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Italian Street Painting Marin Taps Marlatt as Executive Director

2/29/2016

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Italian Street Painting Marin (ISPM) has landed a new executive director, tapping longtime arts leader and Mill Valley resident Kevin Marlatt, most recently the arts program coordinator for Mill Valley Recreation and an events producer for the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce's annual Wine, Beer & Gourmet Food Tasting and its annual Winterfest celebration.

Marlatt steps in as the organization gears up for its major event of the year, the 2016 Italian Street Painting Marin, themed Ciao Bella Roma, in downtown San Rafael on Saturday and Sunday, June 25 and 26. Italian Street Painting Marin, a program of EveryLife Foundation for Rare Diseases, showcases the fine art of street painting and supports arts-based programs and experiences for underserved students.

Founded in 1994 by Mill Valley residents Sue and Joe Carlomagno, the organization has relied on a growing community of dedicated volunteers and small part time staff to produce the annual June event in recent years. Sue Carlomagno received a Milley Award in 2011.

"(Kevin) will be an effective leader and is a passionate advocate for the arts and arts education and will help to direct our growth," says Sue Carlomagno. "We’re excited to have him join the team and to help ensure that this high-quality, captivating community event continues to flourish in years to come.”​

Marlatt began his arts career at the New England Foundation for the Arts in Cambridge Massachusetts, moving to the Bay Area in 1990 and working at a number arts organizations, including San Francisco Opera, San Francisco Performances, Stanford Lively Arts and the Oakland School for the Arts. Marlatt also directed the development of the Arts Education Master Plan for the San Francisco Unified School District and served as the executive director of the Blue Bear School of Music in San Francisco where he led the significant growth of the school’s enrollment, outreach programs and fundraising efforts. 

“The respect and good will that ISPM has established and built upon to further the art of street painting has been incredible," Marlatt says. "Throughout my career, I’ve believed in the power of arts education and the many ways the arts serve to strengthen community and help people to connect. The arts also have a tremendous capacity to help heal, and being connected to and having the support of the EveryLife Foundation for Rare Diseases makes for a very special collaboration."


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Morgenstern Trio Takes Stage at March 13th Chamber Music Society Show

2/29/2016

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Acclaimed German ensemble known for its spectacular and inventive musical palette, performs in concert for the next Mill Valley Chamber Music Society concert on Sunday, March 13.
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Pianist Catherine Klipfel, violinist Stefan Hempel and cellist Emanuel Wehse are the Morgenstern Trio. Courtesy image.
The Mill Valley Chamber Music Society continues its 2015-16 season on March 13 with a concert from the Morgenstern Trio, an acclaimed German ensemble known for its spectacular and inventive musical palette, at the Mt. Tamalpais United Methodist Church at 5 p.m.

The group, pianist Catherine Klipfel, violinist Stefan Hempel and cellist Emanuel Wehse, will perform a concert program including Germaine Tailleferre: Trio; Pierre Jalbert: Piano Trio No. 2 (2014); and Ravel: Trio in A. The trio first met while studying at Folkwang Conservatory in Essen, Germany. They formed in 2005 with 19th century poet and humorist, Christian Morgenstern, serving as inspiration for the trio's name.
 
It wasn't long before they achieved professional accomplishments and critical acclaim.
 
After only two short years, the Morgenstern Trio emerged on the German music scene after receiving top prizes and awards. After receiving the prestigious Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio Award in 2010, they gained attention in America and were engaged to perform at top concert venues including the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall. They also performed in other venues in New York and in cities including Chicago, Detroit, Kalamazoo, Carmel, Louisville, Lexington and Palm Beach. The Morgenstern Trio traveled to the West Coast to perform for the Mill Valley Chamber Music Society in November 2013.
 
After performing at the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater in 2012, Robert Battey for the Washington Post applauded the Morgenstern Trio for its polished technique and musical imagination and wrote “I don’t believe I’ve ever heard so many of the string colors and sound effects in the Ravel Trio — certainly not in a live performance. Morgenstern’s clarity of musical detail and technical excellence made this a night to remember. This was one of the best concerts I’ve heard all season."
 
The trio established the Morgenstern Festival in Germany in the summer of 2014, offering eclectic programs with featured guest artists. More recently, the Morgenstern Trio was selected by the European Concert Hall Organization for the “Rising Star Series,” providing for debut concerts on important stages throughout Europe. The Germany’s national program for young musicians and the "Best of NRW" Concert Series has provided the Morgenstern Trio a noticeable platform with numerous concerts across Germany and live radio appearances to showcase their already consummate musicianship.

The 411: The Morgenstern Trio performs at 5pm on Sunday, March 13 at the Mount Tamalpais United Methodist Church, 410 Sycamore Ave. Tickets are $18-$35 via Brown Paper Tickets, at 1-800-838-3006 or at the door.

