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A Rare Mill Valley Moment Is Upon Us: The Redwoods, a Community of Seniors, Has Apartments Available

2/16/2021

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A visual look at some of The Redwoods' apartments. Courtesy images.
If you've lived in Mill Valley long enough, you know there's probably only one placer tougher to get into than the Sweetwater Music Hall on a night that Grateful Dead legend Bob Weir shows up.

That would be The Redwoods, the not-for-profit senior community founded in 1972 by the Community Church of Mill Valley that provides multi-level, affordable rental housing, services and care to 340 low and moderate income seniors from across the SF Bay Area and beyond. 

On the heels of a vast, $32 million, multi-year Revitalization Project that finished three years ago, the Redwoods currently has apartments available on a centrally located property that spans 10 walkable acres. All residents, staff and caregivers have been vaccinated, and the staff regularly conducts socially distanced outdoor exercise classes, as well as an array of Zoom classes online. The property also features a number of outdoor spaces such as a serenity garden.  

The Headlands Apartments are one-bedroom apartments with full-kitchens, which are approximately 500 square feet. The Creekside Apartments include studios of 350 square feet, one-bedroom apartments of 650 square feet, and adjoined studio suites of 700+ square feet. Other details: Services campus-wide include housekeeping and meals. The Redwoods has free wi-fi and residents can have a small pet.

The Creekside Apartments, along with the Redwoods' Skilled Nursing and Hospice Center, has a medical license, allowing Creekside Apartments to have tailored nursing services available, such as medication management and shower assist.

Interested? Reach out here.

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Toni Gattone Talks 'Gardening With Ease at Any Age at Virtual Outdoor Club Event OAC – March 4 via Zoom

2/15/2021

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PictureToni Gattone.
The Outdoor Art Club continues its series of free, engaging virtual speaker events in March with You Can Garden for Life: Gardening With Ease at Any Age? on Thursday, March 4 at 1pm via Zoom. 

The event centers on Toni Gattone, who, when a back injury prevented from enjoying her favorite hobby, taught herself to garden smarter, not harder. Now the author and motivational speaker teaches others a gardening practice that allows them to work in and enjoy their gardens well into their old age. 

GO HERE TO REGISTER.

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'A Lot of Bright Spots Are Emerging': Marin to Open Vaccine to 65+, Plans Drive-Thru Site, Eyes Red Tier

2/11/2021

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Red tier allows retails shops to expand to 50% density, restaurants to open indoors at 25%. 
PictureEmployees from health care industries are receiving the COVID-19 vaccine now in Marin County.
Tom Brady hoisted his 7th Super Bowl trophy last Sunday as he led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a drama-free blowout over the Kansas City Chiefs.

Now it's Marin's turn – can we avoid the COVID-19 drama of the past few months, continue to take the preventative measures we're all well aware of and make progress toward a safe, measured reopening as vaccine distribution continues to rise?

It's looking pretty good so far. Marin County Public Health Officer Dr. Matt Willis told the Marin County Board of Supervisors this week that new cases per 100,000 residents and the percentage of positive tests continue to put Marin on target to move into the less restrictive red Tier 2 within the state's Blueprint for a Safer Economy by the middle of February.

The red tier would allow a broader reopening that includes indoor dining at 25% percent capacity, an expansion for retails shops to 50% capacity and 10% indoor density for gyms and fitness families, among others. Mill Valley restaurants have specifically planned for a small amount of indoor dining by redesigning their indoor spaces to allow for safer distances between employees, and they've deployed commercial air filters to manipulate air flow to avoid aerosol-based disease transmission.

That expected progress is bolstered by the county's continued progress, despite a meager supply of vaccine via the federal and state governments, of vaccine distribution to more than more than 48,000 vaccines to date as of Feb. 11. Approximately 13%, or one in eight residents, have been vaccinated, Willis said this week.

