Three years after she launched The Hivery, the "co-working space and inspiration lab" that quickly became an inclusive force of nature at 38 Miller Ave. in Mill Valley, Grace Kraaijvanger is expanding the business to San Francisco, opening a second location at the Fort Mason Center for the Arts + Culture this summer.

"I can’t believe it," she writes in a note to her community. "The day is actually here ... I’m not kidding when I tell you that I’ve been trying to make this happen for almost two years. The months of wondering, questioning, hoping, waiting, praying, and yes, even doubting are over because today I can officially tell you."

"Fort Mason has become a very special place for me," she adds. "It’s an easy 10-minute drive from the Golden Gate Bridge. And, we already made incredible memories at Fort Mason during The Hivery's Entrepreneur + Inspiration Lab in October."

The Hivery's new location will have a very familiar neighbor, as Equator Coffee opened at Fort Mason in ???. r

"You'll be on the water, listening to the sounds of the seagulls and boats and smelling the salty, foggy San Francisco air," Kraaijvanger writes. "You’ll get the same inclusive, welcoming Hivery vibe right on the beautiful, beloved San Francisco Bay. You’ll widen your network and help us grow The Hivery community. We’re excited to take this leap with you."

The 411: The Hivery is located at 38 Miller Avenue, and is opening a second location at the Fort Mason Center for the Arts + Culture this summer. MORE INFO.

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Terra Marin School and the Terra Mandarin Preschool, which opened in late 2018 in the former Ring Mountain Day School space on Lomita Drive in Mill Valley, is launching a series of summer camps spanning a wide range of topics and age groups.

The schools, created by Wendy Xa, a former vice president at Goldman Sachs and a mother of two who founded the Mandarin immersion Presidio Knolls School in San Francisco in 2008 as a preschool before expanding it to a K-8 program, seek to be "a world class institution in the heart of Mill Valley," Xa says.

The summer camps are for kids ages 3-15 and run from June 3 to August 9. They are "Academics & Archery" (ages 7-13), Earth Discovery (ages 3-15), and Mandarin Mania (ages 3-10), while a SSAT prep for rising seventh and eighth grader runs May 25-July 5.

In a limited time offer, Terra Marin is offering 50 percent off for the first five people who contact the school about the camps that heard about them on the Enjoy Mill Valley Blog. Click here to reach out directly to Terra Marin to receive the discount.

In related news, Xa is set to be a keynote speaker at the CILA Spring Fair in San Anselmo. CILA is a Marin-based nonprofit organization founded by local mother and cultural education advocate Kati Dombrosky. The organization focuses its efforts on raising awareness and funding in support of programs that perpetuate art, language, and cross-cultural education in our communities with a special emphasis on providing scholarships for deserving youth. The event is May 4 at Le Petit Jardin French Immersion (Marin Campus) in San Anselmo (921 Sir Francis Drake Blvd), from 10am-1pm. MORE INFO.

The 411: Terra Marin School and the Terra Mandarin Preschool host a series of summer camps, as well as an SSAT prep session. MORE INFO.

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For many people throughout Mill Valley and Marin, the horrific footage of the Camp Fire in November 2018 sparked a two-fold reaction: how can we help those who affected by the inferno that struck Concow, Paradise, Magalia and Chico in Butte County, and what can we do to reduce the likelihood that a similar tragedy won't occur here.

FIRESafe Marin, a non-profit organization dedicated to reducing wildland fire hazards and improving fire-safety awareness in Marin, has teamed up with the Mill Valley Fire Dept., with support from the Rotary Club of Mill Valley, on an event that seeks to directly address both of those concerns.

On Tuesday, May 14 at 6:30pm at the CineArts Sequoia theater in downtown Mill Valley, those organizations are hosting a screening of the "Camp Fire Documentary," a 50-minute film from Golden Eagle Films that chronicles a small part of the story one county experienced during its darkest day. Butte County filmmaker Nancy Hamilton's film is first-person account that draws on cell phone footage from more than three dozen individuals and first responders that encountered the fire.