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Mill Valley Recreation's Eggstravaganza Set for March 19

2/28/2016

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Mr. E. Bunny arrives in Mill Valley on Saturday, March 19, for one of the most popular events in town: the Spring Eggstravaganza.

The Mill Valley Recreation event kicks off at 8:30am with the Bunny Breakfast, with kids having breakfast and getting their photos taken with Mr. E. Bunny before they all head to Friends Field for the annual Egg Hunt, “searching for surprises left in the grass by that rascally rabbit and his friends.”

Mr. E. Bunny starts each hunt: 10am for ages 2 and under, and 10:15am for ages 3-4 and ages 5-8, three separate hunts at two different times to help the morning flow smoothly. Don’t forget to look for the “golden eggs” that hold special surprises for their finders. The Mill Valley Seniors’ Club continues its sponsorship of the event, allowing the Egg Hunt to be free for all attendees.

Dating back more than 25 years, the City’s annual Spring Egg Hunt has become “a cultural touchstone for Mill Valley families,” Mill Valley Recreation Director Jenny Rogers adds.

Between the breakfast and the egg hunt, City officials estimate that 1,000 children and adults regularly attend the event, which doles out an average of more than 5,000 eggs. The event was first held as the Spring Egg Hunt on the field behind the old recreation center, and then on Bayfront Park. In 2005, it morphed and expanded into the Eggstravaganza and Bunny Breakfast at the Community Center and on Friends Field, including jumpees, a train, live music and face painting.

Tickets for the Bunny Breakfast are available now at the Community Center & Aquatics/Fitness Center. Adults: $6, Children: $4 (2yrs. and under are free). No tickets are required for the Egg Hunt – just bring a basket or bag to collect your eggs in.

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Grateful Dead Drummer Bill Kreutzmann Brings 'Billy & the Kids' Project to Sweetwater

2/28/2016

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Billy & the Kids. Photo by Stewart O'Shields.
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​In the months before he goes back out on the road with fellow Grateful Dead legend Bob Weir as part of Dead & Company, drummer Bill Kreutzmann has lined up a series of dates for his Billy & The Kids project, including a show on April 8 at Mill Valley resident Weir's Sweetwater Music Hall. 

Kreutzmann will be joined by guitarist Tom Hamilton, bassist Reed Mathis and keyboardist Aron Magner, as well as special guest guitarist Eric Krasno of Soulive fame. The group are set to play the next night at The Warfield in San Francisco with soul-funk legends The Greyboy Allstars opening.

As Kreutzmann describe son his website: "Music is an adventure. Jams are a journey. And my new band, Billy and The Kids, will take you there ... So get in the groove and let the good times roll!!"

More info.


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Good Earth Natural Foods to Open Tam Valley Store on March 9

2/26/2016

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The grocery store that Tam Valley residents have been seeking for more than five years officially has a "born on" date: March 9, 2016.

Good Earth Natural Foods will open its Tam Valley store at 201 Flamingo Road at 11am that day, thrilling a community that has seen its biggest building sit vacant since December 2010, when DeLano's IGA Market closed the week as part of a series of closures for the grocery chain. Marin County Supervisor Kate Sears will be on hand for a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Fairfax-based organic foods market Good Earth confirmed their intent to open a store in Tam Valley in September 2014 and worked with Santa Cruz-based C/D/M Crocker-Fry, which designed and built Good Earth's 22,000-square-foot Fairfax store, on a "total renovation and aesthetic transformation of Shoreline Shopping Center’s grocery building."

The company's decision to open in Tam Valley capped a turbulent run for the former Delano's space, one that included plans in 2012 by San Jose-based retail chain Orchard Supply Hardware to move in, an effort that was ultimately thwarted by a petition drive against it. One year later, Sprouts Farmer Market had a deal in place to move in but that fell through.

Good Earth's Madeline Ross says that while the decision to open a second store was based on increasing demand for Good earth's products and services, it's also about the larger movement to avoid GMOs, reduce the use of pesticides, and promote sustainable practices by supporting organic farmers and local producers.

"The driving force of this new store is to continue to spread our mission," she says. "We're doing this to inspire and encourage more people to eat organic and non-GMO foods, and we're hoping to spread our influence and push other stores to go all organic. We believe we can affect even more change, and Tam Valley is our perfect market to do so."

Good Earth first opened in 1969 at 123 Bolinas Avenue in Fairfax, moving in 2000 to 1966 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. and then opening its flagship store at 720 Center Blvd. in February 2012 "to meet the needs of our customers who requested a larger store with more selection store-wide, wider aisles, additional check-out stands, and indoor seating."

