What's Up in Windsor by Deb Fudge

Windsor is very excited to be included in a regular column in the Sonoma County Gazette! We are a family friend town that opens our doors to all of Sonoma County, and so we welcome this opportunity to tell you more about the community we’ve built in Windsor.

We hope that many of you have visited our Town Green on the west side of Windsor. What you may not know is that the Downtown and Town Green were planned by Windsor citizens. This was an effort that took place in the mid 1990’s. We had a vision of what we wanted to become, and we created it in five short years. We were a newly incorporated town (1992) that was really just a town full of subdivision housing and one grocery store. We wanted to create a place where the town could gather together, to celebrate who we are, and to get to know one another.

Our vision became a reality in 2000, when the Town Green was completed and opened to the public. That summer we held our first concert series on the Green. The following year, the mixed use buildings started to rise from the vacant lots in our old Downtown. Windsor is very proud of who we have become, and we welcome one and all to visit and enjoy what we have built. A committee of residents is now lining up bands for our summer concert series – stay tuned for details!

New Community Garden
The Town removed a small piece of lawn last year between two town owned buildings, and with help from the community, created a demonstration garden with raised bed plots. There was so much excitement generated, that Windsor residents, led by landscape designer Thomas Eddy, have now created a very large new community garden adjacent to Town Hall. There is space for over 60 plots, and signups are being taken now! The Town Council contributed $15,000 to offset initial costs, and now we have handed the project over to the community. During February, construction of the plots and irrigation system will occur. In March, you can begin to plant! Go to http://www.telcs.com/cgarden/Windsor_Community_Garden/Welcome.html
for more information. This a great way to provide wholesome, healthy, locally grown food for your family. Some of what is grown will be donated to those in need in the Windsor area.

Other Events
The Windsor Chamber’s Annual Chamber Business Expo is February 9, 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Mary Agatha Furth Center on Old Redwood Highway. This is a great place to get to talk to most Windsor business owners in person.

The Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Sonoma County will hold a crab feed, dance and auction at the gym at the Windsor clubhouse on February 6, 2010. Email Shannon Howard, at showard@bgccsc.org to reserve your tickets or to donate an auction item.

Tuesday Night Dinner Club
Who says all the good restaurants are in Healdsburg? We have our fair share of really good eateries that we are really proud of. I remember a planning commission meeting in 1995 where a resident came and pleaded: “All we want is one sit down restaurant”. What a sad statement that was! Well now we have over 30 such restaurants. We found that out when we started the Tuesday Night Dinner Club, where a loosely organized group of Windsorites visit local restaurants on Tuesday nights as a group. We formed the club in the dead of winter a year ago, to help our eateries through the recession. We just celebrated week #56! And Sebastopol has carried our idea to their fair city. Anyone who wants to join us can email me, or visit the What’s Up in Windsor page on Facebook to find out where we are eating next.