​"With this event, we are both investing in our community's efforts to reduce wildfire hazards in Marin County through FIRESafe Marin and supporting the organizations that are supporting Camp Fire survivors," says Mill Valley Fire Department Chief Tom Welch.

Hamilton will introduce the film screening, which will be followed by a panel discussion including the Camp Fire's Deputy Incident Commander; Camp Fire survivors, local wildfire experts and leaders, as well as Stephen Murray, a 31-year resident of Paradise and a father of two young children who single-handedly rescued more than 60 senior citizens from a burning mobile home community during the fire.

All proceeds raised at the event will go to charities that support survivors of the Camp Fire, and to support FIRESafe Marin's fledgling goat grazing program to reduce wildfire hazards in Marin.

The 411: FIRESafe Marin, Mill Valley Fire Dept., with support from the Rotary Club of Mill Valley, host a screening of the Camp Fire Documentary on Tuesday, May 14 at 6:30pm at the CineArts Sequoia theater in Mill Valley. All proceeds raised at the event will go to charities that support survivors of the Camp Fire, and to support FIRESafe Marin's fledgling goat grazing program to reduce wildfire hazards in Marin. Tix $50. MORE INFO.

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Whether they catch a glimpse of flowers on a residential hillside on an morning walk or hear through the grapevine that a neighbor has a stunning display of their gardening prowess, lovers of amazing gardens are often left wondering about the amazing creations just outside their field of view.
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For those people, the event of the year is coming up on May 16, as the Outdoor Art Club’s biennial Garden Tour takes garden lovers behind the gates for exclusive visits of seven private gardens in Mill Valley. The tour has shuttles leaving the OAC's Maybeck-designed clubhouse at One West Blithedale Avenue from 9am-2:30pm. All gardens close at 4pm.

Organizers say that each of the seven gardens on the tour demonstrate how to incorporate edibles, accentuate a view, blend exotic plant combinations and invite hummingbirds, butterflies and other winged visitors to stay a while. Ideas to create garden rooms for outdoor living, visually maximize small spaces, and creatively mix hardscape materials abound. Each garden also offers an opportunity to meet and observe a local artist in action, intent on capturing on canvas his or her artistically inspired vision of the venue.

“This year's Outdoor Art Club Garden Tour features beautiful, approachable gardens with something for everyone.," says Linda Rosso, the tour's co-chair. "There are both large and small gardens, some professionally designed and some created over years by the homeowners, in a variety of microclimates around Mill Valley."

“An exciting new feature of this year’s tour is exclusive Plant Briefs for every garden," she adds. "If you see a plant on the tour you love, you’ll be able to ask a docent about them during the tour or access our website for photographs and detailed information to see if it’s right for your garden."

The Outdoor Art Club is a private, nonprofit women's organization which was formed in 1902 and regularly presents informative and engaging public events in the areas of civics, conversation, gardening and literature.

Proceeds from the garden tour benefit the charitable community outreach of the Outdoor Art Club and the preservation of its historic landmark building in downtown Mill Valley. The organization's charitable outreach has had a vast impact in Mill Valley and beyond for decades, including, in recent years. its support of the Mill Valley Chamber's Enjoy Mill Valley Fund, which has leveraged OAC Grants and numerous private donations to help repair the Downtown Clock Tower, support the restoration of the replica Gravity Car, make the free Movies in the Park series sustainable and bigger and better than ever and spearhead a number of plantings and beautification efforts around town.

In addition to the OAC’s lunch at the clubhouse from 11:30am-2pm, a number of local restaurants will be offering discounts to Garden Tour participants that day, including Piazza D’Angelo, Flour Craft Bakery, Prabh Indian Kitchen and many more. Info on participating restaurants and discounts will be distributed at the OAC on the day of the tour.

The 411: Tickets for the Outdoor Art Club’s 2019 Garden Tour are $45 in advance and $55 at the door. Lunch at the OAC is $15. The OAC clubhouse is at One West Blithedale. MORE INFO & TIX.

