Anderson Valley is hotbed of holiday goings on through the New Year. The Boonville Hotel hosted their annual fundraising Tree Lighting for the AV Food bank on Dec. 5th. As always the Hotel glows with light that flatters faces both young and old. The décor is beyond tasteful. (Thank you Johnny Schmitt and crew.) The food while served in small portions is always exquisitely delicious. The Real Sarah’s were scheduled to make things merry and bright. A great way to kick off the parties and events to come.
Saturday Dec. 7th the AV Unity Club filled the Fairgrounds’ Apple Hall with their Holiday Bazaar. Plenty of vendors were on hand with everything from birdhouses, to wreaths, artisan jewelry and vintage antiques. The food bar featured delicious tamales and atole (a sweet and creamy corn drink) also posole, a hominy rich Mexican soup topped by shredded cabbage, salsa and cheese; all authentic. In a nod to years past traditional egg salad sandwiches were also on offer. Santa Claus, in the person of Ray Langevin, came to town and souvenir photos were available. Kids and grown-ups had fun posing with Santa. The event was admirably organized by the women of the Unity Club with special appreciation going to Alice Bonner who invested hours keeping the overview and moving everything along.
After the excitement of the Bazaar it just seemed a shame to simply go home. A drive past the High School revealed an overflowing parking lot as it was the final night of this year’s Redwood Classic Basketball Tournament.
Entering the gym was a sensory overload with the crazy loud buzzer counting down the minutes, the basketball slapping the floorboards while sneakers squeaked and squealed as players ran then stopped short to take a shot, reverse direction or pass the ball to a teammate. In between loud music favored by teens blasted away keeping energy high.
The final game of the tournament matched two accomplished teams, Priory from Portola Valley and Stuart Hall from San Francisco. The teams were pretty much neck and neck in the first half. Stuart Hall, who was not favored to win, actually forced Priory to fall behind slightly for the first time in the series. In the end Priory prevailed with a relentless full court press and super accurate shooters. It was a fast moving and fun game to watch. Hats off to Boonville coach Luis Espinosa and his team who also made a very respectable showing. Also to athletic Director John Toohey and his ever-ready energizer bunny mom Palma Toohey who get the award for endurance above and beyond. Hosting this four-day 32-game marathon is indeed a feat.
Sunday the 8th the AV Grange fired up it’s engines to present a monster Community Holiday dinner. The Grange and volunteers provided the meat and potatoes, while the community brought side dishes and desserts in wild abundance. Grangers kept everything in order holding back some dishes for later presentation so that those at the end of the line would also have many tasty dishes to choose from. All the tables in the Grange Hall were filled to overflowing with happy eaters. Towards the end of the night a brigade of (probably sugar-charged) kids commandeered the stage turning some stage prop gift boxes into drums for our listening enjoyment. If someone could bottle that energy what a fortune they could make.
Thank you to the Grange for bringing us all together and reminding us what a truly unusual place we live in. People talk a lot about community but we actually live in one that is living and breathing in that old-timey way. Lucky us.
The Apple Hall was once again the scene of merriment and acknowledgement of community contributions on Saturday Dec. 14th. The Firefighters and Ambulance crew along with the CSD board (and families) got together for their annual dinner and awards. See the upcoming item by Mark Scaramella describing the highlights. Terry Rhoades and crew catered with the usual satisfying outcome and these people know their food.
More excitement to come in the days ahead. Stay tuned for further reports. Until then, enjoy every minute of what Andy Williams used to call “The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year.”
Be First to Comment