Organization provides free wardrobes and life skills training to men, women and families transitioning to a life of self-reliance. They’ve helped more than 1,500 Marin residents in 2016 to date.

Strawberry Resident Sherene Chen’s career just took a dramatic left turn, one she initially declined. But Chen, whose Style by Sherene fashion consulting firm was booming, is thrilled she reconsidered – she’ll just need to make sure she keeps tissues handy.

As the new executive director for Bloom, the new moniker for the 17-year-old, San Rafael-based nonprofit Image for Success, Chen is spearheading an organization that has a direct, tangible impact on people’s lives at a critical moment. Bloom provides free wardrobes and life skills training to men, women and families transitioning to a life of self-reliance and looking for a job, whether it’s a person just released from prison, someone recovering from substance abuse or a victim of domestic abuse seeking independence.

Giving a boost to people at such a critical moment in their lives can provide quite an emotional jolt – hence Chen’s need for the occasional tissue. After she first declined interest in the role of Bloom’s new executive director, the recruiter emailed Chen a bevy of testimonials and video clips from Bloom clients.

“After drying my tears, I called him back and said I was interested,” Chen says with a laugh.

And a few days into her new role earlier this month, Chen was having one of those overwhelming, frustrating moments we all have when we start a new job, struggling a bit with logistics and navigating files. Then she joined her Bloom team at an event at Bahia Vista Elementary School to give out shoes to pre-K students at the school who needed them.

​“After seeing the looks on the faces of those children, I thought, ‘oh my goodness, I’m fine' – this has already just been so rewarding,” Chen says.

Located at 1557 Fourth Street in downtown San Rafael, Bloom runs a retail store that accepts donated clothing. They also take a lot of that clothing to the clients that are referred to them through a variety of social services agencies like Adopt a Family of Marin, Center for Domestic Peace, Community Action Marin and the Marin Employment Connection, as well as school administrators, clergy and teachers.  

“One of the things that really touches me is that this isn’t Salvation Army or Goodwill-type clothing,” says Chen, who had been volunteering for the similar but female-focused Dress for Success in recent years. “This organization is trying to get functional wardrobes for people to improve their self-esteem, looking for a job and a situation that will improve the conditions of their lives.”

Clients can come back to Bloom every season, and the organization’s volunteer dressers are trained to deliver a “Nordstroms-like experience,” Chen says. “They act as personal shoppers for their clients. And those clients feel really respected, which is part of our mission. It’s not just about clothes.

Bloom has distinct programs for men, women and children, but often serves entire families when one or both parents are in the midst of transition. “It’s about helping them build self reliance and not fall backwards,” Chen says.

Image for Success was founded in 1999 by Barbara Lee, after President Clinton established the welfare-to-work program and Lee found out that one San Rafael agency had 40 women ready to go to work but didn't have any business clothes. Prior to Image for Success’ creation, Cal Works (a welfare-to-work program) had provided each of their clients with vouchers to shop at a local discount store. But Lee wanted to create a more positive and personalized shopping experience for these women who were struggling to meet the serious challenges in their lives.
​
Over the years, the program grew, expanding to include men in 2005, and then relocated to Fourth Street in 2007, allowing the organization to open a consignment store. In 2011, bolstered by revenue from that store, Image for Success hit a milestone of having served 10,000 clients. The organization continued to expand on its partnerships with referring agencies, and had served more than 15,000 clients by the end of 2015. They've helped more than 1,500 Marin residents to date in 2016.

In addition to the clothing and wardrobe consulting, Bloom has been providing financial literacy classes for the past three years, often conducted at places where clients are living, to “take the transportation barrier out of the equation,” Chen says.

Chen’s arrival comes just on the heels of the rebranding from Image for Success to Bloom. “They had been confused with Dress for Success for years, and they wanted people to know that we focus are men women and children,” she says. “The new name also reflects the growth of the organization, with the inclusion of kids and the addition of the financial literacy piece. The new name encompasses all that.”

“Bloom” also signifies how they want the client’s experience to be when they walk in the door – “a catered special day,” Chen says.

