Would you like to upgrade your career skills and increase your confidence and ability in the job market? The Business Training Center at Martinez Adult Education has what you need. Offering a wide variety of courses and certificate programs for jobs that are in demand, with award-winning instructors that will motivate you to your highest potential with industry-recognized curriculum, you will be provided with skills employers need you to have today. You may choose from a variety of individual course offerings or work toward one of many Program Certificates that target specific career fields including administrative, bookkeeping, medical billing and coding and, their newest innovative offering, health information technology. The Business Training Center at Martinez Adult Education can accommodate your busy schedule with day or evening classes and financial support may be available for qualified applicants.
“A bend in the road is not always the end of the road; therefore, always strive to achieve your dreams by walking through the doors of opportunity that open before you.” – Loida Perez, student.
Join the Business Training Center at Martinez Adult Education and be inspired to learn, grow, and succeed. They can’t wait to meet you!
600 F St, Martinez, CA 94533
925-228-3276 ext. 220
www.Martinez.k12.ca.us/mae
Getting ready for the Flyway Festival
Ben and I will be out today getting the magazines into all of the advertiser’s hands. We are very excited about this issue, be sure to check it out on the web site.
This February/March Magazine is our Local’s Choice Awards issue and many of our friends and favorite events have won and their excitement is contagious so be sure to let them know you saw them in the editorial.
We are looking forward to a relaxing weekend.
Early am stretches and meditation; feed and walk Ben and away we go. . .
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Vallejo’s newest restaurant recently opened – The Vallejo Grill. It opened in October 2012 on Admiral Callahan in the Safeway Plaza. The Vallejo Grill is owned by a long-time Vallejo resident, Mohammad Ali (no…not the boxer, his name is spelled Muhammad Ali). Mo and his wife, along with five children (yes five) call Vallejo home. He’s a man who loves Vallejo and wants to make the city a better place for his family and the community. So much so that he wanted to open a restaurant to serve the fine people of Vallejo and Solano County. After working in the restaurant business for many years, Mo’s dream came true. He chose to create his own independent restaurant because he wanted something where he was not part of franchise system, or a big corporation, where he could cater to his customers the way he wanted to, not the way a big corporation wanted him to. Mohammad is originally from Pakistan and since he immigrated here, it was his dream to be part of this great community and treat people on an equal and fair basis. He welcomes everybody to his restaurant because he knows what it is like to be a stranger in a strange land. When he was originally deciding if he wanted to open a restaurant he just thought it would be wonderful to do so in the place he was raising his children and where he called home.
His search began to find the right location. He chose a storefront in the Safeway Plaza on Admiral Callahan Way because of its location, size and value. When he first embarked on this adventure, he went in eyes wide open. He knew the place needed renovation and repair and it would take a significant investment. He wanted to renovate the restaurant to provide his customers with a good clean look. Renovations are usually dirty, costly and run into problems and this one was no different. He wanted to make things as perfect as he could and was often buried in the myriad of details a project like this takes. He was continually thinking how his customers would feel and what their experience would be like. He wanted to create an atmosphere that was comfortable, enjoyable and cozy.
Mo is a humble man hard-working man. He pays attention to all the many details of his restaurant, from the light fixtures to the way the wait staff serves. He wants to make sure that his customers have an excellent eating experience when he hosts them for their meal. If there is something you don’t like, he wants to hear it, to see if he and the staff can learn and make it better going forward. He loves talking to his customers so that he can understand what they like and what he can improve upon. He understands that the customer’s satisfaction is all that counts. Mohammad wants to make sure that you LOVE your meal. That is his focus.
Keeping the customer in mind, along with his extensive knowledge of the restaurant business, he prepares his menu to include a wide variety of food. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served at any time during the day so that his guests could enjoy what they wanted to when they wanted to. He felt those little things were important.
For breakfast, you can expect to be served a fantastic meal. Fluffy pancakes accompanied with perfectly cooked bacon or sausage. Choose from the many types of omelets or create a custom omelet with the freshest ingredients. Try Joe’s Special, which is seasoned ground beef, spinach, mushrooms, onions and cheese scrambled with three eggs; a perfect combination of meat and vegetables. Also, don’t miss out on the country fried steak and egg deal.