The county will expand the pool of people eligible for coronavirus vaccines to Marin's approximately 33,000 residents 65 and older beginning next week, Willis added. For the most part, the county has limited vaccine to healthcare workers, and is nearly done vaccinating that group, as well as the roughly 25,000 Marin residents 75 and older, in addition to people living in senior care centers.
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Willis also noted that he expected to open a drive-up coronavirus vaccination site as early as Feb. 21. “We are finalizing an agreement with a large centrally located point of dispensing as a drive-thru that could accommodate up to 1,500 vaccinations per day,” Willis told the supervisors. “Drive-thru sites are emerging as a best practice for mass vaccination. We had one of the first and most successful drive-thru testing sites at the Marin Center.”

HERE'S COMPREHENSIVE DATA ON MARIN'S COVID DATA.

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Eat, Drink and Be Cozy: Let's Get on Board with BYOB (Bring Your Own Blanket) for Outdoor Dining in MV

2/11/2021

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As you've hopefully heard by now, the vast majority of Mill Valley's businesses got a dose of good news two weeks ago. 

Restaurants and food-serving businesses, as well as the other local business sectors like salons and fitness facilities that serve as "multipliers" – that is, they create a ripple effect for surrounding businesses, with restaurant patrons shopping after a meal or grabbing a drink after getting their nails done or doing a spin class – are all back. And the incredibly popular downtown street closures will be activated each weekend that the weather allows. 

Restaurants offering outdoor dining have taken significant measures to keep their employees and customers safe, and they've also taken steps to keep them comfortable, deploying heat lamps and shelter in the form of parklets and tents. Restaurants owners would love to lend out cozy blankets to their patrons to keep them warm while eating alfresco on those cooler days and evenings. Given the concerns around contact during the COVID-19 crisis, we're launching a BYOB: Bring Your Own Blanket campaign as a pivot on that concept.

"It's getting cooler out there and this is a way to keep people warm and still dining out," says Felicia Ferguson, co-owner of Piazza D'Angelo and the board chair for the Mill Valley Chamber. "So many residents and visitors have embraced outdoor dining throughout the 94941, so ensure their safety and comfort, we hope this concept will be embraced and that our guests will feel free to BYOB: Bring Your Own Blanket."

Of course, if it's simply too cold or wet for your liking, Mill Valley's restaurants serve up an array of takeout and delivery options. CHECK THOSE OUT HERE.

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Miller Ave. Closure to Pause for Inclement Weather Feb. 11-13, Return Feb. 14 for al All-Day Valentine's Day Soiree

2/11/2021

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Throughout the summer and fall of 2020, the Miller and Throckmorton Ave. street closures were an undisputed success, with the "rising tide lifts all boats" mantra drawing rave reviews from neighboring businesses and infusing the community with an appropriate degree of vitality amidst the COVID-19 crisis. 

As we look to continue the Miller closure and the partial closure of Bernard St. outside Vasco restaurant, we also are mindful of maintaining traffic flow and access and working with the City of Mill Valley on strategies to ensure ease and enjoyment of downtown for everyone.

That includes not blocking off the street when it can't be used by our local restaurants and shops due to inclement weather. The forecast weekend calls for patchy rain until Sunday, so we're pausing the closure Feb. 11-13 and reopening Sunday with an all-day Valentine's Day soiree, with Equator Coffee open 7am-5pm and Piazza D'Angelo and Gravity Tavern both open 12-8pm.
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To make shopping as convenient as possible, the City is exploring a slight reconfiguration of the Miller closure to free up additional parking and add a lane for outbound traffic.

Before and after your beverage and/or meal, we encourage you to visit the amazing array of retails shops throughout downtown!

QUESTIONS? LET US KNOW.

We're posting these signs around town to highlight ample available parking:

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Mill Valley Philharmonic Feels the Love With Virtual Concert, 'A French Valentine: Claude Debussy' – Feb. 14

2/10/2021

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Live music remains on pause for the foreseeable future, but the Mill Valley Philharmonic is certainly not wallowing in that fact. The 22-year-old organization, led by Artistic Director Dana Sadava, continues to drive its mission of creating accessible concert experiences for all ages by multi-talented volunteer musicians.