The 411: Bloom is constantly seeking funding and clothing donations to continue to serve its clients and expand its services. MORE INFO.

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Kathryn Keller has traveled the world, and like many an intrepid traveler, she has wielded that wanderlust in her professional life.

​When Keller returned to fine art in 2005, her seven years of vigorous travel prior to that "contributed to my worldwide, first- hand appreciation of the art and history of many cultures," Keller says. That sensibility is reflected in Keller's latest work, "Horizons," her first-ever solo show at the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center (85 Throckmorton) throughout November, with a wine reception on November 1 (6–8pm) as part of the Mill Valley Arts Commission's First Tuesday Artwalk. The monthly celebration of local art includes a host of downtown venues, including the O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, Seager Gray Gallery, the Mill Valley Public Library, Fitwise Pilates, Zener Schon Contemporary Art, the Depot Bookstore & Café and City Hall. And for the third straight month, the members of the Mill Valley Design District, whose shops and galleries are primarily centered around Miller and Locust avenues, including Poet and/the Bench, Kress Jack at Home and 7 on Locust, have joined the Artwalk. Receptions at each venue are Tuesday from 6–8pm. Here’s the First Tuesday Artwalk Guide with venues and a map.

"My recent work explores images based on text becoming an abstract language that creates a visual form in the paintings," Keller says. "Along with mixed media and collage, the work moves within and around this controlled randomness without embracing traditional representation."

Born in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Keller graduated from Arizona State University with a BFA in Environmental Design. She spent most of her 20s exploring the world with her husband, and worked as a television series stylist in Johannesburg, South Africa, and a interior designer in San Francisco and various locations of the Bay Area. 

After those seven years of travel, Keller continued her studies at the College of Marin, and has painted and sculpted ever since. Keller lives in Sausalito and works out of a studio at the historic Industrial Center Building.  

"When I reflect on my art I sometimes think of the quote, 'the world is my oyster,' not in the sense that was originally intended, but rather in terms of the layers of development necessary to produce a pearl," SHE SAYS. "An important part of how I create involves leaving traces of evolution at every step along the way. As a result, each work of art can be appreciated not only as a completed piece, but also as evidence of the various stages involved in its completion. In other words, how something is achieved is just as important as the achievement itself."

The 411: Kathryn Keller exhibits her "Horizons" paintings at the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center (85 Throckmorton) throughout November, with a wine reception on November 1 (6–8pm) as part of the Mill Valley Arts Commission's First Tuesday Artwalk. Here’s the First Tuesday Artwalk Guide with venues and a map.

Halloween gets most of our attention at this time of year, but its arrival also brings Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, an artistically rich Mexican holiday centered around gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. The holiday is laden with traditions, including building private altars called ofrendas, honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed.

For the past few years, Mill Valley Recreation has hosted its own Dia de los Muertos event, a "joyful celebration of dearly departed family, friends and pets" at the Community Center (180 Camino Alto).

The event, set for Saturday, Oct. 29 from 10:30am-1pm, allows children and families to decorate sugar skulls, face painting, snacking on traditional pastries and creating our own memory box. Also, families can drop in on October 28 and view the Center’s Day of the Dead exhibit by local artist, Marsha Heckman.

With a resume that runs the gamut from prolific songwriter for Grateful Dead, a fellow at Harvard Law School's Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the Freedom of the Press Foundation, it doesn't seem fair that John Perry Barlow should "be in such dire straits that he needs donations to pay his medical bills and living expenses."

But he got that help Monday night at a benefit show at the Sweetwater Music Hall featuring Bob Weir, Jerry Harrison of The Talking Heads, Les Claypool of Primus, Sean Lennon, Lukas Nelson & Promise Of The Real, Ramblin' Jack Elliott and members of The String Cheese Incident. 

Check out some video clips of the performances here:

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Few have done more than filmmaker and photographer Gary Yost in recent years to highlight the history and importance of Mount Tam. From his film The Invisible Peak to his collaborations with the likes of Miwok artist Sky Road Webb, activist Peter Coyote, street-painting artist Genna Panzarella and musicians Jimmy Dillon and Lorin Rowan, Yost has left a lasting educational and inspirational imprint on the Sleeping Lady above Mill Valley.

