🌱 Trick-Or-Treating Plans + New Boutique + E-Bike Program Latest

Good morning, friends! It's Friday in Healdsburg ahead of a warm autumn weekend, and I'm back in your inbox to get you all caught up on the most important things happening locally. This edition of the Daily includes updates on:

• This year's trick-or-treating situation in the plaza
• A guide to other good Halloween houses around town
• The fleet of electric bikes coming to Healdsburg
• The death of a local attorney and winemaker
• And more...

But first, your weekend weather:

• Friday: Mostly sunny and very warm. High: 90 Low: 52.
• Saturday: Much of the same. High: 90 Low: 49.
• Sunday: Still mostly sunny, but cooling down a little. High: 84 Low: 49.
• Monday: More sun! High: 86 Low: 49.

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Air over Healdsburg:

Here are the top 4 stories in Healdsburg today:

1. Some good news for the kiddies of Healdsburg. Our Chamber of Commerce just announced that the trick-or-treating tradition at shops surrounding the plaza on Halloween will be happening again this year, from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 31. "Join the downtown retailers, wineries, and restaurants for an afternoon of Halloween fun!" chamber officials say. "Don your best costumes and head to the Plaza to trick-or-treat with our wonderful businesses. All ages are welcome!" The chamber plans to release a map soon of which exact businesses are participating; it'll be available at the Visitor's Center, aka the Healdsburg Chamber offices, at 217 Healdsburg Avenue between H2Hotel and the roundabout. As well as inside each business taking part. (Healdsburg Chamber of Commerce via Facebook)
2. Today's issue of the Healdsburg Tribune has some useful info on the e-bike-share program coming to town. "The three-year pilot program with Bird will become available in late October or early November, with between 50 and 100 bikes allocated for the streets of Healdsburg, depending on maintenance, charging and seasonality," the Trib reports. Here's more from the story on how we got here: "It wasn’t that long ago that the City of Healdsburg welcomed a bike-sharing service to town called Zagster, in conjunction with the then-new Hotel Trio. Spiffy new bicycles could be checked out via a cell phone app, pedaled about town and returned to the same or another Zagster station." But Zagster reportedly "went bankrupt in 2020 due to the pandemic, leaving behind hundreds of bike-share networks in communities nationwide, Healdsburg among them." So now, more than two years later, "the concept is being revived and improved, and as soon as later this month a fleet of blue Class 1 pedal-assist electric bikes will be rolled out, available for short-term rental to anyone over 18 who has the app. On Sept. 19, the city allocated up to $290,000 (most of it from a federal Quick Strike grant) for a new bike share contract with Bird Global, and a week later Bird rep Mike Covato showed up at the Plaza to introduce their powder-blue bike to residents (he called the color “electric sky blue,” a company branding)." You can read a bunch more details in the Trib. (Healdsburg Tribune)
3. Gina's Boutique, a local clothing store that used to live at 425 Healdsburg Ave. but apparently closed near the end of 2020, is re-opening this weekend at 119 Plaza St., according to the good people behind the Shop Local Healdsburg blog and Instagram account. Gina's will now live in the shell of what used to be the Stafford Gallery just off the plaza, after the gallery went out of business in August. "For Gina Parmeter, reopening her namesake shop... isn’t her second act — it’s her fifth — that she’s owned and operated throughout several locations in Sonoma County," Shop Local reports. "'Retirement just didn’t suit me,' explains Gina with a big smile, on her time away a year and a half ago. During a random drop-in this afternoon, Gina was busy stocking her shelves, excited for more inventory to arrive, which will include jeans and more fall fashion. Unlike her former Healdsburg Ave store, this one occupies a smaller footprint and won’t be offering women’s shoes." Gina says she'll be open tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with "more hours to be publicized soon." Shop Local also uploaded a quick video tour of the elegant new shop on Plaza Street. (Shop Local Healdsburg via Instagram)
4. Longtime Healdsburg resident and attorney Ross Stromberg has died from Alzheimer's at the age of 82. "Ross was as tireless in his volunteer work as he was during his legal career," his obituary says. He reportedly served on various hospital and medical boards across the county, was a big supporter of local food-justice nonprofit Farm to Pantry and "fundraised for Healdsburg Jazz by hosting 'Jazz in the Meadow' events at his home on Wallace Creek." More from his obit: "Ross moved to Healdsburg in 1997 where he carried out his lifelong dream of living on a vineyard and producing his own wine. Having grown grapes in Lake County during the pioneering days of the 1970s, Ross bottled estate grown vintages of cabernet sauvignon in 2005 and 2006 that earned acclaim, and continued to bottle wines under the Stromberg Vineyards label until 2015. Ross leaned into his social life in Healdsburg with the same gusto that he brought to his professional life. While not an athlete — despite showing bravado on the pétanque courts of the local Healdsburg league — he was an excellent dancer, and would happily twirl anyone within earshot of a song. He married Gillian Rendle in 2006, and the two settled into their home in the Dry Creek Valley, enjoying travel and their friends in the Healdsburg community. Gillian passed away in 2015 from ALS. Ross later found a new partner in Melita Love on and off the pétanque court, whom he loved with all of his heart up until the day he died."(Legacy.com)

Patch deal of the day:

Wine lover alert. We found this amazing deal from Splash Wines — an 18-bottle curated selection of reds and whites for fall — for just $69.99. Shipping isn't cheap at $39.95, but that still comes out to just over $6 per bottle. Splash Wines has a money-back guarantee if you don't like the wine and 4.6 out of 5 rating on TrustPilot. So: recommended.