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On May 15-18, the ​Mill Valley Philharmonic is set to finish off its 2018-19 season – its first without founder and artistic director Laurie Cohen – with the last of a trio of performances, each of which has showcased a guest conductor, each of whom are candidates to become the organization's artistic director alongside MV Philharmonic executive director Richard Aldag. 

The final shows of the season, set for Wednesday, March 15 (dress rehearsal), Friday, May 17 and Saturday, May 18 at Mount Tamalpais United Methodist Church (410 Sycamore Avenue), will be helmed by Alexander Kahn, associate professor of music and director of orchestral activities at Sonoma State University, where he directs the Sonoma State Symphony Orchestra. Kahn is also the founder and music director of the Vintners Chamber Orchestra in Sonoma. Between 2007 and 2008, Kahn served as Assistant Conductor of the Bamberg Symphony in Bamberg, Germany. While in Bamberg he was also music director of the Bamberg Collegium Musicum.

The program, entitled “Late Idyll,” features Johannes Brahms’ Symphony No. 2, a mixture of both Classical enthusiasm and Romantic drama. The Second Symphony is rounded out by the composer’s feisty “Academic Festival Overture,” written for the University of Breslau, and Camille Saint-Saëns’ Cello Concerto No. 2, which plays homage to the French Baroque period and the more immediate precursors of French and German Romanticism. The soloist for the Saint-Saens is Brynn Dally, winner of the 2018 Concerto Competition at Sonoma State University.

Now in its 19th season, MVP, which consists of 60 volunteer musicians, presents all of its concerts free of charge. To support these free concerts, and pay for music, rehearsal space, programs, outreach, and everything else necessary to sustain this special organization, MVP relies upon contributions from audience members and local businesses. Patrons may reserve tickets and make donations via the MVP website.

The mission of MVP is "to enrich the cultural life of the Bay Area by offering free orchestral programs to people of all ages and means in their own communities," according to the organization's website. "As an organization, MVP believes that music is a vital part of individual and community life. Whether participating as a player or as a listener, music engages our imaginative powers, awakens our aesthetic sensibilities, and inspires our creative expression."

The 411: Mill Valley Philharmonic concludes its 2018-19 season May 15-18 with a trio of performances​ at the Mount Tamalpais United Methodist Church at 410 Sycamore Avenue. Performances are an open dress rehearsal on Wednesday, March 15 at 7pm, a concert on Friday, May 17 at 8pm and a concert on Saturday, May 18 at 4pm. Free. MORE INFO.

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There's more than one way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, as the businesses in and around Throckmorton and Sunnyside avenues are ready to demonstrate.

Poet and/the Bench, the lifestyle store and jewelry atelier that recently moved from Locust Ave. to 11 Throckmorton Ave. downtown, has organized a Cinco de Mayo Super Fiesta & Shop Crawl with seven of its neighbors. Set for Sunday, May 5 (3-7pm), the event promises a "festive afternoon of DJ music, refreshments, raffle prizes, charitable donations to organizations like the ACLU and surprises from our community to yours," Poet and/the Bench owners Jeffrey Levin and Bonnie Powers say.

Poet and/the Bench is on the Throckmorton side of El Paseo Lane, and their immediate neighbors at Gallery 15, Flying Beauticians, Featherbed and Ruby Livingdesign, as well as those on the Sunnyside Ave. side of the lane – Alexander's Artisan Rugs, Salvage and West Coast Wine • Cheese are all participating in the event. 

"We're developing some community here in the Uptown area of Downtown Mill Valley!" Powers says.

The 411: Poet and/the Bench has organized a Cinco de Mayo Super Fiesta & Shop Crawl with seven of its neighbors on Sunday, May 5 (3-7pm). Free. MORE INFO.

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From the Mill Valley Philharmonic to the Mill Valley Chamber Music Society and countless other organizations in between, the 94941 has long punched above its weight when it comes to classical music.

One of the reasons for that dates back to 1933, when San Francisco native and Kentfield resident Maude Fay Symington – famed throughout Europe as a Wagnerian soprano – founded the Marin Music Chest, a nonprofit organization that sought to bring world-renowned musicians to Marin. 

