When I received a note that the Stone Creek Zen Center would be celebrating 30 years of operation on June 27, I thought now would be a good time to explore this Graton institution. At first, I assumed the celebration would be widely open to the public, only to learn that it was much more of a Sangha (community) celebration. Be prepared, however, Graton, Taiko Drums will be playing in the afternoon and on display for all to see. Your ears will tell you when.

While learning about the celebration, I found myself asking questions about the Center itself, which led naturally to a wonderful chat with its founder.

Jisho Warner Roshi (Teacher) is a diminutive woman who exudes peace and enthusiasm behind her wire-framed glasses and sparkling eyes. I suppose I should have guessed that the founder and now Abiding Teacher of the Stone Creek Zen Center would be a gentle soul, but I was nonetheless delighted and honored to spend an hour with her as she shared her joy for the center and her life story.

When Jisho first drove the back roads of West County in the mid-1990s, she wasn’t house hunting. She was looking for a place to plant a seed. Warner had just finished her Zen training, earned Dharma Transmission, and decided to start a dedicated Zendo. New England, where she was raised, and Minnesota, where she was trained, weren’t options for various reasons. Her father had moved to Laguna Beach and asked the obvious question, “Couldn’t she come out to California?” She drove around, looked at several places, and kept coming back to one. “This is a good place to plant a seed,” she remembers thinking about Sebastopol.

It wasn’t an accident. Warner had grown up in New York City, lived in Minneapolis, and spent years in rural Massachusetts. She wanted easy access for students, which ruled out more remote spots like Occidental, but she also wanted nothing urban. West County’s small-town, rural feel was a perfect fit. She bought a property on Ragle Road with room to build and went to work.

She designed a small backyard Zendo (meeting room) on graph paper and built it with a contractor who, by coincidence, had a Zen background and was married to one of her first students. Friends helped lay the floors and finish the interior. Warner rented two hours of evening space, posted a flyer, and 10 or 15 people showed up. The group grew slowly from there and officially opened as a Zendo in the fall of 1996. They had foxes as neighbors, and the Stone Creek name came from a stone drainage ditch built as part of the construction.

Within a decade, the Sangha (community) had completely outgrown the little backyard space. Jisho sold the property, and the Sangha spent a couple of years renting a converted commercial building in Forestville before landing on its current home: a vacant building in Graton that had most recently been a thrift shop, and before that, in the 1990s, the bilingual Manzanita School. (Its onetime principal, as it happens, was Mario Lopez — the owner of Mexico Lindo and, by local consensus, the informal mayor of Graton.) The building’s history as a school gave Stone Creek a small headstart in navigating the permitting process.

The group initially rented, then had to buy when the owners decided to sell. Buying meant undertaking real renovations — most pressing, making the space ADA-accessible, something Warner had insisted on even for her original backyard Zendo. The Sangha patched floors, moved walls, and, since they were already renovating, decided to expand to add space for a community that kept growing.

Then the pandemic hit, mid-renovation. The project that might have taken a year stretched to three — 2020 through 2022 — handled by one contractor and one carpenter, both connected to the Sangha, who didn’t need Zen explained to them. During the closure, the group met for about a year at the Graton Community Club before reopening in its finished building in January 2023.

The setting at Stone Creek has always been simple and peaceful, with a small altar at the front featuring a Buddha, flowers, candles, and incense. The current building has a beautiful beam that supports a wide-open room, a foyer for welcomes and interaction, and a wide-open space where everyone sits, plus a kitchen and a nice-sized library, where teachers and sangha members interact with each other.

“People poured through the doors,” Jisho said, and she has a theory about why. “When I started practicing Zen 50 years ago, you sought a teacher,” she said. “Now people want community.”

She points to Buddhism’s original framework, in which the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha — the community — constitute the three treasures.

After years of pandemic isolation, she said, people showed up first for connection and found the practice afterward. Membership has grown to roughly 102, with six teachers and two — soon three — priests-in-training. Warner now serves half-time as “Abiding Teacher,” having handed daily leadership to head priest Myogen Kathryn Stark, who joined last November after a national search.

The center has remained debt-free since its founding, funded by sliding-scale membership dues, program fees, and a Sangha Jisho that describes itself as a quiet benefactor.

“We don’t have any big donors,” she said. “The Sangha is the angels here.” Core programs — weekday sitting, Sunday mornings, and monthly meditation instruction — remain free.

Some of Warner’s favorite stories aren’t about the building at all. There’s Barton Stone, an Occidental carpenter who found a regular practice through Stone Creek, was ordained later in life, and now teaches his own outdoor sitting group under the trees. There’s JoE’ Annette, who knocked on Warner’s door before the Zendo had even opened, asking for a teacher. She eventually re-ordained, built a career as a bookkeeper, then retrained as a hospital chaplain and later as a hospice chaplain before returning to teach at Stone Creek.

Warner has also watched the neighborhood around her change. When the Sangha first moved into the Graton building in 2008, the area was rougher — graffiti on the walls, a stolen Buddha statue and wagon wheel, and a break-in. During the pandemic, a homeless encampment grew nearby; Stone Creek offered an outdoor outlet for charging phones and, briefly, access to water, until logistics made it unsustainable. Some neighbors worried the renovated building would become a shelter; Warner suspects there was quiet relief when it didn’t.

