As December draws to a close and the New Year begins, the time comes bid farewell to your Christmas tree. It's a sad but inevitable fact of life that your tree has to go at some point, unless of course you have an artificial Christmas tree, in which case you can probably stop reading right here.
Fortunately, your local disposal agency is usually more than happy to take your dried out old Noble Fir off your hands and do the green thing with the tree by recycling it. If for some reason you can't leave your tree out by the curb with your yard waste, you can drop it off at a number of different locations, including most fire houses, throughout Marin County.
Keep in mind that you need to remove all ornaments, lights, tinsel, and plastic tree bags from the tree before you put it out for pick up. (Don't forget to remove metal or plastic stands, too.)
Here's a rundown of Christmas tree disposal details for communities in Marin:
Marin Sanitary
For Larkspur, Greenbrae, Kentfield, Las Gallinas Valley, Ross, San Anselmo, San Rafael, Fairfax, and Ross Valley (Sleepy Hollow and Oak Manor): Trees will be collected at the curb on your regular yard waste pickup day during the month of January. If trees are greater than 6 feet in length, please cut them in half. Remove all metal stands, plastic tree bags, and ornaments. Flocked trees will not be accepted.
Marin Sanitary customers may drop off up to two Christmas trees during the month of January at the Marin Resource Recovery Center at 565 Jacoby Street in San Rafael. Drop-off is free, but a fee will be charged for flocked trees.
Mill Valley Refuse
For Almonte, Alto, Belvedere, Corte Madera, Mill Valley, Homestead, Strawberry, and Tiburon: Place trees along curb on any regular green can collection day, starting the week after New Year’s. Trees must be cut in five-foot lengths. Flocked trees are OK. Trees put out by garbage cans will not be picked up.
This holiday season, Marin Mommies is partnering with local Marin County business Dhana EcoKids and other community organizations to help promote the Gift of T.L.C—Thoughts, Love, and Care. All kids are invited to send an original doodle to the children impacted by Hurricane Sandy this holiday season, including those from the New Jersey town of Lavellete, which was especially hard-hit by the storm, and whose residents are only being allowed to move back home this weekend!
So go ahead, make a child's day and share your thoughts, love and care and doodle the Gift of T.L.C. on a plain piece of paper. Make sure you sign your kid’s first name, age, city, and state on the front of the paper with the doodle. Submissions can be a photo of the doodle, the original paper, or a scanned image of the doodle.
Kids are encouraged to send up to three doodles of their creation. Please send them via email to TLC@DhanaEcoKids.com, or post it on the Dhana Eco Kids Facebook page, or mail it to Dhana EcoKids, P.O. Box 1634, Mill Valley, CA 94942. All doodle submissions must be received by Monday, December 17, 2012 to be part of this wonderful campaign.
There are many communities in Marin that really go above and beyond the call of duty when getting into the holiday spirit, and of all the places in the county I think that Marinwood, the neighborhood sandwiched between Novato and San Rafael, has the most decorated holiday houses per capita!
It's only natural then that one of our favorite Christmas houses happens to be located in Marinwood: the Nisja Bear house, which has been delighting Marin and Bay Area families for over 30 years. Every year there's something new to look at, and plenty of old favorites to visit again.
We make it a point to visit the Bear House a few times every season, since it's always fun to see and there's so much going on there that sometimes you need multiple viewings just to take it all in. The children, natually, can never get enough, and they've been coming here since they were babies. For those of you who haven't yet seen the Bear House, it's definitely worth the trip from anywhere in Marin, or anywhere in the Bay Area for that matter. (We're lucky that's it's relatively close to our house.)
The annual Esurance Tennis Classic at Mill Valley's Harbor Point Tennis Club is a great event for all tennis lovers big or small. This year the Esurance Tennis Classic will host legendary tennis players including Lindsay Davenport, Bryan Brothers, Gigi Fernandez, Murphy Jensen, and others.
This fundraiser takes place this Friday–Sunday, September 21–23, and and raises funds for a variety of charitable causes, including the To Celebrate Life Breast Cancer Foundation and the Youth Tennis Advantage. Tickets are $35 per day or $50 for both days for adults, and $20 per day for juniors under 18.
On Friday, September 23 from 3–4:30 pm the Esurance Tennis Classic presents Kids' Day, where inner-city youth play with tennis legends; the public is welcome to watch from the stands. The gates open at 9 am on Saturday and 10 am on Sunday. Don't miss the World Cup Team Challenge: USA vs. the World on both days from 12:30–4:30 pm, and the tennis village and food court offering refreshments, product booths, and fun on Saturday and Sunday from 10 am–5 pm.
Kayla Rose Dehnert, a second-grade student at Novato's Lu Sutton Elementary School, was diagnosed on November 11 with a brain tumor after experiencing weeks of migraine headaches. Within six days, she underwent surgery to remove the tumor and the family received notice that it was cancerous just two days before Thanksgiving. Kayla Rose is currently receiving treatment at St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.
