From being named one of America's 20 best small towns by Smithsonian Magazine to more recent love from Conde Nast Traveler, Mill Valley has been on the receiving end of plenty of compliments over the years. But the latest attention to come our way – the Super Bowl 50 Host Committee's "50 Perfect Hours in Mill Valley" – might just make us blush.

Here's the lowdown: The 50th edition of the Super Bowl, the National Football League's championship game and the biggest sporting event in America, is set for February 7, 2016 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara. The Super Bowl 50 Host Committee, which is raising the money to put on the Super Bowl and managing all of its planning and production, is celebrating some of the top destination towns and cities in the Bay Area, hoping to get attendees of the big game to spend extra time here before and after.

The committee tasked San Francisco writer Katie Morell with creating digests for a series called "50 Perfect Hours." To date, she's highlighted places like Palo Alto, Pebble Beach, Napa Valley and Walnut Creek. In her story, which has since been picked up 7x7 Magazine, Morell describes Mill Valley as "an idyllic town of 14,000 residents with tons of green spaces and leafy downtown streets filled with one-of-a-kind shops, art galleries and restaurants perfect for strolling at any time of day.... Mill Valley is a magnet for tourists from around the world, many of whom want to move immediately following a visit."

Morell's "perfect way to spend a 50-hour getaway in Mill Valley" begins at the Mill Valley Inn downtown, waking to its delicious complimentary breakfast before heading to the Depot Bookstore & Café before browsing shops like OSKA and and Summer House.

A bike ride around the lower slopes of Mount Tam follows, before a respite and dinner at El Paseo – A Marin Chophouse and some live music at Sweetwater Music Hall. The following day begins with grabbing a picnic lunch at Mill Valley Market and heading off to Muir Woods National Monument and Mount Tam State Park. Morell recommends moving over to the Mountain Home Inn – "a secluded hideaway perched within Mt. Tam" – for the next night. End your Perfect 50 Hours in Mill Valley by rising early to see the sunrise from the balcony before dashing off.

What do you think of "50 Perfect Hours in Mill Valley"? What would you have added? Tell us in the Comments below!

Robin Williams, a fixture in Mill Valley for decades, was found dead at his home in Tiburon Monday morning. He was 63. 

Click here for the full story by the Marin Independent Journal. 

And while the news is unbelievably sad, we wanted to create a place to share memories of tributes to a man who was famous around the world but so dear to many people in the 94941 and throughout Marin. Whether it was his surprise performances at Mark Pitta & Friends Tuesday Comedy Night, his improv sets with the likes of Rick Overton at Comedy in the Plaza or  his appearances at local events like the opening night of the Mill Valley Film Festival, seemingly everyone in town has a favorite Robin Williams memory.

Share your memories and tributes in the Comments below. Here's one man's sheer amazement at one of Williams' sets at the Throckmorton in 2010.

Here's a selection of Tweets from others upon hearing the news:

And here's a hilarious video of his first time on The Tonight Show:

Mill Valley Arts Commission's monthly celebration of local art includes a host of venues, including the O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, the Mill Valley Public Library, Robert Green Fine Arts, Terrestra, the Depot Bookstore & Café, City Hall, Gallery 291 at the Image Flow, Thompson Dorfman Partners, Famous4 and the Mill Valley Community Center, Seager Gray Gallery and the Throckmorton Theatre, where an exhibit of the late, legendary Mill Valley photographer Suki Hill's work will be on display throughout the month. Reception is Tuesday from 6–8pm at each venue. More info below.

Click here to access the First Tuesday Artwalk Guide, with a full list of artists and venues. The map below indicates the downtown venues.

BooKoo, the popular four-year-old Asian street food restaurant at 25 Miller Ave. downtown, has unveiled its expanded space along with a dazzling new interior design that includes 10 craft beer taps.

BooKoo owner Matt Holmes had been looking to expand the restaurant’s 680-square-foot space almost since its inception. The closure of Henry's Toyshop in the adjacent space in late 2013 provided the perfect opportunity, he says. The expansion more than doubles the restaurant’s square footage to 1,400 and its number of seats to 48.