Then comes lunch. The Grill serves some tasty sandwiches along with ‘melts’. There are a number of melts that are listed but the San Francisco Melt is made with a grilled parmesan-crusted sourdough bread, thinly sliced roast beef, Monterey jack cheese, grilled green chilies and sliced tomato with thousand island, mmm! The usual hamburger fare is available, along with a vegetarian burger and accompanied with your favorite sides. The shoestring fries are my favorite; just enough crunch when you eat them. There are plenty of salads to choose from, including a Chicken Fajita Salad that is made with crisp greens tossed in their salsa-ranch dressing and topped with spicy grilled chicken breast, sautéed bell peppers, onions and mushrooms, tomatoes, cheddar cheese, green onion, guacamole, sour cream and olives. They also have a great Buffalo Chicken Salad made with crisp and spicy chicken breast pieces with tomatoes and cheeses on a bed of lettuce with ranch dressing.
The dinner menu has the full array of appetizers, entrées and dessert. An early popular favorite from the appetizers is their classic chicken wings with your choice of sauces – mild or hot Buffalo style, teriyaki, barbecue, cajun (hot) or zesty orange. They also have the traditional zucchini and quesadillas and much more.
The entrée selection includes the traditional beef, chicken and seafood, so you are covered no matter what you feel like. Mo has also spread from the traditional American dishes to Italian to Asian. Prime rib is a specialty of Mohammad’s and he is very proud to serve it. His other dishes are just as great like the Cashew Chicken Stir Fry served with tender strips of chicken, bell peppers, mushrooms, and onions in teriyaki sauce, served on top of bed of rice with cashews and served with a choice of soup or salad is a fantastic choice. Also, the Spaghetti with Meat Sauce, which is spaghetti tossed with home-style meat sauce, served with garlic cheese bread. YUM!
While I was at the Vallejo Grill, I was able to enjoy their famous prime rib. I was taken aback by the generous portion that was served to me. The 8 oz. prime rib with fresh vegetables and mac ‘n’ cheese … My mouth watered the moment it was placed in front of me. My husband tried it as well but the 16 oz cut and he devoured it – and he knows his prime rib. The meat was cooked perfectly with plenty of au jus and horseradish. It almost melted in my mouth. For $9.99, I think it is the best value and tasting prime rib you can get in the Bay Area. The fresh vegetables were a medley of broccoli, zucchini and carrots seasoned to perfection. My children were reaching onto my plate and eating them all up too.
When we took the kids to the Grill they LOVED it. They were able to color while waiting for their meal, along with choosing from a children’s menu that Mohammad especially created and tailored to kids. Lots of shoe string fries and the hamburgers cooked perfectly. The clam chowder soup, a favorite of my older son, was finished in no time. He really enjoyed it and as a parent, it’s always great to see the children eating all their meals.
Senior discount day is every day! All seniors receive a 10% discount on their meal when they come in to enjoy a meal.
Also – Calling all Vallejo City Employees – during the month of February 2013, you can receive a 15% discount with your ID too! Mohammad wants to show his continued commitment to Vallejo and honor those who serve and protect Vallejo.
Mohammad cares about the welfare of the children of Vallejo. His children attend the schools and he understands that each teacher and school administrators dedicate their lives to educating them. As a result, Vallejo Unified District Employees will receive a 15% discount with their ID on their meal during the month of March. These discount programs Mohammad is offering is just an example of how he wants to be a part of the solution and help Vallejo reach its potential.
Mo has enjoyed his adventure so far and more importantly he has enjoyed taking care of his guests. It has not been easy but it has been a great experience and something that he is extremely proud of. I think that he has done a great job so far and the value is terrific. Stop in and say hi and let him know what you think.
The Vallejo Grill is open seven days a week from Sunday – Thursday from 8 AM to 9 PM and Friday and Saturday from 8 AM to 10 PM.
Regina Briseño – Recognized for her work with her family and talent for seeking out good food and wine. She also invites everyone to come and enjoy the adventurous ride with her!
Most people who shop for organic foods are usually seeking better tasting strawberries and/or assurance that their peas and carrots haven’t been regularly doused in pesticides and herbicides before being shipped to the market.
But why should fruits and veggies get to hog all the attention? After all, only 5 percent of Americans identify themselves as vegetarians, according to a Gallup poll taken in July 2012. For the other 285 million of us, meat comprises a significant portion of our diet, if not the majority of it. So if we care about where our lettuce, tomatoes and onions come from, we should probably make the same considerations about that half-pound beef burger, which complements those vegetables oh-so well.