Co-owner Mark Squire played a pioneering role in the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF), one of the first independent organic certifiers in the country. He helped craft many of the original guidelines still in use today by the USDA National Organic Program. In 2007, along with two other retailers, Squire was instrumental in the creation of the Non-GMO Project, which provides retailers and consumers with third-party verification to enable people to safely select foods that are free from genetically modified organisms.

The new store will have approximately 175 employees, making it one of the largest employers in southern Marin. “Along with meeting the additional market demand for what we do, it brings me great pleasure knowing our staff will continue to grow too – this opportunity represents real leadership growth opportunities for many current Good Earthlings,” says co-owner Al Baylacq says.

Good Earth officials note that the new store was "created with the earth in mind," with drought tolerant native plants as its landscaping, up-cycled reclaimed wood from the 50-year-old barrel roof for re-use throughout the project, artisan tiles made from 70 percent locally sourced recycled materials, LED lighting in the store governed by an energy management system with motion and light detection, 400 square feet of skylights to maximize natural light within the doors. The building also features solar panels and solar thermal for energy conversion. 

Squire says that while Marin County requires a rate of at least 50 percent rate of re-used and recycled materials, the Tam Valley store achieved a rate of 80 percent.
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“At Good Earth, respect for the Earth is what we are all about, so we go out of our way to reduce our footprint whenever possible,” says Mark Squire, Partner.

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Milley Award Winner Larson Shows 'Romantic Rebound' Mixed Media Work at MV Chamber in March

2/25/2016

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Former San Francisco Chronicle photojournalist Frederic Larson is one of the most heralded photographers in the Bay Area.

But for his exhibit at the 
at the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center (85 Throckmorton) throughout March with a wine reception on March 1 (6–8pm) as part of the Mill Valley Arts Commission's First Tuesday Artwalk, Larson is diving into mixed media with a series he's calling "Romantic Rebound."

Larson, who won a Milley Award for visual arts in 2010, is using some of his renowned photos as the basis for the new work, but mixing in the use of paint, epoxy resin, metals and pieces of found art to create something else entirely.

"It's been really fun to 'rebound' with some of my old photos and create something new," says Larson, widely known locally as a longtime Mill Valley Little League coach and father of two sons who attended local public schools. 

Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1949, Larson grew up in the Chicago suburbs and graduated with a degree in radio and television from San Francisco State University in 1975 where he would later teach a course in photojournalism. For four years after graduation, Larson was a freelance photographer for United Press International in San Francisco. He served six years in the U.S. Naval Reserves.

Larson moved to Mill Valley in 1981 and for more than 30 years was a photographer 
Chronicle. Over the course of his career, Larson garnered more than 50 photography awards. In 1988, he was the first photojournalist to win the Hibakusha Travel Grant Program to photograph the WWII atom bomb survivors in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The photographic material from the Hibakusha story was a finalist in the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for feature photography.

Larson was named twice Photographer of the Year for 1989-90 from the California Press Photographers' Association and 1991's Photographer of the Year from the Bay Area Press Photographers Association. In 1988 he was awarded the Associated Press Sweepstakes from the News Executives Council of California and Nevada. In 1987 and 1990 he was elected to the Photography Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, for best and second best sports feature photograph.

He is published in over a dozen books including Mystical San Francisco, which he created with former Chronicle Publisher and former Mill Valley resident Phil Bronstein and published in October 2006.

The 411: Frederic Larson exhibits his 'Romantic Rebound' mixed media work Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center, 85 Throckmorton Avenue, throughout March. The First Tuesday Artwalk receptions are Tuesday, March 1, 6–8pm. First Tuesday Artwalk Guide with venues and a map.

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Renowned Cellist Nicolas Altstaedt Headlines MV Chamber Music Society Concert Feb. 28

2/25/2016

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The Mill Valley Chamber Music Society continues its 43rd season this Sunday with a concert from renowned cellist Nicolas Altstaedt performing with pianist Gilles Vonsatte at the Mt. Tamalpais United Methodist Church at 5 p.m.

The program will feature Debussy: Cello Sonata; Beethoven: Cello Sonata No. 4, op. 102, # 1; Brahms: Cello Sonata No. 2 in F, op. 99; and Schumann: Fantasiestucke, op. 73. Vonsatte is stepping in
 for pianist Alexander Lonquich due to a scheduling conflict. 
 
Considered as one of Europe's finest young artists, Nicolas Altstaedt is regarded as a thoughtful, articulate musician and brilliant performer who brings intellectual energy and emotion to the stage. A versatile artist performing the classical repertoire and commissioning new music, Altstaedt was one of Boris Pergamenschikow's last students in Berlin, where he continued his studies with Eberhard Feltz. After winning several international competitions and a Borletti Buitoni Fellowship in 2009, Nicolas Altstaedt was awarded the Credit Suisse Young Artist Award 2010, for part of which he performed with the Vienna Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel at the Lucerne Festival.