The Mill Valley Historical Society has taken note, and made Yost the centerpiece of their latest historical showcase event at the Mill Valley Library, set for Wednesday, November 2 at 7pm. Dubbed "Mount Tamalpais: Inspiration for Action and Art with Gary Yost and Friends," the event will feature Yost talking about his aforementioned collaborations, as well as his  West Peak interactive timeline and the full history of the forgotten 106 acres on the summit of Mt. Tam and restoration at West Peak. Gary, Sky Road, Genna, Jimmy and Lorin will all be on hand to share their thoughts, play music inspired by the mountain, and lead the audience in Miwok songs.

The 411: "Mount Tamalpais: Inspiration for Action and Art with Gary Yost and Friends" is on Wednesday, November 2 at 7pm at the Mill Valley Library. Registration recommended. Click here to register.

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Vasco, Piazza D'Angelo, Playa, Bungalow 44, Boo Koo, Stefano's, Prabh Indian Kitchen, Molina, La Ginestra, Balboa Cafe and more are donating a portion of their proceeds to the campaign to renew a parcel tax that accounts for approximately 25 percent of the budget for the six schools within the Mill Valley School District.

Supporters of a park tax renewal for the Mill Valley School District are pulling out all the stops as we get closer to Election Day on Nov. 8, and they've rallied some of Mill Valley's best restaurants to help them do so.

"Done Downtown for Measure E," set for Tuesday, October 25, sees 15 downtown restaurants and food shops donating a portion of their proceeds from that evening to the Measure E campaign.

"We'll have rallies for Measure E in front of each participating restaurant from 5-7pm and are encouraging people to dine at the restaurants that night," says Emily Ulhorn, one the Measure campaign organizers. "It should be a great community event and a fantastic way for our downtown restaurants to show support for our schools."

The event comes on the heels of a success version of it on Miller Avenue, Ulhorn says.

Measure E, which will be on the November 8th ballot, seeks a renewal of the $981 parcel tax (the initial $731 plus 5 percent annual increases over eight years) for the next 12 years, with a 5 percent annual increase to match the projected annual rise in educational costs, according to ‘Renew for Mill Valley Schools – Yes on Measure E’ campaign officials. MORE MEASURE E INFO HERE.

Here are the participating "Dine Downtown for Measure E" restaurants and food shops:
Vasco
Piazza D'Angelo
Playa
Bungalow 44
Boo Koo
Stefano's Pizza
Noci Gelato
Phyllis' Giants Burgers​
Beerworks
Honeymoon Ice Cream
Prahb Indian Kitchen
Molina
Avatar's
La Ginestra
Balboa Cafe

Ed. note: Sweetwater Music Hall & Cafe has been added to the list of participants as well. 

​Here's one family's plan to be a "Prabh Mob" on behalf of Measure E at Prabh Indian Kitchen on Oct. 25:

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For their annual fall fundraiser, the folks at the O’Hanlon Center for the Arts have cooked up "a free-flowing exploration of ways that mindfulness practice deepens creative practice."

Dubbed “Consciousness & Creativity," the event is set for Saturday, Nov. 5 at 6:30pm at O'Hanlon at 616 Throckmorton Avenue. The event features an intimate panel discussion led by longtime radio, TV and voice-over artist Celeste Perry along with calligrapher Kazuaki Takahashi, dancer and Tamalpa Institute co-founder Daria Halprin and educator and second-degree black belt in Aikido Janet Daijogo.

The event also features a "tasting menu of mindfully prepared dishes and desserts," "contemplative flute music" from Bodhi Setchko and a raffle.

Here's more info on the panelists:

CELESTE PERRY
A longtime radio, TV and voice-over artist, Perry and her husband Alan reside in Mill Valley where they raised their two sons, who now live in Brooklyn. Attention previously given to their boys is now lavished on their rescue dog, Veto. Celeste has been sitting zazen with Vimala Sangha at O’Hanlon Center since 2010. She spends a study week every summer at Tassajara and received the Lay Boddhisattvah precepts two years ago in a ceremony officiated by Ed Sattizahn. She is currently developing a podcast with the working title “Twisted Karma.” Of her meditation practice she says, “Zazen has helped me face my life in a way I never thought possible.”