That’s where Petaluma’s Tara and Craig Smith come in. They’re the owners and main operators of the 300-acre Tara Firma Farms, and they’re dedicated to putting good-tasting, organically grown and well-balanced meals into our thoughts as well as our kitchens.
“Food seems to be the last thing on our mind, when actually, if you care about your health and the health of the planet, it ought to be one of the first things,” Tara says.
Unlike the majority of California’s organic farms and backyard gardens, Tara Firma Farms specializes in meat. Specifically, they raise and sell pastured beef, pork, chicken, turkey and eggs, using strictly organic techniques. One reason for this specialization, as Tara explains, is to clear up a common misconception about good eating habits. Many people don’t see the dietary value in meat and can view it as kind of a vice, rather than what it actually is: an essential piece of a healthy diet.
“A plant eater generally has several stomachs and eats practically 24 hours a day—like cows,” Tara says. “But human beings have an intestinal tread just like a carnivore. We are practically carnivores—we need just healthy greens and meat. That’s what we’re supposed to be eating. The science is so clear on that.”
Ironically, when Tara Firma Farms first started, the couple probably found themselves more at home with the business side than they did raising the animals. In fact, it was an interest in food science that took Tara and Craig away from their previous vocations—each having spent more than 15 years in the “corporate world” of the long-term care industry—and turned them into health-conscious organic farmers. Surprisingly, neither of them grew up on farms or had any farming experience prior to creating Tara Firma Farms.
“One of our kids brought home An Omnivore’s Dilemma,” Tara says, to explain where she and Craig’s desire to start the farm originated. “We read it and were fairly horrified by the food system, but didn’t think it could be as bad as the book made it sound. So we spent three months really investigating.”
They spoke to farmers and nutritionists, and even worked at a farmers’ market to get a behind-the-scenes feel of the food industry. Their findings?
“It was worse than what the book portrayed,” Tara says. “I was complaining so much about it, and finally one of the kids said, ‘Why don’t you start a farm yourself and stop complaining?’”
So they did—Tara Firma Farms officially opened in April 2009. Since then, they’ve been steadily feeding more than 600 families a month. They won a “Best of the Bay” Bohemian Award in 2011. More than that, they’ve found the work incredibly fulfilling, though Tara concedes it’s exhausting work.
“It’s an incredible lifestyle,” she says. “I love it; I wish I would’ve started when I was young.”
From the beginning, it was important to Craig and Tara that their farm could sustain itself as a business in addition to being environmentally friendly. They’ve resisted taking farm subsidies from the federal government and have focused largely on developing community partnerships instead. For instance, they also act as middlemen for some of the area’s other small-scale businesses, selling organically-grown fruits and vegetables at the Tara Firma Farmhouse from local growers and boutiques that might not otherwise be able to get the business.
So they’re kind of like a supermarket as well as a farm, but that doesn’t mean their prices are cheap. Because organic farming is labor-intensive, it tends to be more expensive than your average supermarket food. Tara Firma farm’s most pricey meat, for instance, is a tenderloin steak that costs $33 per pound, though they also have steaks and roasts for less than half that. Yet, Tara says, buying healthier food like theirs is worth it in the long run. “You buy more food when you’re buying food with less nutrients in it; you have to eat more,” she says.
When they’re not farming or operating the business, Tara and Craig hold monthly workshops at the farm about various social and environmental issues. For instance, they’ve discussed health statistics in Africa, animal tracking, and even had two workshops where they taught groups of 20-30 people how to slaughter, cut, process, cook and eventually eat a pig. “We’ll do that once this year for a cow and several times for chickens,” Tara says. “I used to have no idea how to do that stuff.”
They also hold regular barn dances, as well as the occasional concert, and they give farm tours several times a day on Saturdays and Sundays, in part to teach folks organic growing techniques. Almost 10,000 people have been given tours since the farm started, Tara said.
“I think people will find a little more reference for their food once they understand this animal had a really good life,” Tara says. “It lived in a pasture, it’s happy, and now it will provide us with food. It’s a big life cycle that we don’t get taught in school from a more connected standpoint. We’re part of that cycle.”
The Tara Firma Farmhouse is located at 3796 I Street, in Petaluma. They’re open daily from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and their prices and other information can be found on their website tarafirmfarms.com. They also accept volunteer work for those who favor a more hands-on approach, and they’re making plans to formulate a residential work program in the near future.
Nate Gartrell grew up in Benicia, studied journalism in college, and has written for a handful of media outlets since age 15. He aspires to visit all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums and to hit the trifecta at the horse track.
