Aliens on parade in the 25th annual Glen Ellen Village Fair on Oct. 11
This is a reminder that Glen Ellen’s 25th annual Village Fair will roll into action on Sunday, Oct. 11. The theme of the day is Glen Aliens.
At high noon we expect half the town folks to be disguised as aliens, or something equally interesting. They’ll parade down Carquinez, with a left at Arnold Drive, and then a right and across the bridge. The remaining folks from our town will line the streets cheering on the marchers. We don’t expect many of the spectators to don alien outfits. But in our town, you can never be too sure. Of course, we welcome out of town gawkers, most happily, too. As for real outer-space creatures: bring ‘em on.
It’s well time you choose your role in this year’s parade; both marchers and cheering crowds are necessary. If you want to join the parade and haven’t yet contacted Dawn Kemp, please do so now, by emailing mollypichr@aol.com.
A special attraction in every year’s parade is Neil Shepard and his prancing Clydesdales. This year, Neil’s wagon will be filled with many of the past Grand Marshals. We hear that a special honor will be given to dear Margie Everidge; she’ll be up front with Neil.
After the parade, the day’s festivities begin, with food, crafts for sale, music and fun. At five o’clock, the streets roll up. Aliens and others are invited to stay and help with the clean-up. Questions about the fair can be directed to glenellenfair@att.net. Follow fair news on their Facebook page, Glen Ellen Village Fair.
It takes a solar system
Another exciting addition to this year’s fair are the three quilted pieces that are being offered in the drawing at the end of the fair. The large quilt, “It takes a solar system,” is the main attraction. Many folks saw it at the firehouse pancake breakfast. Then a second quilt, a wall hanging, was created of left-over squares from the first quilt. But by no means is the smaller quilt a lesser product. It features beautiful embroidery of the starry night zodiac, done by Margie Foster and Deb Pool.
A third quilt, produced from artwork by Dunbar students will be raffled to raise funds just for Dunbar School. Leslie Vaughn helped produce it, featuring Glen Aliens. This triplet of quilts is a rare accomplishment for the Glen Ellen quilters. Support their efforts by buying raffle tickets.
Burning of Middletown
While I’m as excited as anyone about our annual village fair, this past week my thoughts have been occupied by the tragedy of the Valley Fire in Middletown. Tom Benton and Judith Anna, long time residents of Glen Ellen, live in that area. We have been awaiting good news of them and just before press time, Tim Benton, Tom’s son, emailed me: “They’re safe in Santa Rosa with a relative.” Great joy!
Diane Tulley is another well known Valley friend to many. A former water yoga teacher at Sonoma Aquatic Center, Diane lives between Middletown and Harbin. For the past decade or so, Diane, aka Aquianna, has worked at Harbin Hot Springs as a Watsu practioner. We learned late last week that she was at the Calistoga evacuation center, but has since left. We still don’t know the status of her home, or her pets. It is just good to know that she is alive.
Loss of Harbin
Harbin Hot Springs is a place I’ve long loved. Local residents of Sonoma Donna-Grace and David Noyes share that affection for Harbin. We reminisced about our favorite hot springs spa.
Donna-Grace recently returned from a month in Amsterdam with her daughter Isabelle Mambote. Many in Glen Ellen will remember Isabelle as Heather Sage Ansell. She and her husband Mike, along with their beautiful 3-year-old daughter Trinity, live in Amsterdam. It was there that Donna-Grace and Isabelle first learned about Harbin’s demise through Facebook. “We started to cry, and every time we looked at each other, we cried,” Donna-Grace shared. She further noted that “I loved that Harbin was so nearby that I was able to go there whenever I needed to get away, to soak my cares away.”
Donna-Grace and I shared how Harbin was a place that one’s nakedness didn’t matter, “For a place where most people are naked, it feels so private,” Donna recalled.
I agree. Raised in Humboldt County in the Finnish community where weekly saunas were the norm, I always felt comfortable without clothing in public places. Harbin was just as welcoming as my childhood saunas, but with a new-age twist.
Healing tide pool
Winemaker David Noyes offered a metaphor to describe the Harbin he first encountered in the early ‘90s, “The decade of the ‘60s was a huge wave that washed over the country, and left a little tide pool that was Harbin.” Then David added, “My initial impression has changed ... Harbin is not just of the past, but changing with the times.’ Now, post fire, he’s simply grateful that he had the opportunity to enjoy it as it was. Both Donna-Grace and David are optimistic that Harbin will come back. “Oh differently,” David qualifies. “I know it will be good. It’s a healing place and always has been.”
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