The expansion also provided BooKoo with an opportunity to change its interior design. Gone are the bright hues that Holmes says were much needed in the previously tiny space. Those pastels and bright colors would’ve made the larger space seem “like the inside of a coloring book,” he says.

“With the expansion of Boo Koo, we had the opportunity to tear away from the pastel hues and multi-colored walls and introduce much broader design elements consistent with our Mill Valley roots and our Asian Street Food style,” says owner, Matt Holmes. 

The new design incorporates the work of San Francisco artist Adam Feibelman, whose “unique ceiling art and bar mural marry the elements of street art, playful themes, and restaurant design” Holmes says.  

Holmes also reached out to San Francisco husband-and-wife team of interior interior designers Parisa O'Connell and Clinton Miller, who sought to transform “the space into a rustic, yet modern attraction, with highly textural elements suggestive of a bustling gritty Bangkok alley.”

To do so, Holmes procured some salvaged barn wood and sheet metal from now-defunct Mill Valley garden retailer Smith & Hawken. The refreshed wood and metal now adorn the new BooKoo’s walls, tabletops, and 26-foot bar/countertop. 

"We wanted to bring a fresh urban appeal to the new space in fun unique way". An oversized custom light fixture was added as well, “fusing together the ever so bright red logo color along with concrete stains and white hex tile to create a beautiful and welcoming Asian-inspired restaurant experience.”

The expansion was critical, Holmes says, to putting all of BooKoo’s operations under one roof. He says “the logistics of running this business were so hard” because of the tight quarters, with him storing paper products in his house and “running out of food almost every day.”

Holmes says that in addition to paving the way for BooKoo’s craft beer program, the larger space allows for an expanded kitchen and thus a soon-to-expand menu that will include organic handmade artisan dumplings and the return of their popular line of Asian chicken wings.

“In the next few months, you’ll see a big step in our culinary innovation,” he says. “We’re really excited about it.”

The Asian street food restaurant first opened in December 2010 in the former Ino Sushi space as Charlie Hong Kong, a second location of Darryl and Carolyn Rudolph’s popular Santa Cruz restaurant of the same name. In August 2011, the restaurant broke away from that partnership and went through a name change and a tweak of its menu. The BooKoo name is a play on the French “beaucoup” (plentiful, bountiful) and has roots in Vietnamese slang. 

As BooKoo is only taking a portion of the former Henry's Toyshop space, Holmes is looking for a subtenant for the rest of it. Interested parties can contact Holmes, a principal at Retail West, by clicking here. 

The sub-leased space was temporarily occupied by Carolina Boutique, the retail shop owned by Carolina Loiacono, which moved into the space for a few months during a renovation of the building that included Carolina and Sofia Jewelry.

The 411: BooKoo is located at 25 Miller Avenue. It is open Mon.-Tue., 11am-8pm and Wed.-Sun., 11am-9pm. Click here for more info.

A nearly 30-year-old Mill Valley tradition kicks off this Sunday with the first of Arts Commission’s Concerts in the Plaza over the next four weekends.

The event – free and open to the public on the Depot Plaza – features two bands each on the first three Sunday afternoons, with Beso Negro headlining the entire two-hour final show on Sunday, Aug. 24.

Concerts on the Plaza begins at 1 pm Sunday with the T Sisters, a trio of Bay Area sisters whose “subtle throwback aesthetic calls to mind classic trios past, from the Andrews Sisters and 1960′s girl groups to the sirens from the film O Brother, Where Art Thou? Steep Ravine, a folk-bluegrass band that draws its lyrical inspiration from Mount Tamalpais, follows the T Sisters at 2 pm.

Those who loved the soundtrack to the 2007 film Into the Wild should check out the August 10 performance of Jerry Hannan, who wrote one of the songs performed by Eddie Vedder in the film. Hannan, “a storyteller, known for his thought provoking and poignant lyrics and exuberant performances,” hits the stage at 1 pm, with flautist Matt Eakle, best known for his extensive work over the years with the likes of David Grisman and Jerry Garcia.

