Mill Valley
Sacred Spaces
Ancestry, ritual and memory converge in Ancestral Kinship Unmasked, a new exhibition by Jacqueline López featured during the Mill Valley Art Walk. Born on the Paraguay-Brazil border, López draws on her Guaraní Indigenous and Hispanic-Portuguese heritage to create vivid acrylic paintings, ceremonial masks and mixed-media altars that explore healing, transformation and spiritual lineage. Inspired by her grandfather’s folk medicine practice and her mother’s tradition of dreams and visions, the immersive installation invites visitors into a contemplative space where past and present meet in acts of reverence and renewal. 5:30–7:30pm, Tuesday, Aug. 4, at the Mill Valley Aquatics & Fitness Center, 180 Camino Alto. Free. shamanist.art
Sonoma
Valley Laughs
The punchlines return to Andrews Hall as Valley Laughs serves up another evening of stand-up courtesy of Smit Show Comedy. Bay Area favorite Cody Smit hosts a lineup led by Los Angeles headliner Kiry Shabazz, whose sharp, conversational style has earned him a win in the StandUp NBC competition and an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Featured comic Sean McKenzie opens with his trademark blend of clever writing and disarming charm, while proceeds from the night benefit Sonoma Community Center programs. One may arrive early for the Laugh Lounge, where ticket holders can grab a drink before the show. 7:30pm, Friday, Aug. 7, at Andrews Hall, Sonoma Community Center, 276 E. Napa St., Sonoma. Doors and Laugh Lounge open at 6:30pm. $25. Ages 21+. sonomacommunitycenter.org.
Petaluma
Found Poets
Poetry steps off the page and onto the stage when Found Poets returns to The Big Easy with Petaluma’s own Anna Simson as headliner. A painter, teacher and mother, Simson draws on her Mexican and Estonian heritage to craft performances that blend wit, vulnerability and hard-earned truths about identity, family and modern life. She’ll be joined by an accomplished slate of poets, including civil rights advocate Bernice “Bere” Espinoza, educator and author Tonya Ward Singer, Chicana poet Anaid Carreño and Sonoma County Human Rights Commission chair Katrina Phillips. Expect an afternoon of spoken word that is designed to be equal parts intimate, provocative and inspiring. 3:30–6pm, Saturday, Aug. 1, at The Big Easy, 128 American Alley, Petaluma. $15; free for ages 18 and under. All ages (some mature content).
Sausalito
Paint the Town
The artists aren’t just hanging work on the walls—they’re making it in full view of the public. The Sausalito Center for the Arts turns the city into an open-air studio during its Plein Air Invitational, where painters fan out across the waterfront, parks and downtown to capture Sausalito’s iconic vistas in real time. Visitors can watch the creative process unfold before the finished paintings join a companion juried exhibition of California landscapes, seascapes and cityscapes inside the gallery. The festivities culminate with an opening celebration featuring awards for the top works and a chance to meet the artists. Plein air painting takes place Aug. 2–6 throughout Sausalito. Exhibition runs Aug. 5–27 at Sausalito Center for the Arts, 750 Bridgeway. Opening reception and awards 4:30–7pm, Sunday, Aug. 9. Free. sausalitocenterforthearts.org.
