Calling all Philatelics!
All stamp collectors are invited to attend the March 2 meeting of the Santa Rosa Stamp Club. The club meets at 7 p.m. at the Lodge at Paulin Creek. Enter the main building, first floor and turn right. Featured speaker Bob Kirk will explain the intricacies of buying and selling stamps on eBay.
Sonoma author pens Texas book
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Saving El Chico is Meta Straus new book
On March 2, at 6:30 p.m., Meta Strauss will introduce her book
Saving El Chico at Readers' Books in Sonoma. Strauss, a native Texan, began writing when she transplanted to Sonoma in 2005, thinking she left Texas behind forever. However, the Lone Star State was not so easy to abandon and much of her writing reflects her experiences and family history. There's something for everyone in
Saving El Chico. According to author Jean Wong, "Get ready to laugh out loud as you enter Meta Strauss's world of El Chico. She deftly weaves romance and suspense into this page-turning read."
Info: 130 East Napa St., Sonoma.
Bring on the birds
On March 3 at the Sonoma Veterans' Memorial Building, The Valley of the Moon Garden Club will host Michael Gedney with a presentation on wild birds in the garden, "Discover the Refuge in Your Own Backyard." Gedney will discuss how to create an environment around the home that will attract a variety of birds. He will also discuss how to deter less desirable species, such as rodents. A meet-and-greet starts at 6:30 p.m., with the speaker at 7 p.m. Following the talk is a plant and bird products raffle and complimentary refreshments. Members are free and guests pay $5, which goes toward a membership if desired.
Info: 126 First Street West, Sonoma.
Date night in the ceramic studio
You and a sweetie can enjoy a fun, lively experience on the potter's wheel at Date Night at the Sonoma Community Center's ceramic studio. No experience needed. Sign up with your significant other, friend, or as a single. Groups are welcome. Instructors will walk you through a simple project on the potter's wheel and teaching assistants offer one-on-one help to ensure that you finish your project. Date Nights are on the first Friday on the month March through June, 7-9 p.m. The next Date Night is March 4. Afterwards, the staff at Sonoma Ceramics will trim, fire and glaze your pieces with your color choice and contact you when they are complete and ready for pick up. Refreshments and snacks are provided. Ages 21 and older. Preregistration is required.
Emotional Creature at SRJC
Santa Rosa Junior College Theatre Arts Department presents Eve Ensler's
Emotional Creature, March 4-13 in SRJC's Burbank Auditorium. This ensemble play is made up of original monologues and songs about the lives, voices, and innermost thoughts of girls all over the world - highlighting the diversity and commonality of the issues they face. Due to strong language and content, the play is recommended for ages 14 and up, and youth tickets will not be available. Women's Global Leadership Initiative (
www.wgli.org) is co-sponsoring the play as part of the college's Women's History Month.
SERIAL creators talk craft
The MasterCard Performance Series in Weill Hall begins the month of March with a unique look at the making of the fastest-downloaded podcast in iTunes history. Binge-Worthy Journalism: Backstage with the creators of SERIAL, Sarah Koenig and Julie Snyder, on March 8, brings the host and co-creators of this cultural phenomenon to narrate personal stories about creating a new form of modern storytelling. Starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $35.
Info: gmc.sonoma.edu. 1801 E. Cotati Ave., Rohnert Park.
SRJC offers hearing loss support course
The Santa Rosa Junior College Disability Resources Department will host the second installment of its "Hearing Loss Strategies" class on March 9. The free, non-credit course provides education and support for adults with hearing loss. The topic is "Ask the Audiologist about Tinnitus." Amber M. Powner, Au.D., CCC-A, Clinical Audiologist at Audiology Associates, will share information about tinnitus and discuss what it is, how it is diagnosed, and possible treatments. Running through May 11, the course meets the second Wednesday of each month from 6-8 p.m. in room 4245 in the Frank P. Doyle Library of SRJC's Santa Rosa campus.
Info: Registration: https://goo.gl/yNfzyd. 1501 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa.
Pond Farm comes full circle
Full Circle: Pond Farm Revisited, running March 10-April 10 at Healdsburg Center for the Arts, explores the common elements uniting a particular group of curiously bound potters. They all began their training at approximately the same time and at the same place - at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, with Dean Schwartz - and they each found their way across the country to Pond Farm in Armstrong Woods in Sonoma County, to study with Marguerite Wildendain. They all spent multiple summers at Pond Farm at approximately the same time, and all of them have spent the intervening 40-plus years since practicing their craft as full-time, professional potters. Opening reception on March 12, 5-7 p.m.
Duck, duck, fish
The annual Santa Rosa Fishing Tackle, Duck Decoy and Sporting Collectible Show will take place March 11 (9 a.m.-5 p.m.) and March 12 (8 a.m.-3 p.m.) at the Veterans Building in Santa Rosa. Buy, sell, and trade old, new and used fishing tackle, rods, reels, creels, lures, duck decoys, duck calls, shell boxes, prints, books, wildlife art, and other sporting collectibles. No guns or ammo. Free appraisals. $5 admission. Free parking. This is the largest show of its kind in the West.