On August 17, rock n roll fans will get a chance to take a trip in the Wayback Machine and get a look at one of the Bay Area’s emerging, buzzworthy bands, all in the span of two hours. Beatles Flashback, a tribute to the Fab Four, kicks the day off at 1 pm, with local prodigies Matt Jaffe & the Distractions following at 2 pm. Frontman and guitarist Jaffe is joined by Terra Linda resident Alex Coltharp on drums and Novato musician Sammie Fischer on bass. The group plays a sharp brand of smart indie rock, drawing on a range of influences from the Talking Heads and Ted Leo & The Pharmacists to the Decemberists and Django Reinhardt.

Speaking of Reinhardt, Beso Negro, the final group of the Concerts in the Plaza series, has built its reputation by drawing its influence from the famed gypsy jazz guitarist and injecting it with a modern sensibility, transforming the genre “into a vibrant new beats” that is “darker, faster, more danceable, more blues, more Gypsy.” Beso Negro has been burning up stages throughout the Bay Area in recent years and its August 24 performance should serve as a fitting capper to this stretch of fantastic and free live shows  in the Depot Plaza. 

The 411: Concerts in the Plaza begins Sunday, August 3, from 1 pm – 3 pm and runs at the same times through August 24. Bring lawn chairs and your dancing shoes. Click here for more details.

With current stickers set to expire July 31, City is selling new purple RSVP stickers that allow residents to park at a metered space for free for two hours.

For residents wanting to shop downtown without lugging around change for the parking meters, it’s out with the red and in with the purple.

The City of Mill Valley’s Resident Shopper Vehicle Permit (RSVP) program, which allows 94941 residents to park for free at a metered space as a way to promote downtown businesses, is nearing the end of its fourth year, with new purple stickers on sale now to replace the red stickers of the past year.

The current RSVP stickers expire on July 31. The popular program regularly sells around 3,000 stickers per year, according to City officials.

Just like the past two years, the stickers are $40 for the first two vehicles, $60 each for a third or fourth permit for 94941 residents. For residents of zip codes 94965, 94920 and 94925, all permits are $60. The city accepts check or cash at the Public Safety Building (1 Hamilton Drive) during business hours, and permits can be purchased online here.

In an effort spur RSVP sales, the Mill Valley Market offers any of its customers who spends $350 or more at the market in the month of July a $30 discount on the purchase of an RSVP sticker. Participants can bring their market receipts totaling $350 from purchases within July, along with their receipt for their RSVP sticker purchase, to the Mill Valley Market and get a $30 discount on their next purchase.

You can purchase the parking stickers various ways:

• Online
  
• Mail application and check to: MVPD, 1 Hamilton Drive, Mill Valley, CA 94941
  
• Fax application to: 415-389-4148
  
• In person at 1 Hamilton Drive (across from Hauke Park) 8-5 Monday - Thursday and 8-4 Friday
  

All RSVP stickers must be permanently  attached to the left rear driver's side bumper or lower left rear window. Stickers on vehicles not placed in the proper location will be cited and vehicles parked longer than time limit for the parking space will also be ticketed!

For more information, visit the RSVP FAQ page or call 389-4100.

Lovers of gourmet food, fantastic wine and finely crafted beer found paradise on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon in downtown Mill Valley on June 22, as the 33rd Annual Mill Valley Market Wine, Beer and Gourmet Food Tasting served up yet another landmark edition of the event’s rich history.

With wine from more than 50 premium wineries, beer from 10 breweries and food from more than 20 gourmet food purveyors – with attendees clamoring for the tasty fare from 10 local restaurants and chefs – the event was a smashing success. Throngs descended on the Depot Plaza on June 22 for one of Mill Valley’s biggest events of the year, with proceeds benefitting Kiddo!, the Mill Valley Schools Community Foundation and the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce.

“You simply couldn’t ask for a higher quality event for foodies and wine and beer aficionados than this one,” said Paula Reynolds, board chair of the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce. “And frankly, we’re thrilled at the enthusiasm and the sophistication of our audience. Thanks to everyone who made it happen, particularly our sponsors, and to the hundreds and hundreds who attended despite a weekend packed with great events right in the middle of the World Cup!”

“Our Wine, Beer & Gourmet Food Tasting continues to be a top shelf event,” says Doug Canepa, co-owner of the Mill Valley Market that has curated the event since its inception. “It’s unmatched in the quality of its ingredients – beer, wine, food, restaurants, volunteers, sponsors and local organizations – and it all came together again this to make it a wonderful afternoon.”

