Mill Valley Recreation and the Mill Valley Arts Commission are ready to celebrate three of Mill Valley’s favorite things: bicycling, art and recycling.

At a ceremony at the Community Center and Friends Field on Tuesday, August 4th at 6pm as part of the Commission’s First Tuesday Artwalk, the City is set to unveil the bike wheel-centric kinetic artwork featured in its inaugural reCYCLE Outdoor Public Art Contest. The artwork will be laid out along the Friends Field fence, adjacent to the cyclist-laden Mill Valley-Sausalito Multi-Use Path.

The contest, inspired by a similar project Arts Commissioner Teresa Rea first spotted at Pioneer Park in Seattle, kicked off in April with artists picking up their recycled bicycle wheels and learning the contest’s parameters. They then set out to create their own distinctive artistic interpretations.

“The concept evokes the enthusiasm of our many local bicyclists, young and old,” Rea says. “It also reflects our socially responsible community’s support for recycling.”

Organizers gathered bike wheels that were headed for scrap metal bins from local bike shops that collected used wheels for the contest, re-purposing them as the core element of the public artwork.

Recreation Director Jenny Rogers says the project has already been a big success in terms of artist and community participation. “We look forward to future partnerships with the Arts Commission, (and our generous local sponsors) in bringing exciting and innovative art events, activities and installations to the local community we love!”

The 411: The artwork from the reCYCLE Outdoor Public Art Contest will be unveiled on Tuesday, August 4 at the Mill Valley Community Center and Friends Field, 180 Camino Alto, at 6pm.

For four Sunday afternoons in August, the Mill Valley Arts Commission's nearly 30-year-old Concerts in the Plaza series provides the perfect summer soundtrack. The events – free and open to the public on the Depot Plaza – feature two bands each on the first four Sunday afternoons in August. Concerts on the Plaza begin at 2 pm Sunday, with each band playing for 45 minutes. 

The series kicks off this Sunday with a lineup featuring the all-female rock group Tik Tax and Todd Morgan & the Emblems, and Todd Morgan & the Emblems, an emerging, multi-faceted rock band out of Sacramento. Short bios for each are below. 

Bring your lawn chairs and dancing shoes!

The Tik Tax – 2–2:45pm                          
Founded in September of 2010 and specializing in 80’s songs made by female musicians – The GoGo's, Pat Benatar, Bangles, Joan Jett etc. – this group features Lena Kyle on bass, Zoe Vavrek on keyboards, Samantha Shapiro on drums and vocals and Hayley Newman on guitar and lead vocals. The Fairfax and San Anselmo area high schoolers have performed at The Sleeping Lady, Cascade Canyon School Variety Show, KickIt Soccer Fest, The Yes Fest, Earth Day Marin, Octoberfest, The Manor Winter Faire, The EcoFest at the Fairfax Festival, the Marin County Fair, Hopmonk, Novato and more.

Todd Morgan & the Emblems – 3–3:45pm
This Sacramento-based band has truly unearthed a new and exciting side to rock, melding every faction and era of American music, from early jazz and blues to present day pop and rock, along with healthy splashes of soul and R&B, complete with exhilarating piano, vocal work and stage performance. The band’s history dates back to 2007, when they emerged, primarily performing and writing songs in the style of 50’s rock. Vocalist, songwriter, pianist and guitarist Todd Morgan felt the need to create and develop his own style and sound, and in 2012, this resulted in the release of the second album, Reality, which far outsold its predecessor. Todd and his band, which consists of guitarist Patrick Owen, bassist Jessica Luna and drummer Cameron Womack, returned to the studio in 2014 to record a new album loaded with 15 original songs, all penned by Morgan. The new album, Sweet Pretender, is set for release in 2015, with an album release party set for August 14.

Go here for the full slate of 2014 Concerts in the Plaza performers.

In its ongoing efforts to develop a sustainable visitor base to Marin County and enhance the visitor experience in Marin, the Marin Convention & Visitors Bureau (MCVB) has launched a new "Visit Marin" mobile app.

MCVB officials say the app was developed via a partnership with Spendsetter, a mobile advocacy marketing platform that allows brands to build their own database of advocates. The Visit Marin app, which is available on Apple and Android mobile phones, is an "in-destination, real time concierge mobile" that allows "access to exclusive promotions, native applications, location-based communication, and a mobile rewards marketplace."