At its annual Scholarship Winners Concert on Sunday, May 5 (1:30pm) at San Domenico School Hall of the Arts in San Anselmo, the organization is showcasing 15 young classical musicians honored with 2019 Marin Music Chest Scholarship awards, featuring solo performances from each. The concert is free and open to the public.

The concert showcases musical performances by 2019 Marin Music Chest scholarship award recipients Corbin Glover (violin) of Corte Madera, Mychal Nishimura (French horn) of Mill Valley, Maya Stock (flute) of San Anselmo, Chris Boyadjiev (flute) of Novato, Benjamin Wu (cello) of Belvedere, Michael Lu (piano) of Novato, Benjamin Wall-Feng (piano) of Mill Valley, Beatrice O’Brien (piano) of San Anselmo, Alexandra Kiryakina (harp) of Novato, Max Kosorukov (piano) of Kentfield, Cy Stock (clarinet) of San Anselmo, Owen Xu (piano) of San Rafael, Julian Vari (piano) of Tiburon, Katharine Vari (piano) of Tiburon, and Angus LaFemina (piano) of San Rafael.
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The 411: Marin Music Chest showcases 15 young classical musicians honored with 2019 Marin Music Chest Scholarship awards at its annual Scholarship Winners Concert on Sunday, May 5 (1:30pm) at San Domenico School Hall of the Arts in San Anselmo. Free. MORE INFO.

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Mill Valley native Melanie Victor-Smith's Artstream, her mobile art gallery inside her 1954 Airstream trailer, continues to showcase great art all over Marin. It'll next pop up on Saturday, April 20 (9am-2pm) at the at the Farmers Market at Marin Country Mart in Larkspur, exhibiting the photography of Mill Valley resident Amy Perl.

From an early age, Perl has had a keen interest in objects that hold a sense of history. This fascination with history later extended to people, and in particular the family histories of her own family and others. As her eye for photography developed as an early teen, Perl was naturally drawn to documenting the forgotten histories imbued within junkyards, abandoned houses, and lost and found objects.

Perl's photography celebrates nature, road-tripping and nostalgia in her imagery. She says she seeks to capture the spirit of the Artstream.



​The 411: Mill Valley native Melanie Victor-Smith's Artstream, her mobile art gallery inside her 1954 Airstream trailer, is exhibiting the photography of Mill Valley resident Amy Perl on Saturday, April 20 at the Farmers Market at Marin Country Mart in Larkspur, 9am-2pm. MORE INFO.

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When painter Etta Deikman called for local artists to join a new arts group centered around the Muir Woods Park subdivision on the Panoramic Ridge of Mount Tamalpais nine years ago, she was blown away by the response – 17 artists emerged from their studios and homes to assemble at the first meeting, all of them neighbors.

"Most of us did not know each other well, notwithstanding some of us had been next door neighbors for 35 years or more,” photographer Rhonda Dubin says. 

Nearly a decade later, Artists of Mount Tamalpais (AMT), the organizations they formed, remains a multi-faceted contributor to Marin's artistic community. Three of them – painter Deikman, photographer Dubin and painter Woodward Payne – are among the more than 20 Mill Valley artists participating in Marin Open Studios this year, set for May 4-5 & 11-12 at studios throughout Marin.

AMT is comprised of painters, photographers, woodworkers, multi-media artists, sculptors, and ceramicists. The convivial group meets monthly to discuss art, critique work, and prepare for their annual event at the MWPCA (Muir Woods Park Community Center). Dubin says she would never have publicly shown her work if it were not for Deikman and the encouragement of the group.

The studios of Deikman, Dubin and Payne, #70, #71, and #72 in the Marin Open Studios Guide, respectively, form an “art triangle” and are within walking distance from each other along the picturesque paths of Mount Tam. Payne’s studio in an woodsy 1960s home sits perched above Mill Valley; Etta’s Quonset studio, built by Bart Kaltenbach, nationally known for his building and studio design, sits just steps above Dubin’s home studio, which is distinguished by a tram-ride entry. Dubin often saunters up the hill to visit Deikman and discuss their latest works over a cup of tea.