Tales of the Kitchen
Baby it’s cold outside, it is the perfect time to BRAISE
The new year is upon us and we are all settling back into our regular routines, trying to lose those few pounds we all seem to put on the during the holidays. It has been so cold lately, I personally just want warm food, not quite ready to commit to just having salads for dinner. Warm food to me translates to comfort food and with trying to keep it easy, braising comes to mind. The term “braise” is French, but it is basic physics. Braising is what happens when a tough, inexpensive cut of meat is cooked long and slow in a pot with a small amount of liquid. Inexpensive cuts of meat are best as their tough connective tissues melt away while cooking. The end result is a tender, flavorful mouthwatering piece of meat. Braising is one the simplest cooking methods, the protein simply absorbs the flavors you have chosen. Onions, carrots, leeks and/or fennel are called the aromatics. Along with herbs, wine and stock it will make one mouthwatering sauce. If you choose to make a reduction out of your sauce at the end of the cooking process it would only complement the protein you have chosen. The only issue is time, all the aromatics need to be removed and then strained. The best part of a reduction is not really necessary if you are in time restrictions, just simply skimming the fat of the top and serve with your aromatics.
Owning a Dutch oven is essential in braising—that is why I own three. If you are planning on feeding a large group (I come from a large family) you are going to need at least two. They should be heavy based, and nonreactive, meaning shallow and wide enough for when you brown your meat. This should be done in steps, because you should not crowd the meat, do not rush this process. The meat will start to sweat if too many pieces are in the pot and you will not get the color you are looking for. Make sure when you are done browning your meat that you scrape up all the pieces of soot on the bottom of the pan. The lid has to fit tightly so your liquid does not evaporate. If you are making a brown sauce, you are going to brown the meat on the stove and once all is assembled it will go into the oven for at least 3 hours. There are white braises, which just means you will not brown, but just cooking the meat when you are simmering and adding your aromatics.
If you are going to make a brown sauce, it is important to brown the meat first to help produce the flavor and color for the braise. The sauce should be intense and browning the meat will help with the flavor. If you use a different pan other than your Dutch oven make sure you deglaze the pan with some liquid and add it to your sauce, so you will not lose all the flavors. I personally have never finished a braised dish using meat on the stove; I always finish in the oven. You can finish the dish on the stove, the oven offers a more uniformed form of cooking not having to worry about regulating the heat. If you are braising vegetables, it is probably best to finish on the stove so they do not become too soft. I have learned that finishing braised vegetables on the stove gives you more control and better results.
The best braised recipe I have is a Martha Stewart favorite (yes I am a fan), which has never failed me. I use short ribs: It is an easy recipe which calls for:
1/4 cup flour,
Salt & pepper
16 pieces of short ribs, about 4 oz each
1 tablespoon oil
4 carrots cut into chucks
2 onions quartered
1 bottle of decent red wine, (merlot or a cabernet, don’t be cheap this is your flavor)
14 oz of chicken broth
4 springs of thyme
28 oz of whole tomatoes, pureed
Preheat your oven to 400°. Put the flour, salt and pepper into a bowl, toss the ribs in the flour until well coated, shake off excess.
Heat oil in the Dutch oven and brown the ribs about 10 minutes per batch.
After you brown, hold the ribs on a plate and in the same pot add the carrots and onions. Cook and scrape up the good brown bits until the vegetable are lightly browned about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the wine broth, thyme and tomatoes. Return the ribs back to the pot and bring to a boil. Cover and transfer to the oven and cook for about an hour then reduce the heat to 350° or until fork tender.
Once they are cooked, this is where you can make your choice reduce or skim. Both are good. If you chose to reduce, remove the meat and keep warm. Strain the liquid removing solids, return liquid and cook until slightly thickened and reduced to about 2 cups, about 10 to 12 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and serve with a nice creamy polenta, wide noodles or some warm creamy garlic mashed potatoes. Like I said: comfort food.
Chef K. Marie Paulk
More fun than a shoulder to cry on and a visit to French Laundry Gardens. Winter has held sway over the Napa Valley long enough. The earth is quiet. Sleeping vines wait in rows on the hillsides to produce fruit and wine for another season. Fallow fields are being quietly prepared as Spring is just around the corner, but the night air is still too cool to allow the season’s first timid growth to begin in earnest. The tourists are sparse, and things move just a bit more slowly. Even some of the locals may find themselves suffering from Seasonally Affected The-weather-is-less-than-perfect Disorder (poor darlings). Interestingly, there is also a colloquial term for the season from January through April: Shoulder Season. (As if four seasons weren’t enough?)