The app rewards visitors to Marin for sharing their love and affinity for the brands they care about most, with a spotlight on Mill Valley at launch. For instance, users can take advantage of the current lunch special at Piazza D'Angelo's in downtown Mill Valley and share that promotion with their friends through the app. In doing to, users are rewarded with points that can then be redeemed for items like the North Bay Farmers Market Cookbook  or a gift card for 1010 Surf Sports in San Rafael.

"We will enhance the visitor experience in Marin by giving fans interactive mapping features, relevant content and the ability to lend their voices to promoting Marin’s attractions, restaurants and vacation packages," says Cliff Corr, vice president of strategic services at Spendsetter.

This new application can be found under “Visit Marin” and is available for free in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Use the code “MarinEmail” when you download the app and immediately get 1,500 points.

The Marin Convention & Visitors Bureau (MCVB) is a private 501-c6 organization that promotes Marin County as an overnight destination through marketing programs, collateral materials, trade missions, and partnership with other industry-related organizations.

From his mid-1990s Peace Corps stint in the Muslim farming communities in southern Kyrgyzstan to his eight-year residence in Israel, Marin native John Romano has some deep, far-reaching experiences from which to draw inspiration.
Few have touched him more deeply than his recent trek to Niger with Mercy Corps, the American aid agency that seeks to help communities regroup after natural disaster, economic collapse, or conflict. That work, the “Akora” series, will be on display at Equator Coffees & Teas (2 Miller Avenue) at the Mill Valley Arts Commission's First Tuesday Artwalk on August 4, 6–8pm.
Romano, who grew up in both Kent Woodlands and Mill Valley and currently lives in Lovell Canyon, joined MercyCorp on a trip to the small village of Akora in western Niger. Near the end of a Mercy Corps project focused on outreach and development, specifically helping residents to learn more about food management, the organization hosted a community meeting to allow residents to share what they’d learned.
That meeting was the genesis of Romano’s “Akora” series.
“I was just floored by the beauty of the people and the congregation and the light – everything was just magical,” Romano says.
A regular at Equator since they opened in November 2014, Romano got to know co-owner Helen Russell and several Equator employees, many of whom are also artists. They eventually asked him to show his work at the downtown community coffee hub.
“I’m really excited about this,” Romano says.
The First Tuesday Artwalk, Mill Valley's monthly celebration of local art features a host of venues, including the O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, Seager Gray Gallery, the Mill Valley Public Library, Zener Schon Contemporary Art, Julie Tuton Boutique, the Depot Bookstore & Café, City Hall, Famous4, the Mill Valley Community Center and the Throckmorton Theatre. Receptions at each venue are Tuesday from 6–8pm. First Tuesday Artwalk Guide with venues and a map.
The 411: John Romano's "Akora" photo series is on display at the Equator Coffees & Teas (2 Miller Avenue) for the First Tuesday Artwalk on August 4, 6–8pm.

Whether it's a spontaneous handstand on a city wall, the vibrant colors of the streets of Havana, Cuba, or the ever-changing light on the ocean, Mill Valley photographer Suzanne Engelberg says her work allows her to pause and reflect on the world around her.
"The camera is my tool for contemplation," she says. "I am interested in the way color, light, and form coalesce to make an image."
Engelberg's latest series of images – dubbed "Reflections" – capture the spirit of this contemplative process. They're on display throughout the month of August at the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center (85 Throckmorton Avenue, Tuesday–Saturday, 10am–4pm), including at the Mill Valley Arts Commission's First Tuesday Artwalk on August 4, 6–8pm.
"I am equally inspired by the mysterious, shifting moods of the ocean as seen in images like “Sky Blue Black,” as by the irony found in “Blue Skies”, where the real blue sky is more brilliant than the one in the advertisement," says Engelberg says, whose work has been shown across the U.S. and has garnered awards from the likes of the New York Center for Photographic Art, the Professional Women Photographers Organization and the Grand Prix de la Couverte.
The First Tuesday Artwalk, Mill Valley's monthly celebration of local art features a host of venues, including the O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, Seager Gray Gallery, the Mill Valley Public Library, Zener Schon Contemporary Art, Julie Tuton Boutique, the Depot Bookstore & Café, City Hall, Famous4, the Mill Valley Community Center and the Throckmorton Theatre. Receptions at each venue are Tuesday from 6–8pm. First Tuesday Artwalk Guide with venues and a map.
The 411: Suzanne Engelberg's "Reflections" photo series is on display throughout the month of August at the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center (85 Throckmorton Avenue, Tuesday–Saturday, 10am–4pm), including at the First Tuesday Artwalk on August 4, 6–8pm.