That continues on Valentine's Day, Feb. 14 at 5pm, with a new virtual concert event, “A French Valentine: Claude Debussy,” that celebrates the beloved composer with performances of his masterpieces La Mer and Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun. Free admission, donations welcomed.

The 411: Mill Valley Philharmonic on Valentine's Day, Feb. 14 at 5pm, with a free virtual concert event, “A French Valentine: Claude Debussy,” that celebrates the beloved composer with performances of his masterpieces La Mer and Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun. Free admission, donations welcomed. MORE INFO & TIX.
 
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Love Is In the Air at Mill Valley Lumber Yard

2/10/2021

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The array of retailers, restaurants, artists and professionals at the Mill Valley Lumber Yard are feeling the love this week, serving up a Spread the LoveKey contest via Instagram that gives its followers another opportunity to win a gift card to a MVLY business.

The details: Visit the MVLY Instagram and look for the Share the Love posts. Tag 5 friends to be entered into the drawing for one of two $50 gift cards to the MVLY business of your choice. Winner’s drawn on Friday, February 12th at 6pm, just in time for you to pick-up something loving for your someone special. at Flour Craft Bakery, Watershed Restaurant, Ambatalia, Bloomingayles, Lulu Designs Jewelry, Mad Dogs & Englishmen, Makers Market, Aviator Nation, Once Around, artist Victoria Mimiaga and the array of other MVLY shops.

MVLY also reported the results of its Hide ‘n Seek holiday fundraising initiative, which raised $1,750 for Kiddo! and SF-Marin Food Bank.

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Murphy Productions, O'Hanlon Center for the Arts Host Virtual 7th Annual 'Art of Love' Sunday Salon – Feb. 14

2/9/2021

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Center also opens up the gallery by appointment for the first time in nearly a year.
PicturePoster art by Mill Valley resident Michal Mudd.
We've been saying it for 11 months but we'll say it again: If you're in the business of gathering people into a space to experience and celebrate great, visual or otherwise, the COVID-19 crisis has been a gut punch.

But as we take baby steps toward some degree of normalcy over the next many months, arts organizations are starting to re-emerge with safe, measured plans to expose the community to the creativity that abounds in Mill Valley.

First up is longtime local outfit Murphy Productions, which is teaming up once again with O’Hanlon Center for the Arts in Mill Valley for its 7th Annual “Art of Love” Sunday Salon, this time as a virtual event. The event showcase features music by Tim Hockenberry, poetry from Cruwys Brown, photography of Paris from Lila Sparks-Daniels and more on Sunday, Feb. 14, at 5pm. $5–$20.

O'Hanlon is also opening up its gorgeous gallery space for viewing by appointment for the first time since the initial shelter-in-place order went into effect in March 2020. The gallery's new show is "A Moment of Reflection," is a collection of 42 contemplative works that you can see in person. The work was juried by Desta Gallery owner Emebet Korn. 

Gallery viewing is now available is 20-minute slots: Thursday 12-3pm,  Friday 5-7pm and Saturday 10am-12pm. 
MORE INFO. 

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MV's Kantola Training Solutions Debuts Interactive Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Training Course

2/9/2021

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PictureKantola’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion course is designed to allow learners to “step into the shoes” of individuals with identities that are different from their own and learn about how others can experience the same workplace in very different ways. Courtesy image.
Kantola Training Solutions, located in the former U.S. Post Office building at 55 Sunnyside Ave., a leader in eLearning designed to change behavior and elevate corporate culture, has unveiled a comprehensive training course in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), developed in partnership with labor and employment firm  Littler. 

The course is designed to allow learners to “step into the shoes” of individuals with identities that are different from their own and learn about how others can experience the same workplace in very different ways. It seeks to increase employees’ confidence with a topic that can often come with anxiety and tension, and to shape the conversation within an organization to foster a workplace that unequivocally embraces diversity and inclusion.

