January is the slowest month of the year in Healdsburg, and Tuesday is never busy anywhere. So at the Healdsburg Bar & Grill on Healdsburg Avenue, they decided to throw a little party, with a six-course meal and beers to match. Chef John Hallgrimson concocted a menu, the brewmasters from Petaluma's Lagunitas Brewery matched it course-by-course, and over 50 people showed up for the first Winter Beer Dinner at HBG. No one went away unhappy, hungry, or entirely sober. Watch the video to see why.

Ever wonder about the other restaurants in Healdsburg - the ones you haven't visited yet? Join the annual Strolling Dine Around (some call it a progressive feast) and go to four downtown restaurants for a single course at each. Reporter Rika Meyer made the pilgrimage last week (see her story here), and shares her journey with you in the accompanying video. The annual event is sponsored by the Healdsburg Chamber of Commerce and Healdsburg Lodging Coalition, with benefits going to the Shared Ministries Food Pantry. There are 16 participating restaurants, and the event continues this week on …

The annual Magical Toyland exhibit is on display all through December at the Healdsburg Museum and Historical Society, at 221 Matheson St. The theme is "Toy Trains & Teddy Bears," and there are plenty of those among many other historic toys. Take the kids (or grandkids) and show them what toys were like before AA-batteries and touch screens. Healdsburg's Holiday Party 2010 continues all month.

The annual Holiday Tree Lighting ceremony took place on Sunday, Nov. 28, in the Healdsburg Plaza. There was a good crowd of people of all ages in attendance who sang along with the music, lit ceremonial candles in rememberance of those no longer with us and cheered the lighting of the Plaza's holiday tree. Lisa Schaffner, former mayor and member of the Healdsburg City Council, served as mistress of ceremonies, and a surprise parade of light-bedecked farm vehicles circled the Plaza at the event's conclusion. Watch the video and relive it all.

To celebrate our launch today, we are posting this expert video compilation by Christian Kallen on "old Healdsburg."  You can also see another Kallen video and holiday photos by Kallen and Lance Ozanix at "Healdsburg's Holiday Party 2010." "Life in Healdsburg" is the title of this archival short about the virtues of living, working and celebrating in Healdsburg, Calif. -- "the buckle of the prune belt," whatever that meant at the time. This is edited down from a 24-minute version available at the Healdsburg Museum, which was excerpted from the original 16mm movies from 1939 and 1950 that ran …