Info: warrenjo@pacbell.net, 539-3662, 888-7935. 1351 Maple Ave. Santa Rosa.
Cinnabar goes to the birds
Young Rep of Cinnabar Theater presents
The Birds, March 11-13, 7:30 p.m. Nathan Cummings, the director of Young Rep & Education at Cinnabar Theater, has adapted this play into a hysterical romp that is full of satire, improvisation, slapstick, farce and big laughs as you take a trip to Cloud Cuckoo Land and frolic with those zany birds. The cast is large, consisting of 27 kids of Sonoma County ranging in age from 12 to 17 years old. Adult tickets $15, youth (under 21) $10.
Learn about China/US relations at WAC
"China and the US: Rivals, Adversaries and Partners" is the topic of the March 11 annual dinner of the World Affairs Council of Sonoma County. Guest speaker Thomas Hout is Lecturer at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. The dinner will be held at the Santa Rosa Golf and Country Club. No-host cocktails begin at 5:15 p.m., dinner at 6 p.m. and the talk at 7 p.m. Select oven roasted Atlantic salmon, bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin, or mushroom ravioli. Members $42, visitors $47. Write checks to World Affairs Council of Sonoma County, and mail to World Affairs Council, Box 1433, Santa Rosa, 95402. Must be received by March 4.
Info: 573-6014. wacsc.org. 333 Country Club Dr., Santa Rosa.
Vikings in Ireland? You betcha!
On March 12, the talented cooks at Freya Lodge Sons of Norway host their third annual Vikings in Ireland Corned Beef and Cabbage Dinner. Proving that the Vikings were indeed in Ireland, the acclaimed Vikings of Bjornstad, a living history and educational group, will present an entertaining program. The group gives authentic presentations of culture, weapons and crafts from a thousand years ago, including Viking, Norman and Anglo-Saxon re-enactments. They have been filmed for History Channel productions and have participated in feature movies. The event starts at 5 p.m. in Norway Hall. Cost is $24 for adults and $8 for children ages 8-14.
Ranger Dave at the library
The Sonoma Valley Library presents Ranger Dave Duplantier on March 12 at 11 a.m. with a program for children and families. Animal pelts, model skulls made of resin, and color photographs of real coyotes, black bears and rattlesnakes will be presented by Ranger Dave. Ranger Dave is a California State Parks Interpretive Specialist in the Sonoma Sector of the Bay Area District. He will also share his love and knowledge of the wildlife, ecology, habitat, and history of beautiful Sonoma with young naturalists. The event is free and open to children ages five and older and their families.
More than one way to bind a book
Learn the historic art of making a book in a class hosted by the SOCO Women's Art Group on March 12, 1:30-4 p.m. at the artFlare Studio in Santa Rosa. The class will create an origami fold book, and one with a sewn binding. All materials are provided. No experience needed. Class fee is $25.
Video on Israeli-Palestine Conflict
A video lecture on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by Miko Peled, author of
The General's Son, will be shown at Sonoma Valley Regional Library on March 12, 2 p.m. Admission is free. A veteran of the Israeli Defense Force, Peled was driven to explore the Palestinian people and their stories after his beloved niece, Smadar, 13, was killed in a Palestinian suicide attack in 1997. His book documents his journey from his pro-Zionist roots to becoming a peace activist and supporter of Palestinian rights. This event is intended to help citizens gain a larger, more inclusive perspective on the conflict.
Info: 933-8594, 755 W. Napa St., Sonoma.
Gershwin and the paperboy
On March 13 the Santa Rosa Symphony and members of Classical Kids Live! will present
Gershwin's Magic Key at the Green Music Center. The music begins at 3 p.m. and pre-concert fun, including an Instrument Petting Zoo, begins at 2 p.m.
Gershwin's Magic Key tells of a chance meeting on the streets of New York City between a poor newspaper boy and the great American composer, George Gershwin. The orchestra magically weaves Gershwin's greatest hits into the drama as the master composer shares historical anecdotes about his life and musical passion. Tickets are $17 for adults and $12 for children 12 and under.
The Venom Interviews
The North Bay Herpetological Society will host
The Venom Interviews on March 16, 7-9 p.m. at the Petaluma Community Center. In laboratories, zoos, hospitals and private homes, there is a small, tight-knit community of professionals whose everyday work revolves around some of the world's most fascinating and misunderstood reptiles.
The Venom Interviews is a tour of these unusual professions. The filmmaker Ray Morgan will present an overview of the project and show about 30 minutes of clips from the film, with Q&A throughout.
Info: 320 N. McDowell Blvd., Petaluma.
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