Kantola’s interactive DEI course combines real scenarios, first-person interviews, discussion and exploration questions, exercises and instruction for an engaging and illuminating learner experience. Designed to meet this pivotal cultural moment, as companies focus on changing rhetoric and actions around crucial issues like race, gender, physical ability, social class and sexual orientation, this course is relevant to all levels of the organization. It is designed to allow learners to “step into the shoes” of individuals with identities that are different from their own and learn about how others can experience the same workplace in very different ways. The curriculum covers multivariant diversity and teaches key definitions and concepts, including identities and perspectives, unconscious bias, microaggressions and forms of exclusion. The course concludes with a framework for proactively supporting others as a foundation for being an ally and advocate within a workplace.

“We are excited to bring this innovative, engaging training to market as part of our commitment to helping companies make their workplaces better, for everyone,” Kantola CEO Sarah Rowell said. “Good training can captivate and educate employees, and in turn bring about lasting change within an organization, change that is then carried out into the world.”

MORE INFO.

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Marin's Mixed Bag: Cases Plummet, Super Bowl Looms as 'Wild Card,' Red Tier's on the Horizon & We Must Remain Vigilant Given Our Meager Vaccine Supply

2/4/2021

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PictureOne of the County of Marin's COVID-19 vaccination sites is on Kerner Blvd. in the Canal district. Courtesy image.
Since Mill Valley businesses got their first dose of good news in a while on Jan. 25, with Gov. Gavin Newsom lifting the stay-at-home order out of the blue, word on the street among local business owners has been nearly unanimous: a little heads up would've been nice, but we'll take any smidge of sunshine we can get.

Eleven days since, it's a decidedly mixed bag.

Restaurants and food-serving businesses, as well as the other local business sectors like salons and fitness facilities that serve as "multipliers" – that is, they create a ripple effect for surrounding businesses, with restaurant patrons shopping after a meal or grabbing a drink after getting their nails done or doing a spin class – are all back. And the incredibly popular downtown street closures will be activated each weekend that the weather allows. 

Meanwhile, case counts have plummeted in Marin, the steepest decline over the past three weeks than we've had at any point during the COVID-19 crisis. "We don’t want to be falsely reassured by this, but it is a sign of the hard work of this community," Marin County Public Health Officer Dr. Matt Willis told the Marin County Board of Supervisors this week.

But while the arrival of Super Bowl Sunday this weekend might serve as a boon for business activity, it rightly has Willis on pins and needles. "It's the biggest threat right now," he said. "We have seen really significant surges in cases after each holiday, and they're not just little blips."

And while another spike in COVID-19 cases would be terrible, it would be made even worse by the fact that Marin is on the verge of moving into the less restrictive red Tier 2 within the state's Blueprint for a Safer Economy. That could happen as soon as mid-February, Willis said: "We are right now among the lowest of the counties in the state (in terms of case counts per 100,000 residents), and among the counties that are heading toward the red tier. We want to move into the red tier and get our kids back in school and get our economy on its feet. The red tier allows us to make progress."

The red tier would allow a broader reopening that includes indoor dining at 25% percent capacity, which many Mill Valley restaurants have specifically planned for by redesigning their indoor spaces to allow for safer distances between employees, as well as deployment of commercial air filters to manipulate air flow to avoid aerosol-based disease transmission.

But that hope is tempered, again, by the continued sluggishness of vaccine distribution, with Marin receiving enough to only vaccinate approximately 1,000 people per week across Marin Public Health and all of Marin's three major hospitals. Home to approximately 260,000 residents, Marin has vaccinated less than 36,000 to date, according to the latest data from the County of Marin. Those numbers mostly include healthcare workers, residents of long-term care facilities and Marin’s approximately 25,000 residents who are age 75 or above.