As the first day of school quickly approaches, the kids are becoming restless, making these last few weeks before normal routine returns seem to drag on. Parents needs some fresh ideas – something that won’t rot their brains.

Just in time, Marin Theatre Company is launching its 2015-2016 Family Series of classic storybook productions. The series kicks off August 8 with Charlotte’s Web, based on the timeless book by E.B. White. Rich with laughter, song, and theatrical magic, Charlotte's Web is a heartwarming tale of friendship between the adorable piglet Wilbur and his wise friend Charlotte the spider. The Children’s Literature Association named the book "the best American children's book of the past two hundred years," and Tony award nominee Joseph Robinette’s stage adaptation captures the beloved story in a thrilling presentation.

While Charlotte's Web runs through August 16, the Family Series also includes Cinderella, The Little Prince, and The Little Mermaid.

"Our nonprofit theatre’s mission is to create the artists and audiences of tomorrow, bringing families from all over Marin together through the laughter and lessons of children’s theatre," MTC Executive Director Michael Barker said. "Our 2015-16 Family Series does just that."

The 411: Marin Theatre Company’s production of Charlotte’s Web runs from August 8–16. Saturday shows are 11am, 1pm, and 3:30pm. Sunday shows are 11am and 1pm. More info and tickets. You can also call Marin Theatre Company’s box office at 415.388.5208. Tickets are $18 for kids under 14 and $22 for adults. Discount tickets for groups of 15 or more are available. The run time of this show is 95 minutes.

Nearly 20 months ago, one of the greatest and most prolific filmmakers of our lifetime – one who's left his own indelible imprint on each of the 44 films he's directed to date – dipped into downtown Mill Valley to serve as just a nonchalant, self-effacing cog in a delightful ensemble performance of New Orleans jazz music at the Throckmorton Theatre.

Woody Allen and his New Orleans Jazz Band are back for another pair of gigs at the Throckmorton on August 4-5, and luckily for fans of New Orleans jazz, Woody Allen or both, a few tickets are still available to each show. Allen's New Orleans Jazz Band, which has existed in one form or another for more than 35 years, draw from a repertoire that includes more than 1,200 traditional songs, mostly horn-soaked tunes that would incite a smile and a foot tap from even the most fun-resistant curmudgeons.

That's largely due to the fact that Allen, a self-described terrible clarinet player, surrounds himself with a phenomenal cast of musicians, particularly band leader and banjo player Eddy Davis. The band is inspired by the likes of legends Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, George Lewis, Johnny Dodds and Jimmie Noone, and performs without a set list – Allen or Davis simply call out the next song before they all dive in.

In typical Woody Allen fashion, one his few utterances at the mic at his December 2013 Throckmorton shows featured a ribald joke to describe his frequent surprise that audiences are willing to turn out to hear him and his band perform live. The joke centered on a man who comes home to find his wife in bed with his best friend, at whom he says, "Really, Sam, you? I mean, I have to, but you?"

The line drew a burst of laughter from the sold-out house full, and it was followed by a night of fantastic New Orleans jazz. Here's a taste:

Allen's visits to the Throckmorton bring a dose of comedy history with them as well. Allen has been vocal over the years with his fondness for the brilliance of Mort Sahl, the legendary political comedian who has made Mill Valley – and thus the Throckmorton stage – his home for many years. 
At Sahl's 80th birthday party in 2007, Allen sent a video message, telling of the first time he saw Sahl: "I was 21 … I just thought there was nothing else that could be done in comedy, and he was just the best thing that I had ever seen."
Sahl will do a special introduction for the first of Allen's two shows at the Throckmorton next week.
The 411: Woody Allen and his New Orleans Jazz Band perform at the Throckmorton Theatre on August 4 & 5. More info and tickets.

