The new exhibit opened this week at the ever-reliable Healdsburg Museum, this one about Healdsburg in War and Peace, until July 15. Regular exhibit hours are 11 a.m. - 4 p.m., Weds-Sunday. More details at event listing on Patch and in this story by Patch contributor Ann Carranza. Saturday, May 5 The first weekend of a two-weekend run continues tonight of HTown Youth Theatre Presents "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," based on the Broadway musical. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m., Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. both weekend and next at the Raven Performing Arts Theater. For more …

  Some days the weather just cries out for a picnic, or a long walk or a bike ride. Here in Healdsburg, we do what we know best:  winetasting. To Kill a Mockingbird continues this weekend at the Raven Theater for Performing Arts, with an 8 p.m. show  Saturday and a 2 p.m. matinee Sunday. Sunday's matinee is the final scheduled show in the play's run, with director Steven David Martin on hand to answer audience questions. Saturday - Sunday is Passport to Dry Creek Valley, showing off the 40-plus wineries of "ground zero for zin." Each of the wineries will have a different theme, with music, …

This article was updated on Friday, April 20, to add three new events in the comments section below. Take a look at that thermometer! Don't be surprised if it pushes over 80 this weekend, making this a clear gateway to summer and all that means: canoeing on the river, Tuesdays in the Plaza, long glowing sunsets and chardonnay… But we're getting ahead of ourselves. Friday, April 20 brings us Dinner with Dave at the Center Street Deli, a prix fix ($28) party at the familiar Plaza-facing restaurant.  As the Patch listing says, "This is comfort cooking at its best.  There will be no fois gras, no…

  Trying to match -- if not better -- the successful February run of the period musical "Chicago," the Raven Players turn this time to the period drama "To Kill a Mockingbird." It is one of the most familiar and influential American novels about the long struggle for civil rights and equal treatment for blacks. It's the only book written by Harper Lee, from Monroeville, Ala., and it became a Pulitzer Prize winner and source for an Academy Award-winning film. But the portraits it paints of the citizens of this corner of rural Southern America are far from sympathetic, and that presents a …

  Clark Terry, Chet Baker, Miles Davis, Art Farmer, Lee Morgan, Chuck Mangioni are just a few of the jazz greats who favored the fat tone of the flugelhorn. In their tradition comes the Dmitri Matheny Group, appearing Saturday, April 28 at the Healdsburg Center for the Arts. The flugelhorn, for those of you who skipped band camp, is close kin to the trumpet by way of the bugle, or perhaps the horns of Adolphe Sax (yes, that sax). Although it shares the B-flat key of the trumpet, its tone is darker and mellower than the trumpet or cornet. Locals can hear the flugelhorn in the hands of an …

  A week or so ago we published a column called Rants and Raves, and wouldn't you know it the first topic we got was a rant. Specifically, Kimberly Flowers ranted that she was unhappy that  a movie she wanted to see with her "tween" was behind the virtual firewall of the "No Person Under 21" gateway, in the lobby of the Raven Film Center.  "The Raven Movie Theater kicking kids out on Saturday and Sunday afternoons -- that's our rant! We went to see The Hunger Games yesterday at 3:30pm and were told we couldn't see it with our young son because it was only showing in the "Hollywood and Wine" …

There are lots of reasons to enjoy life in Healdsburg, but the first week of every June it's torqued up a notch with the arrival of the annual Healdsburg Jazz Festival. Originally begun in 1999 as a four-day mini-fest, featuring Cedar Walton, Bobby Hutcherson and Billy Higgins, this will be the 14th year for the festival, and once again it’s a 10-day event, as it has been since 2005. Notable performers this year include drummer Roy Haynes and singer Sheila Jordan, both supported through a NEA Live Jazz Masters Grant. Vijay Iyer, the American-born son of Indian immigrants, whose music “moves …

  Charles Siebert has played Broadway, big screen and small; he’s directed for television as well, with credits in shows still running on cable in syndication – ever hear of “Xena, Warrior Princess”? For the past 20 years, though, he’s lived in Healdsburg, even if in some ways the stage is still his calling. He’s starring in the 6th Street Playhouse’s production of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” in the lead role as the domineering, demanding Big Daddy Pollitt. As a busy television actor and director and family man, Siebert is one of those familiar faces that you might remember from “Trapper John MD…

  Mickey Hart, formerly one of the dual drummers in psychedelic rock stalwarts The Grateful Dead, will play with the latest incarnation of The Mickey Hart Band at the Raven Theater on Wednesday, March 7. Hart  has long studied and collected percussion and even helped invent a couple of percussive instruments with the Dead in the ’80s. He has written several books on drums and drumming, and has recorded a number of albums on his own apart from the iconic "jam band." The new Mickey Hart Band has a "cosmic nature," possibly since Hart has reportedly been working alongside NASA for the past few …

  Friday through Sunday will be the final weekend for “Chicago: The Musical” at the Raven Theater. This has been a very popular show, for good reason: good music, singing, dancing, costumes, acting and action. Performances are at 8 on Friday and Saturday, Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. Tickets at the box office or Copperfield’s Books. Starting Friday at the Raven Film Center is “This Means War,” a CIA thriller-romantic triangle with Reese Witherspoon, Tom Hardy and Chris Pine. Continuing will be another date-night movie, “The Vow," plus two Oscar-nominated films, “The Artist” and “Hugo.” Saturday, …

