Lifestyle

“So what’s the difference between ours and every one of the other ones? What keeps coming up is that it’s not an event where just people are drinking and shoving food into their mouths because it’s great. We have a real connection to the land that they don’t have. Healdsburg has this agricultural history that’s real and palpable, and you can feel it when you’re here.”

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.

The big question looming over the Tuesday Market for much of last season was its location for 2026. Having been on the Healdsburg Plaza for years, and associated with that spot, moving it was not something the management, vendors or the community wanted. The city felt strongly, however, that the new Foley Family Community Pavilion should be the site for both markets, having built the facility specifically for them...

New Year's Eve offers a variety of fine dining options, parties, and kid-friendly activities in the Healdsburg area, as well as transportation options for those without designated drivers.

Danya Richter, who has co-owned the Healdsburg Bar and Grill since 2000, has a new general partner and celebrity chef Charlie Palmer onboard to direct the kitchen at locals favorite HBG.

Now when most winemakers talk about “clones,” they’re talking about varietals selected for specific qualities, such as flavor, color or intensity. The Dijon clones of pinot noir or chardonnay are well known; but the canine clone of a winery dog is a new thing entirely.

While all the nominated plants are found in the area, Healdsburg Garden Club did limit its list to native plants, though some are widely found outside Healdsburg’s city limits. The proposal included four flowers: the Douglas iris, the yellow mariposa lily, scarlet fritillary and blue-eyed grass, the once ubiquitous California native grape, and the familiar oak trees of the region.

A self-selected set of nine Healdsburg Tribune images from the year 2025, by Rick Tang.

While in normal times cooking a big meal at home is possible if not enjoyable, this year’s ballooning guest list makes it all but essential to call in reinforcements and pick up a Thanksgiving meal in advance, in order to be ready for the holiday.

Earlier this month, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued a new advisory highlighting the connection between alcohol consumption and a higher risk of cancer. Alcohol use ranks as the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States, following tobacco use and obesity, and is linked to an increased risk for at least seven different types of cancer. That's not good news for the wine industry.