Throughout the years, Stone Creek had remained a settled, open place that doesn’t depend on any one person and is simply there when someone is ready to walk through the door — even if, as one recent member admitted, it takes a year of driving past before walking through the door.

“Make sure people hear that we’re friendly and open,” Warner said, wrapping up. “Absolutely.” That certainly reflects who she is.

Stone Creek Zen Center does not require membership to participate in its programs and meditations. It is welcoming to all. Check out their website at: https://stonecreekzencenter.org

I’ve been writing about Graton happenings and people for the past few years, and I have to say the sleepy village where I once scrounged for stories has become a rising hub of regional excitement and community engagement. It’s not just for Gratonites anymore.

At the Sip and Stroll wine and tasting festival at the Town Square

Under the warm Sonoma County sun, a sold-out crowd of more than 200 neighbors, volunteers, and local business owners gathered at the Graton Town Square last week for a wine and tasting festival that doubled as something far more meaningful: a community declaration that a beloved vacant lot will become a lasting public gathering place for generations to come.

The event, organized by the ReVillage Foundation and the Graton Community Services District (GCSD), brought together elected officials, longtime residents, and corporate sponsors to celebrate progress on the town square project—and to make a passionate push toward raising the $1 million needed to complete it.

After a sip-and-stroll featuring local farm products and premium wineries, the festival-goers gathered at the temporary stage area to hear from the people who made the nascent Town Square a reality.

“This space is for the community, by the community,” said Jennifer Butler, president of the GCSD Board of Directors, visibly moved as she addressed the crowd. “This is a grassroots effort, 100% of the way. We have been so blessed to take a piece of land and create a new legacy for our families, our businesses, our children, our artists, and our musicians.”

The site itself tells a story of transformation. Just a few years ago, the lot—once home to the much-loved Baker Lunch and gas station—sat vacant and fenced off, requiring years of environmental remediation before community efforts could begin. Today, there’s a handmade stage crafted from salvaged wood, community gardens, and a lively event space stand where weeds once grew, each inch built through volunteer labor.

Matt Jorgensen of the ReVillage Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused on public spaces and the local economy in West County, outlined what the community has already accomplished and what comes next. At the end of last year, the organization reached a major milestone: the land was fully paid off and is now permanently held in public ownership. The immediate priority is to raise $30,000 to remove the surrounding fences, complete accessible ADA pathways, add lighting, and open the space to the public by year’s end.

“To do that, we need to raise approximately $30,000, and it sounds like we’re already well on our way toward that goal today,” Jorgensen said. Beyond that, a second phase — estimated at $1 million — will fund a permanent stage, a pergola, a market area, and a children’s play area, turning the square into a long-term community anchor. In fact, $16,000 was raised at the event, which was deliberately priced to encourage participation rather than to simply raise funds. The task is ongoing.

Maxwell Wilmarth, a fourth-generation Gratonian and elected GCSD director, drew laughter and applause with his pitch: “I wonder if you know what the greatest nation on the planet is. It’s Donation.” His humor aside, the message was urgent — by the time he took the stage, a generous early contribution had already brought the remaining fundraising goal down to approximately $990,000.

The event also celebrated the partners and donors who made current progress possible. The Sonoma Land Trust received special recognition for a legacy gift exceeding $25,000, and its representative, Camille Matson, expressed the Trust’s commitment to “nature nearby” and community-driven open spaces. Sonoma County Ag and Open Space, which contributed more than $250,000 as a “village visionary” donor, was also honored. Jen Kuzman of that organization told the crowd that conservation easements on the properties guarantee the square will remain open to the public in perpetuity — “beyond all of us.”

Local businesses Ceilume and Empire West, represented by CFO Sonia Ganash, explained why corporate partnerships matter. A Graton native who grew up in the area and now works next door to the square, Ganash called the project “an exciting vision to make Graton the best hamlet it can be.” She said that having a vibrant outdoor space next to her family business means the same community spirit felt inside the building can now extend outside it.

Community organizer Tori Immel reminded attendees that the square is still a blank canvas, inviting neighbors to dream aloud about what events, programs, and traditions could one day call it home — from lawn chair cinemas to farmers markets to ideas not yet imagined.

ReVillage Board member Lindsay Dyer, who has volunteered hundreds of hours since the project’s earliest days, captured the moment with characteristic warmth: “By being here today, you are already part of the story.”

Donations to the Graton Town Square can be made through the ReVillage Foundation or the Graton Community Services District websites. Volunteer days are held regularly on-site.

And, on another front…

Graton’s Old Firehouse Revival In Full Swing

Graton Station launches a community investment campaign to transform a vacant landmark into West County’s next great gathering place.

“Because every town deserves a living room.”

For 15 years, Graton’s historic firehouse and former railroad station served as an underutilized dream space for George Melo, the owner, and, as his dreams took shape, for the entire community. Then, the great team at ReVillage took over the property, and the dream became a reality. This fall, a new chapter will begin. (ReVillage has also been working to help develop the Town Green, but these are separate projects.)