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In our inaugural episode of Meet the Chefs, where we ask a series of not-so-serious questions to the people behind Mill Valley's top restaurants, we sat down with Sol Food owner/chef Sol Hernandez. Over the past 12 years, Hernandez has built Sol Food into a multi-faceted landmark that celebrates Puerto Rican culture and cuisine. In early 2013, she opened a Milll Valley location in the Egger Plaza off of Miller Avenue, and lines have been out the door since its debut.
Though the gracious Hernandez was camera shy herself, she offered to have the various chickens around her restaurant fill in on her behalf. From The Piano and Hector Lavoe to Tokyo and La Ginestra, we covered a lot of ground in just 61 seconds. Thanks Sol!

The Mill Valley Library is hosting an event this month designed for young adult lovers of both kicks and lit.

"Literary Soles" offers high schoolers (both incoming freshman and recent grads) the opportunity to get in touch with their creative sides and express themselves artistically. On Monday, July 27 at 7pm, the library will provide participants with a pair of shoes that they get to design and decorate based on books, graphic novels, poems, or other literary favorites. High schoolers will have access to a variety of art supplies so they can personalize their creations, and at the end of the night they get to keep their pair of shoes to show off their literary pride (and make all of their friends jealous).

No artistic experience is necessary and high schoolers with all levels of skill are invited to participate. Imagination is the limit when designing these shoes: big fans of Harry Potter may want to draw snitches and Deathly Hallows, whereas a poetry lover may want to create an abstract drawing representing her favorite poem. Library nerds (like the author of this article), may even prefer to decorate their shoes to look like library cards, as shown in the photo above.

Click here to register, or visit the Mill Valley Young Adult webpage for more information.

Five years ago, with a surfeit of things to do as she frenetically readied the launch of her new store Once Around, Julie Stanton’s process of crafting a logo to visually represent her creation was pretty simple.

“Choosing a font and putting a symbol with it,” she says with a laugh.

Now established as THE go-to spot for all manner of creative spirits in Marin, Once Around has a new logo that, as Stanton sees it, perfectly captures its energy.

“As my husband said, ‘It looks like the junk drawer – but like the best possible drawer – and that’s kind of what the store is,” she says.

Given how much craftiness Stanton and her team cram into their space at 352 Miller Avenue, what exactly the store is can be hard to describe with brevity. The inventory covers what you’ll need for felting, stamping, book-binding, sewing, fabric-painting, wreath-making, embossing, scrapbooking, decoupage, candle-crafting, soap-pouring, glitter, embroidery, knitting ... and, well, the list is seemingly infinite.

Though Stanton was once opposed to the idea, Once Around also hosts craft workshops “almost every night of the week.” That includes Thursday’s free Knit Night, launched in 2011 and still going strong. It’s a “weekly gathering of stitch enthusiasts" with the tagline: Stymied by socks? Knitting newbie? Or just looking for some crafty comrades? Come to Knit Night and we'll get it all untangled.”

The new logo was designed by Bliss and Tell Branding Company, a Carlsbad Village-based outfit that inspired Stanton “for the first time to even think about working with someone else on a logo,” she says. “I just love everything they’ve done.”

The new logo has given Stanton a chance to reflect on her five-year journey with Once Around. “I’m not a business person, so I didn’t really have any expectations of what this would become. But, I don’t know, we’re just really busy.”

Whether it’s knitters from the Redwoods or the droves of kids who arrive needing the tools for their DNA projects or Ocean Hats, a community has developed around the store. And while Stanton “was not at all happy” when Ideal Stationers in Strawberry closed, thing picked up after it did, both in terms of shoppers and workshop attendees.

“It’s been just recently where I’ve said to myself, ‘Oh yea, maybe this could be a thing,” Stanton says. “Maybe this can go on for a bit. I’m really happy with it. We’re going to keep polishing this little gem we have.”

The 411:  Once Around is open Monday–Saturday, 10–6pm, at 352 Miller Avenue. More info.

Two years after teaming up on a pilot swim program for low-income students, Mill Valley Recreation and the Sustainable Sports Foundation are looking to take the successful program to the next level.

With that in mind, the organizations are hosting a Celebrity Doodle Auction – a live auction of celebrity “doodles” from the likes of Joan Baez, Jay Leno, Rosie O'Donnell and Neil Young, among others, to raise money for the Learn to Swim program. The event is set for Thursday, August 6, 6–9pm at the Mill Valley Community Center. More info and tix.