"The limited supply is the biggest issue right now," Willis added. "We just don’t have the doses. We have the capacity to do 1,500 doses a day easy. We are not storing doses or holding back doses – we have the second highest vaccination rate per capita of any county in the state now."

"The challenges are around supply," Supervisor Damon Connolly added. "Vaccine doses are not sitting on the shelves or in the freezer. As they are received, they are being out into people’s arms."

"We have no ability to independently procure vaccine," either as a county public health office nor via our hospitals or healthcare facilities," Willis said. "We are not able to obtain more doses."

Unless that changes soon, vaccines in Marin could plummet even further. Weekly supplies need to continuously increase in order to continue vaccinating more people because those who have already received their first shot need to receive their second within four weeks, he said.

"We need to reset our expectations and match those with the supply that we receive," Willis added. "It's really just a matter of how quickly we are able to move, and it’s entirely dependent on how much vaccine we receive. If we don’t get more supply, we’re really well into March before we vaccinate all of our 75 and older residents. We need 500,000 doses, and it’s going to take us a long time to get through this."

With that in mind, Willis emphasized that "the vaccine is not moving nearly quickly enough into Marin to be the solution to a surge in cases – it has to be our behavior. We need to be even more vigilant moving forward. Ultimately the answers are all of the protective measures we are using – we need to double down on them."

While vaccines remain the critical issue, coronavirus variants are the topic du jour. "The variants are a real concern and there is no easy solution to the problem of mutations," Willis said. "They aren’t more deadly, but they might be more infectious."

Because of those variants, it will be prudent for us to take usual precautions even after we receive the vaccine, Willis said.

"For those that receive the vaccine, you need to continue to do what you had been doing before the vaccine," he said. "Our success as a county is entirely dependent on the fact that, for the most part, our residents have been followed the necessary practices: wear masks, social distance and wash your hands."

​​Want to know what's happening around town? Click here to subscribe to the Enjoy Mill Valley Blog by Email!​

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City Council: DEI Task Force Report's a 'Diamond in the Rough,' Vows to Dig Into Recommendations in February

2/4/2021

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At its Feb. 18th meeting, City Council to review recommendations that span affordable housing, cultural and recreational engagement, economic opportunity, education and policing.
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Scenes from a peaceful protest in Mill Valley, June 2020.
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Since the killing of George Floyd in May 2020, sparking a movement to enact impactful change on systemic racial inequality throughout the U.S. and beyond, those efforts in Mill Valley have largely centered around one thing: patience.

The series of peaceful protests that took place in Mill Valley and all over Marin in the spring and summer made one thing clear to local elected officials: they were on the clock. The Mill Valley City Council responded, pledging their commitment to make impactful change on inequity, creating a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Task Force, selecting Dr. Patricia Patton to facilitate it and letting the task force drive the process without direct council or city staff involvement.

The task force selection process yielded 22 task force members, led by residents Naima Dean and Elspeth Mathau, and that group unveiled its full report and recommendations in early December in the form of a 93-page, 28-recommendation, multiple ”wow”-inducing document that spanned affordable housing, cultural and recreational engagement, economic opportunity, education and policing, the latter of which was the focus of 13 of the 28 recommendations.

Now the ball's in the city's court, and council members say they are asking for the same degree of patience they showed to the task force in producing its massive document.
City staff is organizing the recommendations into a series of categories, including those that have already been implemented, those in progress, those requiring additional consideration, those beyond direct city control but where the city can still influence the process and those the city is not likely to pursue. They hope to hold a public hearing on the recommendations at the council's Feb. 1st or Feb. 18th meeting.

Noting that the council didn't have the opportunity to provide input on the task force's recommendations, Vice Mayor John McCauley pointed to Mathau's comment in December that the task force's process worked because it gave the group space to work. "Now the city is taking space to work," McCauley said. "We can't comment until we have staff reports before us. The council has been very supportive. The council is not being pulled along here. Your councilmembers are very interested in moving things forward within the confines of what the city can do."