KAZUAKI TANAHASHI
​Born in Japan in 1933 and active in the United States since 1977, Takahashi is a renowned artist, calligrapher, writer, and peace activist. He lives in Berkeley. As a painter and calligrapher, he has been pioneering the genres of one-stroke painting, multi solo exhibitions of his brushwork worldwide and has taught numerous workshops, including at seven international calligraphy conferences. As a writer, editor, and translator, he has produced over forty books in English and Japanese. As an environmental activist, was the founding secretary of Plutonium Free Future. As a peace activist, he worked against the nuclear arms race and two Gulf Wars. He is currently the founding director of A World Without Armies. He is also a Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science. http://www.brushmind.net

JANET DAIJOGO
A second-degree black belt in Aikido and longtime kindergarten teacher at Marin Country Day School, Daijogo teaches Aikido principles of Centering, Grounding, Blending, Relaxation and Extension of Energy to her small pupils. As “Energy Time” for the youngest kids and “Mindfulness Training” for the older ones, the practice has spread to all nine grades at the school. The first greeting of Janet’s school day is “Center as You Enter.” At the end of the day it is “Breathe as you leave,” or just “Relax.”  The overriding concept is that to relate to others and to situations skillfully, you must first be at peace with yourself.

DARIA HALPRIN
Over 40 years ago, Halprin developed an interest in the relationship between dance, the creative arts process, and psychology, working in dance and theater labs with artists and psychologists from around the world. She was a member of the Dancers’ Workshop Company, performing nationally and internationally on stage and in film. She is the co-founder  and director of Tamalpa Institute, author of book  The Expressive Body in Life, Art and Therapy,  and a contributing author of  Foundations of Expressive Arts Therapy,   and  Dance, Somatics and Spiritualities. In addition to her work at Tamalpa Institute, Daria teaches at universities, growth centers and presents at conferences throughout the world. She has designed  dance and art-based programs and consulted with community organizations.

The 411: The O'Hanlon Center for the Arts' “Consciousness & Creativity" event is set for Saturday, Nov. 5 at 6:30pm at O'Hanlon at 616 Throckmorton Avenue. Tickets are $75. MORE INFO & BUY TIX.

Mill Valley residents Jill Whitebook and Vicky Dehnert co-founded Marin Clean Highways, an organization dedicated to ridding "our county of the eyesore that litter creates on our highways," five years ago. But while their battle with debris has made headway over the past half-decade, they continue to focus on combatting litter at its source: uncovered trucks hauling debris up and down Highway 101 on the way to local dumps.

Whitebook and Dehnert have pushed a "Tarp Your Load" campaign in recent years, hoping to convince haulers to cover the debris in their trucks and prevent it from ending up along the shoulders and frontage roads. And just as they did with litter removal, the pair have found allies to help their cause.

The Marin County Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program (MCSTOPPP), a coalition of 11 cities and towns and the County of Marin that focuses on addressing stormwater pollution, has agreed to collaborate with Marin Clean Highways and other local partners to help eliminate roadway trash and debris at a Secure Your Load event on October 27.​

The event, set for 11am-3:30pm at Marin Sanitary Service (565 Jacoby Street, San Rafael), will feature free tarps for haulers' uncovered loads. They'll also get a chance to learn about California’s law requiring secure truck loads and the environmental impact.

"Trash is not only unsightly on Marin’s roadways – it enters waterways, polluting the water and hurting the environment and wildlife," MCSTOPPP officials said in a statement. "Much of the trash and debris on Marin’s highways comes from trucks hauling unsecured loads, such as loose trash and other materials, which may fall out and create unsightly and potentially unsafe conditions. The goal of the Secured Loads program is to keep local roadways clean through awareness, education and enforcement of state and local littering laws. MCSTOPPP plans to make this a quarterly event to help inform the public.
 