Graton Station, the name of the new facility, has launched a public community investment campaign inviting residents to invest directly in transforming the landmark building into a café, marketplace, and community gathering place in the heart of town.

The campaign allows all of us to invest, starting at $500.

“We’ve heard the same thing for years: ‘Graton needs a coffee shop,’” said co-founder Matt Jorgensen. “But what people are really saying is that they want a place to gather. A place to meet a friend, bring their kids, grab coffee after a bike ride, hear music, or simply feel connected to their community.”

Located directly on the West County Trail and across from the new Graton Town Square, Graton Station is being designed as a modern-day public house: coffee, seasonal food, culture, local goods, and community life under one roof.

But the community-stewardship model may be the most unusual part.

Rather than relying solely on traditional investors (from whom they’ve already raised $750,000 for the core buildout), Graton Station is inviting neighbors and future customers to invest as well.

The campaign is built around a simple idea: What if we moved a little money from Wall Street to West County Main Streets?

“A lot of our investments today go into companies we’ll never meet in places we’ll never visit,” said Jorgensen. “This is the opposite of that. You can walk through the front door and see exactly what your investment helped build.”

According to Jorgenson, “Graton Station is operated as a California benefit corporation rather than a nonprofit, and our current community investment campaign is not a donation campaign—it is an offering of interest-bearing promissory notes to investors.”

The company’s founding documents include a community-elected board seat from day one and a long-term commitment to pursue an eventual “exit to community” model, creating a pathway toward deeper community stewardship once the business is proven and sustainable.

Momentum is already underway.

Construction is active—the outdoor patio, kid play space, and sunken garden are expected to open later this summer, and the team is targeting a soft opening for the coffee shop in late September with a grand opening planned for early October.

Residents can experience the project today through Graton Station’s weekend pop-ups, held every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. through the end of June.

The public is also invited to upcoming Community Investment Open Houses on June 13 and July 18, featuring coffee, pastries, construction tours, and conversations with the founders.

Graton Station is led by a founding team with deep experience in hospitality, food systems, entrepreneurship, and community-building. The project brings together Matt Jorgensen, founder of ReVillage, whose work spans local food ventures, community ownership, and economic development; chefs Adrian Apana and Ferrell Carter, whose experience includes SingleThread, Troubadour, Maison Porcella, Republique, Quail & Condor, and Stitt Restaurant Group; and operations leader Tori Immel, whose background includes Farmer’s Footprint, Summit Series, Deloitte, and regional community initiatives.

This is exciting for Graton and the broader West County community looking for a place to gather. The community ownership aspect sustains loyalty and financial support while ensuring that the business will not move, just as it is taking off. (How many times have we seen this happen everywhere, but particularly in West County?)

If you are interested in participating, attend a Community Investment Open House on June 13 or July 18 or contact the founders: invest@gratonstation.com. Be sure also to visit the June weekend pop-ups Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, 7:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Find out more at www.gratonstation.com.

The 4th Annual Occidental World Music & Dance Festival is happening next weekend on Saturday, May 30, from 10 am to 9 pm, at the Occidental Center for the Arts. At a time when things seem divisive, music transcends to create unity through a global community, and this unique festival, which celebrates diversity and participation, embodies that ideal. I don’t think there is another festival in the Bay Area that offers such a diversity of performers and workshops. This is an inclusive event for people of all ages and levels of musical experience. Think of it as a musical passport where you can experience music and dance from around the world. There will be more than 50 workshops, jams, and performances to choose from.

Tina Marchetti, the executive director at the Occidental Center for the Arts, said she “started the festival in partnership with a volunteer who proposed the idea, based on his enthusiasm for hands-on, experiential opportunities.” Tina credits veteran musician and stage performer Mark Sellin, a longtime participant at Lark Camp, for helping start the Occidental event. (Lark Camp is a weeklong celebration of world music, song and dance in Mendocino.)

The Occidental World Music & Dance Festival brings together extraordinary musicians and dancers from around the world for a day filled with exhilarating performances, interactive workshops, and irresistible rhythms. From captivating traditional artistry to innovative contemporary fusion, the festival invites audiences of all ages to experience the beauty of global cultures up close.

In addition to the bounty of performances and workshops, there will be a musical instrument lending library, Celtic Harp Encounter, art gallery, local artists drawing portraits, free instrument check, and free parking. Lata’s Indian Cuisine will offer lunch from 11 am to 2 pm, and there will be a Greek dinner buffet from 5:30 pm to 7:15 pm.

The festival closes with a performance by Dodona, one of the few bands in the Bay Area specifically focused on the music of the Albanian and Epirus diaspora. With music that ranges from plaintive to trance-inducing to driving, Dodona’s repertoire is filled with songs of longing, romance, nostalgia, and celebration.

The ticket price for the Occidental World Music & Dance Festival is $75 through May 29, or $80 at the door. Kids 12 and under are free, and teens are half price. Tickets are discounted for OCA members. A limited number of scholarships are available. Get tickets and find more information HERE, including bios of the performers and the entire schedule of events. Occidental Center for the Arts is located at 3850 Doris Murphy Court, Occidental.

