Events: Boho Beat, North Bay Bohemian

March 23: Napa Valley Elvis Festival

Gabe Meline — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 14:10:00 -0700

Provocative undulation was around long before Shakira’s hips decided not to lie—the hunka-hunka-burnin’-love king was the OG who launched generations of pelvic gyration to come. Celebrate the life the famous butterfly collared singer at the Napa Valley Elvis Festival.…

Feb. 23: Mr. Healdsburg Pageant at the Raven Performing Arts Center

Estefany Gonzalez — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 10:59:00 -0800

Far from the traditional male beauty pageant with bodybuilders and Speedos, the 10th annual Mr. Healdsburg Pageant features everyday members of the community. Each contestant creates a nickname and competes in the talent, eveningwear, beachwear and interview categories.…

Nov. 14: Warren Miller's 'Flow State' Pre-Party at Lagunitas

Leilani Clark — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 12:11:50 -0800

I’d like to give thanks to Warren Miller for continuing to make films about daredevil skiers and snowboarders, whizzing down horrendously steep and icy mountain tops to almost certain death, all of which I get to watch from the comfort of a warm theatre seat while stuffing my mouth with popcorn. You too can live vicariously through Miller’s latest flick, Flow State, premiering Nov. 17 at the Marin Center, with a pre-party co-sponsored by the Bohemian and Lagunitas Brewing Company.…

Sept. 22: California Beer Festival at Stafford Lake Park

Gabe Meline — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 13:19:00 -0700

If picking up this week’s paper and reading its contents succeeded in planting a thirst for beer, look no further than the California Beer Festival. You know the deal: 60 craft brews on tap, the soft waft of smoking barbecue, live blues by Chris Cain and a get-down time with Michael Jackson tribute band Foreverland—and a whole lot of like-minded beer fans aligned under the banner of good brew.…

Sept. 15: Fiesta de Independencia at the Wells Fargo Center

Gabe Meline — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 16:51:00 -0700

The Wells Fargo Center becomes a portal to Mexico this week for la Fiesta de Independencia. With the numerous mariachi bands, authentic food stands and piñatas, you’ll feel like you’re right at the heart of the capital city.…

May 12: Spruce Deuce Open House at the Feed Barn

Gabe Meline — Wed, 09 May 2012 14:00:54 -0700

From the outside, the Feed Barn is just what it sounds like—a large empty warehouse that used to be a feed store. But for the last two years, it’s been home-away-from-home to a coterie of artists, makers, tinkerers and musicians, who this week throw open the doors in a spring open house for a showcase of dizzying creativity.…

Oct. 22: Grand Opening at Dhyana Center

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 11:08:42 -0700

The American public at large ignored healthy eating with the introduction of the South Beach and Atkins diets, which promised dropping a few pants sizes through a total disregard for a person’s overall health. Conversely, the Dhyana Center provides locals with the tools for a healthy lifestyle.…

Sept. 23-25: Pacific Pinball Exposition in San Rafael

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 10:05:39 -0700

Remember getting a few quarters for the video arcade, only to weather the deflating lack of fulfillment when the money ran out just as your level of competitive excitement had peaked? Never fear: the fifth annual Pacific Pinball Exposition, the largest pinball show on the planet, offers 400 pinball machines, all set to free play.…

Apr. 8: Graton Day Labor Center Anniversary Party

Gabe Meline — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 09:51:22 -0700

The Graton Day Labor Center celebrates 10 years of pairing temporary employers with workers by throwing a blowout concert with Dr. Loco’s Rockin’ Jalapeño Band. Cumbia, salsa, norteños and oldies are on the menu, with the Imaginists Theatre Collective and Danza Azteca Xantotl rounding out the festivities on Friday, April 8, at the Sebastopol Community Center.390 Morris St., Sebastopol.…

Feb. 19: 'Post By Air' at Sonoma County Museum

Gabe Meline — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 10:45:13 -0800

One hundred years ago this Saturday, a young pilot named Fred Wiseman delivered three letters from Petaluma to Santa Rosa by airplane, thereby completing the first airmail flight in history. Never mind that he crashed along the way—it’s still an honor for Santa Rosa, where Wiseman bought parts from a local bicycle shop to build his plane after visiting the Wright Brothers themselves.…

October 31: Cirque du Sebastopol at Hopmonk and Yard Dogs Road Show at Mystic Theatre

Gabe Meline — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 13:48:42 -0700

Bodices, sword swallowers, fishnets and fire eaters! Wax moustaches, burlesque dancers, top hats and musical saws!…

October 8: Big Oktoberfest Bash at Flamingo Hotel

Gabe Meline — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 09:53:16 -0700

“B.O.B.” might mean a hit song by OutKast to some people, but around these sudsy parts it means only one thing: the annual Big Oktoberfest Bash put on by the Sonoma County Museum. Any good Oktoberfest worth its weight in ABV requires oodles of beer, and the B.O.B. has attracted the cream of the hops in local microbreweries Lagunitas Brewing Company, Russian River Brewing Company, Third Street Aleworks, Ace Cider, Moonlight Brewing Company and others, many premiering new beers exclusive to the event. Wineries will be pouring wine, local caterers will be serving up food and the music of Old Jawbone ties it all together between the portrait studio and raffle prizes.…

