After launching Terra Marin Micro-Schools in August and drawing media coverage from the likes of NBC Bay Area and the Marin Independent Journal for its use of 12-student cohorts that visited  locations throughout the Bay Area and conducted school in nature five days a week, Terra  Marin Schools, Wendy Xa continues to innovate through the COVID-19 crisis.

Xa, who opened Terra Marin School and the Terra Mandarin Preschool in late 2018 in the former Ring Mountain Day School space on Lomita Drive in Mill Valley, says Terra Marin received its waiver from the state giving the schools its blessing to open under its extensive safety plan.

Xa says Terra Marin now has all of its students back on campus preschool through 8th grade and "we are operating successfully with new safety guidelines and protocols for all including parents when they are off campus." Terra Marin has rolling admissions so they are accepting applications for both the current school year and the 2021-22 school year.

Xa says they offer three distinct programs for ages Preschool-8th grade, including a Mandarin Immersion Preschool & TK, an on campus progressive K-8 program and our completely outdoor in nature K-5th grade Micro-School.

With that in mind, Terra Marin Schools are hosting Open Houses Nov. 14, Nov. 15 and Dec. 6:

• Terra Mandarin Preschool & TK - November 15 or December 6 at 9:30am
• Terra Marin K-8 - November 15 or December 6 at 1:30pm
• Terra Marin Micro-School K-5 - November 14 at 9am

If you are interested in the Outdoor Micro-School or can not make the scheduled Open Houses, inquire about a tour at admissions@terramarin.org; 415-906-2220.

"The events will be virtual, interactive and fun, with "the goal of truly giving the parents and their children a feel for the programs and why they are so unique.”  Xa says. The open houses for each of the above dates are set for:

RSVP at terramarin.org or call 415-906-2220

MORE INFO & REGISTER.

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As part of our EMV Films series highlighting some of the myriad creative businesses, organizations and people in Mill Valley, we're spotlighting the family-centric businesses of Miller Avenue, including Tam Bikes, Super Duper Burger and Tamalpie. Sponsored by Redwood Credit Union, this series will be highlighting more businesses, nonprofits and arts organizations throughout 2020 and beyond!

The City of Mill Valley's 18-month, $18 million Miller Avenue Streetscape Project was a beast of a project, a once-in-generation re-imagining of approximately two miles of one of Mill Valley’s two main arteries and far and away the biggest road improvement project the City had undertaken in decades. It was a long slog for City staff and its contractors, a major impact for businesses along the corridor and an inconvenience for the community.

But in the end, Miller Avenue is a massively more vibrant street, much safer for all of its users with continuous bike lanes, improved sidewalks, enhanced crosswalks, and new pavement, storm drains, sewer pipes and much more – all while retaining and even enhancing Miller Avenue’s distinct character.

Two years after its completion, Miller Avenue is teeming with multi-modal users, from families riding bicycles up and down the street – with regular stops at Tam Bikes – to pedestrians from adjacent neighborhoods walking to dinner at places like Super Duper Burger and Tamalpie. Sponsored by Redwood Credit Union, this series will be highlighting more businesses, nonprofits and arts organizations throughout 2020 and beyond!

Watch the film below. ​Video by Summertime Films, commissioned by the Mill Valley Chamber. Thanks to Norm Hunter and his team and to Wilson Tengnguyen and his team at Redwood Credit Union for their sponsorship.

Many more films to come showcasing the boundless innovation, community vitality and entrepreneurial spirit of Mill Valley!

Here are some of the previous videos from our Enjoy Mill Valley Film Series:

Health & Wellness

Mill Valley's Foundational, Historic Businesses

Inspired Chefs

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What a $&#&%^* of a year.

That's the word from the folks at Equator Coffees at Proof Lab, and to show their gratitude to their diehard supporters through a year that seen one too many major calamities to contend with, they're throwing a Customer Appreciation Day on Friday, Oct. 30. ​

"We have been so appreciative of our customers in Marin, and especially Mill Valley," Equator co-founder Helen Russell says. "Equator Proof Lab will be giving out Johnny Doughnut holes for the first 150 customers who come by in appreciation for all their support during COVID-19."

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Forty-two days after Marin County came out of a herky-jerky appeals process with the California Department of Public Health and moved into the red tier 2, Marin County Department of Health and Human Services officials said Tuesday that CDPH has moved Marin into the the statewide Blueprint for a Safer Economy COVID-19 framework's less restrictive orange tier, effective immediately.

