Buy books, drink wine and clean up
I hope you are enjoying our spring weather. After some much-needed rain, our valley is greening up nicely – encouraging us to get outside and enjoy our beautiful community.
It’s a busy month in Clayton, with three community events. Two will take place outdoors so we can appreciate the town’s picturesque setting.
The first event is the Spring Used Book Sale by the Clayton Community Library Foundation. It is scheduled for 4-7 p.m. April 13 (members only), 10 a.m.-6 p.m. April 14 and noon-4 p.m. April 15 at Hoyer Hall in the Clayton Community Library.
This sale raises funds for the foundation to purchase materials for our library. It is always a popular opportunity to purchase pre-owned books, CDs and DVDs in many different categories at substantial savings. Come early to get the best selection.
Formed in 1989, the Library Foundation additionally provides volunteer staff and improvements at our excellent local library.
The second event is the Clayton Cleans Up scheduled for Saturday, April 21. The Clayton Pioneer sponsors and coordinates the clean up, with support from local businesses, the Clayton Business and Community Association (CBCA) and the city.
This event starts at 9 a.m. in the lovely courtyard of Clayton City Hall, where helpful volunteers pick up trash bags and gloves used in cleaning up assigned sections of Clayton – such as trails segments and along local streets. This annual spruce up beautifies our city for spring and the Clayton Art & Wine Festival scheduled the following weekend.
At the completion of the work, participants are treated to a complimentary barbecue lunch 11 a.m.-noon back at City Hall.
Headlining the month is our biggest event of the spring: the Clayton Art & Wine Festival April 28-29. Clayton’s quaint Main Street is closed for this popular annual event, which is sponsored, organized and managed by the CBCA.
The CBCA acts as our Chamber of Commerce, yet contributes so much more to the Clayton community. The CBCA is a philanthropic 501 (c) (3) organization of local residents, business entities and others who wish to serve the Clayton community. All profits the CBCA earns from its community events are reinvested in our community, infusing money into local charities, schools and special projects – all “for the good of the Clayton community” (which is the club’s motto and driving incentive).
This club and its volunteers hold not only the Art & Wine Festival, but also the Clayton BBQ Cook Off scheduled for July 14, the Clayton Oktoberfest scheduled for Oct 6-7 and the Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony scheduled for Dec 1. CBCA is a major sponsor of the popular Concerts in The Grove summer concert series held in our downtown park, which starts on May 12 this year.
Additionally, they recently partnered with the city to improve Daffodil Hill, located at the town entrance at Clayton Road and Marsh Creek Road, to promote our downtown business area.
Working with the Ipsen family, the club helped build the Ipsen Family Bocce Park. The area creates a favorable first impression of Clayton’s downtown area as people exit Clayton Road using the Oak Street ramp. CBCA manages the Clayton Bocce League, which uses the Ipsen Family Bocce Park for three league seasons – bringing more than 1,800 bocce players and friends into Clayton’s downtown area on weekday evenings.
CBCA welcomes new members who are eager to help others and have fun doing so. The club encourages interested area residents to attend its monthly general meetings on the last Thursday of each month. Please contact the CBCA at claytoncbca.org or 925-672-2272 for more information.
Lastly, I invite you once again to enjoy Clayton’s excellent trail system. Revisit your favorite trails and explore some new ones while our gorgeous valley is green and many creeks are flowing with rain water.
I hope you have a good month. I look forward to sharing more information about Clayton items and activities with you in upcoming issues.
Feel free to send comments to me at khaydon@ci.clayton.ca.us.