As a BBC New Generation Artist 2010-2012, he has performed with all BBC Orchestras, at the Proms and at the Wigmore Hall. Altstaedt has also performed as guest artist (under a three-year residency) with the Chamber Music Society at Lincoln Center, New York City. He has also received critical acclaimed for his recording of two Haydn concertos with the Potsdamer Kammerakademie; Schumann, Tchaikovsky and Gulda concertos on the Claves label; and a world premiere recording of pieces by Wilhelm Killmayer with José Gallardo.

 
Swiss-born American pianist Gilles Vonsattel is an artist of extraordinary versatility and originality. His most recent 2014 New York solo recital was hailed as “tightly conceived and passionately performed…a study in intensity” by The New York Times.  Comfortable with and seeking out an enormous range of repertoire, Vonsattel displays a musical curiosity and sense of adventure that has gained him many admirers. Recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant and winner of the Naumburg and Geneva competitions as well as a Honens laureate, he has in recent years made his Boston Symphony, Tanglewood, and San Francisco Symphony debuts, while performing recitals and chamber music at Ravinia, Tokyo’s Musashino Hall, Wigmore Hall, Bravo! Vail, Music@Menlo, the Gilmore festival, the Lucerne festival, and the Munich Gasteig.
 
The 411: Nicolas Altstaedt performs with pianist Gilles Vonsatte at 5pm on Sunday, February 28 at the Mount Tamalpais United Methodist Church, 410 Sycamore Ave. Tickets are $18-$35 via Brown Paper Tickets, at 1-800-838-3006 or at the door.


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The Redwoods Set to Begin Overhaul of Entrance on March 1

2/24/2016

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A rendering of the new entryway of the Redwoods. Courtesy The Redwoods and BAR Architects.
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This map show the temporary entry points to the Redwoods. Click map for a larger version.
The ongoing $32 million overhaul of the vast campus of The Redwoods, Mill Valley’s community of seniors, is entering a new phase on March 1: namely, the entryway itself and its surrounding parking lot.

With the multi-year Revitalization Project having finished
 remodels of the kitchen and dining room, as well as the renovations of the independent living apartments, the community's most prominent feature is now the focus.  


Construction is expected to last through the end of August and will require temporary relocation of the existing main entrance on Camino Alto. It will also require changes in parking, vehicle access, and pedestrian access. 

The map above right indicates those changes. 
Family members and other visitors who visit The Redwoods will need to park on the street rather than on The Redwoods campus. The pedestrian entrance will be temporarily relocated to another side of the campus and will be most accessible from Miller Ave. The existing parking lot on Miller Ave will be used for resident pick up and drop off.  

Special signage is being placed at the streets and throughout the campus, and a wayfinding map (above right) is being distributed to frequent visitors. 

With one of Mill Valley’s crown jewels in need of restoration, community leaders, elected officials and residents of the Redwoods
 broke ground in February 2014 on a project to restore and modernize the 40-year old-campus.

“This is more than just a campus upgrade,” The Redwoods CEO Barbara Solomon said. “Seniors and their families want the best possible retirement experience. Revitalization is about better meeting the needs of today’s seniors – who are active, vital and engaged. It is also about creating a community that will be attractive to future generations of seniors– including Baby Boomers.”

The 411: Founded in 1972 by the Community Church of Mill Valley, The Redwoods provides multi-level, affordable rental housing, services and care to 340 low- and moderate income seniors from across the Bay Area and beyond. Click here for more information about the Revitalization Project.

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As PAAM Grows and Grows, Its Bond With the Community Only Deepens

2/24/2016

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The Performing Arts Academy of Marin has moved into a 6,000-square-foot space in Strawberry, the next phase in its seven-year journey to create a multi-faceted arts community for kids.
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Performing Arts Academy of Marin (PAAM) Annie Thistle, at right, with her daughter Kenadie at the PAAM showcase in 2015. Courtesy image.
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A selection of images from the Performing Arts Academy of Marin (PAAM). Courtesy image.
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Performing Arts Academy of Marin (PAAM) Annie Thistle, at left, with her key staff members at the Dance Teacher Summit in summer 2015. Courtesy image.
When longtime Mill Valley resident Annie Thistle moved back home from Boston in 2009 at the age of 25, she had a plan to open her own dance studio.

Just seven years later, her Performing Arts Academy of Marin (PAAM) has grown so much as to need a new 6,000-square-foot facility in Strawberry, with more than 400 students taking over 80 classes a week from a faculty of 13 instructors. Was all that part of the plan?

Yes, indeed.

“I’d always wanted to be in the position where we are right now,” Thistle says. “I am always trying to create an environment where we can serve more kids and offer more to the community. We now have gathering spaces for the kids and families. We’ve worked very hard to build this community. And for a lot of these kids, they have friends that they wouldn’t have had otherwise – I’m thrilled.”