Mill Valley Recreation launched its Learn to Swim program in August 2013, offering transportation, a chaperone, snacks, some swim lesson supplies and discounted lessons from a team of qualified City of Mill Valley swim instructors. The program not only teaches the students how to swim and to remain safe in, on and around the water, but it also inspires them to become physically fit and teaches leadership and life skills. 

“Getting kids to learn how to swim is so key, especially at a young age,” says Felecia Gaston, the founder of Performing Stars of Marin in Marin City, which was part of the pilot program. “We’re surrounded by water and the ocean, so getting kids beyond their fear of it is very important.” 

Fairfax resident Mark Liebert, the owner of Western Espresso and Teas in San Rafael, launched the Sustainable Sports Foundation after overcoming his own inability to swim and wanting to put on the first Marin County Triathlon in 2008. 
Sustainable Sports also puts on local events like the Marin County Half Marathon and the Marin County Swim. Those events has given all of its net proceeds to charities like the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Cancer Fund and Sunny Hill Services. 
But in 2013, Liebert sought to see more tangible results from those donations and shifted Sustainable Sports’ donation strategy. 

“Even though the proceeds have gone to good causes, I had never seen who the money actually went to,” he says. “I wanted to see the faces of where the money goes.” 

He’d learned of a CDC study that found that 37 percent of American adults said they couldn't swim 24 yards, the length of a typical gymnasium lap pool, and a University of Memphis study in 2008 that found that almost 54 percent of children between 12 and 18 can do no more than splash around the shallow end of a pool. 

Liebert eventually connected with the City of Mill Valley’s Recreation Department and Kat Reisinger, the City’s Aquatics and Fitness Supervisor. The pair came up a two-week pilot program involving Marin City students.

“The students and their parents are thrilled, and the response from Mill Valley residents at the Community Center has been really positive,” says Liebert. “It’s such a feel-good thing when people see what we’re doing.” 
Liebert has given Reisinger the green light to expand the program even further, hoping to include high school students and children eager to go beyond simply learning to swim.

“Our goal is to grow the program slowly but steadily so we can maintain high quality of swim instruction and a to create a real personal connection with all the students,” Reisinger says. 
With beaming students getting comfortable in the water and a partner excited to expand the program, the Learn to Swim pilot quickly morphed into a full fall session of lessons, providing swim lessons to 10 students three times a week over a 10-week session. 
To date, dozens of students between the ages of 6 and 14 have come through the program, with some staying on for multiple sessions. Now the program includes sponsoring Adaptive Needs Swim Lessons through PAASS NonProfit Organization, the first partnership of its kind in Marin.

The Sustainable Sports Scholarship Program, which recruits from youth organizations such as Boys and Girls Clubs and Performing Stars of Marin in Marin City and the Canal District in San Rafael, has picked up the tab in the form of several thousands of dollars in scholarships. 

“The goal is not to just get these kids to learn how to swim but to become better swimmers once they’ve learned,” says Liebert. “I would love to fund a team or a club.” 

Beyond the giant smiles of the students, the highlight to date, according to Reisinger, was when Liebert organized an appearance by four-time Olympic medal winner and three-time U.S. water polo world champion Heather Petri, who was born and raised in Oakland and graduated from UC Berkeley.

Petri handed out certificate of completion to 10 students who finished the eight-week swim scholarship program, drawing some television news coverage and providing a jolt of momentum for the program. 
“I want to make an impact on reducing the number of people who can’t swim,” Liebert says. “Heck, I was one of them.” 
All net proceeds from the Celebrity Doodle event give children from low-income families in our community the chance to learn to swim and how to be safe in, on and around the water. 

The 411: The Celebrity Doodle Auction features a live auction of celebrity “doodles” from the likes of Joan Baez, Jay Leno, Rosie O'Donnell and Neil Young, among others. Thursday, August 6,6pm–9pm. More info and tix.

In an appearance before the Marin County Board of Supervisors, officials from and supporters of San Rafael-based Alcohol Justice said Marin County suffers from an “over-concentration of places selling alcohol, and ubiquitous access to cheap, youth-oriented products, creating an environment that surrounds youth with risk of alcohol-related harm."

