Marin Master Gardeners – Winter Gardens: Growing Asian Greens

Posted by bonnie on 16 September 25

Winter Gardens: Growing Asian Greens

More information to come.

Local Author Talk: Scott Fletcher

Posted by davagy on 13 September 25

Local author and history buff, Scott Fletcher, will discuss his new book More Moments in Marin History: Familiar Tales and Untold Stories, on Thursday, October 30 from 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm at the San Rafael Public Library. Scott has lived in Marin County for forty years working both as a history teacher and Library Director for the Marin County schools. He volunteers for the Marin History Museum and has written over 160 “History Watch” columns for the Marin Independent Journal newspaper. This new book is a follow-up to Scott’s previous book– Moments in Marin History: Familiar Tales and Untold stories, and features beautifully colorized photographs from the Marin History Museum collection.  

Downtown Library Grand Reopening Celebration

Posted by duncana on 12 August 25

San Rafael’s Library & Recreation Department is proud to announce the Downtown Library Grand Reopening Celebration! On August 4, 2025, the Downtown Library on E Street officially reopened to the public, showcasing facility improvements, stunning aesthetic upgrades, and new furniture. Join us on Saturday, September 20, 2025, at 12 PM for the official ribbon cutting as we celebrate the return of this beloved community landmark. The festivities will feature an afternoon of activities highlighting the library’s renewed role as a hub for learning, connection, and community.

Schedule

• 12:00 PM: Ribbon Cutting
• 12:30 PM – 2:30 PM: Face Painting
• 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM: Mini Piñata Making Craft
• 1:00 PM – 1:45 PM: History Talk: More moments in Marin History by Scott Fletcher
• 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM: Read to a Dog Meet and Greet
• 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM: Henna Art
• 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM: Rhythm Builders
• 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM: Trivia Café hosted by Howard Rachelson, Marin’s Master of Trivia

Throughout the Day

• Music and Sounds by DJ Destro
• Art exhibit by local artists Terra Linda Ceramic Artists and Evri Kwong
• Burritos and Aguas Frescas from Manny’s Tacos (limited quantities available)
• Shaved Ice from Silver Shave Ice (limited quantities available)
• Swag and Giveaways (while supplies last)

First Wednesday Art Talk – Kara Walker

Posted by bonnie on 05 August 25

Kara Walker has long been recognized for her incisive examinations of the dynamics of power and the exploitation of race and sexuality. Her work leverages expressions of fantasy and humor to confront troubling histories and dominant narratives, repossessing control in the process. Inspired by a wide range of sources, from antique dolls to Octavia Butler’s novel Parable of the Sower, Walker’s new commission, Fortuna and the Immortality Garden (Machine), considers the memorialization of trauma, the objectives of technology, and the possibilities of transforming the negative energies that plague contemporary society. Here, automatons trapped in a never-ending cycle of ritual and struggle are repositories of the human soul. They recall mechanized medieval icons that evidenced divinity, vitality, and the promise of faith. Situated within an energetically charged field of black obsidian from Mt. Konocti in Lake County — a volcanic glass with deep spiritual properties — Walker’s Gardeners evoke wonder, reflection, respite, and hope. Just past this prophetic vignette, the installation’s namesake, Fortuna, responds to each visitor with a choreographed gesture and a printed fortune fresh from her mouth — an offering of absolution and contemplation.

SFMOMA exhibit running through Spring 2026

Docent Speaker: Avril Angevine

First Wednesday Art Talks are provided by the Friends of the San Rafael Libraries.

Handwriting the Constitution

Posted by bonnie on 04 August 25

Help us celebrate
National Constitution Day by joining
the Handwriting the Constitution project facilitated by local artist and graphic designer, Barbara Summer and Leslie Ihrig.

Handwriting the Constitution is a social art project begun in 2017 by artist Morgan O’Hara. It invites people from all walks of life to meet in public spaces to handwrite the US Constitution or other documents written to protect human rights and freedoms. This art practice was created so that people will know their rights, deepen their understanding of laws created to protect these rights, and to help resist negative thinking. To date approximately 2000 people have participated, both nationally and internationally.

Join us upstairs in the Carnegie Reading Room, find your favorite passage or discover one that speaks to you. We’ll provide copies of the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence. We’ll supply paper, pens, and markers…or bring your own supplies. All ages are welcome.

Why, you ask? This, from the founder of the project, Morgan O’Hara:

“Hand copying a document can produce an intimate connection to the text and its meaning. The hand writer may discover things about this document that they never knew, a passage that challenges or moves them. They may even leave with a deeper connection to the founders and the country, or even a sense of encouragement.

I began this project motivated by psychological necessity. I now see it as a social art practice. My hope is that it will become a movement of sorts, with sessions throughout the country.”

For more information on Handwriting the Constitution project please visit Handwriting the Constitution

Bookmobile at Pickleweed

Posted by davagy on 03 August 25

Bookmobile at Pickleweed

Posted by davagy on 03 August 25

Marin Master Gardeners – Growing and Pruning Roses

Posted by davagy on 01 August 25

More info soon

Marin Master Gardeners – Keeping Varmints at Bay

Posted by bonnie on 01 August 25

Do you look out the window and find your roses beheaded?  Are your carefully cultivated fruits and vegetables partially eaten?  Or, have your plants disappeared in entirety?  It’s likely your garden is being appreciated by deer, squirrels, or rats.  Come and get information and techniques to help home gardeners cope with these pests.

Speaker: Lois Stevens has been a UC Marin Master Gardener since 2008 and been gardening for nearly 50 years. She currently chairs the Marin Master Gardener Help Desk service, has been responsible for training new Master Gardeners, served on the Board of Directors, and makes presentations about the Master Gardener program and garden related topics at events such as this.

Marin Master Gardeners – Habitat Gardening: Bring Birds, Bees & Butterflies to your Yard

Posted by bonnie on 12 July 25

A habitat is a place where wildlife such as insects, herps, birds, and even mammals can find food, water and shelter. But wild habitats are decreasing at an alarming rate, having a serious negative effect on wildlife populations everywhere. Learn how you can help reverse this trend by using plants, feeders, water and other features to provide havens for wildlife in your garden.

Bob Mauceli A Master Gardener for almost 17 years –8 in Marin and 9 in Monroe County NY, he is a co-founder and co-chair of the Marin Master Gardener (MMG) Native Plants Guild, co-chair of the MMG Garden Walks Project and an original member of the MMG Fire-smart Project Team. He is also a member of the California Native Plant Society, Marin Audubon Society, and a long-time birder. He talks about gardening with native California plants, building home habitat corridor gardens, attracting birds to home gardens, and turning home landscapes into wildfire-smart landscapes.