Performances

• Thunder Clappers Native American Dancers

• Sol Flamenco

• Jenny Kerr & Friends — Southern Delta Blues

• Khatch Khatchadourian (“The Duduk Whisperer”) — Armenian Music

• Will Marsh — Sitar music of India

• Joss Jaffe — Tabla, West African N’goni

• Dodona — Music of Greece & Albania

• Los Bahianatos — Colombian Cumbia & Vallenato

• Meredith Axelrod and Craig Ventresco — Ragtime & Vintage Jazz

• Carey Dubbert and Meredith Axelrod — Autoharp

• Gradina — Balkan Music

• Katiana Vilá — Iberian Songs

• Michael Hubbert — Uilleann Pipes

• Raman Osman — Kurdish Music

• Janessa Lynna and Pauline Persichilli — Belly Dance

• Story Wrens — Story Songs of the British Isles

• Bobby Edwards — Swiss Alpenhorn

• Ken Genetti — Zithers from Around the World

Workshops and jams

Workshops, jams and demonstrations are open to all attendees regardless of experience level or background. You may participate in or just observe and enjoy any session.

• Slow Tunes and French Jam — Jason Adajian

• Irish Songs — Shay Black

• Irish Dance — Shay Black, Paul Chaffee, Hector Bragado

• Irish Fiddle — Paul Chaffee

• Wake Up Your Voice: A Global Singalong — Maria Culberson

• Balkan Singing — Darina Drapkin

• Brazilian Guitar — Ian Faquini

• Flamenco Dance — Joelle Goncalves

• Old Timey Jam — Michael Greenberg

• Cuban & Puerto Rican Songs — Michael & Leslie Hubbert

• Jazz Beyond Borders — Greg Johnson

• Blues Harmonica — Jenny Kerr

• West African Dance — Tyehimba Kokayi

• West African Drumming — Lion’s Den Institute

• Belly Dance — Janessa Lynna

• Cuban & Latin Drumming — Carlitos Medrano

• Amp Care & Repair — Philbillie Milner

• Gentle Yoga — Pauline Persichili

• Song Circle — Celia Ramsay

• Colombian Cumbia and Vallenato — Chris Reid

• Easy Irish Tunes — Mark Sellin

• Native American Flute & Meditation — Al Striplen

• Women’s Songs of Resistance — Holly Tannen

• Flamenco Guitar — Mark Taylor

• Balkan Drumming — Sean Tergis

• Red Hot Strings — Craig Ventresco

• Irish Session — Shay Black & Friends

• Balkan Dancing — Sue Williard

• Arabic Drumming — Faisal Zedan

• Unlocking Your Voice: Friendly
  Masterclass — Sophia Zimmerman

• Indian Tala & Rhythms — Joss Jaffe

Festival schedule

Subject to change

The Occidental World Music & Dance Festival is sponsored by Loveland Violin Shop, Living History Centre and Solful.

Ted Sasse, a postal worker and Graton goodwill ambassador for the past 23 years, is moving on to a new postal location in Santa Rosa.

Ted has been a fixture in my life since I moved to town 17 years ago—and a mainstay for everyone else who stops by the Graton Post Office. He is the welcoming face at the post office who makes what can be a miserable experience totally enjoyable. I know people from elsewhere who bring their packages to Graton to mail just to interact with Ted.

I have yet to meet a Gratonite who doesn’t have a warm word for their experience with Ted. Three years ago, I interviewed Ted for my column in the Gazette, and his departure is a reason to recap a bit of his history.

He grew up in the San Fernando Valley. His dad was a Kaiser doc—after working in advanced, Nobel-qualifying research—and his mom held a PhD in a scientific field. When he turned 21, his dad told him to pick a French Burgundy from his wine cellar and give it a try. One taste and he was hooked on wine. In 1991, after finishing college at UC Riverside, he moved to Sonoma County to enter the wine business—cellar rat, sales, maker, etc. He did it for 12 years but felt his personality wasn’t suited to the sometimes-insane world of winemaking. After taking some time off in Europe, he returned, planning to pursue an advanced degree at Sonoma State. Fortunately for Graton, he needed a part-time job. He saw an opening for a rural carrier at the Graton post office, the first rural carrier in Sonoma County. That was in 2003, and except for a year off, he has been with us since.

While delivering mail, Ted came to realize how unique Graton was compared with other communities. “It is just a really kind place,” he said. That awareness changed his life (and ours!) and led him to take a full-time job behind the counter. Coming from the wine industry, he found it a breath of fresh air and decided to stay and become part of the community.

Ted owns a home in Graton, so he won’t be leaving our community, but his presence behind the counter will be deeply missed by the dozens of Gratonites who interact with him every day.

When I interviewed him, we talked for well over an hour, about not only him but also about the backstories of so many people in Graton. As he named people, he kept repeating: “I really respect (him or her) for their kindness and strength of character.” That feeling about the community is returned in kind.

Tuesday, May 5, will be Ted’s last day behind the counter. Stop by to say thanks.