Councilmember Urban Carmel agreed. "Change is necessary, for so many reasons," he said. "This is a necessary cultural shift that the city needs to make. I want to make sure that we accomplish something. Change is not making list of 65 things you want to done. You pick two, three, four or five things – that’s how you get things done. That’s how you really make change."

Task force members have kept up the pressure on the council to move forward with their two tentpole recommendations: that the city create a permanent equity commission built in the mode of the city’s subject-specific panels like the Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) and Emergency Preparedness Commission, and that it develop a citywide equity plan led by professionals.

"Despite repeated explicit requests from the task force that were echoed in over 100 written and oral comments from the public, council members managed to evade these two most important issues," Dean and Mathau wrote.

City officials have noted that it has been deeply engaged on issues of racial inequity in Mill Valley since the tragic killing of George Floyd sparked outrage across the globe, and that it remains committed to a comprehensive review of the recommendations and a framework to implement as many of them as possible. They've also pointed out that Mill Valley is further along in its process of turning its task force's work into tangible results than any other jurisdiction in Marin.

City officials have emphasized that while there is much work to be done in considering all of the task force's recommendations, they've already dived deeply into DEI-related programs and initiatives that have made racial equity an over-arching priority. In recent weeks, that has included the County of Marin’s “Digital Marin” project to address local internet access and digital equity gaps, a Mill Valley Public Library City Read on James Baldwin and Eddie S. Glaude Jr's work, the City's much-publicized House Match program, its ADU promotion for workforce housing, the Arts Commission's ongoing focus on DEI issues and programs, Mill Valley Recreation's mandate that all users of the City fields have a DEI statement and scholarship info as part of their field use agreement, the Emergency Preparedness Commission's initiative to ensure equity in their programming and outreach and info on participating in Black History Month and 30 days of service for MLK Day. IN addition, the Library was just awarded a grant to do an oral history project focused on BIPOC voices in Marin.

​READ THE FULL REPORT HERE. 

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There's No Place Like Home: Get Your Loved Ones Some Gorgeous Merch from the EMV Store for Valentine's Day

2/3/2021

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In 2017 at the Seager Gray Gallery, the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center unveiled the then-new Mill Valley logo designed by award-winning graphic designer Michael Schwab and the array of new merchandise bearing that logo.

Nearly four years later, the merch continues to capture the emotion and the pride that we feel living in this community, so much so that every time you tell someone you live here, there is so much pride, and we’re so privileged to call this place home.

Since that time, friends, family, neighbors and visitors who love Mill Valley have popped into our downtown Visitor Center (we're back in the Depot building, see below!) and/or clicked their way to our Enjoy Mill Valley Store to buy the gorgeous felt totes, embossed journals, stainless steel water bottles, baseball caps and gorgeous prints, framed and unframed and in two sizes, all bearing the incredible logo Schwab created.

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To celebrate Valentine's Day, we're serving up a 20 percent discount through Feb. 20 on all of our merch bearing the Schwab logo, including the gorgeous pink journals you see above left.

​The Enjoy Mill Valley Store is all about supporting our wonderful community, so all proceeds raised go directly back into promoting our town and making it the vibrant, gorgeous place we all love. All orders can be picked up at the Visitor Center at 85 Throckmorton Ave. in the Downtown Plaza, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday Saturday, 12-4pm. 

VISIT THE EMV STORE HERE.

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Outdoor Art Club Hosts Free Virtual Event With Julie Charles of SF Museum of Modern Art – Feb. 25, 1pm

2/1/2021

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The Outdoor Art Club continues its series of free, engaging virtual speaker events in February with “What’s the Big Idea?” on Thursday, Feb. 25 at 1pm via Zoom. 

The event, a look at understanding and appreciating art, features Julie Charles of SF MOMA for a fun and interactive look at different ways of seeing the art of our time, and address the genesis of conceptual art in an easy-to-understand way.

GO HERE TO REGISTER.