The officials went to the board to summarize a new report, “Marin County’s Alcohol Environment: Harm, Costs, Policies and Community Resources.” The report says Marin is “saturated with alcohol” with 924 licensed sales outlets in the county.

The report presents a variety of data, some of which supports its argument – both adult and youth consumption rates in Marin are higher than the state average, for example – but also some data showing that Marin's alcohol-related deaths, non-fatal hospitalizations and alcohol-related crashes are lower than the state average.

Saying that Marin simply has too many places to legally buy alcohol, Alcohol Justice is calling for tougher regulations to limit the sale of alcoholic beverages, “including conditional use permits, zoning restrictions ... and mandatory local rules," according to the Marin Independent Journal.

That got us thinking: Mill Valley benefits from a vibrant restaurant and arts & entertainment scene, with most of the venues selling alcohol to one degree or another – 82 business in Mill Valley have an active retail license with the state's Alcoholic Beverage Control. But is that too many places to buy booze in Mill Valley? Should businesses that seek to sell beer, wine and/or liquor go through a more restrictive permitting process to do so? Is the number of places to legally buy alcohol indicative of a larger problem or not?


Tell us your thoughts in the Comments below.

June has come and gone, and for Tony Tutto Pizza, its passing has delivered, at least temporarily, a slight respite from the deluge of questions about the future of the business – one of the most popular pizza places in the North Bay and a community gathering place for many families and pizza lovers in Marin.

With his long-term lease up at the end of June, Tutto recently agreed with new property owner Worldco Company on three-month options to the lease that will continue unless one of the parties opts to terminate them.

For Tutto, that means a respite from the day-to-day, short-term uncertainty of his business, though a long-term commitment from the property owners hasn’t materialized, as they seek to keep their options open while seeking City of Mill Valley approval for their proposed redevelopment of the property at 246-250 East Blithedale Avenue. Tutto is the lone remaining tenant on the property, as Mill Valley Services went out of business in September 2014 and Summerhouse moved its warehouse to the former Cabana Home space.

But while the long-term uncertainty continues for Tutto, he says he’s glad to have some breathing room, and particularly hopeful that his pizza counter will be less of a watercooler about the future of his business and more of a, well, pizza counter.

“The outpouring of support and love from people in this town has been incredible, and I’m so grateful,” Tutto says. “But this whole process has been exhausting, both emotionally and physically. Almost every customer comes in, places their order and wants to know what’s going on with the business and where I’m going to end up. And of course I want to tell them. But it’s been going on like this for more a year!”

“I love my customers, and I greatly appreciate and need their support, but the conversation about what’s going to happen next is nonstop, all day long,” he adds. “‘Did you find a place yet? What are you going to do next?’”

Although the long-term certainty has yet to materialize, considering the journey the always-affable Tutto has been on in his life and in pursuit of his pizza business, he continues to take the turbulence with aplomb.

The Milley Awards, Mill Valley’s annual celebration of its community’s vast amount of creative achievement and distinguished accomplishments in the arts, unveiled the 2015 winners this week. As usual, it’s a celebrated group from a wide array of fields, all providing yet another reminder of the vitality of the local arts and entertainment scene.
The Milley’s 21st annual gala is set for October 18 at the Community Center. At the event, which will be emceed Mill Valley resident and former KPIX-TV personality Jan Yanehiro, the following standouts will be honored:

Tom Corwin – Achievement in the Musical Arts
A multi-talented music producer, musician and author, Corwin has been played an assortment of role in the music business for more than two decades. Working with dozens of recording artists at his home studio in Blithedale Canyon, Corwin produced the Mostly Dylan album with fellow resident Tim Hockenberry, serving as the musical director of a Mill Valley Film Festival show in 2007 after the premiere of Todd Haynes' Dylan biopic film I'm Not There. Corwin has also worked extensively with multi-Grammy Award recipient Bonnie Raitt, has played bass and sung with John Hammond and Booker T, and has worked on projects with musical genius Stevie Wonder, Annie Lennox and Ivan Neville.

Joanne Hively – Creative Contributions to the Community
A member of the Friends of the Mill Valley Board of Directors, Hively is being honored this year for her extraordinary work as a volunteer at the Mill Valley Library. The creator of the library 14-year-old Monday Night at the Movies series, Hively has been the head of the Friends’ book sales for 20 years, leading a spike in book sales revenue from $15,000 per year to the current $60,000 a year. Hively was named Library Trustee of the Year for the State of California in 1993, Hively helped raise money for the library through the organization of book sales, and was  instrumental in bringing videos into the collection in 1989 (during a time there was a great deal of opposition to the idea). In 2001 she organized the library’s Monday Night at the Movies program, now in its 14th year.