As a part of our new Saturday Towns column, we’re thrilled to welcome Camp Meeker columnist Tom Austin.

Auntie Em! I just had the strangest dream. And you were there! And you were there! And you were there!

The strange dream was that the late and very much beloved Sonoma County Gazette has gone the way of all flesh after many, many years of serving the community. Many thanks to editors Vesta Copestakes, Amie Windsor, and Roger Coryell for doing such an outstanding job with the Town columns, many of which have now moved here to the Sebastopol Times. Today, the Camp Meeker Beat joins in.

Let me tell you a little about myself. I moved to Sonoma County in 1995 and to Camp Meeker in 1999. Around 2004, I started writing the Camp Meeker column for the now-defunct Russian River Monthly. After that paper folded, I moved over to the Gazette and stayed there until March of this year. Until last year, I was a mechanical engineer, working at many places around the Bay Area. I am now retired and able to devote my full attention to this column, as well as all the other things I enjoy—writing, playing music, and walking…slowly…up and down the hills and trails of the West County.

When I first moved to Sonoma County, The Big City meant San Francisco. Now I have wised up, and The Big City is Sebastopol with all 7,400 of its people. It’s a good life.

On the run

One Camp Meeker resident who is working very, very hard to make life better for the world is Kyle Gift. He’s the lanky, sometimes bare-chested drink of water you see running and working out along Bohemian Highway come rain or shine. Or you might know him as one of the cornerstones of the Ivy League—that mysterious and ad hoc collective given to beautifying and fire-hardening Camp Meeker by removing invasive species and underbrush. They donate copious amounts of sweat equity to our forest, which grows more beautiful every day as a result of their indefatigable efforts.

Speaking of indefatigable, Kyle has run numerous epic distance runs while literally carrying the flag with a picture of the Earth and the words, “United we stand, divided we fall.” He has run from Occidental to Black Mountain (that’s between Cazadero and Fort Ross); Occidental to Mt. St. Helena; Occidental to San Francisco (that’s a three-day run, sports fans), and last but not least a swim/run from Alcatraz to Twin Peaks in San Francisco. No word on whether Kyle was able to carry his flag during the swim portion.

On each of his epic adventures, Kyle speaks words of peace and unity under the flag he brandishes as a rallying point. And Heaven knows we need us some rallying points.

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News from the Camp Meeker Recreation and Park District

Camp Meeker is unincorporated so it doesn’t have a city council. Rather, it keeps on chooglin’ due in no small part to the hard work of the Park and Rec Board (henceforth, “the Board”), which generally meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 7 pm.

If you live in Camp Meeker, I would absolutely recommend that you go to the campmeeker.org website and navigate to the CMRPD Board of Directors page, and within that to the Board Meeting schedule, where you will find the aforementioned agenda and minutes pages for the monthly Board meeting.

NEW FACES AND CHANGING PLACES. The Board (and we) give a hearty welcome to new Board member Christy Bongardt, who was appointed in January to replace retiring Board member Valery Larson. Christy moved out here from Rohnert Park during COVID and is busily making herself useful. Welcome!

In other board news, board secretary Katie Sherwin replaces the long-serving Cheryl Doran-Girard. Cheryl, and now Katie, is responsible for the Board Meeting agenda and minutes, from which I derive such a large part of my content for this column. Katie, standing on Cheryl’s giant shoulders, has further improved the usefulness of these documents. Within the meeting minutes, there are often hyperlinks to important documents under review or consideration by the Board. I will now expound a little on two such hyperlinked documents.

IDEAS FOR THE FOREST

The first one is a Forest Management Plan created for St. Dorothy’s in 2012, when St. Dorothy’s purchased the property from the Chenoweth family. This is not necessarily the plan that Camp Meeker will follow, but it serves as a starting point and a summary of the pertinent information regarding the history and geography of the property, as well as a summary of the potential work that might need to be done in order to meet Camp Meeker’s various goals: access, safety, forest restoration, and so forth. It’s really a remarkable document, and well worth the read.

The second document is entitled Scope of Work for Camp Meeker Rec & Park District, and it is much more recent and much more specific. It describes six treatment types proposed for various portions of the district—timber harvest, mastication, burn unit preparation, broadcast burn, site preparation, and planting—and it contains maps showing where the given treatments are proposed. Mastication, as you probably know, means chewing, not that other thing. (Cool your jets.) But in the forestry world, mastication means reducing the size of forest vegetation and downed material by grinding, shredding, chunking or chopping.

This work is primarily being driven by the goal of increasing wildfire safety. That’s where the money comes from: the agencies that are potentially funding this work are driven by that priority. However, as part of these efforts, there is an opportunity to restore forests and improve access and safety based on a smart tactical approach to wildfire defense. As one example, road improvements are needed to perform the wildfire defense work, but if done right will reduce soil erosion among other benefits. Again, a remarkable document full of useful information about the state of the forest today and a look ahead at the future Camp Meeker Forest.

If you have been to Arcata’s community forest, you will see an example of this work done right. We could do worse than use that precious gem as an example.