The community has rallied behind Kayla Rose with numerous benefit fundraisers and events. Local restaurants Las Guitarras de Novato and Moylan's offer Dine & Donate events where a portion of the proceeds go to help the Dehnert family. Las Guitarras' event takes place from 11 am to 11 pm on Thursday, January 19, and Moylan's is on Monday, January 23 from 5 pm to 11 pm. Simply show up to dine on those dates and mention to your server that you're there in support of Kayla and they'll donate a portion of your check to her fund.
Calling all actors and singers! Open auditions take place this month for Mountain Play’s 2012 Production, Meredtih Wilson's The Music Man.
Auditions for the role of Professor Harold Hill only take place on Saturday, January 7 at 9 am (non-AEA) and 11 am (AEA) at The Barn at the Marin Art and Garden Center in Ross. Auditions for all adult roles (ages 15 and up) take place at 9:30 am (non-AEA) and 1 pm (AEA) on Saturday, January 28 at Drake High School Theater in San Anselmo.
All adult auditionees will cold read and sing. Actors auditioning for the roles of Tommy Djilas, Marcellus Washburn, Ethel Toffelmeir, Zaneeta Shinn, and Dance Chorus should be prepared to dance. Please prepare one musical theater song preferably in the style of The Music Man.
To make an appointment for Harold Hill or AEA auditions or for more information, contact associate producer Eileen Grady at (415) 383-1100 or Eileen@mountainplay.org.
Children's auditions (ages 10–14) for the roles of Winthrop, Amayrillis, and Children's Chorus take place Sunday, January 29 at 1 pm at the Drake High School Theater. Children should prepare a reading (available on the Mountain Play website) and one musical theater song preferably in the style of The Music Man.
Please bring your headshot, resume, audition music (accompaniment is provided; no a capella or transpositions) and a completed audition application. All positions are paid. Please note the January 7 audition is for Harold Hill only, January 28 is for all adult roles with the exception of Marian Paroo, which has been precast. January 29 is for all children’s roles.
Visit your local Baskin Robbins ice cream store tonight only from 5-10 pm for 31-cent scoop night and help honor America's firefighters. The Baskin Robbins Foundation is donating $100,000 to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, so come on in and get your 31-cent scoop.
Participating Baskin Robbins locations in Marin include:
If you don't have chickens running around in your backyard in Marin, then surely one or more of your friends and neighbors does. That's right—chickens are hot. They're about the only farm animals you can keep in a suburban or urban yard (sans noisy rooster, naturally), and not only do you get the freshest eggs you've ever eaten and some pretty clever feathered pets, but they help keep your garden free of insects and other pesky pests. It also goes without saying that they're a great educational experience for children.
Want to know more about keeping chickens, and communicate with other chicken-keepers in throughout Marin? There's a new Yahoo! group just for you—Marin Backyard Chickens. Started back in February by Marin mom Kim Salinger, the Marin Backyard Chickens group is a great resource for any chicken-related question and discussion, including chickens as pets, kids and chickens, chicken care, and Marin County-specific backyard chicken information.Naturally, it's a great source of information if you're thinking about taking the chicken plunge, too.
The Mill Valley Children's Garden Haunted Harvest Festival is happening this Sunday, November 7 (rain or shine), from noon to 4 pm. Entry is free. Come celebrate the 20th anniversary of the garden and enjoy food, music, prizes, and surprises for the whole family. Activities include pie eating and recycled sculpture contests, apple bobbing, potion making, a fishing game, and more! Look for the Pocket Wizard, a mysterious guest who will pass out crystals, candy, and surprises.
The festival takes place at the campus of Edna Maguire Elementary School, 80 Lomita Drive, in Mill Valley.
As December draws to a close and the New Year begins, the time comes bid farewell to your Christmas tree. It's a sad but inevitable fact of life that your tree has to go at some point, unless of course you have an artificial Christmas tree, in which case you can probably stop reading right here.
The annual Esurance Tennis Classic at Mill Valley's Harbor Point Tennis Club is a great event for all tennis lovers big or small. This year the Esurance Tennis Classic will host legendary tennis players including Lindsay Davenport, Bryan Brothers, Gigi Fernandez, Murphy Jensen, and others.
Kayla Rose Dehnert, a second-grade student at Novato's Lu Sutton Elementary School, was diagnosed on November 11 with a brain tumor after experiencing weeks of migraine headaches. Within six days, she underwent surgery to remove the tumor and the family received notice that it was cancerous just two days before Thanksgiving. Kayla Rose is currently receiving treatment at St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.
Calling all actors and singers! Open auditions take place this month for Mountain Play’s 2012 Production, Meredtih Wilson's The Music Man..jpg)
Visit your local Baskin Robbins ice cream store tonight only from 5-10 pm for 31-cent scoop night and help honor America's firefighters. The Baskin Robbins Foundation is donating $100,000 to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, so come on in and get your 31-cent scoop. 
If you don't have chickens running around in your backyard in Marin, then surely one or more of your friends and neighbors does. That's right—chickens are hot. They're about the only farm animals you can keep in a suburban or urban yard (sans noisy rooster, naturally), and not only do you get the freshest eggs you've ever eaten and some pretty clever feathered pets, but they help keep your garden free of insects and other pesky pests. It also goes without saying that they're a great educational experience for children.