The community agrees, in spades. A quick glance at Yelp reviews reveals a deep outpouring of support from PAAM parents:
  • “It is a labor of love for the passionate director and her well-chosen staff, and it shows every single day in the quality of the instruction across all disciplines of the performing arts … We can say without reservation that the PAAM community has been one of the most positive influences in her life to date.”
  • “The staff has a real talent for sharing their craft that requires focus and dedication while simultaneously making the experience a whole lot of fun. Annie ... is professional, compassionate, and a true role model for my young tween who has gained immeasurable skill, confidence and self-worth in the PAAM conservatory and summer camps over the years.”
  • “My teen daughter's friend base at the studio is fantastic mirroring the studio's philosophy of supporting each other on and off of the stage. She has become an accomplished dancer and performer at PAAM as well. I am extremely grateful to have such a supportive and creative learning environment here in Marin.”

Thistle’s journey began at the age of three, when she got her first tutu and attended her first ballet class.
“I stuck with it immediately and never wavered,” she says.
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She then expanded her interest into performing arts, where she’s stayed ever since.

“That’s where I found my true passion, combining my love of singing and acting with my inherent love of dance,” she says. “Performing arts has been the ultimate outlet for creative expression, release and exercise throughout my entire life.”

Thistle’s family moved around a bit during her early years – her dad was in the beverage business, a gig that took the family from Louisville, Kentucky to Lincoln, Nebraska to Grosse Pointe, Michigan and eventually to the Bay Area, where he worked for Brown-Forman and specifically its Fetzer Vineyards brand.

But the connection to performing arts never ceased, through her years at San Domenico Middle School and St. Ignatius and then onto Boston College.

After graduating summa cum laude, Thistle stayed in Boston for three more years to perform professionally in musicals for a variety of dance companies. She knew that she eventually wanted to start teaching, but needed to scratch the performing itch first.

“I knew that I needed to explore that avenue and doing that really allowed me to move forward as a educator,” she says. “I wouldn’t have been fully satisfied if I hadn’t.”

While in Boston, she met her husband DJ, a teacher who in 2012 launched SteamFeed, a blog that focuses on the latest trends in social media, technology, and marketing. As the couple thought about next steps, DJ fell in love with Mill Valley and the greater Bay Area and they decided to move back.

Thistle launched PAAM in her living room, teaching a dozen local girls and eventually moving into space at the Community Church of Mill Valley in summer 2009. As the program grew too big for the church, Thistle opened her first location in the Alto Plaza shopping center in January 2010, a 1,600-square-foot space near where UPS and Starbucks are now.  

After three years there, it became clear to Thistle that a much bigger space was needed, so she leased the 2,800-square-foot storefront space above Balboa Cafe at Mill Creek Plaza. And in late 2015, as PAAM had gone back to using space at the Community Church for extension classes because the Miller Ave. space was no longer enough, she decided to go ever bigger at 60 Belvedere Drive in Strawberry, just behind the Strawberry Village shopping center.

“We’re really happy to get under one roof,” she says. “It’s just been exponential.”

As PAAM has grown, its ties to local schools have grown as well. PAAM has contributed to programs at Edna Maguire, Tam Valley Elementary, Strawberry Point, Old Firehouse Preschool, Marin Day Schools, Marin Primary, St. Patricks, St. Marks, St. Hilary and the Mill Valley Library. Thistle’s 4-year-old daughter Kenadie attends Marin Horizon’s preschool, and PAAM does a first grade enrichment program through Edna Maguire, as well as the "America Sings" program through Kiddo!'s Drama Block Grants.

As she feverishly seeks to get completely settled into the new space, and readies her students for their performance of Shrek this weekend at the Civic Center in San Rafael, AND is 30 weeks pregnant with her second child, Thistle takes a brief second to reflect on the journey so far.  

“I’m just surrounded by amazing people,” she says.

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Grilly’s Turns 25, Revamps Patio and Rebrands Image

2/23/2016

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Grilly’s, one of Miller Avenue’s most longstanding businesses, turns 25 this year, and has given itself a multi-faceted makeover to celebrate the occasion.

Regular customers and neighbors of Grilly’s have likely noticed that the popular Mexican restaurant now has a new, modern patio. Owner and Mill Valley resident Jim Revoir says he’d been wanting to give the patio an overhaul for quite a while.

“We’re very much part of that streetscape and there is so much activity and shops and restaurants around us that I really thought it was important to give it an updated look, make it completely accessible and weather-ready,” he says, noting that local architect Barbara Chambers and landscape architect James Bradanini spearheaded the overhaul.

The modern, corrugated steel look of the patio also provided an opportunity to give Grilly’s logo and branding a refresh as well. To do so, Revoir turned to Mill Valley graphic designer James Van Kriedt, who has drawn rave reviews for his work for both Shoreline Coffee Shop in Tam Junction and Iron Lion Gym on Miller.