What a weekend is in store, with many events surrounding the Wild Steelhead Festival as well as the scent of romance in the air (Valentine’s Day is Tuesday). Saturday Chicago continues Saturday (8 p.m.) and Sunday (2:00 p.m.) at the Raven. Next weekend is the show’s last. Also, the fourth annual three-day Healdsburg Wild Steelhead Festival comes to town this weekend.  On Saturday, you can find the Healdsburg Wild Steelhead Festival in the Healdsburg Plaza, with informational exhibits, kids events, food, beer, wine and music. It’s free but there’s always something to purchase, and funds go to …

  Everybody knows about the Beatles, right? Four guys, Liverpool, took the world by storm in the 1960s. Eight years, 13 albums, three movies, billion-dollar song earnings, countless books, documentaries as well as spin-off and tribute bands from the Plastic Ono Band to Wings to, well, Sonoma County's own Sun Kings. Even though they broke up in 1970, it's almost impossible to have missed the impact of John, Paul, George and Ringo. Still, admit it, you've been wondering what the program "Deconstructing Sgt. Pepper" is all about, the one coming to the Raven Theater Tuesday, Feb. 7 at 7:30 p.m. I…

The upcoming weekend includes: Saturday, Feb. 4: Take in "Chicago: The Musical" 8 p.m. at the Raven Theater, Reports are it's really great, with standing O's for the cast. It also plays  for the next two weekends as well. Saturday, Feb. 4: Let your out-of-town friends know this is Chocolate Covered Month at the Camellia Inn on North St. Chocolate treats will greet guests checking in, chocolate port will be available after dinner, chocolate will be on the menu every morning for breakfast … you get the idea. It's all month long with special midweek prices too, if you mention the Chocolate …

  There are two art events in the downtown area -- a good way to start off your weekend in Healdsburg. Finely Lara's on Center Street has a collection of fine art paintings, glass sculpture jewelry on display, plus an open studio with Clay Vajgrt, the gallery's resident artist. Hours are 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The former Hammerfriar Gallery location at 139 Healdsburg Ave. has a new tenant - Wine Country Estate & Design. They’ve got consignment furniture, original artwork and custom design consultation.  Continuing Saturday, Jan. 28 after Friday night's successful opening night at the Raven …

  Friday, Jan. 20“The Iron Lady” comes to the Raven Film Center, with Meryl Streep getting rave reviews as British PM Margaret Thatcher. Also new this weekend is “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” about the personal aftermath of 9/11, with Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock. Golden Globe-winner “The Descendents” and “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” round out the bill. Call 522-0330 for show times. Saturday, Jan. 21Memorial Services will be held Saturday for Clarence Ruonavaara, the long-time supporter of Healdsburg public service, education and baseball. It will be held at the Healdsburg …

  We start our weekend on Friday, Jan. 13 because the fun, fact-filled and fantastic “Mother Goose is on the Loose” exhibit at the Healdsburg Museum is coming to a close. Learn more about childhood rhymes than you thought possible on this narrated tour; also included is the annual Holiday Toy Exhibit. Free at the Museum, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. through Sunday, Jan. 15. Saturday & Sunday, Jan. 14-15: The Wine Road fires its opening salvo in the year’s tasting events with Winter Wineland. Some 140 wineries will participate, some with food, most featuring artists, all including our world-class local …

If you were worn out by last weekend’s events, you’re not the only one. Things are pretty slow here in the ‘Burg this weekend, but will pick up soon. Even the Super Bowl-bound (knock on wood) San Francisco 49ers have a bye. Starting Jan 5: Red's Riding School horseback riding camp will be held for the next two weeks. Camp topics will include horsemanship, western & English disciplines, bareback riding, games and contests and more in 5-hour sessions. Cost is $40 / day for ages 5 and up; call to reserve 478-5110. Saturday, Jan 7: Escape the cold weather and warm up by the rustic fireplace at …

Things hardly slow down during winter for the Healdsburg Jazz Festival. Although the annual 10-day music event, centerpiece for the organization, is scheduled for June 1 – 10 later this year, several special events and education programs roll out over the next few weeks. HCA BENEFIT First up is a benefit concert for the Healdsburg Center for the Arts, the Plaza Street arts nonprofit, with a special affinity for jazz. Rhonda Benin, a performer at last summer’s Festival, will showcase her vocal prowess and stage presence at HCA on Saturday, Jan. 21. There will be two sets in this 8 p.m. show, …

Move over Seth Rogen, “Bottle Shock” and “Scream.” A new movie is being made in Healdsburg -- complete with local cast and crew. Technically, it’s not quite a movie, but a 15-minute short that serves as a final in the Santa Rosa Junior College Media 20 class this semester, "Introduction to Digital Filmmaking." Producer Frank Lewis, a Healdsburg grape grower, came up for the idea for the short film, and enlisted two other classmates to complete the project. Craig Gettmann wrote the script and served as cinematographer; Eric Ivy worked as director when they shot the movie over last weekend. The…

For the second year running, the Healdsburg Museum is hosting a Dia de los Muertos exhibit, put together by the MAYO Club of Healdsburg High. The exhibit opened Nov. 2 with a reception at the museum, and continues through Nov. 15. MAYO, the Mexican American Youth Organization, is about 10 years old, according to advisor Toni Saunders, and has about 60 members this year, “More than we ever had before.” Members of the club gathered the materials and artifacts for the exhibit, and put up the display earlier this week. The club members meet weekly to find ways to incorporate traditions from their…