Our Forestville columnist Lucy Hardcastle sent along this piece by Dan Northern, writing for the Forestville Chamber of Commerce, about Caltrans’ controversial plans for downtown Forestville.

I am afraid many of you may be unaware of some significant changes coming to downtown Forestville very soon. These changes have the potential to change the function and face of our downtown community forever. The changes include crosswalk warning lights and a new crosswalk across the highway at Oaks Park making crossing Hwy 116 safer. The turn lane on Hwy 116 at Covey Road will be eliminated to accommodate the realignment of the crosswalks there, improving crossings for schoolchildren. A bus pullout will be added in the east bound direction to allow transit buses to pull off the road at the front of Oaks Park. Various sections of new sidewalks will be added including fronting Oaks Park and small sections in other locations. These changes were requested by the Chamber of Commerce in 2014 and will make our downtown safer and more functional. This infrastructure project is funded with over $4 million in local quarry fees, designed by the County of Sonoma and must be approved by Caltrans since it’s a state highway.

On the other hand, the Chamber is concerned that this project comes with a cost that will forever change our downtown area, hamper access and negatively impact our fragile businesses. Caltrans has demanded that to approve the project it must include Class II bike lanes, 5-foot-wide striped lanes, just like Sebastopol, between Mirabel and Covey in both directions of Hwy. 116. Since the highway is so narrow—it is just 40-feet wide through the downtown area—in order to accommodate the bike lanes, all on-street parallel parking spaces on the north side of the highway between Mirabel and Covey will be eliminated except for a couple of spaces in front of La Rosa. Several other parallel and at least one diagonal space will also be eliminated. The Chamber estimates that a total of 15 to 20 parking spaces will be removed to accommodate the Class II bike lanes and other improvements.

We all realize how important parking is to our business district for many reasons, but the elimination of parking isn’t the only significant change necessary to accommodate the Class II bike lanes. Both the east and west bound traffic lanes will be reduced in width from their existing width of 12 feet to 11 feet. The narrowed traffic lanes combined with the two 5-foot-wide bike lanes will cause the center line of the highway and eventually the physical crown (hump) in the road to move 4 feet further north from its current location from Mirabel to Covey. Caltrans will not be moving the crown in the road in this phase so unfortunately when you drive in the east bound lane half of your car will be on one side of the hump and the other half on the other side. The next phase is scheduled by Caltrans 2030, or later, when they plan to regrade the road and physically move the crown over 4 feet as part of a separate project.

For these and other reasons, the Chamber has been advocating for Class III bike lanes through town. Class III bike lanes allow riders to ride in the traffic lanes, as they do now, with the addition of sharrows (bicycle symbol with chevrons). The sharrows remind drivers that bicycles may be present and guides riders away from hazards such as vehicles backing out of diagonal parking spaces and doors opening into the path of a bicycle from drivers exiting parallel parked cars. Class III bike lanes would minimize the number of parking spaces that must be removed, maintain the existing 12-foot travel lanes and eliminate the need to move the center line and road crown. In other words, it’s more cost effective too. The current downtown configuration would remain largely the same. Class III bike lanes are a very viable alternative and cost-effective solution. We are just asking bicycle riders to either ride in the travel lane for four short blocks to preserve our downtown or to use the West County Trail. (Editor’s note: The West County Trail runs parallel to Front Street, just one block west.) There will be plenty of bike racks to park bicycles and walk to local businesses.

We believe families, youth and less confident riders are better served on our low-traffic side streets where they can safely access downtown businesses, Forestville Youth Park, Oaks Park and the West County Trail using the new signalized crosswalks to safely cross Highway 116. Again, bike racks will be available to park your bicycle and walk to nearby businesses.

The Chamber is doing its best to change Caltrans’ mind, but we haven’t had much luck yet. Despite the huge response from last falls community survey when 70% of over 400 participants voted for Class III bike lanes over Class II bike lanes for downtown Forestville it did not sway Caltrans. In fact, they still haven’t even met with us or our local businesses to even discuss the project.

Unfortunately, there was no time at the last Town Hall for comments or questions after the County presented the project. The Chamber was hoping to get a better handle on the general feeling from the community at that meeting. The collective sigh from the audience, when they were informed about the loss of parking in the downtown area, was certainly a telltale sign though.

We will keep you updated on our progress, but the window of opportunity is closing quickly. In the meantime, we encourage you to attend the meeting called by Caltrans for April 21, 2026, to be held at the El Molino Campus Library at 6 pm. While this meeting is regarding a different but related project. Repaving, repairs and improvements to Hwy 116 between Sebastopol and Forestville some elements will overlap such as moving the crown in the road and your comments and concerns are needed and important.

— Dan Northern, Forestville Chamber of Commerce

Find out more about the Front Street Active Transportation Project.

My professional background has been in international business operations, including digital advertising, cannabis, and SaaS. But since settling in Monte Rio, my focus has shifted toward local community work. I serve on the board of Friends of Monte Rio, coordinate RioFest (now in its sixth year), support local nonprofits through fundraising and volunteer efforts, and previously wrote as a columnist for the Sonoma County Gazette.

