What's happening this week in Sebastopol?
Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival, SW100 party, reggae, truffles and the Equinox Garden Box Build
Let’s Tap!
Tuesday, April 7, from 10 am to 1:30 pm, at Occidental Center For the Arts, 3820 Doris Murphy Court, Occidental. $129.89.
Tap Dance provides an avenue for developing coordination, balance, musicality, rhythm, and general love for movement. We will learn the basics (if a beginner) and beyond, through warm-ups, discover the language of tap dance, learn the Shim Sham, and routines that will launch you onto your own exploration of the dance form. Classes will be led by Starr Hergenrather, Mindy Copeland and Gabe Copeland. Reserve your spot.
Sebastopol City Council Meeting
Tuesday, April 7, 6 pm, at the Sebastopol Youth Annex, 425 Morris St., Sebastopol. Free.
The city council will hear an updates from Building the Commons Committee and Piazza Hospitality, which hopes one day to build the Sebastopol Hotel across from the downtown plaza. They will also decide whether to grant a $400 fee waiver to the Kiwanis Club for the April 4th Easter Egg Hunt and to approve the Memorandum of Understanding with SEIU, a union for city workers. The council will also consider the creation of a mini-pitch soccer field and whether to require two hours of basic fiscal and financial training for councilmembers. Find the agenda and documentation here.
Peacetown presents: Jenerator
Wednesday, April 8, 6 pm to 8:30 pm, at HopMonk (in The Abbey), 230 Petaluma Ave., Sebastopol. Free.
Jenerator is a collective of longtime friends and collaborators, curated by Jen Rund. The musicians bring their own unique sound to Jenerator’s music, giving a rich variety of expression to Jenerator’s catalogue of original tunes and covers. Band members include Jen, Mojo, and Anna, who will be jamming for your dancing pleasure.
Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival Opening Night: Lens of Power Award and a screening of the film, “Harlan County”
Thursday, April 9, 5 pm to 9 pm, at Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 282 South High St., Sebastopol. $79.88.
The reception is 5 pm to 6 pm, and film screening is at 6 pm. The awards ceremony and panel with Barbara Kopple and John Cooper will be at 7:30 pm. “Harlan County USA” (1976) by legendary filmmaker and workers rights advocate, Barbara Kopple, won for “Best Documentary Film” in 1977 and shares the true battle of coal miners in Kentucky. Get tickets.
Sebastian Saint James | Anna Jae Band | Diana Dreams
Thursday, April 9, 7:30 pm, at HopMonk (in The Abbey), 230 Petaluma Ave., Sebastopol. $22.28.
Sebastian Saint James, Mingo Lewis, Jr., and Faith come together in a collaborative project built around original songs performed through live looping, percussion, and layered vocals that grow in real time on stage. Blending indie blues, funk, soul, and elements of lo-fi hip hop, the trio builds each piece from the ground up with looping guitars, deep rhythmic grooves, and rich vocal harmonies. Get tickets.
Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival (SDFF)
Friday to Sunday, April 10-12, 10 am to 8 pm, at Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 282 South High St., Sebastopol. Multiple price levels.
Sebastopol’s favorite documentary film festival returns this year. Four days. Powerful films. Big conversations. One incredible community. Buy your tickets and passes now and be part of it. SDFF receives nearly 700 submissions annually from more than 62 countries and is an Oscar®-qualifying festival for short-form documentaries. Explore this year’s films and get tickets here.
Growing Together Nursery Grand Opening
Friday and Saturday, April 10-11, 11 am to 5 pm, at 2833 Old Gravenstein Hwy., Sebastopol. Free.
Growing Together Nursery invites the community to its grand opening April 10–11 in Sebastopol, featuring tours, raffles, prizes, and a Friday noon ribbon cutting with local officials. Operated by Oaks of Hebron, the nursery is a social enterprise supporting individuals with developmental disabilities through hands-on horticulture training, job skills development, and meaningful community engagement. See our article on Growing Together.
SW100 Spring Circle Up
Friday, April 10, 5 pm to 6:30 pm, at the Sebastopol Youth Annex, 425 Morris St., Sebastopol.
SW100 is a local giving circle and an exercise in local, collective philanthropy. People join by committing to donate $1,300 a year to the organization, which then gives grants to local nonprofits in Sebastopol and West County. Members have a say in who gets a grant. (See our article on last year’s SW100 grants.) This event is a great chance to mix and mingle, network, find out what SW100 is all about, and build friendships through civic engagement. No need to RSVP to this one. Simply show up. Appetizers and non-alcoholic beverages will be served. Email craiglitwin@sw100.org if you can bring something to share. Hear about SW100’s grant plan for the fall and funds raised to date.
Māh Ze Tār + Elias Alexander + Mycelial
Friday, April 10, 8 pm, at the Sebastopol Community Cultural Center, 390 Morris St., Sebastopol. $24.87.
Māh Ze Tār is propelled by the vision of fusing traditional eastern music with modern electronic composition as a form of cultural preservation. The listener can expect to hear the ancient sounds of the Sitar and Oud in one song and the timeless melodies of the Hulusi, Ney and Duduk in the next, bringing a kaleidoscope of emotions through a plethora of ancient sounds, mesmerizing vocals, and grooving beats. Get tickets.