To do so, Marin continued to show fewer daily cases, a reduction in the proportion of positive tests among those who are tested, and progress in addressing the county’s lowest-income communities factored. Marin’s high rate of testing combined with a measured approach to reopening has contributed to the orange status achievement, Marin County Health officials said in a statement. 

“We’ve all made sacrifices to get in front of this pandemic in Marin,” Marin Public Health Officer Dr. Matt Willis said. “This progress is a sign of what we can do. But it is way too early to let up. Just last week, Marin reached 100 COVID-19 deaths. It’s important to rethink the traditions to gather during the holidays, especially as flu season arrives. Our collective actions over the next few weeks will decide if we can retain this level of reopening.”

As a result of the move into the orange tier, several business sectors are able to increase their indoor density, particularly retail, restaurants and fitness facilities. Here's a breakdown of the improved conditions for businesses in the orange tier. The change with perhaps the biggest economic impact might be that offices can now open, with modifications. According to a Marketing Charts report, office workers spend $200/week on local purchases in the office neighborhood.

Mill Valley business owners said they were heartened by the continued progress after a summer of some backsliding through the reopening process, but they emphasized the need for continued diligence and a heightened awareness that increased indoor density only matters if consumer confidence rises.

Tim Fleming, managing partner and exercise physiologist at Endurance Performance Training Centers, has had a seemingly eternal wait to get to just 25 percent density. Fitness facilities have been one of the slowest moving sectors through the county and statewide COVID-19 reopening frameworks, and thus among hardest hit financially. In July, Fleming and his team laid the groundwork to open outdoor eCycling and personal training in approximately 4,000 square feet of parking lot across the street from Endurance on Madrona Street, and did just that on Aug, 15, the first day they were allowed to do so.

"We've been extremely grateful to have a flexible and supportive landlord who has allowed us to use the parking lot, and we've been able to lean on 16 years of goodwill in this community," Fleming says. 

Fleming says the move to be able to use 25 percent of Endurance's 3,800 square feet indoors is great. "We can open up three of the six services we provide with confidence – it's exciting. But we have plenty of clients who will continued taking remote classes – the real turning point will reveal itself with the arrival of a vaccine and client comfort," Fleming adds. 

Piazza D'Angelo co-owner Felicia Ferguson agrees. "We aren't rushing to open at 50 percent density inside," she says of the orange tier's allowance for restaurants. "We're focusing on making sure we are maximizing the frequency of fresh air flow through our space and we want to continue to take advantage of our outdoor space – that's where our customers feel the most safe."

Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, business owners like Ferguson and Fleming have been laser focused on innovating their way through turbulence. For Ferguson, it's been working with the City of Mill Valley and the Mill Valley Chamber to transform spaces like Miller Avenue into an al fresco dining room for as long as possible. And for Fleming, it's been breaking the mold on pricing structures and doing things remotely that he'd never thought possible, from remote physiological measurements and online classes to remote exercise testing and training plans.

"In a weird way, it was the necessary spark that we needed," he said. 

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Vasco owner Paul Lazzareschi was one of the few restaurant owners in downtown Mill Valley whose eatery stayed open during the early hours of PG&E's Public Safety Power Shutoff Sunday night.

​But he'll have to wait a bit before he can reopen since the power came back on, as a fire broke out in Vasco's kitchen in the early hours of Monday morning, according to Southern Marin Fire officials. 

Lazzareschi says he set up a portable generator just outside his restaurant to power his walk-in refrigerator to keep his food inventory cold overnight, but the generator's heat bore through the stucco wall leading to his kitchen and sparked the fire. The fire was reported just before 8 a.m. at the restaurant at 106 Throckmorton Ave., Mill Valley fire Batallion Chief Scott Barnes told the Marin Independent Journal.

Authorities shut down the intersection of Throckmorton and Miller Avenues at Bernard Street, the IJ reported, as crews extinguished the fire. No one was injured. 
There were no reported injuries.

Vasco sustained approximately $10,000 in damage, and Lazzareschi says he hopes to keep his closure brief – "hopefully 7-10 days."

Here's an ABC 7 news report on the incident:

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Anyone who's stayed at the historic West Point Inn over the course of its 116 years atop Mount Tamalpais knows that it's an inimitable experience – a rustic, off the grid, community-oriented facility completely surrounded by nature.