With the Gazette no longer in publication, I’m grateful to the Sebastopol Times for giving Monte Rio a place to keep telling its stories. This column, The Monte Rio Holler, is meant to do exactly that: celebrate the people, music, art, and community spirit that make this little river town so special.

And lately, much of that spirit can be heard through live music echoing from the historic Monte Rio Theater.

Monte Rio’s Open Mic: Every Wednesday Night

If you want to experience Monte Rio’s creative pulse firsthand, show up on a Wednesday night.

Every week from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., the theater hosts a free open mic night. It is truly for the community, by the community. Musicians of every level take the stage, whether they are performing their first song or returning as seasoned local favorites.

The theater recently upgraded its audio system, performance slots are filling up quickly, and the quality of talent seems to improve every week. On many nights the room is packed. Some people come to play, others simply to listen, but everyone leaves feeling like they were part of something shared.

Standout performers have already emerged. One to watch is 13-year-old Jackson Hagele of Healdsburg, who will take the stage at RioFest on June 20, 2026. Another is Kjbluesman, whose performances regularly bring the room to life with covers by Tom Petty, the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, and more.

For the volunteers who help run the event, the philosophy is simple. As longtime volunteer Sean Warner puts it, “The Rio Theater Open Mic is property of the community. It takes a community to make it happen, and no individual has possession or control over it.”

Keeping Movies Alive in Monte Rio

While music has taken center stage lately, the Monte Rio Theater remains, at its heart, a movie theater. It also carries decades of local history.

Owner David Lockhart sees the theater as both a cultural hub and a bridge between generations.

“This movie theater and the Russian River was a magical place to me as a kid,” Lockhart says. “We want something for our kids, and all the kids who live here or visit, to have those same kinds of memories for future generations.”

In an era when many small-town cinemas have closed, maintaining a local theater takes dedication and volunteers.

“We are fortunate to have an amazing team of volunteers who are music and film lovers,” Lockhart says. “They help provide top-notch sound, lights, and an experience for locals and visitors alike.”

The theater’s setting helps make that experience even more special. Nestled along the banks of the Russian River and surrounded by towering redwoods, it is a reminder that gathering spaces still matter.

“Movie theaters are a place for people to gather and have a shared experience,” Lockhart says.

During the summer months, that shared experience extends outdoors with movies under the stars, where audiences watch films beneath the night sky.

A Community That Welcomes Everyone

From Wednesday night open mics to summer festivals and outdoor films, what is happening at the Monte Rio Theater reflects something bigger than entertainment. It reflects a community that opens its doors to everyone, whether you come to play music, volunteer, watch a movie, or simply be part of the moment.

For those of us who arrived here not knowing many people, those shared experiences have a way of turning strangers into neighbors and neighbors into friends.

From the editors: We know that, this morning, many of our readers are preparing for a different kind of parade and protest — No Kings 3, which will be happening in downtown Sebastopol (10 am to noon) and in towns throughout west county. This time around we have reporters in several of those towns—Dewey Watson in Graton (noon to 1 pm), Su McMurtry in Occidental (begins at noon), Darcy Reinier in Guerneville (noon to 2 pm), and Vesta Copestakes in Forestville (begins at 10 am). Laura Hagar Rush and Lawson Gaylord will be covering Sebastopol. We will be publishing photos from all of these events either this afternoon or in tomorrow’s RoundUp.

In the meantime, as a part of our new Saturday West County Towns column, here is our first Occidental column from former Gazette columnist Darcy Reinier about a can’t-miss event in Occidental next weekend.

By Darcy Reinier

Here is the big news about what’s happening in Occidental in April. The Occidental Fool’s Parade and Party will be next Saturday, April 4, 2026. It is organized by the Occidental Center for the Arts (OCA) and sponsored by the Occidental Community Council and the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors.

Fools of all ages, dressed in their most outlandish outfits, will frolic through downtown Occidental, led by the Hubbub Club marching band. Tina Marchetti, the Executive Director of OCA, says “Everyone is welcome to join the fun in Occidental as we celebrate laughter, creativity, and fun!”

To participate in the parade, meet up at the Occidental Community Center at 12:30 pm. The parade starts at 1 pm and winds from the Community Center to the Occidental Lodge and back, ending at the Occidental Center for the Arts. Be advised the streets will close at 12:30 pm so plan to arrive and get settled early! Everyone is invited to follow the parade to the Occidental Center for the Arts for the Fool’s Party—a free community event which lasts until 4 pm.

Foolish festivities following the parade include live music by the Hubbub Club, the Casual Country band, Giant Bubbles, Kids’ Art Zone, clowns, great food & beverages, beer and wine and more. The winners of the “Silliest Costume” contest will be announced at 2:45 pm, with a prize for best adult and youth costumes. For more information about the Fool’s Parade or the other great events at OCA, go to occidentalcenterforthearts.com

It’s a little hard to pin down the origins of the parade. Some say it dates back to the seventies, when, on the first Saturday of April, Ramón Sender, an artist, musician, and visionary, costumed as “His Imperial Nothingness, Zero the Clown,” would march down the street with a toilet plunger as a scepter, rallying marchers behind him and issuing “tickets” to those who wouldn’t laugh at his jokes. Sender moved to San Francisco around 1980.