MCSTOPPP’s Secured Loads partners include Marin Clean Highways, California Highway Patrol, Caltrans, Marin Sanitary Service, Marin County Supervisors Kathrin Sears, Steve Kinsey and Damon Connolly, Senator Mark McGuire, and Assemblyman Marc Levine. The event is sponsored in part by Jackson’s Hardware, San Rafael McDonald’s, and Marin Builder’s Association. 
 
“We need residents to help us reduce litter by properly securing and tarping their load before driving,” said Terri Fashing, Stormwater Program Administrator. “Most people don’t want to see trash on their drive home. We need to get the word out that properly securing your load is the responsible thing to do, it’s the law, and it protects our environment.”
 
To volunteer in this effort, please contact Angela Clapp at MCSTOPPP. To learn about the many ways you can reduce pollutants in our waterways, visit the MCSTOPPP website. For information on past events, visit Marin Clean Highways.

Very few Bay Area bands can match the history, the output, the longevity and the bombastic live performances of the Tubes, and North Bay residents get their latest chance to see the legendary rockers perform live on October 29 at the Osher Marin Jewish Community Center.

The Halloween-themed show is a production of Mill Valley-based Murphy Productions and downtown clothing shop Famous4, as well as the JCC's Kanbar Center for the Arts. The event centers on "a full blown costume party."

"The Tubes will go down in the rock history books as one of the most exciting, in-your-face, tight-knit group of musicians who epitomized the hilarity of popular American culture by making it into a the ultimate rock’n’roll extravaganza," according to the band's bio.

The band was one of the pioneers of the rock music video years before MTV became a household name, and used the medium in their early performances. The band tapped into the American zeitgeist and ridiculed its materialistic values, and superficial advertising methods, and took a poke at religious fundamentalists and often questioned sexual taboos. "They took popular culture by the scruff of the neck, turned it upside down, and made it into entertainment," the bio added.

The 411: The Tubes perform at the Osher Marin Jewish Community Center at 8pm on October 29. Tix are $35 general admission and $50 for a reserved seat at a table. MORE INFO & TIX. Here's the Tubes' rendition of their classic "White Punks on Dope" from September 2016:

For Mill Valley native Annie Thistle, movement has been a constant over the seven years since she created the Performing Arts Academy of Marin (PAAM).

​That’s been true not only within the dance-laden programs and classes at PAAM, but for PAAM itself. To manage its constant growth, Thistle has regularly moved PAAM, first from her living room to a space at the Community Church of Mill Valley, then to a space in the Alto Plaza shopping center near where UPS and Starbucks are now, and then to the 2,800-square-foot storefront space above Balboa Cafe at Mill Creek Plaza. And in late 2015, as she was back to utilizing multiple venues because her space wasn’t big enough, Thistle moved PAAM to a 6,000-square-foot space at 60 Belvedere Drive in Strawberry, just behind the Strawberry Village shopping center.

“We’re really happy to get under one roof,” she said at the time.

Now Thistle is taking advantage of the extra leg room. She’s bringing on a pair of acclaimed dancers and teachers as artists-in-residence. Ricky Maalouf and Francisco Gella, who will strengthen PAAM’s hip-hop and ballet dance programs, respectively.

Thistle met Gella at the 24 Seven Dance Convention. His Francisco Gella Dance Works, which includes instructors Jeffrey Hoffman, Julie Schulman and Thang Dao, is doing a year-long residency “to further strengthen our ballet programs,” Thistle says.

Maalouf, meanwhile, will bolster PAAM’s hip-hop dance program. Maalouf began dancing with Arizona State University’s Hip Hop Coalition at the age of 19 and has danced professionally for years, including stints opening for Omarion, Fergie and My Chemical Romance, among others.

Thistle notes that while students are paying for the sessions with Maalouf, Thiustle herself is bearing the brunt of the cost to bring Gella and his team to PAAM. She says she’d like to develop a program through which students who wouldn’t be able to afford these classes could receive financial assistance via a scholarship or endowment-funded financial assistance program.
“These are both awesome opportunities for the kids here, and I want as many of them as possible to experience it,” Thistle says.

The 411: The Performing Arts Academy of Marin (PAAM) is at 60 Belvedere Drive. MORE INFO.