3-6PM)
• Sing Noël Holiday Concert at St. Paul's Episcopal Church (5-6:15PM)
• Jazz Series at Hotel Healdsburg Spirit Bar: Greg Hester Trio (5-8PM)
• Sparkling Holiday Soiree at Amista Vineyards (5:30-7:30PM)
• Holiday Winemaker Dinner at Dry Creek Vineyard (5:30-10PM)
• JOOSE Live at Coyote Sonoma (8-11PM)

Sunday, December 5

• "Mercatini di Natale" Italian Christmas Markets at Orsi Family Vineyards (11AM-4PM)
• Holly Jolly 38th Annual Senior Appreciation Dinner at the Villa Chanticleer (1:30PM)
• "Dining with Strangers" 3-Course Candlelight Dinner at Secret Location in Healdsburg (6PM)
• Holiday Wreath Making at Rodney Strong Vineyard (2-3:30PM)
• Healdsburg Chorus Christmas Holiday Concert at THE 222 (7PM)

Monday, December 6

• Healdsburg City Council Meeting (6PM)

From my notebook:

• The North Bay Bohemian has the most comprehensive roundup we've seen of all the ways to celebrate the holidays in Sonoma County this season — including ice rinks, outdoor excursions, lots of theater, cool Christmas parties and much, much more. (North Bay Bohemian)
• Healdsburg's Vanity salon is moving from the Vine Street shopping center to 810 Healdsburg Avenue, near Sherman Street, come Jan. 1. They'll be closed for the week prior as they move. Also: "Due to the severe effects of covid on the tanning portion of our business we will no longer be providing UV tanning services," the owners say. (Facebook)
• The best pumpkin spice latte in the county can be found at Healdsburg's own Plank Coffee on Dry Creek Road, according to a "Sonoma Holiday Drink Smackdown" published in Sonoma Mag. (Sonoma Magazine)
• If you're in the market for a Christmas tree, here's a list of some good farms in the Healdsburg area. (Healdsburg Patch)
• Healdsburg native Alexa Brooks is featured in a Washington Post story on women named Alexa who've changed their name due to the popular Amazon device. Down in Los Angeles, where she now goes to school at USC, she's known as Harlow Brooks. (The Washington Post)
• Did you know you can mail a letter to Santa from Healdsburg post office? Here's how. (Healdsburg Patch)
• The annual senior appreciation dinner at the Villa will be held in person this year, this coming Sunday. And more volunteers are needed! (SoCoNews Healdsburg & Facebook)

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Thanks for following along and staying informed. I'll see you back in your inbox next week with another update! If you're enjoying these newsletters, consider inviting some of your friends and neighbors to read along. You can send them this link to subscribe.

— 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? Reach out anytime to simone.wilson@patch.com.