“She inspires me, as does every artist in this tight-knit Mount Tam community that I’m grateful to be a part of,” Dubin says. 

MOS presents the work of more than 275 artists in a special gallery located in the Town Center in Corte Madera from April 22 through May 12, and the artists open their studios in virtually every town in Marin to visitors over the course of two consecutive weekends, May 4 and 5 and May 11 and 12.

The 411: Artists of Mount Tamalpais (AMT) artists Etta Deikman, Rhonda Dubin and Woodward Payne are among the more than 20 Mill Valley artists participating in Marin Open Studios this year, set for May 4-5 & 11-12 at studios throughout Marin.

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"John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme took music to the outer edges, both spiritually and acoustically – it was quite literally far out in every way. But I don’t think even Trane envisioned the addition of electricity to the mix. Turns out it works. John Hanrahan’s A Love Supreme Electric Project will quite simply stir up your brain cells, flood you with endorphins, and leave you shaken. There’s nothing quite like it." –– Dennis McNally, publicist, Grateful Dead.

That's about as good a testimonial as John Hanrahan, whose A Love Supreme Quartet has been performing Coltrane's seminal album in myriad configurations over the past 20 years, could have ever sought. Hanrahan returns to the Sweetwater Music Hall with the project on Sunday, April 21, this time joined by a quartet of musicians widely known in Bay Area music circles.

For the "A Love Supreme Acoustically Electric" performance of what is widely considered to be the defining jazz recording of all time, drummer Hanrahan will be joined by multi-talented guitarist Henry Kaiser, pianist and composer Scott Looney, bassist Murph Murphy and Grammy-winner violinist Mads Tolling.

The 411: Drummer John Hanrahan brings his "A Love Supreme Acoustically Electric" performance of John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme, widely considered to be the defining jazz recording of all time, to the Sweetwater Music Hall on Sunday, April 21. Tix $17 advance $20 day of show. MORE INFO & TIX.

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Gary Scheuenstuhl's Mill Valley Music is often buzzing with activity, but the Miller Avenue shop will be a music lover's mecca on Saturday, April 13. Record Store Day 2019 – a celebration of independent record stores like Scheuenstuhl’s – means that Mill Valley Music will have some of the event's hundreds of limited edition vinyl records on hand, along with the shop's storewide sale on non-RSD records: 20% off all new items and 30% off all used items. 

Record Store Day started as a grassroots campaign in 2007 to support independent record stores that were facing extinction in an increasingly digital music business. The event features hundreds of musicians appearing and performing at independent stores across the country, and issuing special vinyl and CD releases to mark the occasion. It has grown immensely over the years. 

Scheuenstuhl, who opened his store after his former boss John Goddard closed his downtown Village Music shop in 2007, says Record Store Day remains a great way to celebrate stores like his that are forever trying to retain their longtime customers in a world where Amazon Prime and iTunes make anything and everything available at customers’ fingertips with near-instant gratification.

The 411: Record Store Day 2019 is Saturday, April 13. Mill Valley Music is located at 320 Miller Ave., (415) 389-9090. Click here for more details. ​

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John Simon may not be a household name in the world of popular music, but it's safe to say that your favorite artists from the 1960s and 1970s know his name, and likely have him to thank in part for their success.

Simon is a multiple-threat artist – a music producer, composer, writer and performing artist in pop, rock, television, movies and on Broadway. Simon was responsible such blockbuster projects as The Band’s “Music from Big Pink”, their eponymous follow-up album and “The Last Waltz,”, “Cheap Thrills” by Big Brother & the Holding Company featuring Janis Joplin, “Bookends” by Simon & Garfunkel, and “The Child Is Father to the Man” by Blood, Sweat & Tears. He also shepherded “Songs of Leonard Cohen” through the studio for Columbia Records.

In a rare West Coast appearance, Simon is set to perform, tells stories and answer questions at the Sweetwater Music Hall on Thursday, April 18.

