Healdsburg Hoedown: Maypole Time

Skip around the traditional symbol of springtime at the Russian River Rose Company.

BACK IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, when the end of April rolled around, you could count on a couple of things. One? There was probably some discussion of what you might do in the summer (camp, swim classes, a reading club). Two? There was talk of the last day of school, and if your class might hold some sort of party (typically involve ice cream and other frozen, summer's-coming treats). And three? There'd be a cameo by a maypole, out in the recess yard, right around May 1.

MAYPOLES... and tots learning about music, history, and culture are a longtime duo, which is pretty sweet; after all, a maypole not only has some heritage behind it but it gives kids the chance to get out in the spring sunshine and romp a bit (double bonus). But as adults, where can we get our maypole fill, if we don't have a teacher explaining maypole lore and promising us that a real maypole was on its way? There is a way, nowadays, that goes beyond the school grounds: Russian River Rose Company, in Healdsburg, erects a ribbon-pretty maypole in its flower-lush gardens each spring. The 2016 dates for skipping and weaving are...

APRIL 30 AND MAY 1: There are several sweet doings happening over the weekend, but if you want to take a crack at the maypole, be there at 10 in the morning or 2 in the afternoon. Price? It's free, though a two-buck donation is "appreciated." A Monet-esque element to the weekend-long celebration will also be afoot, so join in the painting of a group canvas. Details and such? Blooming here. Returning to the days of your youth, when getting a chance to dance around a maypole was more of a thing? It's a nice hop back to the past, both the past of our childhoods and the long ago past when maypoles reigned as a merry greeting of spring.

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