Lifestyle

The exterior parking lot of Bacchus Landing was filled with gorgeous lowriders and classics, with several food trucks off to the far side. When I walked into the interior courtyard, I found a “lowrider museum.” Many of these cars had been in actual museums and exhibits, and featured in numerous publications ranging from the car-centric to the Smithsonian.

Santa Rosa has its Rose Parade, Healdsburg has its 4H/FFA Parade, but Geyserville lays claim to the world’s biggest Lighted Tractor Parade, now in its 14th year (or is it the 15th?). On Saturday, Nov. 25, the small town where Alexander Valley meets Highway...

With the onset of spring last week—despite the cold and rain—Healdsburg is beginning to wake up from its sleepy winter months and get back in gear as the food/wine/music destination city it has become, with five significant celebrations coming to town in the coming months.

Photographer Rick Tang braved the early February storms to make these images of the area surrounding Healdsburg. Click on any image and it will launch a full-size version; use your browser's "back" arrow to return to this page and the Image Gallery.

The first major event that comes our way in 2025 is the annual Lake Sonoma Steelhead Festival, on Saturday, Feb. 8. This one-day science fair of all things steelhead (and their allies, anadromous and otherwise), draws about 10,000 people on its single day of exhibitions and activities to the Milt Brandt Visitors Center, Lake Sonoma.

When asked how Watch Duty stands out from other wildfire apps, John C. Mills’ answer was simple: accuracy and immediacy. “We don’t speculate,” he said. “We disseminate information directly from professionals. If a first responder says a fire will reach a community in 17 minutes, we relay that information without delay. That’s our commitment to transparency.”

At the Healdsburg Certified Farmers’ Market, strawberries are reaching their peak sweetness, their scent lingering in the air before they are even visible in the stalls. Spring onions and green garlic are tender, fava beans are shelled by the pound and sugar snap peas—the kind of bright green that seems to be omnipresent in my life lately—offer that crisp, wet-mouth crunch that makes them an irresistible snack...

At the start, Molti Amici gave every indication of hitting Bingo. The location was much-loved by locals, having housed Ari Rosen’s Campo Fina for 10 years, only a few steps off the Plaza, and featured not only a large stone pizza oven but a bocce court as well (both left over from Campo Fina). Then the ingredients didn't mix any more.

The 29 pooches that entered in the 2024 Howl-O-Ween pet parade, sponsored by the Humane Society of Sonoma County, showed why they’re beloved by their people as they showed off costumes, wigs, novelty rigs and, in at least one case, their stripes.

Debora Fudge has played a key role in shaping Windsor since 1994. With Fudge planning to step back from civic life, and heading out for a vacation in Europe this week, it seemed a good time to learn more about how she became so involved in Windsor and what she thinks of the town now.