Simon was born in 1941 in Norwalk, Conn., the son of a country doctor who played the violin in his spare time. He began learning the violin and the piano while still a child, and was writing songs before he was 10 years old. In his early twenties, he joined Columbia Record as a junior producer, and was at first assigned to assist on various projects like “Point of Order,” an LP depicting the notorious hearings conducted by Senator Joseph McCarthy and “Of Course, of Course” by the Charles Lloyd Quartet.

In 1970, Simon cut his debut LP, titled “John Simon’s Album,” which drew on influences from psychedelia to Tin Pan Alley, and in 1971, Simon appeared as a session musician on albums by Taj Mahal, Eric Clapton, Dave Mason, and Howlin’ Wolf. During the 1970s, he worked with such diverse acts as John Martyn, Gil Evans, David Sanborn, Martin Mull, John Hartford, Michael Franks, Steve Forbert, Hirth Martinez, Christine Lavin, John Sebastian, Cyrus Faryar and Al Kooper.

Simon remained busy across wide array of projects, including composing circus music for high wire artist Phillipe Petit ("Man on Wire") and ballet scores for choreographer Twyla Tharp, as well as a cast album for “The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas” (1978), and was the musical supervisor of the abortive Broadway rock & roll revue, “Rock & Roll! The First 5,000 Years” in the 1980s.

Simon remains an active musician and producer today, and he's has performed at, among others, The Bottom Line, Fez, Joe’s Pub and The Blue Note in NYC and done four tours in Japan, including The Blue Note in Tokyo. Aside from his recording career, he has collaborated with his wife, C.C. Loveheart, in cabaret appearances and in the writing of a play, “Jackass Flats,” which had its Actors Equity, professional premiere in the summer of 2011.

Simon has also lectured at both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and The Montreal Pop Festival. In April of 2012, he delivered a talk with the addition of both visual and musical aids titled “My Life In Rock And Roll” or “Rock and Roll: It’s Origins and Consequences.”

​The 411: Renowned music producer John Simon performs, tells stories and answers questions at the Sweetwater Music Hall on Thursday, April 18. MORE INFO & TIX.

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Looking to get a jump on your Mother's Day shopping? Maker's Market's got you covered. 

Makers Market's shop at the Mill Valley Lumber Yard's slate of monthly (second Saturday) Outdoor Markets continues April 13, spanning most of the MVLY property and encompassing more than a dozen independent creators, artists and makers. Those makers and artisans will be showcasing their wares, including jewelry, body products, ceramics, glassware and pottery throughout the property. There will also be live music throughout the event. 

Organizers have nabbed nine new makers for the event, including gemstone jewelry maker Equanimous, screenprinted apparel/accessories from Nurelle Creations, Love Violer's luxury apparel for pets and people, and many more.

There will also be live music throughout the day, and Maker's Market's shop will be serving up mimosas and wine, with the usual range of activities throughout MVLY, include cornhole.

NOTE: Help the environment and take advantage of the easy transit, pedestrian and bike access to the Lumber Yard, with 60 bike parking spaces onsite. If you need to drive, don’t park in front of neighbors homes as there is ample median public parking in the surrounding area.

HERE ARE THE VENDORS:

The 411: Makers Market in the Mill Valley Lumber Yard at 129 Miller Ave., hosts an outdoor market featuring an array of artists and makers on Saturday, April 13 from 10am-5pm. MORE INFO. And here's the full story on Suzy Ekman and Makers Market.

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In 2014, renowned Chicago playwright/actor Nambi E. Kelley adapted Richard Wright's Native Son for Court Theatre and American Blues Theater in her hometown.

Kelley brought that adaptation to the Marin Theatre Company three years later, drawing rave reviews for her take on Wright's intense, suffocatingly bleak tome about young African-American Bigger Thomas’ downward spiral, as the aspiring pilot is stifled at every turn by society’s deep-seated racism.

That adaptation spawned even more good fortune for both Kelley and MTC. According to American Theatre, after the success of Native Son, Dramatic Publishing approached Kelley about adapting another novel, though she wasn't told the name of the writer or or the book. She submitted anyway, and found out weeks later that Toni Morrison wanted her to adapt Jazz, the second book in a trilogy about love and African-American history.