"We're very grateful to be a part of such a wonderful community event," says Bill Lampl, executive director of Kiddo!, the Mill Valley Schools Community Foundation. The samplings of savory and sweet foods, wine, and beer were just amazing as well as having great live music. And what a beautiful day!”

The 33rd Annual Mill Valley Wine, Beer and Gourmet Food Tasting was presented by Bank of the West with co-sponsors Pacific Union Real Estate, PG&E, Bradley Real Estate, Marin Modern Real Estate and Mini of Marin. Supporting sponsors include Urban Sitter for the KidZone, Tam Bikes for complimentary bicycle parking and Mill Valley Refuse.

Lindsay Webb, a brand ambassador for MINI of Marin, says that her team had some trepidation at the beginning of the day about being first-time sponsors of an event with a 33-year history. As they position their MINI in the Depot Plaza prior to the event, they wondered, “Like the new kid on their first day of class, will they all like me?” Webb says.

“But as the day was underway, it became clear that we were going to fit in just fine. Like getting picked for dodge ball, we could exhale. We noticed that many of these smiling faces enjoying their sips and eats were not only becoming our friends, but had always been. It was a wonderful mix. Those we knew, those we didn’t, and those we got acquainted with. It was a pleasure to participate in an event for the first time, and feel as though we had been there all along.”

On Sunday, June 22, 2014, Mill Valley held the 33rd Annual Mill Valley Wine, Beer and Gourmet Food Tasting, with proceeds going to the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce and Kiddo!, the Mill Valley Schools Community Foundation. Hundreds turned out on a gorgeous sunny day to taste some of the best wine, beer and food the Bay Area has to offer.

About the Wine, Beer & Gourmet Food Tasting:
Hosted by Mill Valley Market since 1981, this special North Bay event brings together all the best aspects of California living into one exciting afternoon set against the backdrop of beautiful Mill Valley. The Mill Valley Wine & Gourmet Food Tasting featured Known for a wide selection of hard to find wines, this event is not to be missed by anyone who is a fan of finely crafted beverages and foods.

About the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce:
Whether it is a large corporation, a retail business, a service provider or an independent professional, the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce is here to advocate for and provide your business with an array of unique marketing opportunities to reach both residents and visitors. We have a strong relationship with the City of Mill Valley, a dedicated Board of Directors, talented staff and growing membership, and we welcome you.

About Kiddo!:
Kiddo!, the Mill Valley Schools Community Foundation, is a non-profit 501(c3) organization made up of parents, teachers, business people, and active members of the community who raise funds to supplement limited school budgets. Kiddo! funds vital programs and teachers for K-8 schools – including art, music, drama, poetry, dance, P.E., technology, classroom aides and library aides.

About Mill Valley Market:
Since 1929 Mill Valley Market has been owned and operated by the founding Canepa family. We specialize in artisan foods including restaurant-quality prepared foods, local produce, choice meats, poultry and seafood. We will even enhance your meals with the perfect wine. Quality is our passion.

While working on the trailer for the upcoming 37th Mill Valley Film Festival (more on that soon), multi-talented Mill Valley photographer and filmmaker Gary Yost happened upon a trio of Redwood High musicians, playing Woody Guthrie's "California Stars." Despite never having performed together before, Sophie Keaney (violin), Jake Baldwin (guitar) and Michael Schwartz (flute), who had just finished their sophomore year, did justice to the song, perhaps best known by the rendition from Bill Bragg with Wilco. 
Check it out:

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Hungry?

If the answer is no, we're about to change that.

On the eve of the 33rd Annual Mill Valley Market Wine, Beer & Gourmet Food Tasting, set for June 22 from 1–4pm in the Depot Plaza downtown, with proceeds going to the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce and Kiddo!, the Mill Valley Schools Community Foundation, we're about to get your taste buds a teaser of what they can expect from the 11 fantastic local restaurants who'll be showcasing their menus on Sunday.

This landmark event is all about consuming some of the best wine, beer and food you'll find anywhere in the Bay Area or beyond. For the 2014 edition of the event, which has been hosted by Mill Valley Market since 1981, wine from 60 premium wineries, beer from nine craft breweries (including Mill Valley's own Beerworks and Headlands Brewing Co.) and food from more than 20 food purveyors and 11 local restaurants and chefs.