But despite being resilient enough to survive the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic that killed 50 million people, the closure of the Mill Valley and Mt. Tamalpais Scenic Railway that sparked its creation and the impact of World War II, the West Point Inn is facing its most serious hurdle amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

The damage inflicted by the coronavirus has been two fold. First, the inn's all-volunteer board hasn't been able to reopen it because its configuration – the inn and six cabins – has always been more like a hostel than a hotel. As a result, despite the fact that Marin County Public Health gave hotels and short-term rentals the green light to reopen in August, the guidelines don't allow for operations like the West Point Inn, where the kitchen and bathroom, for instance, are communal.

Secondly, because it depends heavily on rental revenues that have been frozen since March, the board and innkeepers have continued to maintain the property and has burned through a substantial portion of its reserves. The organization also draws revenue from its approximately 600 association members.

With that predicament in mind, head innkeeper David Durr has launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds to support its reopening and partially reconfigure the space, as possible, to improve COVID-19 safety. The campaign seeks to raise at least $20,000, and has raised nearly $8,000 to date. 

​In addition to the GoFundMe, the board is accepting donations directly via its website. The board is weighing the possibility to offering limited stays for a minimum of three days, as well as the possibility of auctioning off stays over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, as well as New Year's Eve.  

MORE INFO ON THE WEST POINT INN.
MORE INFO ON THE INN'S GOFUNDME CAMPAIGN.
YOU CAN ALSO DONATE DIRECTLY ON WEST POINT INN'S WEBSITE.

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Mill Valley resident Betty Goerke, the chairperson of the Miwok Archeological Preserve of Marin (MAPOM) and a professor emeritus at College of Marin, is about as steeped in the Coast Miwok history and culture and as anyone could ever hope to be.

The Milley Award winner continues to be the gift that keeps on giving to teachers and their students when it comes to this subject. The author of the groundbreaking Chief Marin has written a new book of historical fiction for children called Adventures of Two Coast Miwok Children. Written for third and fourth graders, it imagines Chief Marin's childhood growing up in the village of Anamas (Mill Valley) and that of his frient Mottiqui, who lived in an nearby village.

Illustrated by Native artist Edward Willie, Adventures of Two Coast Miwok Children is being published by the Mill Valley Historical Society in two editions – a Teacher's Edition and a trade paperback for kids. This is the first book publishing venture for MVHS, which is expanding its publishing efforts beyond its Mill Valley history Review. 

The Historical Society is giving the Teacher's Edition as a gift to all Marin County public and private elementary school teachers who teach a unit (usually in the third or fourth grade) on southern Marin's indigenous peoples. The printed Teacher's Edition is currently being distributed.

Like Chief Marin, the new tome is based on archaeologist-anthropologist Goerke's 30 years researching the Coast Miwok.

​MORE INFO.

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From wildfire victims to Scout Hall's renovation, just to name two, the Mill Valley Rotary Club has been a force for good in the 94941 for 94 years.

The organizations effort show no sign of relenting, especially during the COVID-19 crisis.
​
Mill Valley Rotary's Emily Uhlhorn recently delivered a check for $2,800 to the Marin City Food Pantry at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, one of five Rotary donations totaling $28,000 to help Marin individuals and families struggling because of COVID-19. Other recipients include Canal Alliance, Adopt a Family of Marin, ExtraFood.org and the Mill Valley PTA Food Pantry.

Ulhorn shared her experiences with Yaker Kawoh and Wyna Barron, at center in the image above, the co-managers of the St. Andrew's pantry, which serves those in need on Mondays, 10:30-12:00. Barron has deep roots in Marin City and is the daughter of workers who came from the South to work in the Marinship shipyard in Sausalito, where 93 ships were built during World War II.

MORE INFO ON THE MILL VALLEY ROTARY CLUB.

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Any hopes that we could avoid a Public Safety Power Shutoff during another horrific fire season AND amidst the COVID-19 pandemic have been dashed. Due to expected severe weather conditions, PG&E plans a PSPS from Sunday evening 6-8pm through at least Monday evening, depending on conditions.
​
What that means: As of this moment, PG&E's Future Power Outages Map indicates that the commercial district in Tam Junction, Alto and Strawberry will be largely spared, as will most of Miller Avenue until you get beyond the Mill Valley Lumber Yard as you come into Downtown, which will be almost entirely impacted by the PSPS.

PG&E has indicated that they would deploy backup diesel power generators at the Alto Substation on Roque Moraes to provide backup power to those impacted, BUT they cannot do so for those businesses and homes located within the High-Fire-Threat District, as determined by the California Public Utilities Commission.

Most of Downtown is within that High Fire Threat Map.