​That adaptation comes to the Marin Theatre Company this month, with the West Coast premiere of Kelley's adaptation opening April 25 and running through May 19. It is directed by New York-based Awoye Timpo, featuring new musical compositions by SFJAZZ Resident Artistic Director Marcus Shelby. 

Published in 1992, Jazz tells the story of a love triangle in New York City during the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920 while also exploring the mid-19th-century American South pasts of the various characters. 

But while Jazz is a riveting story, its language, cadence and tone all deliberately pay tribute to the music from which its draws its title, from moments of bluesy, tender sensuality to punctuated, violent riffs of spontaneity. Characters move with musicality, and speak in rhythm, and at the heart of it all is Violet. Her husband’s affair with a beautiful young woman has set off a series of violent events and unforgivable acts, and Violet seeks out answers. As layered, dream-like perspectives unfold, Jazz exposes a host of deeply complex individuals, who–like the growing New York neighborhood and the ancestral, winding woods of Violet’s southern youth–reveal their own distinct rhythms.

Jazz is the second book in a trilogy from Morrison. It kicked off with 1987's Beloved, which was inspired by the true story of an enslaved African-American woman, Margaret Garner who, facing a return to slavery, killed her two-year-old daughter but was captured before she could kill herself. Morrison's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel imagines the dead baby returning as a ghost, Beloved, to haunt her mother and family.

The third book of the Beloved trilogy, Paradise, tells the story of the citizens of an all-black town named Ruby where the men were hell-bent on destroying the so called "Convent," a former embezzler’s mansion now inhabited by a group of women with troubled pasts. In 1993, just before Paradise came out, Morrison was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. 

The 411: Chicago playwright/actor Nambi E. Kelley brings her adaptation of Toni Morrison's Jazz to the Marin Theatre Company, with the West Coast premiere opening April 25 and running through May 19. MORE INFO & TIX.

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For 27 years, Joe’s Taco Lounge has been churning out fantastic Mexican fare at 382 Miller Avenue in Mill Valley.

Now it's adding coffee to the mix, adding a jolt of adrenaline to the early part of the day by launching Cup of Joe's coffee cart just outside the doors of the 94941 landmark. Cup of Joe's, named after co-owner Gabriel Leis' inimitable late father Joe Leis, who founded Joe's Taco Lounge in 1992, opened Wednesday.

"This is really exciting – we're trying to do something really special with this," Gabriel Leis says. "It's something that I've thought about for a lot of years, and once we got through the tough period of the Streetscape Project, I really started working to make it happen."

Leis says he's done his homework in sourcing unique products that add the range of amazing coffee that's already in Mill Valley. He's getting his beans from Linea, the coffee roasting company founded by Andrew Barnett, a renowned figure in the coffee world who founded Ecco Coffee, which he later sold to Intelligentsia Coffee.

"It's always been my favorite coffee – it's just a different flavor profile," says Leis, who previously lived in San Francisco's Mission District, where Linea is located. "It's more of a traditional Italian espresso. Coffee flavors have gone bitter and sour – his are a bit sweeter."

While the beans, and the La Marzocco machine that helps turn them into tasty morning beverages, are the star of the show, Leis says he's drawn from myriad other brands to fill out Cup of Joe's offering. The cart itself was made by Carriage Works in Klamath Falls, Ore., pastries from Starter Bakery in Berkeley, bagels from Baron Baking in Oakland, and special barista milk from Straus Family Creamery.

Oh, and you bet your life that Joe's wasn't launching a coffee cart without serving up its very own breakfast burritos at it. "Yes, we'll definitely have grab-n-go breakfast burritos," Leis says.

The 411: Joe’s Taco Lounge has opened Cup of Joe's coffee cart outside its doors, where it will be open every day from 6am-1pm, serving up coffee, pastries, bagels, breakfast burritos and much more. . In the case of inclement weather, it'll be inside Joe's and open 6am-11am. MORE INFO.

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