Here are the 11 local restaurants and the fantastic food they'll be showcasing at the 33rd Annual Mill Valley Market Wine, Beer & Gourmet Food Tasting:

• Balboa Café – Grilled Corn on the Cob w/ roasted garlic aoli, parmesan cheese and smoked sea salt.
  
• Beerworks – Roasted Indian eggplant w/ smoked tomato relish.
  
• Beth's Community Kitchen – Mini Brioche Sandwiches (egg salad, tuna, BLT), along with pastries, pizzette and ginger snaps.
  
• Bungalow 44 – The restaurant's famous Kobe beef and Lamb meat balls.
  
• La Ginestra – Polpette alla Napoletana (Neapolitan meatballs).
  
• Molina – A selection of Chef Todd Shoberg’s market-based fare, including produce pulled from the ground that morning from local farmers, fish caught with lines in nearby rivers and ocean waters and hand-picked oysters and shellfish, as well as local meats like rabbit, pig, quail and cattle that Shoberg feels are raised in a truthfully humane manner.
  
• O Baby Bar – Vegan brittle with coconut sugar and a tavern nut bar.
  
• Pasta Pomodoro – Insalata de Faro (Ancient Italian grain tossed with roasted vegetables, salsa verde and pecorino cheese), as well as Polenta Farcita (Polenta rolled and stuffed with organic spinach and provolone cheese, topped with brown butter and crispy sage).
  
• Piazza D'Angelo – Capunti do Grano Arso, a burnt wheat pasta from Southern Italy, in a lamb ragu with goat cheese from Achadinha Cheese Company in Petaluma.
  
• Prabh Indian Kitchen – Chicken Tikka Masala and Chicken Naan.
  
• Tony Tutto Pizza – A variety of vegetarian pizzas, including both menu favorites and market-driven specials just for the event.
  

The 33rd Annual Mill Valley Wine, Beer and Gourmet Food Tasting is presented by Bank of the West with co-sponsors Pacific Union Real Estate, PG&E, Bradley Real Estate, Marin Modern Real Estate and Mini of Marin. Supporting sponsors include Urban Sitter for the KidZone, Tam Bikes for complimentary bicycle parking and Mill Valley Refuse. 

Record attendance of more than 1,000 participants is expected this year. Tickets are $50 in advance and $60 on the day of the event. 

Click here for more info and to buy tickets.

The newest wrinkle of the 33rd Annual Wine, Beer & Gourmet Food Tasting presents both short- and long-term benefits for parents attending the event, set for June 22 from 1­4pm in the Depot Plaza.

The short-term win from the first-time inclusion of the KidZone is the ability to attend the event with the peace of mind that your children will be in safe, fun, creative and nurturing place just a few dozen yards way from you as you enjoy some of the best food and drink the Bay Area has to offer.

The long-term gain is the possibility of finding your favorite babysitter, as KidZone sponsor Urban Sitter operates an online system by which you can access 250 babysitters in southern Marin, using your own friends (and their friends) for recommendations.

“Urban Sitter is a website that connects babysitters and families and connects them through people you know,” says Colette Perachiotti, Urban Sitter’s community manager for Marin. “Parents can find a sitter and the site will show them who their friends have used. So you’re not just going online and finding a random sitter but finding those who your friends have used.”

The three-year-old site also gives users the ability to focus on specific criteria for sitters, such as CPR training, languages spoken

“And you can pay by credit card and not have to go to the ATM before you come home,” Perachiotti adds.

A number of sitters hired by event organizers through Urban Sitter will be in the KidZone leading crafts like “make your own bandanas.” Marin Theatre Company staff will also be on hand with their “Dramativity” booth, leading a “make your own Play” workshop featuring a “rack of costumes and props and easy things kids can throw on and off to make their own characters,” according to Mariel Rossman, MTC’s education coordinator.

Kids will engage in theater games, with staff using a script and calling on characters and have them act out what’s happening, Rossman says. “It moves quickly and it’s really fun,” she adds.

Click here for more info and to buy tickets for the 2014 Wine, Beer & Gourmet Food Tasting.