Reggae artist Anthony B
Friday, April 10, 8 pm, at the Sebastopol Community Cultural Center, 390 Morris St., Sebastopol. $40 general admission; $20 for youth.
Reggae powerhouse Anthony B is known worldwide for his electrifying performances and unwavering message of truth, justice, and positivity. Blending classic roots reggae with modern dancehall energy, his dynamic stage presence and socially conscious lyrics have made him one of Jamaica’s most enduring and respected voices. Get tickets.
Sex After Sixty: What changes, what matters, and what’s possible
Saturday, April 11, 11:30 am to 12:45 pm, at Sebastopol Area Senior Center, 167 N. High St., Sebastopol. $10 members, $15 non-members.
"Sex After Sixty" offers a warm, candid look at the real joys and challenges of sexuality in our later years. Explore how bodies, desire, and intimacy naturally change with age — and how emotional connection, communication, and curiosity can keep pleasure vibrant. Facilitator Alissa Renee-Coenen will help to de-shame common concerns, offer supportive options for comfort and satisfaction, and create space for honest questions in a relaxed, respectful environment. Register online or call 707-829-2440.
Truffle Making
Saturday, April 11, 2 pm, at Rainy Day Chocolate, 6492 Mirabel Road, Forestville, $60.54.
Step into Rainy Day Chocolate’s chocolate factory for a hands-on truffle-making experience. Get tickets. Reserve your spot. (See our recent story on Rainy Day Chocolate.)
Shakedown featuring Tumbleweed Soul & Special Guests
Saturday, April 11, 8 pm to 11:30 pm, at Laguna Lab, 117 Morris St., Sebastopol. $20.
Shakedown is Laguna Lab’s series of Grateful Dead-inspired events, featuring live music, large-scale projections, and interactive artwork. Warehouse space with room to dance, groove, connect with community, and make new friends. This show features local favorite Tumbleweed Soul and special guests. Get tickets.
Family Silk Hoop Painting
Sunday, April 12, 10:30 am to 1 pm, at the Sebastopol Community Cultural Center, 390 Morris St., Sebastopol. $25.
Part of the Community Center’s family art workshops. Silk hoop painting is the art of painting with dyes on silk stretched tightly over a circular frame, often creating luminous, stained-glass effects. Bring out your inner artist in this fun workshop and create a piece of art of your own. It’s also a perfect gift for Mother’s Day! Reserve your spot.
Equinox Garden Box Build
Sunday, April 12, 11 am to 3 pm, at Sebastopol Grange Hall, 6000 Sebastopol Ave. (Hwy. 12), Sebastopol. Free.
Sign up to join members of the Sebastopol Grange, the Kiwanis Club of Sebastopol, and the Sebastopol Gravenstein Lions Club for a hands-on garden box building day at the Grange. Sign up here to either help build a garden box or to receive a garden box. (For the latter, it’s pay what you can, but you must come to the event, and delivery can be arranged at the build.) Sign up to build or receive a garden box.
(See our article on last year’s Equinox Garden Box Build.)
Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival Closing Night Party and Film
Sunday, April 12, 3:30 pm to 9 pm, at Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 282 S. High St., Sebastopol. $53.50.
“Everywhere Man” is a feature-length documentary inspired by musician, producer, and manager Peter Asher’s celebrated cabaret show, “A Musical Memoir of the ’60s and Beyond.” Like his stage performance, the film traces an extraordinary life lived at the center of modern music history. From his early years as a child actor in 1950s London to the Swinging Sixties, Asher emerges as a Zelig-like figure in the culture of the era: one half of the pop duo “Peter and Gordon”; the first head of A&R at Apple Records; and co-owner of the Indica Gallery, the epicenter of London’s countercultural art scene. Stick around after the film for a live Q&A with directors Dayna Goldfine and Dan Geller. There will also be a live performance by The Sun Kings duo. Get tickets.
Vocal Voyage Concert
Sunday, April 12, 6 pm, at Main Street Theater, 104 N. Main St., Sebastopol. $10.
Join us for an evening that celebrates a rich tapestry of vocal styles and talents. The study of singing is a profound journey of self-discovery, where one learns to breathe deeply, articulate text with emotion, and truly get to know oneself. Music to My Ears students have immersed themselves in this transformative process and are eager to share their vocal journey with you. Your musical voyage awaits at the Vocal Voyage Concert, an exploration of voice and genre. Get tickets.
Richard Shindell at HopMonk Sebastopol
Sunday, April 12, 7 pm, at HopMonk (in The Abbey), 230 Petaluma Ave., Sebastopol. $42.17.
Richard Shindell is famous for his illumination of the human experience through narrative song. Shindell has inhabited a Zen Buddhist monastery and busked in the streets of Paris. Originally from New York, now living in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Shindell is a writer whose songs paint pictures, tell stories, juxtapose ideas and images, inhabit characters, vividly evoking entire worlds along the way and expanding our sense of just what it is a song may be. Get tickets.
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