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Local Artist Wesley Cabral Posts Inspiring 'Heroines' Mural Next to 'Heroes' Piece on Wall at 34 Miller Avenue

1/29/2021

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Wesley Cabral's "Heroines" mural, featuring Fannie Lou Hamer and Marsha P. Johnson, and the words of Audrey Lorde, has been installed on the wall at 34 Miller Avenue, home to Urban Remedy and the commercial kitchen of Equator Coffee. Courtesy image.
Mill Valley continues to be infused with art that both educates our community about the history of racial injustice and sustains the long-overdue, much-needed conversations about racial inequity, in the 94941 and beyond.

In October 2020, dozens of locals gathered in the rain to see local artist Wesley Cabral hang his mural "Heroes," celebrating the late Rep. John Lewis and actor Chadwick Boseman, on the wall on the wall of 34 Miller Avenue, across from Gravity Tavern and home to  Urban Remedy and the commercial kitchen of Equator Coffee. He did so with an outpouring of support of the owners of each of the aforementioned businesses.

Now Cabral has returned to that wall, which also includes the historic, billboard-size Mt. Tamalpais Hikers Trail map, with a perfect bookend piece. His "Heroines" mural, featuring voting and women's rights activist and civil rights movement leader Fannie Lou Hamer and Marsha P. Johnson, born and also known as Malcolm Michaels Jr., an American gay liberation activist and self-identified drag queen who was an outspoken advocate for gay rights and one of the prominent figures in the Stonewall uprising of 1969. The mural also features the words of writer and civil rights activist Audrey Lorde.

"I created this work to honor the legacy of Black artists and freedom fighters," Cabral says. "The conversation around diversity and specifically racial inequity has taken center stage over the past year in towns across America. This is a very good thing. For me inclusion begins by having a space and community that feels welcoming to those who are underrepresented. Art can play a critical role. When you witness art that represents people you identify with, there’s a stronger sense of belonging."

"My hope is that other artists will step forward to create art in public spaces around Mill Valley, particularly artists of color," he adds. "There is still a lot of room on the wall where these murals hang and plenty of places in Mill Valley alone. Other local businesses and building owners have offered additional spaces too. Mill Valley and Marin has a rich history of art. It’s time to rekindle that flame."

The "Heroes" mural celebration came amidst an absolute surge of conscious activism and artistic energy in Mill Valley that has galvanized the community, from youth-fueled long overdue conversations on racial equity and policing in Mill Valley to a blossoming of inspired art. Zoe Fry was on hand for that event to expand on the group art project she led featuring a trio of free-standing doors in the Depot Plaza as a way to promote racial justice, with each door built around a timeline of racial inequity and systemic racism.
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HERE'S A LOOK AT BOTH MURALS AND THE TRAIL MAP:
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Eleven Months On, Let's Take Stock of the Businesses We've Lost Due to the Pandemic, and Honor Them

1/28/2021

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Despite the most horrific year for Mill Valley businesses in recent memory, local businesses have been incredibly resilient through the COVID-19 crisis. They've also innovated constantly, built out their ecommerce infrastructure and food takeout/delivery systems and worked with the Chamber and the City to repurpose private and public spaces to make it safer for customers to engage with businesses safely.

Frankly, it's a massive success story simply to have so many businesses survive the wreckage 11 months on.

But that doesn't mean we haven't lost beloved businesses along the way.

George Lawson Gallery, one of a pair of acclaimed galleries that moved from San Francisco to Mill Valley in 2019, chose not to reopen in April 2020. "I was a painter before starting the gallery and that’s what I’ll go back to," he told us. Not long after, the Rug Establishment closed its space in the small shopping center that contains Boo Koo.

In the fall of 2020, Chelsea Hutchison closed BŌL, which served up made-to-order “artfully balanced superfood bowls, nibbles and bevvys … to feed your belly and your soul,” and moved back to the east Coast in late 2020.