GO HERE TO LOOK UP YOUR ADDRESS TO SEE IF YOU WILL BE BE IMPACTED BY THE PSPS.
GO HERE to look up your address here to see if your business is located within the High Fire Threat Map. 
GO HERE FOR REGULAR UPDATES ON PSPS.
AND HERE'S A REMINDER FROM 2019 ABOUT WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO BE READY.

As part of the Red Flag warning, parking restrictions on Miller Ave. will also be in effect during this time period in the Residential and Employee Permit areas. For emergencies, call 9-1-1 for immediate assistance. For non-emergencies call 415.389.4100.

MORE INFO.

RESIDENTS: As stated above, PG&E's Future Power Outages Map indicates that the commercial districts in Tam Junction, Alto and Strawberry will be largely spared, as will most of Miller Avenue. The Mill Valley Lumber Yard was initially within the affected area but that impact was reversed by PG&E. Downtown will be almost entirely impacted by the PSPS.

Within affected area but open:
Mountain Home Inn
Bungalow 44
Piazza D'Angelo: Open for lunch
Mill Valley Market: Open as normal – will have charging station starting Monday morning.

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The COVID-19 crisis has ravaged every sector of Mill Valley's economy over the past seven months, but few industries have faced as many whiplash-inducing fits and starts as restaurants and food-serving businesses.

But as we begin to inch our way toward the orange tier 3 within the statewide Blueprint for a Safer Economy framework as soon as Oct. 27 – such a move would allow several business sectors to move from 25% to 50% density indoors – it's time to seize some momentum.

Given the multi-layered positive impact that restaurants have on all types of nearby businesses, the Marin Council of Chambers and the Marin Convention & Visitors Bureau (MCVB) are teaming up for "Marin County Cares ~ Restaurant Appreciation," a more than two-month-long, Restaurant Week-style promotion in partnership with local chambers in Corte Madera, Fairfax, Larkspur, Mill Valley, Novato, San Anselmo, San Rafael, Sausailto, Tiburon, West Marin and the Hispanic Chamber.

“We encourage residents to keep dining at their favorite restaurants while also trying someplace new," says Corte Madera Chamber Executive Director Julie Kritzberger. "Your business and support will make a difference to our restaurant community, many of whom are family-owned businesses that have contribute greatly to their respected communities and enhance the overall tapestry of what makes Marin County so special."

“Marin County Cares – Restaurant Appreciation” kicks off October 22 and runs through the end of the year. Each participating restaurant is either showcasing a special offer or an existing menu feature to welcome guests back to their establishments. There are no tickets or passes required and although most restaurants are open on a first come, first serve basis, many do appreciate a reservation for outdoor dining, and indoor dining if available.

Most importantly, if there is a special offer, such as a discount or free item with purchase, customers must mention “Marin County Cares” to their server to receive special offer. The best way to view this promotion is to check out the “Marin County Cares – Restaurant Appreciation” website, which lives on the Visit Marin website.

Important Highlights:

• Participating restaurants are offering take-out, outdoor dining and some have limited indoor dining available. Most restaurants do offer outdoor dining on a first come, first serve basis, however, reservations are always encouraged, especially if a reservation platform is available.
• Participating restaurants had a choice on what to showcase for this promotion. Many are showcasing a special offer, such as a discount off or a free item with purchase. For restaurants who cannot give a discount or a free item, a special menu item is featured instead, such as a happy hour with discounted food and beverages, or a favorite menu item.
• To access the restaurant’s special offer, please read the special offer or feature carefully; it’s very important to tell your cashier, server or bartender that you are at the restaurant for “Marin County Cares” promotion to ensure that restaurant honors the special offer. If the special offer is on take-out or online orders, please use specific codes on the offer or tell the restaurant that you are calling for the "Marin County Cares" online offer.

For customers who love to take pictures of their food and drink while dining, Marin CVB will be hosting social media contests with Marin CVB swag gifts to lucky winners; please take pictures and include #marincountycares and #visitMarin on all posts.

Here are the participating restaurants in Mill Valley. Click on their image below to get more details on their special offer and/or featured item:

AND GO HERE FOR THE FULL LIST OF ALL OF THE PARTICIPATING RESTAURANTS IN MARIN.

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Dan Malugani Sr. opened Malugani Tire Shop 72 years ago. It's safe to say that none of those 72 trips around the sun have matched 2020 for pandemic-induced stress.

But like so many Mill Valley business owners, Malugani’s third-generation owner Kendal Savelli, along with her husband John and her cousins Ken Monge and Michael Monge, all of whom run the business as partners, have hung in there through the massive ebbs and flows of the past seven month, leaning on resiliency and innovation.