“We just felt that with the new patio, it was time to change the branding around it, and time to update our menus and visuals, including our website,” Revoir says. “We’re extremely happy with the change and James did a great job.”

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Mill Valley Philharmonic Explores 'Hadyn's Reach' in March Series

2/17/2016

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The Mill Valley Philharmonic (MVP) is turning its attention to the "father of the symphony" for a trio of free shows in March.

In its "Haydn’s Reach - Haydn to Ives" shows, which begin March 11 at the Mt. Tam United Methodist Church, the local award-winning community orchestra providing dedicated volunteer musicians the opportunity to rehearse and perform orchestral repertoire is diving into the compositions of Franz Joseph Haydn.

Widely known as “the father of the symphony,” Haydn had an enormous influence on composers from the 18th century onward. MVP explores Haydn’s impact on Prokofiev, Stravinsky and Ives in a program featuring Haydn’s Symphony No. 94, The Surprise; Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 1, The Classical; Stravinsky’s Ode: Tryptichon for Orchestra; and Ives’ The Unanswered Question. Conductor Laurie Cohen includes commentary and orchestral demonstration to enhance the audiences’ enjoyment of the music. All MVP concerts are free, with walk-in seating.  Everyone is welcome.

A central feature of Joseph Haydn’s symphonies is the development of large musical structures out of short, simple themes.  “The symphony is like a story.  Characters are introduced and then their interactions create a larger drama,” says Cohen. Like the architecture of ancient Greece and Rome, Classical symphonic form depends on symmetry and rhythmic balance, but lest that sound too formal, Haydn was known for his sense of humor.  His Surprise Symphony has hiccups and laughing motifs – and of course, surprises. Cohen says, “Haydn does something really unusual at the end of the Andante (the movement whose theme we can all sing.)  He takes it into a harmonic structure that had never been heard before in a symphony. It’s subtle, and fantastically creative. There are other surprises, but we don’t want to give them away and spoil the pleasure of the audience.”​

The rest of the program was chosen with Haydn’s influence in mind. While obvious choices might have been Mozart or Beethoven, Mill Valley Philharmonic is taking a more adventurous approach with Prokofiev, Stravinsky and Ives.  Cohen says she hears Haydn’s influence most strongly on Prokofiev’s Classical Symphony, a symphony most audience members will recognize. The musical hiccups and laughing lines prevail.  Was Prokofiev stealing from Haydn? “Great composers take ideas and themes from composers that have gone before and rework them in their own voices. I don’t think of it as stealing. The composer hears something that affects him and internalizes it, creating something new.”

Stravinsky wrote Ode: Tryptichon for Orchestra during his Neo-Classical period. “The dissonant harmonies are a challenge and will stretch the audience’s ears.  They’re certainly stretching the orchestra’s ears,” explains Cohen. She selected Ives’ The Unanswered Question, as the “anti-Haydn.”  

​“For my final choice, I was thinking, Okay, where shall we go? Mozart? Beethoven?” Cohen says. “Then I thought, what is a kind of anti-Classical form? And that’s when I chose Ives, the perfect, anti-Haydn composer.”
 
Dates, Times and Venues for Haydn’s Reach - Haydn to Ives
Friday, March 11th  at 8:00 pm, Mt. Tamalpais United Methodist Church, 410 Sycamore Ave., Mill Valley
Saturday, March 12th  at 4:00 pm, Mt. Tamalpais United Methodist Church, Mill Valley
Sunday, March 13th at 1:00pm, Angelico Hall, Dominican University, 50 Acacia Ave., San Rafael.
For more information go to www.millvalleyphilharmonic.org or call 415.383.0930.

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Kid-Driven Fast Forward Evolves Into a Magazine, Turns 25

2/11/2016

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“It’s all about letting that little light bulb go off,” says co-founder Winifred Macleod.
More than 15 years ago, Nina Catalano was a smart sixth grader at Mill Valley Middle School who had a difficult childhood and limited expectations for her future.

Then she found out about Fast Forward, the for-kids, by-kids Mill Valley newspaper created by Winifred and John Macleod out of the rubble of the now-defunct Mill Valley Record in 1991. Within months, Catalano was interviewing the likes of Kobe Bryant, Anne Hathaway and even local legend Robin Williams, whose lightning fast tongue and massive, multi-syllabic vocabulary didn’t faze her.

Now Catalano is an Associate Deputy Public Defender at Alameda County Public Defender’s office, a recipient of a scholarship from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a graduate of Harvard University and Harvard Law School and one of Fast Forward’s most devout alums.