In August, Mill Valley resident Paula Purcell closed her two-year-old Paula James clothing, art and accessories retail shop at 365 Miller Avenue.

In October 2020, Elana Turchon closed her SweetE Organic candy shop in the Strawberry Village Shopping Center, calling the difficult decision to do so "devastating." 

In 2019, Kelly Scott opened Sundry, her second retail shop in downtown Mill Valley, a kitchen- and garden-focused complement to The Goods, her shop around the corner laden with "unique gifts, vintage finds, locally sourced treasures and lots of cashmere" at 6 Miller. Scott, the former owner of the Alpha Dog shop, close Sundry in mid-November. Karen Loftus opened Fez in that space that same month.

In January 2021, EO Products, the San Rafael-based natural and organic personal care products company co-founded by longtime Mill Valley resident Susan Griffin-Black, closed its EO Exchange retail shop in downtown Mill Valley, calling it a "very difficult decision" and noting that "it's just time to service our customers and and community in the different way."
 
We've also had a number of businesses stalled temporarily or permanently, either directly due to the effects of the pandemic or because it exacerbated other complications related to opening a new business. That includes Paseo: A California Bistro, the restaurant in the historic at 17 Throckmorton Avenue that sought to replace legendary Mill Valley musician Sammy "the Red Rocker" Hagar's El Paseo restaurant 20 months after he closed it, citing his need to tend to his myriad business, media and musical interests. Paseo was spearheaded by general manager Kevin Pacotti, a longtime Bay Area marketing consultant and restaurateur on behalf of Cathedral Hill Associates, a hospitality firm owned by longtime Mill Valley resident Ki Yong Choi. They shut down their project in 2020.

And then there is the former Gira Polli space at 590 East Blithedale and Camino Alto, the long-vacant commercial property that, save for the blank canvas that is the mother of all retaining walls at 500 Miller Ave., is likely the visibly vacant commercial space in Mill Valley over the past several years. Bay Area food industry vets Pascal Rigo and Nicolas Bernadi hoped to make it one of the locations for La Boulangerie, the post-Starbucks, slightly renamed rebirth of their popular La Boulange cafes and eateries. That project stalled because of site difficulties, and they shifted gears in early 2020 and decided to make the space home to Apizza, their simple, affordable pizza shop that already has a successful location on Fillmore Street in San Francisco. That application got mired in an appeal over the status after the Mill Valley Planning Commission approved  Apizza's request to remove a few trees in front of the building. The appeal was eventually denied, but Rigo and Bernadi decided to move on, citing the delays and the overall difficulties presented by the COVID-19 crisis.

There's also Le Marais Bakery, which was approved in 2017 to open in the 250 East Blithedale Ave. center that used to contain Mill Valley Services, Tony Tutto Pizza and SummerHouse. French native Patrick Ascaso’s renowned bakery and bistro eyed an opening in January 2020 within the revamped 29,565-square-foot space that already includes Compass, AP Luxe Salon and Belle Marin Aesthetic Medicine, and launched a Kickstarter campaign to help furnish a community patio in front of the space. That's the last we've heard.

We'd be remiss to not mention the legions of local arts organizations that have had to halt most, if not all, activities due to the inability to gather people into a room to celebrate art, particularly live music, theater and entertainment venues like the Sweetwater Music Hall, Throckmorton Theatre and Marin Theatre Company. 

There are undoubtedly many more Mill Valley businesses that have closed over the past 11 months. This partial list is a mere reflection of who've we've heard from directly.

LET US KNOW IN THE COMMENTS BELOW AND WE WILL FOLLOW UP.

THIS IS PART ONE OF A TWO-PART SERIES ON THE HORRIFIC IMPACT WROUGHT BY THE PANDEMIC ON MILL VALLEY BUSINESSES. PART TWO WILL FOCUS ON WHAT NEW BUSINESSES YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE COME TO MILL VALLEY AS WE REBUILD IN THE YEARS TO COME.
 
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