During a recent jaunt to Yountville, Local Happenings attempted to determine the genesis of this commonly used “Shoulder Season” expression, which seems to have originated in this venerable city so well known for wine and food. We know that Yountville, founded by George Calvert Yount who settled the region in 1836, is credited as the birthplace of the wine industry in the Napa Valley; the first vines allegedly had been planted there by Yount himself. The town also holds a venerated position as culinary epicenter of the Valley. Restaurants of note include award winning establishments such as Chef Thomas Keller’s French Laundry (3 Michelin stars), Ad Hoc and Bouchon also owned by Keller, Richard Reddington’s Redd (1 star) as well as Chef Michael Chiarello’s Bottega (Bib Gourmand rating) and far too many fine culinary establishments worth listing than the space allocated for this missive allows. But as to our etymological journey into the source of “Shoulder Season” that curious bit of colloquial slang in the midst of culinary cornucopia? The elusive fifth season?
After a long-winded haranguing of passerbys, notables, members of the Yountville Chamber of Commerce and whoever else would attempt to answer the question, “Where did Shoulder Season come from and who started it?”, it has been determined that nobody seems to know. The closest we could get is that it is “the slow season” and that people in Yountville have a hard time dealing with cooler weather (as we suspected) and start looking for a shoulder to cry on when it gets chilly.
And now the good news: The ever-resourceful residents of Yountville have devised a remedy for Shoulder Season. It is known as the Taste of Yountville, a festival that spans the entire town from end to end and celebrates wine, food, music and art. (More good news: Admission is free.)
This year is the 20th season Taste of Yountville has been held. The dates and info are as follows:
The 20th Annual Taste of Yountville
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Friday, March 15, 2013 – 4:00 to 8:00 PM
Saturday, March 16, 2013 – Noon to 5:00 PM
Washington Street
Yountville, CA
In past years, somewhere between 5 and 10 thousand visitors have attended the event…weather permitting, of course. But nothing short of a flood of biblical proportions seems to stop the festive event! Described as a town-wide block party, visitors are encouraged to stroll along Washington St. (the main drag in town) and enjoy sampling wine, food, micro-brews and so on. Venue locations include the Community Center at Yount and Mulberry, Edward James Courtyard, V Marketplace, The French Laundry Gardens, Washington Square and Van de Leur Park. Visitors can purchase an optional “passport,” have it stamped at each venue and drop it into the bucket at the end and be in the drawing for prizes described as “amazing” by Yountville Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Cindy Saucerman, such as: dinner at French Laundry, a stay at one of the many luxury accommodations in town, collector wines, large format bottles, trips, balloon rides and “everything that’s Napa Valley.”
This year’s event will be larger than ever before with more artists and vendors than in previous years. Napa Valley Open Studios will be participating for the third year and will have art on display at the community center. Over 30 Napa Valley wineries will be pouring; tastings start at $1, and pretty much all of the fine restaurants in town will be competing for the opportunity to tickle your tastebuds! This is an event not to be missed. Rain or shine. Shoulder Season be damned. And it is designed to be easy (or not should you choose) on your wallet.
French Laundry Gardens
Of all the notable restaurants in Yountville, French Laundry is surely the most well-known and highly regarded, holding a three-star Michelin rating and a legendary reputation for exceptional, imaginative cuisine, as well as farm fresh produce. In fact, the restaurant, located at 6640 Washington St., has its own quite sizable garden directly across the street from the restaurant. Far more than a patch, the French Laundry Garden has a hoop house (Quonset hut-styled greenhouse) for starts and micro-greens. Chickens lounge in a luxurious coop just beside the structure providing both fertilizer and fresh organic eggs. And the gardens will be open during the Taste of Yountville for tours.
The idea for the gardens came when Chef Thomas Keller, an obvious produce perfectionist and one of the pioneers of the farm-to-table movement, observed the profound flavor changes in fresh vegetables during the first 12 hours after harvesting. The gardens have been in operation for around seven years and provide produce for The French Laundry and Keller’s other Yountville restaurants Ad Hoc, Addendum, Bouchon and the Bouchon Bakery.