In 2006, Kate Price revived the parade. An article in the Press Democrat from 2008 noted, “Price explained she started the parade when she discovered there was no single event honoring local artists. She heard about a ‘Silly Days’ parade in the 1970s and decided to revive it and give it a new name.” The parade that year ended at the Occidental Center for the Arts, which had been recently donated by Orrin and Terri Thiessen with the development of Harmony Village, on the site of the former Harmony Elementary school. Kate participated in the parade and after-party until 2014. Ramón Sender came back to many of the parades dressed as Zero the Clown, playing his glittery accordion, and waving his toilet-plunger scepter.

The multi-talented Steve Fowler, a beloved local landscaper, activist, poet, and board member of the Occidental Center for the Arts, was the master of ceremonies up to 2024, when, sadly, he passed away a week after the parade.

This year’s master of ceremonies, Shems Peterson, took the reins in 2025. A volunteer on the OCA facility committee, Shems has also been an actor in plays produced at OCA, like “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” This year, Shems will again be wielding the golden plunger and making proclamations. Shems says he “is looking forward to channeling his inner child because we all need to be more child-like. Let the Foolishness begin!”

So, please join all of Occidental for this marvelous, ridiculous, silly and spectacular community tradition. Whether you’re a fan of watching the parade of fools or ready to take part in the Foolishness, fun times await everyone after the parade at the OCA Fool’s Party. It’s a free community event, open to everyone. You never know what you might see at the peculiarly wonderful, flagrantly foolish Occidental Fool’s Parade.

For the first and last time, I’ll say a little about myself. I’m a retired lawyer who moved to Graton 17 years ago with my wife, Susan. I’ve been actively involved in community activities, serving on boards, maintaining trails, helping create parks, and working with food banks. I have a real passion for West County and especially for the small village of Graton. The column will be published at least twice a month, featuring stories about what’s happening in town, the personalities and businesses of Graton, and reminders of upcoming events open to everyone. So let’s get started!

The Town Square advances

Last Sunday morning, a few dozen enthusiastic supporters of Town Square gathered for a spring workday, mowing and cleaning up what will become the Town Square of Graton.

During a shared potluck lunch, they heard from volunteer community leaders who have turned this future square into a reality. Matt Jorgensen spoke first, outlining what to expect for the rest of the year and when we can hope to remove the fence and allow the public to enjoy the property. As of December, the residents of Graton own the property. In fact, the owner is the Graton Community Services District (GCSD), the governmental entity elected by the people of Graton, which means we all have a stake in its success.

Owning is not using

The lengthy process of obtaining a use permit from the County to designate the space for public use must now move forward. This requires several professionally prepared reports, including traffic studies, sound assessments, archaeological surveys, and more, all submitted to Permit Sonoma. The good news is that after the initial submission, the county responded quickly and has already requested some additional minor information. If everything remains on schedule, the fence could be removed by September, allowing the space to be officially designated as public. All the reports were prepared by volunteer professionals — and that’s only the beginning. Matt hopes to start working on infrastructure such as paths, irrigation, gardens, gathering areas, and other features that will help the Square become a lasting center for community life.

The GCSD and ReVillage, the consulting firm led by Matt and Tori Immel, are now seeking a volunteer architectural firm to develop final plans for submission to the county, which will bear their names on a key piece of West County real estate. Extensive public input has already been received, and this final phase will continue to gather more feedback. They are also looking for major design features such as a pergola, water feature, artwork, or any element that could serve as a focal point for the square. Additionally, naming rights will be available to a person, family, or company willing to sponsor such features.

Save the date: May 30. Meet the food and wine makers of Graton and get a sneak peek at what’s coming to the Town Square. Taste local food and wine, explore storytelling stops about the Square’s vision, and connect with people helping shape its next chapter. Sip, taste, and help raise the funds needed for the Square’s next phase.

A Don’t Miss Event

Broken Theatre Youth Performance + Voices of the Valley Documentary
Sat and Sun, March 28 and 29 • 6–7:30 pm (both nights)

An evening of humorous and heartfelt youth theater and film sharing stories about growing up in the Atascadero/Green Valley watershed. First, you watch a short community documentary featuring interviews with longtime Green Valley residents. Then, you see youth performances that bring the stories to life by acting out the documentary.

In the words of organizer, artist, and director Niko Kush: “What makes this special is that the stories don’t end with the film. The youth theatre group takes those same stories and performs them live—so you’re watching memory transform in front of you. It’s a living archive—where elders pass down stories, and the next generation brings them to life.”

It will sell out, so get tickets now. Note that the Saturday performance will not conflict with No Kings Day. It will be a great way to end it!

Get information and tickets at: Learn more + RSVP here

That’s it for now. I grew up in Hawaii, and I like to finish with a Hawaiian expression: A Hui Hou. Look it up!

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Would you like to report on what’s going on in your part of West County? Sebastopol Times is looking for a few good writers who closely follow the people, organizations and issues in their town in West County. If you’re interested, write us at sebastopoltimes@gmail.com.