But Catalano’s experience is far from an anomaly. In fact, Fast Forward alums have gone on to a variety of incredibly interesting jobs. Former editor Stephanie Foo helped create the acclaimed Snap Judgment podcast in New York City and is now a producer for Ira Glass’ This American Life. Former reporter Kevin Blum is the North Bay community Manager for Yelp, often appearing in KRON-4 television segments about the best restaurants in the Bay Area.

“We try to teach student reporters how to think critically about their environments – we encourage them to follow their curiosities,” Winifred Macleod says. “They all have their own voice and just need to understand how important it is for them to express themselves. That curiosity – and the ability think critically and quickly – has served them well as they’ve moved into their careers.”

Entirely written by kids and for kids, much of the editorial content focuses on interesting careers and the most innovative companies, Macleod says.

“Kids research and go behind the scenes of what the companies are like,” she says.
​

Fast Forward turns 25 this year, and it owes its existence to another inquisitive kid, then-11-year-old Kendra Macleod. Her parents John and Winifred, serving as the interim publishers of the Mill Valley Record, were trying to determine what, if anything, would be their next move as the local newspaper of record was on its last legs, Kendra Macleod asked, “Why can’t kids have their own newspaper?”

The answer, as Fast Forward’s existence and success can attest, is: “Indeed they can.”

The MacLeods named it the Mill Valley Student Record for its first few issues before moving onto Fast Forward, and the monthly publication, which shifted to a magazine format three months ago, is a Marin institution.

It reaches students at public and private schools all across Marin, rotating from school to school each month and working with students who attend weekend Fast Forward journalism club workshops.

“Mostly it’s just sort of exposing kids to interesting people and putting them in situations where they have to be critical thinkers and quick on their feet,” Macleod says.

Fast Forward subsists on revenue from advertising and sponsorships from the likes of Mill Valley Market, Marin Horizon School, Marin Theatre Company, MV Code Club, Pacific Union, Alain Pinel, Good Earth, MMWD, The Redwoods, Frantoio and the Greenwood School.

The publication is distributed at public and private schools throughout Marin, with a 20,000-copy run each month. Fast Forward has garnered a Golden Bell Award from the California School Board Association and has been honored by the Marin County Board of Education.

In addition to the aforementioned, the list of people interviewed and featured in it over the years is staggering, a who’s who that even national publications would be proud of: Al Gore, Gen. David Petraeus, Jerry Seinfeld, ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer, California Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom, Chris Rock, Carlos Santana, Channing Tatum, the cast of smash Broadway musical Hamilton, Sammy Hagar, ABC-7 anchor Cheryl Jennings and executives and creative designers at Pixar, Google, Facebook and LucasFilm.

And Kendra Macleod? She’s gone on to a successful career as a TV producer, working for the likes of MTV, Viacom and Sharp Entertainment.

“It’s all about letting that little light bulb go off,” she says.

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Yuko Ohmori Thrilled to Deepen Mill Valley Ties with UKO Boutique Downtown

2/11/2016

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The front window of the UKO boutique at 75 Throckmorton Ave. in downtown Mill Valley. Courtesy image.
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Yuko Ohmori, owner of the UKO boutique at 75 Throckmorton Ave. in downtown Mill Valley, with her daughters Elena and Maya. Courtesy image.
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The front window of the UKO boutique at 75 Throckmorton Ave. in downtown Mill Valley. Courtesy image.
Longtime Mill Valley resident Yuko Ohmori faced a pair of critical decisions in 2015.

Each was provoked by circumstances beyond her control and came as a complete surprise. At each of those moments, Ohmori chose the path of family and community – and she’s thrilled at the outcome, with a new store in downtown Mill Valley.
Ohmori is the owner of the UKO clothing stores in Mill Valley and San Francisco’s Hayes Valley, home to women’s clothing that Ohmori designs herself and sources from places like Paris, Tokyo and Italy.

Ohmori originally opened Boutique UKO with her ex-husband and longtime business partner David Scott on Union Street in San Francisco in 1986 and developed a stellar reputation for clothing that is “stylish, unique and artsy, timeless and ageless, with very reasonable price,” Ohmori says.

In February 2015, Scott died just four weeks after being diagnosed with cancer. As the father of their two daughters – “they were both devastated,” Scott was an integral part of Ohmori’s life. Scott largely ran the San Francisco store, and Ohmori knew her work would double.

Soon thereafter, Ohmori was informed that despite having one of the most popular retail shops in the Corte Madera Town Center shopping mall – UKO opened there three years earlier to see if their clothing would connect with the North Bay community – her lease wasn’t being negotiated in favor to UKO. In the wake of Scott’s passing, the timing was far from ideal.

Ohmori had no choice but to close the Corte Madera store at the end of May and began looking for space elsewhere. She had an attractive offer from another high-end shopping center in Marin, one that she would’ve taken if her criteria was purely financial.