The French Laundry Gardens will be holding tours during the Taste of Yountville, however, Local Happenings had the opportunity to visit with Culinary Gardener and Manager of Gardens and Grounds’ Aaron Keefer for a visit and even a little taste. Keefer noted how chilly the season has been so far, adding that, “The hoop house is really the engine of our entire production in the Winter because we can control the environment.” My glasses started steaming up immediately as we entered the large curved and clear plastic covered structure. Keefer, a native of Ithaca, NY, who “grew up on the farm,” and studied at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY is obviously no stranger to cooler weather. “There was an icicle hanging down right here,” he says grinning.
In spite of the cold weather and twenty days of hard frost this year, which Keefer describes as “ridiculous,” winter produce is moving along inside the hoop house. Onions, leeks, garlic, radishes, broccoli, cauliflower, Romanesco cauliflower, turnips, arugula, fennel, celery and micro greens are thriving and lush in the steamy environment. Vegetables are also picked earlier than commercial producers would with an emphasis on tenderness and flavor rather than weight. Even the garden’s chickens, Bantam Cochins with their feathery feet are kept because they produce smaller rather than larger eggs in keeping with Chef Keller’s “law of diminishing returns” which dictates that each plate at French Laundry should contain two to three bites.
When asked what goals he has for the gardens, Keefer describes his mission as to, “Produce the best produce that we can and work closely with the chefs, who are really the leaders of this entire organization.”
When I ask Keefer how much of a difference all the “produce coddling” makes, he graciously offers me a taste of some fennel, followed by sylvetta arugula, Tokyo turnip, a form of long skinny (Cincinnati) radish and a baby lettuce. Talk is cheap and proof is in the tasting. “All the root vegetables are really sweet now,” he explains, “The sugar acts like an antifreeze.” I found myself greedily devouring every tidbit offered, including leaves and stems.
Conclusion: So ravishing were the radishes that even Local Happenings Editor Deanna Baillie, who joined us, considered veganism…but just for a second…which is a big deal. Yes. The coddled produce at the French Laundry Gardens is on a level with the best you will likely ever sample.
The gardens do more than just supply elite vegetables to Chef Keller’s restaurants. They also play a role in the community. “We’ll dedicate one patch of that to pumpkins,” says gardener Keefer pointing toward the compost heap at the rear of the gardens, “It’s kind of a right of passage for the sixth graders of Yountville. They get to pick their own pumpkin out of our patch, and they get a cookie out of the French Laundry kitchen.” The gardens also provide a bed and seeds, and starts to give children from Yountville Elementary School an opportunity to explore gardening.
Be sure to visit the French Laundry Gardens for a tour. Whether you’re an avid gardener, or merely an avid eater it is quite fascinating to see what the state of the art in coaxing flavor from the earth looks like. Tours will be given hourly during Taste of Yountville.
Whether you can make it for one day or all three the 20th Annual Taste of Yountville has a lot to offer. Shrug off the Shoulder Season blues and take in the fun! See you there.
Marc Garman – is a videographer, writer and tinkerer who lives in Vallejo, CA and can’t get enough outdoor fun.
Veterans Memorial Building, Saturday, March 23, 2013, 10:00 a.m. 4:00 p.m.
An eclectic gathering of local artisans and home services vendors with economical sustainable and creative solutions to make your house a comfy, beautiful home.
New tips and education from specialists in home repair, solar, color selection, sustainability, bath fittings, central vacuums, intercoms, flooring and decor. Meet fine artists and mixed‐media crafters selling birdhouses, dreamscapes, frames, lamps, folkart, jewelry, sculpture, purses and even pet portraiture. Original antique goods and contemporary up‐cycled furnishings plus suppliers of paint, recycled wood and fabric remnants provide fresh ideas for redecorating, refinishing,restoring and repurposing. Hands on demos and “Make & Take” projects to inspire each novice, youth and the most experienced DIYer (do‐it‐yourself). If your project is large or small, a makeover or a remodel, be sure to visit the Spring Fling to meet the local businesses that can help you transform your living space into the home of your dreams. Free admission and easy access by foot with free bike and car parking available. Start your day at the Danville Farmer’s Market open from 9-1 with locally grown produce and at Danville restaurants offering farm fresh food selections. Grab a Shop‐Dine‐Play strolling map to discover more of Danville’s local sustainable goods and services. Visit the Village Theatre and Art Gallery “What’s So Funny” exhibit. Stay for dining and enjoy all that Danville has to offer! Sponsored by Discover Danville Association and the Town of Danville. For more information, visit www.discoverdanvilleca.com
