Mar/Apr 2026
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Letter from the Editor
A while back, I was complaining about the dark, cold month of February to my friend Harry Frank. He stopped to say, “You’re wrong. February is the yellow month. The light returns and the daffodils, acacia, and mustards bloom.” Of course he was right, and if February is the yellow month, then March and April…
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Locavortex Events
March 2026 Lake Sonoma Steelhead Festival Saturday, March, 7 10AM-4PM A free, family-friendly event featuring environmental education, food trucks, beer/wine, and activities celebrating the steelhead trout return. Milt Brandt Visitor Center 3288 Skaggs Springs Road, Geyserville steelheadfestival.org California Artisan Cheese Festival March 20–22 Farm tours, cheese tastings, and a marketplace featuring local cheesemakers taking…
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The Classic
Juilliard: The Grand Dame of Santa Rosa’s Urban Parks Photo: Ranch7 Creative Sometimes in a world of shiny new things, we forget to appreciate the old gems. The gem in this case is Santa Rosa’s Juilliard Park. Set on nine acres near downtown, Juilliard is one of Santa Rosa’s oldest parks and is steeped in…
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Against the Grain: From Global Commodity to Local Staple
What comes to mind when you imagine your local farmers market? Those first sweet, hand-picked strawberries in April? The late summer arrival of apples, mounds of vibrant heirloom tomatoes? Even in winter colorful veggies greet the shopper. Mai eventually landed in Sonoma County, leasing multiple parcels, setting up their own flour mill, and selling directly…
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Pacific Pact: An Island-to-Mainland Flavor Fusion
After long months of damp, dark, dreary days, Sonoma County folks welcome the arrival of spring. It’s like a big exhale after many months of anticipating the return of light and warmth. In days gone, sweet little spring greens were harvested out of the damp ground and eaten to stimulate digestion and encourage vitality after months…
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Convenience (minus the guilt)
How Trellus Makes Same- Day Local Delivery a Force for Good: A Conversation with Trellus’ Julie Montgomery MLM: What is your role with Trellus? JM: As a sales associate for Trellus, my job is to reach out to local businesses and help them understand how the marketplace makes it easy to increase their revenue and gain new…
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Let’s Dance
Remember how fun it was to learn a dance style as a kid? Though most of us left behind dance class as we moved toward adulthood, no doubt we remember shaping our bodies and souls to uplifting music in coordination. There is no sensation quite like it; connecting with others through movement. It may just…
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MEHKO
The Microenterprise Home Kitchen Movement Is Here It was a full circle moment. Dawn Zaft was starting another business in her home kitchen. Her last home-based business had been an unpermitted “criminal” bakery in her home. A single mother with little money for start-up, Zaft’s home kitchen operation had allowed her to earn some money…
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California Native Table
By Nicole Lim, J.D. (Pomo/Miwok) Bah’-ki is the Southern Pomo word for elderberry. Throughout Sonoma County and the state, California Native Americans continue to gather and steward elderberries as an important nutritional, medicinal and cultural resource. Elderberry has and continues to be one of our most important plant relatives. California Native Americans share spiritual and…
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Season of the Mosquito
On purpose, belonging, and social change In his book Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging, Sebastian Junger reports on the historical successes of societal groups that work cooperatively, both as the norm and during extraordinary times such as wartime and natural disasters. From indigenous cultures over thousands of years to Londoners transcending class distinctions during the…