“Even though I was very flattered and happy to find out that such a small business like ours had been noticed and desired, I chose Mill Valley location because this is our community – I love this town,” Ohmori says. “This is the only hometown my girls have ever known.”

Ohmori’s daughter Maya had left college to be with her father. After his passing, Maya started to help Ohmori with everything to do with moving to the new location. On August 13, the night before they opened to the public, they dressed the mannequins, removed the brown paper from the front window and went outside to look in.

“I didn’t know if I could do the renovation without David's brilliant ability of it," Ohmori says. “Maya really helped me get through it day and night. And in that moment, we were just happy. It had been so hard to get to that point.”

Born and raised in Japan, Ohmori was a professional fashion stylist, working on fashion shows in Tokyo and for a Japanese fashion designer in Paris. She moved to the United States at the age of 20 and double majored in international business and fashion merchandise.

With her new Mill Valley store open and many of her Marin customers discovering her new home each week , Ohmori is excited to continue developing her clothing, which sees as distinctly creative and affordable.”

Instead of going to fashion shows and copying fashion magazines, I would go to museums or on nature walks – that’s where I get inspiration about things like color and shape,” Ohmori says.
​

The 411: UKO is located at 75 Throckmorton Ave. 415-326-5088. More info.

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Photographer Shaw Showcases 'Stars & Stripes' Exhibit at City Hall in March

2/10/2016

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Mill Valley photographer Phil Shaw will host a free wine and dessert reception on March 1, 6-8pm, for his exhibit of more than 30 photographs based on the theme of "Stars & Stripes." The purpose of the exhibit is show how Americans both revere their flag and, at the same time, use it as a pop-icon for everything from clothing to political protest.
​
In these photos, Shaw says he's not attempting to make any political statement but is only artfully recording the many different ways he has seen the flag or simulations of the flag displayed.

 
The exhibit is part of the Mill Valley First Tuesday ArtWalk and is located at the Mill Valley City Hall Council Chambers (26 Corte Madera Ave.) for the whole month of March.

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City to Remove Gravity Car from Depot Plaza for Major Repairs

2/10/2016

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The replica Gravity Car that since 2009 has linked downtown Mill Valley to its storied railroad history will be removed from its location at the south end of the Depot Plaza on February 17 for some major repairs, City of Mill Valley officials said this week.

The replica Gravity Car is a reproduction of the open-air cars that were used to shuttle up to 30 people down Mount Tamalpais in the heyday of the Mount Tamalpais and Muir Woods Railway between 1896 and 1930. 

The repairs are expected "to take some time since most of the floor boards are rotted and many pieces have broken off from people climbing on it," according to the City. In doing the repairs, "consideration is being made as to how repairs to the Gravity Car will allow it to better withstand weather damage and young climbers."

The City doesn't yet have a projected completion date because it hasn't yet determined the full scope of the repairs. In the meantime, the Gravity Car will be moved to the City's corporation yard, under cover, to protect it from winter weather conditions.

City staff is in conversation with the Town of Ross’ historian Richard Torney, who is an expert on local rail car history, as well as former Mayor Mill Valley Garry Lion, who worked to have the replica Gravity Car relocated to the Depot Plaza from its former home in Old Mill Park in 2009. Fred Runner, historian of the West Point Inn, will weigh in on the repairs as well.

The City of Mill Valley will provide updates to the repairs and estimated completion date as more information is made available.

The wooden, 10-by-12-foot structure had been at the Old Mill Park playground since its debut at the 1990 Memorial Day parade. The car was last repaired by the City in 2008 after years of deterioration from the park's damp conditions and repeated acts of vandalism.

Starting in 1896, the Mill Valley & Mount Tamalpais Scenic Railway made the eight-mile trip up to the East Peak of the mountain several times a day. In 1907, a spur line opened up that took passengers down to Muir Woods, and the name was changed to the Mount Tamalpais & Muir Woods Railway. Known as the "Crookedest Railroad in the World," the steam train took about one hour to travel eight miles up the steep slopes of Mount Tamalpais, by way of 281 hairpin curves. The ride from Mill Valley took a little over one hour to reach the top, winding through groves of redwood forests before coming out into the open high country of Mount Tamalpais.

After a trip up the mountain, visitors had the option to coast down into Muir Woods or back to Mill Valley in a "Gravity Car," an open-air train car manned by the "Gravity Man" working the brakes and powered solely by gravity. 

Another replica gravity car is kept in a Gravity Car Barn and museum that was spearheaded by the Mount Tamalpais Interpretive Association (MTIA) at the East Peak of Mount Tam. The Gravity Car Barn opened in May 2009

Questions about the repairs? Contact the City's Operations Superintendent Denise Andrews at (415) 384-4708 or dandrews@cityofmillvalley.org.

​Here's some footage of the old Gravity Car:
And here's one of the many reasons the Gravity Car is need of repairs:

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