John Korty – Achievement in the Performing Arts
With an Academy Award and an Emmy Award on his shelves – and an 1970s peer of then-fellow North Bay filmmakers Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas and Philip Kaufman – Korty’s career has few rivals among Marin filmmakers. His first feature, Crazy Quilt, was a critical success, and his Who are the Debolts? (and Where Did They Get 19 Kids?) (1978) garnered the aforementioned awards. Korty became widely known as a director of TV movies like Go Ask Alice, The Road to Manzanar and The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pitman. He also directed the George Lucas-produced, made-for-TV Star Wars-spinoff Ewok Adventure in 1984.

Michael Painter – Achievement in the Visual Arts
Mill Valley residents commuting to San Francisco get a chance to see the work of landscape architect Painter – in action and in progress – every day. As the designer of the new Presidio Parkway, a transformation of Doyle Drive from a clunky and dangerous artifact into a graceful entryway to San Francisco, Painter has left such a mark that his peers have called for the roadway to be named after him.
His work includes the Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in Strawberry, the John F. Kennedy Gravesite in Arlington National Cemetery, the Genentech South San Francisco campus, the Buck Institute for Research on Aging and Belvedere’s San Rafael Avenue Linear Park, as well as the reconstruction of the Great Highway and Ocean Beach.

Eve Pell – Achievement in the Literary Arts
Best known locally as the winner of the Dipsea Race in 1989 and a longtime competitor in a America’s oldest cross-country foot race, Pell is a longtime investigative journalist and the author of two autobiographical books, We Used to Own the Bronx and Love Again: The Wisdom of Unexpected Romance, the latter of which was called a "heart-warming, eye-opening, life-affirming journey to the final frontier of romance” by Katie Couric, a fellow widow who married again last year at 57. Love Again grew out of a her 2013 first-person essay for the Modern Love column in The New York Times, “The Race Grows Sweeter Near Its Final Lap,” about her romance and marriage to the late Sam Hirabayashi.

Sali Lieberman Award – Paul Smith
Originally from Fort Worth, Texas, Smith appeared with the Marin Symphony in 1977 performing the Ravel G Major piano concerto. While maintaining a career as a concert pianist he also began directing musicals at the College of Marin and throughout the Bay Area. He joined the Mountain Play in 1980, serving as their musical director until 2006.  A faculty member at the College of Marin since 1982, Smith currently heads the Piano Department and the Opera Program. In 1980, he joined the Mountain Play, serving as its musical director until 2006. Along with past Milley recipient James Dunn, Smith has been instrumental in the recognition of  the Mountain Play from a community-based theatrical production to a professional and well recognized regional theatrical organization respected around the country.
The Sali Lieberman Award honors lifetime achievements of those individuals who embody Marin Theatre Company founder Lieberman's inspiration, courage and determination and who, like him, have contributed significantly to the cultural life of Mill Valley.

Vera Schultz Award – Mill Valley Chamber Music Society
The volunteer-run Mill Valley Chamber Music Society was founded in 1973 with the goal of presenting truly exceptional artists but retaining its small town feeling and keeping ticket prices as low as possible. In addition to their five concerts each year, the Mill Valley Chamber Music Society is dedicated to promoting classical music through outreach programs to Marin County school children, thus educating the next generation to the exquisite pleasures of chamber music. Joe Angiulo, a former Milley awardee who retired after more than 30 years teaching music in Mill Valley schools, heads the Society's outreach program.
The Milley board created the Vera Schultz Award win 2002 to honor the achievements of organizations which embody the late Marin County Supervisor’s activism, leadership, courage and vision, and like Schultz, have made lasting contributions to the cultural life of our community.

The Milley Award is a bronze statuette created by John Libberton of Sausalito. The annual gala event is produced by a volunteer board of directors, under the auspices of the Mill Valley Art Commission. Tickets for the 2015 Milley Awards are $75, which includes a reception, dinner, and the awards program. They will go on sale in early September. More details and complete bios of the honorees.