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TheHealdsburg HealdsburgTribune Tribune The Enterprise & Scimitar Enterprise & Scimitar
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SAGGIO HILLS ADDS BOTH PLUSES AND MINUSES TO HEALDSBURG
Healdsburg, California Healdsburg, California
1865 –June 1, 2023 Date, Date, 20202020
LUXURY RESORT SWAPPED ACREAGE FOR CITY PARK, AFFORDABLE HOUSING By Christian Kallen
➝ Saggio Hills, 3
Photo by Tomas Pacha
One of the largest cityowned public parks in Sonoma County is taking shape on the north end of Healdsburg, the result of a years-long negotiation and lot transfer with Ohana, also known as Sonoma Luxury Resorts, the owners of Montage Healdsburg. The park, called Saggio Hills for the time being, will convert 38 acres of grassland into a full-service city park with a trails network, off-leash dog play area, community recreation features and a sports field including basketball courts and at least one, possibly two, baseball diamonds. A bandstand, community garden and pump track are also in the park’s proposed master plan. Barbieri Brothers Park, a 3.5-acre community park at Bridle Path and Spur Ridge Lane, will be incorporated into the larger park plan. “The park-naming process is on our work plan for this year, but we haven’t started the process yet,” said Community Services Director Mark Themig. In a deed of transfer recorded on April 18 of this year, the city concluded the trade between Healdsburg and Ohana that made the development, and park, possible. The transfer includes a return to Montage of a slice of vineyard which the resort plants to landscape as an entrance to their luxury resort. “Ohana (also known as Sonoma Luxury Resorts), the owner of the property, transferred the property to the city,” Themig said. “This fulfilled the original requirements set forth in
MUSICAL ROOTS Kitka, the all-women vocal group from Oakland, specializes in the music of the Balkans and Caucasus.
They are seen here on a 2018 visit to Fort Ross, a former Russian outpost.
Bouquet of Voices at the Raven KITKA RETURNS WITH EASTERN EUROPEAN SONG TRADITIONS TO LOCAL STAGE By Christian Kallen
Kitka, a vocal ensemble of women singers whose repertoire ranges from the pre-classical and folk traditions of Eastern Europe to modern theater, returns to Healdsburg this Sunday, June 4, with an afternoon concert at the Raven Performing Arts Theater. The ensemble was first formed in 1979, and while its composition has changed over the years it remains true to its mission of performing the rich traditional music of the Slavic regions, which includes the Balkans, the Caucasus, Russia, Poland and Ukraine. The group’s name—
pronounced keet-ka, with an accent on the first syllable—“occurs in many Macedonian and Bulgarian folk songs,” according to Shira Cion, a co-director of the group. “It literally means a small bouquet, and is a kind of symbol of woman’s purity and beauty.” That and, according to Cion, it’s “also kind of slang for just a bunch of attractive women.” Adds Cion, “For us, it kind of represents the composition of the group because anyone who comes to the concert will hear eight very distinct and uniquely beautiful voices.” The voices heard in Kitka are not all alike; far from it. As diverse as its musical sources are, so too are the voices themselves distinctive, yet they all embody the folkloric sound “that’s rooted in centuries of singing out-
The multi-layered voices and their harmonies produce a highly textured soundscape that evokes distant forests, spiritual forces, mythical sirens and sacred hymns.
doors”—open-throated, full and clear. That sound is haunting, penetrating and other-worldly. The multilayered voices and their harmonies produce a highly textured soundscape that evokes distant forests, spiritual forces, mythical sirens and sacred hymns. The strengths of each woman are given full opportunity to express themselves in the variety of music they present—which includes classical oratorios, modern
opera, experimental theater and traditional Jewish music—through more than 14 CDs and other musical vehicles. Kitka’s June 4 appearance will be their second in Healdsburg. They first sang at The 222 in December, 2021—their first concert following the pandemic lockdown. Tom Brand, of the Raven, heard of them there and lined them up for this Sunday’s concert. The Oakland-based
group currently numbers 10, eight of whom will be coming to Healdsburg next Sunday. Cion has been with them since 1988—there are no original members of the group still performing with them— which makes her one of the two most seasoned members; the youngest is Stacey Barnett, a 25-year-old recruited last year when the group held auditions in the Bay Area. ➝ Kitka Performs, 4
RAVEN PLAYERS REVEAL THEATER SEASON FULL SLATE OF DRAMA, COMEDY, MUSICALS LINE UP FOR LOCAL STAGE By Christian Kallen
Courtesy Raven Players
RETURN OF ‘EVIL DEAD’ The Raven Players threaten to make ‘Evil Dead: The Musical’ a
recurring holiday treat in coming years. It will return Oct. 13-29, 2023.
A Wednesday night “reveal” party was held at the Raven Theater last week, but the answer didn’t come in pink or blue. Rather, it was the lineup for the next season of productions planned for the venerable community Performing Arts Theater on North Street. “Many plays are suggested to me throughout the year—I even listen ➝ Raven Players Season, 9