And from Nov. 11-13, the quartet is turning to a tried-and-true tradition: the Annual Malugani Tire Center Customer Appreciation Sale, which serves up the shop's best tire prices of the year and a $50 coupon for wheel alignments with purchase of tires.

"This year we couldn’t be more appreciative of the support we have received," Kendal Savelli says. "We have always known how lucky we are to be in business here and it has never been more apparent!"

​"Malugani has done this annual sale since the late 1990s with a focus on great service and the lowest prices of the year," she adds. "We usually do food all day (we are Italian!) but this year we will keep it simple and safe – just tires. We are so appreciative of the support we received while we were closed and also that our customers waited for us to return and even kept in touch with supportive emails while we were closed. This is our way of saying thank you and keeping the business local while offering a discount that is meaningful. Customers start asking about the sale in September and this year is no different." 

The 411: Malugani’s Tire Shop hosts its Annual Malugani Tire Center Customer Appreciation Sale Nov. 11-13. Savelli recommends calling ahead to schedule. "We fill up fast," she says. 493 Miller Ave. 415.388.1800. MORE INFO.

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While every crumb of good news comes with a cascade of caveats during the COVID-19 era, it sure does look like Marin is on the verge of advancing from the red tier 2 to the orange tier 3 within the statewide Blueprint for a Safer Economy framework as soon as Oct. 27. Such a move would allow several business sectors to move from 25% to 50% density indoors.

“We’ve all made sacrifices to reduce COVID-19 transmission in Marin, and it’s encouraging to see progress,” Marin County Department of Health and Human Services Officer Dr. Matt Willis said this week. “At the same time, we’re seeing new surges across the nation. As hard as it is to reduce case rates, it’s just as hard to hang on and not slide backward. It’s not time to let up on those measures that protect ourselves and our community.” 

​Willis said his office was notified Oct. 20 by California Department of Public Health that Marin’s data has improved, qualifying the county to move advance to the less restrictive Tier 3 or “moderate risk” (“orange”) level based on its COVID-19 coronavirus case statistics. To do so, Marin must have been in the current tier for a minimum of three weeks (it's been in red tier 2 for five weeks), and meet criteria for the next tier for two consecutive weeks. As of Oct. 22, Marin is nine days into that 14-day span.   

If the state approves Marin's move into the orange tier on October 27, several business sectors would be able to increase their indoor density, particularly retail, restaurants and fitness facilities. Here's a breakdown of the improved conditions for businesses in the orange tier. The change with perhaps the biggest economic impact might be that offices can now open, with modifications. According to a Marketing Charts report, office workers spend $200/week on local purchases in the office neighborhood.

To advance to tier 3, Marin must have a daily case rate of 3.9 or lower and 4.9% test positivity rate or lower, and achieved an adjusted daily case rate of 3.6 and 1.8% test positivity. A recently added third indicator is the health equity metric, which compares a county’s COVID-19 percent positivity rate across low-income neighborhoods like the Canal and Marin City to more affluent neighborhoods and ensure that Marin's lowest income, most marginalized communities aren’t left behind as counties move up in the tier system. As of Oct. 20, Marin had to achieve a health equity metric of 5.2% or lower and achieved  a health equity metric of 2.7%. 

Stay tuned for updates about Marin's continued progress through the statewide Blueprint for a Safer Economy framework.

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Like just about every business owner on the planet, Mill Valley Music shop owner Gary Scheuenstuhl's past six months have been about adaptation to conditions beyond his control. 

For Scheuenstuhl and record shop owners all over the country, the October 24th arrival of the third of three chapters of Record Store Day – the world’s largest single-day music event to support independent record stores in an increasingly digital streaming-driven music business – provides a respite from the economic tumult of 2020. But it brings with it an oddity of the COVID-19 era: RSD occurs over three days over three months, designed to allow for social distancing by reducing the usual volume of music-obsessed customers crowding the shop.

You can view the list of the all of the 2020 RSD records on sale, along with which of the three drop dates records will be on sale, here. 

"As in the previous two months for RSD, we'll open early and will practice social distancing by moving RSD product to different parts of the store and will limit the number of people allowed in the store to 4 or 5 with a time limit if there are people waiting," Scheuenstuhl says. "Masks will be mandatory and if you don't have one we have masks supplied by the Mill Valley Chamber should you need one. Hope to see you here!"

