Saving Miss Daisy’s Magical Wonderland
To keep the Wonderland dream alive, Miss Daisy's supporters are trying drum up more engagement and financial support from the community
Fifteen years ago, longtime Sebastopol resident Daisy Blincoe received an unexpected inheritance that changed her life. It saved her from imminent homelessness, and believing the boon to be providential, she promptly bought a house on the edge of downtown. Using money from a reverse mortgage, she began turning the property into a spiritual oasis that she named Miss Daisy’s Magical Wonderland. In the years since, Miss Daisy became known throughout the community for her generous, giving spirit and the countercultural healing events she hosts onsite.
Nearly an acre in size, the serene, wooded Wonderland property exudes the ambience of a hippie playground. Its space has been put to beautiful and practical use. Behind the house, there’s a teepee; a goat, a chicken and a horse; a covered patio; a small stage; an outbuilding or two; three redwood groves; benches; potted herbs; and a community garden. Weekly Kundalini Vibration Yoga and sound healing classes, as well as drum lessons, are held outside.
Heather “Star” Hanson, Wonderland’s events and “glamping” manager, says, “We’ve hosted many workshops—from how to take care of your health, to how to forage wild medicine and make drinks out of it, to medicines, to healing. Healing has been the theme for all the events that we have here. And celebration.”
Over the years, the property has at times functioned as both a bed and breakfast and a private campground. It also hosted a nature enrichment program for homeschool students for a time.
But Wonderland took a financial hit during the COVID shutdown, when it simultaneously lost income from events and overnight guests, and a tenant overstayed, causing Miss Daisy severe stress, which led to a decline in her health.
The unwanted tenant eventually left, but Wonderland’s financial situation continued to stagnate.
Although Miss Daisy has a reverse mortgage on her house, as a part of that, according to Hanson, “She is still responsible for paying property taxes and insurance, which are quite high. During COVID it became especially difficult for her to keep up, and she now owes about $30,000 to the reverse mortgage company for past due taxes and insurance. We were recently approved for a payment plan, which has saved Wonderland from foreclosure. Through community support, we’ve raised enough to cover the monthly payment and are continuing to save toward the next tax period. At the moment, we’re just a couple thousand short of the property taxes due in November.”
The threat of foreclosure spurred locals into action to both save and reinvigorate Miss Daisy’s Magical Wonderland. A local spiritual community known as the Spirit Sisters of Sonoma County stepped up by organizing the Save Wonderland Healing Fair, and the $6,000 they raised stopped foreclosure proceedings. Additionally, community members, Hanson included, came up with a plan to revitalize Wonderland and pull it out of debt. They started a GoFundMe with a $40,000 goal. As of Aug. 29, $2,632—or 7%—of the goal had been raised, per 22 donations.
In May, Wonderland began hosting a three-hour fundraising First Tuesdays Drum Circle and Potluck every month, as well as events such as Community Garden Clean-Up Parties. They’ll also be hosting a new festival, PaganFest, on October 4th.
“At PaganFest, we’ll be raising money for Wonderland through food sales and vendor booths. Entry is free with a donation of canned food, which will go to support those in need,” Hanson said.
Miss Daisy is currently contemplating a revisioning of the property to include a permaculture garden.
“So, our vision here is to actually expand by utilizing the whole space for a permaculture food forest,” Hanson says. “We have a couple of different artists coming up with plans right now. And we’ve had a couple of different investors interested.”
And Wonderland remains, as always, available for hosting events of up to 250 people.
Miss Daisy has led a long and interesting life. She grew up in Rodeo in the ’50s and early ’60s before moving to San Francisco with her mother. She then lived in Fairfax before finally moving to her father’s property in Sebastopol. Along the way, she worked numerous jobs, including as a professional house cleaner and as a music teacher for children and adults.
For the last year or more, Miss Daisy has spent time volunteering at Rainbow’s End Farm in Occidental, learning nature medicine from owner Nan Koehler. “[I’m] learning a lot … this is my happy place, being in the garden,” she says.
On her website, she describes Miss Daisy’s Magical Wonderland as “a living prayer. A space for collective healing, joyful service, and community remembrance. A sanctuary where land, spirit, and people weave together to embody the New Earth.”
Which is to say, in her own, direct words: “We’re here to celebrate the new paradigm.”
In August, Miss Daisy fell and injured her arm, but luckily Hanson was on hand to bring her to the emergency room, and Miss Daisy is now healing.
“It’s a large property for one woman to take care of,” Hanson says. “The theme here is community.”
Wonderland still faces fiscal difficulties while it is being revitalized. A single missed payment could result in foreclosure.
Hanson promotes events, classes and fundraising through the Wonderland Facebook page and website, flyers posted around town and an email list with 1,000-plus subscribers. Every bit of publicity helps, she says.
Find the GoFundMe for Miss Daisy’s Magical Wonderland here.
 | A guest post by
|
I've lived in this area for 34 yrs and never heard of it. I would have liked to be a volunteer, but I see no contact info. Sounds like a wonderful place.