September 11: Cartoonist Sketch-a-Thon at Schulz Museum

Gabe Meline — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 11:36:20 -0700

The Charles M. Schulz Museum’s fantastic cartoonist-in-residence program gets a shot of adrenaline this weekend, as not one, not two, but 16 cartoonists appear together in a blowout Cartoonist Sketch-a-Thon inside the hallowed halls of all things “Sparky.” For two hours, visitors will be able to observe and talk to pencil-wielding wizards of animation, including Dan Piraro (of the comic panel “Bizarro”), Paul Madonna (the San Francisco Chronicle’s “All Over Coffee”), Alexis Fajardo (“Kid Beowulf”), Debbie Huey (“Bumperboy”), Mike Gray (Nickelodeon) and more. At 3:30pm, Piraro speaks about his career with “Bizarro”, for which he recently won the Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year.…

August 22: Northern California Bike Expo in Juilliard Park

Gabe Meline — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 09:00:00 -0700

We’re all getting ready for Levi Leipheimer’s GranFondo in our own way. Some of us are stepping up at the gym.…

August 5: Eighth Anniversary Celebration at Schulz Museum

Gabe Meline — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 09:00:00 -0700

It’s hard to believe that the Schulz Museum has been entertaining visitors for eight years now. Like the characters in “Peanuts,” we never expect these things to grow up.…

August 13: Living in Space at the Bay Area Discovery Museum

Gabe Meline — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 09:00:00 -0700

As part of the Bay Area Discovery Museum’s “Summer Sunset” series, the kid-friendly museum stays open late this Friday so kids can experience the current exhibit, ‘Living in Space.’ A complete replica of an international space station, “Living in Space” shows kids how to sleep, work, exercise, eat food and get around in zero-gravity; fun videos and interactive games such as docking a shuttle or controlling a space arm are sure to delight budding astronauts. Bring a blanket for picnicking as the Short Attention Span Circus performs juggling, magic and contortions, and the retro sounds of the 1960s—truly the “space decade”—emit from the DJ booth.…

July 25: Really Really Free Market Napa at Veterans Park

Gabe Meline — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 10:26:06 -0700

Based on the San Francisco Free Market every month in Dolores Park and the wonderfully named East Bay Hella Free Day at Lake Merritt, Napa’s very own Really Really Free Market Napa follows the same very basic rules: (1) bring stuff to give away; (2) take stuff for free; (3) meet people in your city, listen to music, enjoy life and don’t spend a dime doing so. Everyone wins!…

July 25: Ghosts of the Phoenix Theater at the Phoenix Theater

Gabe Meline — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 09:59:43 -0700

We’ve all heard the rumors, repeated over and over again, that Petaluma’s Phoenix Theater is haunted by ghosts. The stories about a “strange presence” in the balcony and wispy apparitions floating around the ceiling are as old as the theater itself.…

June 23: Text Message Contest at Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds

Gabe Meline — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 14:43:22 -0700

hey u cuddie i b textn n the text message contest here n p-town. they say i got do as many wrdz as i can in 3 min and i gonna whup ass on these other foolz.…

June 5: Marin County Civic Center's Nomination to UNESCO World Heritage List

Gabe Meline — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 14:17:55 -0700

The Marin County Civic Center, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, is being promoted by the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy for a nomination to the UNESCO World Heritage List. Why is this interesting?…

April 24: Apple Blossom Festival at Ives Park, Sebastopol

admin — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 09:44:31 -0700

It happens every year, and we can’t figure out why: Sebastopol’s Apple Blossom Festival always takes place on the same day and at the same time as Petaluma’s Butter & Eggs Day. Must we Sonoma County residents be forced to choose?…

Dec. 12: Holiday Candlelight Tour at Uptown Theater

admin — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 14:21:01 -0800

Since shutting its doors in the late 1980s, the Uptown Theater in Napa has been one of those dream projects of restoration—everyone wants to see it shine like the architectural diamond it once was when it first opened in 1937, but who’s got the money? Alas, good intentions and good benefactors have recently combined to save the decaying theater, and the Uptown is slated to reopen in early 2010, with full restoration to its original art deco splendor.…

Nov. 14: Montana StreetArt at Napa Valley Art Supplies

admin — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:44:39 -0800

For a town with only one art-supply store, Napa is certainly ahead of the curve. Who would have thought that Santa Rosa leaders would preemptively shut down a street art festival—citing concerns about encouraging vandalism—while Napa, of all places, actually gets Montana Gold to sponsor the second in a series of Montana StreetArt events?…

Oct. 24: Greg Evans at the Schulz Museum

admin — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:58:17 -0700

There are just too many questions that longtime readers of the comic strip “Luann” would have for its creator, Greg Evans, that he can’t answer them all. When will Tiffany finally get her full comeuppance?…

Billy Joe Shaver at the Rancho Nicasio

admin — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:19:45 -0700

I thought that Billy Joe Shaver had finally settled down. Here was a man who’d cut off two fingers in a lumber mill accident, had lost his son to a heroin overdose, who’d had a heart attack—you’d think someone was trying to tell him to let his old, rowdy ways fall away.…