Thirteen years ago, on the heels of John Goddard's decision to close his legendary Village Music shop downtown, longtime Village employee Scheuenstuhl decided to venture out on his own, opening his Mill Valley Music shop at 320 Miller Avenue. Through never-ending changes in the music industry, the 18-month Miller Avenue Streetscape Project and the COVID-19 crisis, Scheuenstuhl has persisted. 

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.

The 411: Record Store Day 2020 spans three days over three months with special, properly distanced release dates. The third edition is set for Saturday, Oct. 24. 
​
​MORE INFO ON MILL VALLEY MUSIC.
MORE INFO ON 2020 RSD AND FULL LIST OF RECORDS FOR SALE AND RELEASE DATES.
RSD ALSO INCLUDES ITS TYPICAL BLACK FRIDAY DAY – MORE INFO ON THAT HERE.

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The 43rd Mill Valley Film Festival wrapped Sunday night after 11 days of virtual and drive-in screenings, panels, and special events, as did its conjoined DocLands Documentary Film Festival, which was postponed due to COVID-19 in May. Through the course of 11 days, MVFF featured virtual tributes to luminaries like Viola Davis, Dame Judi Dench, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Sophia Loren, and Kate Winslet, as well as Festival Spotlights on Delroy Lindo, Clare Dunne, Regina King, and Aaron Sorkin with cast members from The Trial of the Chicago 7. 

Organizers touted the success of Mind the Gap, MVFF’s gender equity initiative that pledged to reach 50/50 women director representation by 2020 and surpassed that goal by reaching 57% women directors or co-directors represented across the entire festival.

“One could make the case that the 43rd MVFF was smaller — fewer films, no receptions — yet in fact, it felt grander, in a multitude of surprising ways,” Mill Valley Film Festival and California Film Institute Founder/Director Mark Fishkin. “Larger certainly in spirit, with ideas plucked from our board, staff, and community. Initially, the most common answer to any question asked of us was, 'I don’t know.' As staff settled on the concept of a virtual festival as well as a drive-In, trust never played a more important role than this year, a year of unknowns.”

“With no defined road map, together with our partners and supporters, the Mill Valley Film Festival was able to create a model that was needed during these challenging times, a program that would resonate with our community and audiences around the world," Fishkin continued. "Smaller, bigger – who can say? What we can say is this: It was a model we can be proud of and continue to build upon as we move forward.”

“We’ve entered a new era for film festivals—and creating an online, drive-in festival reinforced the way we bring communities together, even in this socially distant time," added MVFF Director of Programming Zoë Elton. "I never thought I’d be programming films for a drive-in, but experiencing a film like Nomadland outdoors, by a lagoon, under the stars, was amazing.”

Festival organizers reported a total attendance of 35,300, a sharp drop from its normal attendance of 75,000 people in recent years. But in the midst of a pandemic, merely showcasing 148 selections, including 65 feature-length films, most of which were viewed online and available anywhere around the world, was widely regarded as a major feat. All of MVFF43's screenings at the 250-car capacity pop-up drive-in at Lagoon Park at the Marin County Civic Center sold out, they said.


Here are the winners of MVFF43's AUDIENCE FAVORITE AWARDS:
 
Audience Favorite – Drive-In - NOMADLAND
Audience Favorite – Online - THE FATHER and ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI (tie)
Audience Favorite – US - UNCLE FRANK
Audience Favorite – World - MASTER CHENG
Audience Favorite – Valley of the Docs - THE BOYS WHO SAID NO!
Audience Favorite – Family - SISTERS: THE SUMMER WE FOUND OUR SUPERPOWERS
Audience Favorite – DocLands - LAUREL CANYON: A PLACE IN TIME
Audience Favorite – Mind the Gap - NOMADLAND
Audience Favorite – ¡Viva el Cine! - THE HEIST OF THE CENTURY

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As lovers of our renowned Marin Theatre Company know all too well, 2020 has not been kind to theater organizations given our inability to gather in a room and immerse ourselves in theatrical performances.

But as MTC Artistic Director Jasson Minadakis has shown, one positive out of the COVID-19 mess is that theater heavyweights have had more time to engage with their local and regional communities.

With that in mind, the Outdoor Art Club is bringing in Johanna Pfaelzer, former Artistic Director of New York Stage and Film and current Artistic Director of Berkeley Repertory Theater, to talk about her life and work in American musical theater, and how one woman’s creative vision helped shape some of America’s best loved shows, including Hadestown, Hamilton, The Humans, and Green Day’s American Idiot.

This event will be held on Zoom. GO HERE TO REGISTER.

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