(The Patch Deals team scours the web for deals we think our subscribers will like. We may earn a commission on products purchased. All promotions are as of publication and could change.)

Healdsburg pic of the day:

Wanna see your pic in the Healdsburg Patch newsletter? Send it on over. Please just confirm in your email that you took the photo, and that Patch has permission to republish it. 📸

This weekend in Healdsburg:

Friday, October 7

• County Hosts Free E-Waste Recycling Event at the Huerta Gymnasium in Windsor (Oct. 7-9, 9AM-5PM)
• Farm to Pantry Volunteer Delivery Shift: Pick Up Food in Petaluma & Deliver to Families in Healdsburg (1:30PM)
• Visitation & Rosary for Agustin Nieto at St. John the Baptist Church (4-7PM)
• Healdsburg High School Girls Volleyball Home Game Vs. St. Vincent de Paul (5PM)
• Sunset Sound Bath Experience at Truett Hurst Winery (5-6:45PM)
• Friday Evening Wine & Song at Hudson Street Wineries, Featuring Live Music by EZ Street (5-8PM)
• Harvest Dinner & Field Day at Bella Vineyards & Wine Caves (5:30-9PM)
• Final Performance of the Wilson Artisan Wines Summer Music Series at deLorimier Winery, Feat. Live Music by Beatles Tribute Band Hey Jude & Food by Dino's Greek (6-8:30PM)
• HonkyTonk StumbleWeeds Live at Coyote Sonoma (7-10PM)
• Raven Players Perform "Evil Dead, The Musical" at the Raven Theater, Feat. "Splatter Zone" in Front Row (Oct. 7-8, 7:30PM)
• Levi Lloyd & Friends Live at the Elephant in the Room (8-11PM)

Saturday, October 8

• Farm to Pantry Glean at the Farm to Fight Hunger (8:30AM-12PM)
• Healdsburg Saturday Farmers Market (8:30AM-12PM)
• Bilingual Zumba Class at the Healdsburg Library (10:30AM)
• Celebration of Life for Patricia Pearl Bean at the Healdsburg Community Church (11AM)
• "Paella in the Vineyards" at BACA Wines, Feat. Spanish Guitar Music (11AM-1PM)
• "Wine & Wellness" Wine-Tasting Experience at Rodney Strong Vineyards (11AM-1PM)
• Read to a Dog at the Healdsburg Library (Weekly, 11AM)
• Opening Reception for New Exhibit at THE 222: "The Budah Pantings" by Feldsott (4-7PM)
• Opening Reception for New "Artists' Showcase" Exhibit at the Healdsburg Center for the Arts (5-7PM)
• Full Moon Paddle From River's Edge Kayak & Canoe to Badger Park: Halloween "Blood Moon" Edition, With Costumes Encouraged (7-9:30PM)
• Rock Candy Live at Coyote Sonoma (8-11PM)
• Dubcraft Live at the Elephant in the Room (8-11PM)

Sunday, October 9

• Healdsburg Ridge Preserve Hike With the Dogs (8:30-11AM)
• Halloween Pumpkins & Vino at Orsi Family Vineyards (10:30AM-4:30PM)
• Fall Open House & Harvest Celebration at Mazzocco Sonoma (11AM-5PM)
• Matinee Performance of "Evil Dead, The Musical" at the Raven Theater (2PM)
• Symphony Pops at the Luther Burbank Center: "Playing for Peanuts: The Music of Vince Guaraldi" (3PM)
• "Second Sunday" Pipe-Organ Concert & Choral Evensong at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church: Director of Music Paul Blanchard Plays Sir John Stainer (5PM)
• Organ Odyssey Live at the Elephant in the Room (5-9PM)
• Indigenous Voices at THE 222: Poet Jennifer Foerster in Conversation With Denise Low (7PM)

Monday, October 10

• After-School Art Start for Kids Aged 3–5 With Teacher Amy Cordtz at the Healdsburg Center for the Arts (Three Days a Week, Oct. 10-Nov. 4, 3-5PM)
• "Encuentro Juvenil" at the Healdsburg High School Library: Opportunity for Youth Aged 12-25 to Learn More About Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in Our Community & How to Impact the Future of Healdsburg (4:30PM)
• Cash for College Night at the Healdsburg High School Cafeteria (6:30-8:30PM)

From my notebook:

• Healdsburg school district officials are encouraging local parents to apply for free or reduced-price meals for their kids at school — for the meals, yes, but also so the district keeps receiving enough funding to provide this and other services to students. (Healdsburg Unified School District via Facebook)
• Neighbors on Nextdoor are adding their homes to a cool "treat map" that shows you who will "give candy, decorate, or offer costumed dogs treats" across town, so you can "plan your trick-or-treat path" this Halloween. Including 302 Piper Street, where you'll find a "haunted walk through with games and prizes." (Nextdoor & Nextdoor)
• There's also a great thread unfolding in the "What's Happening Healdsburg" Facebook group about which local houses have best Halloween decorations right now. (Facebook Groups)
• Healdsburg High School cross-country runner Kaeden Anderson won first place out of 169 other freshman and sophomore runners in the recent Artichoke Invitational tournament down in Half Moon Bay, the Trib reports, with a "blistering" time of 12 minutes, 46 seconds — "well ahead of the second finisher at 13:03." (Healdsburg Tribune)

You're all caught up for today! See you next week for your next 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.

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