Hello, Healdsburg of mine! Simone here with your weekly event log, fresh out the oven. It comes a few days late this time, owing to a somewhat rocky reintegration process after my recent travels in India. But I’m here now — signaling to you through the million murky layers and gusts of this thick February storm, like your very own local-event lighthouse on the hill. Together we will make it through, with warm community gatherings such as…

BTW! If you’re loving this newsletter, I hope you’ll consider sharing it with other locals or out-of-towners who might get a kick out of it, too. You can send them this link to subscribe — or just forward them a copy of the newsletter, so they can click the link themselves. And like this, we can unite to save each other (and one day, the world) from both ignorance and FOMO. ✌️

The Villa’s still got it! Our historic community event space, built along Fitch Mountain’s northwestern slope in 1910 as a country resort for French elite from the city, was recently named best local wedding venue in the Healdsburg Tribune’s annual “Best of Healdsburg” reader poll. This, after the Villa Chanticleer underwent hundreds of thousands of dollars in renovations over the past couple of years, as part of a unique partnership between the City of Healdsburg and the Milestone Events Group. (Every last nook and cranny of the 17-acre, indoor-outdoor Villa grounds have gotten a total glow-up; see pics here.) When the “Best of” award was announced, the venue’s managers wrote in a message to the community: “The Villa has been a place of love, celebration, and connection for generations, and thanks to you, that legacy lives on. We can’t wait to welcome you back and create the next chapter of cherished memories!”

Indeed, the public has been taking notice. Weekends in 2026 are getting booked up fast, according to venue managers, with “only a handful of peak-season Saturdays” still available for 2026 — so if you’re eying the Villa as your dream venue, make sure to grab a date before they’re gone. This is the perfect spot to host a big party that still feels cozy and intimate — not just weddings, but also reunions, birthdays, anniversaries, meetings, memorials and other gatherings. And even now that it looks like a million bucks, the Villa is still one of the most affordable options around; you can check out pricing here. Also, keep in mind that Healdsburg residents get an extra 20% off! Learn more and book your next event on the Villa Chanticleer website. 🥂

Buckle up, kids. We’re a mere couple days into a lonnng week (or more) of cold, rainy winter weather worthy of “Wuthering Heights.” (I just saw the new movie adaptation last night, and I can’t get the aesthetic out of my head… so if you catch me out here wafting through the gray streets of Healdsburg like a heartsick heroine on the Yorkshire Moors, do take pity.) We’ve gotten at least an inch or two of rain so far this storm, according to the Bay Area office of the National Weather Service, and we could see quite a few more inches come down by the end of the current rainy stretch — which might even last all the way into March, according to all the long-term forecasting sites I’ve checked. The San Francisco Chronicle is also reporting that some snow might be possible in our nearby hills and mountains during this storm — falling as low as 2,500 feet on Tuesday, and as low as 1,000 feet on Thursday. (Which is the elevation where I live… eek! I’ll send pics if we get dusted. And at the very least, we’re all likely to see some serious snowcaps start to crown Mount Saint Helena to our east.) Here’s the full NWS forecast for Healdsburg this week: