Hirshfield, Killion & Mt. Tamalpais Headline Busy, Weekend-Long ‘Celebrate Tam!’ Event Oct. 3-4

Given its dominance of Mill Valley’s landscape and its seeming ubiquity among our recreational and artistic endeavors, we should celebrate Mount Tamalpais every day.

But in case we need a reminder, a nearly one-year-old coalition of organization is organizing a loaded lineup of events called “Celebrate Tam!” on the mountain and at the Mill Valley Community Center. The weekend-long celebration marks the past year of work by the Tamalpais Lands Collaborative, which includes MMWD, California State Parks and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, to restore the West Peak, among other projects.

The Celebrate Tam! weekend includes an array of hikes, yoga classes, photo workshops, history walks and volunteer restoration projects. It also features “An Evening of Art Celebrating Tam” event on Oct. 3 at 6pm at the Mill Valley Community Center headlined by two award-winning locals. The evening will feature a reading, Q&A and book signing by author Jane Hirshfield, an internationally acclaimed poet whose latest tome, The Beauty, a collection of original poems exploring the profundities and quirks of existence, made the 2015 National Book Award Longlist, Poetry.

The night also features an exhibit from Tam High grad Tom Killion who, as a teen in 1969, turned to Mt. Tam for inspiration in creating a block-carved holiday card for his family, the beginning a widely celebrated career in the medium. That first card 
depicted the East Peak in the distance as seen through a pair of trees and officially began Killion’s lifelong look at the Sleeping Lady for inspiration. It went on to become “Mt. Tam from Bootjack Camp, part of Killion’s book 28 Views of Mount Tamalpais, which he published in 1975 at the age of 21. 

“I’ve devoted a good part of my artistic life to making prints of Mount Tam,” Killion said in 2012 in advance of his “The Art of Mount Tamalpais” exhibit. “I never get tired of it and I have many more I hope to do.  It’s a very complicated and rich and diverse environment and has a great big human cultural history to it as well.”

Here’s a rundown of the Celebrate Tam! events:

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3rd – 8am–4pm
EXPERIENCE MT. TAM & GET OUT IN NATURE
All activities are free, but space is limited and registration is required.   

Saturday, October 3
One Tam Cruise for Views Trail Run 
8 – 10 am
REGISTER HERE 
Move Your Asana – Powerful Fitness Yoga & Mantra Meditation – Old Mill Park (intermediate to advanced)
8:30 am – 10 am
REGISTER HERE 
Free Hikes With Healthy Parks, Healthy People – Mill Valley Community Center
9 am – 10:30 am
REGISTER HERE 
Maintaining and Repairing Watershed Trails Volunteer Program – Bolinas Ridge
9 am – 2 pm
REGISTER HERE 
Celebrate Tam Walk at Bothin Marsh
9 am – Noon
REGISTER HERE 
Bootjack History Walk
9:30 am – Noon
REGISTER HERE 
Ranger-led Dog Walk in Baltimore Canyon
10 am – Noon
REGISTER HERE
Volunteer Habitat Restoration at Muir Beach
10 am – 1 pm
REGISTER HERE 
First Ever Tamalpais Hawkwatch – Ballou Point
11 am – 2 pm
REGISTER HERE 
Gravity Car Barn: How the Railroad Encouraged Hiking on Tam
1 pm – 1:30 pm
REGISTER HERE 
Move Your Asana – Gentle Soul Mantra & Yoga (beginner to intermediate) – Old Mill Park
1 pm – 2:30 pm
REGISTER HERE 
Mt. Tam: A (West) Peak Experience
1 pm – 4 pm
REGISTER HERE 
Wildlife Picture Index Project and Wildlife Walk – Sky Oaks
1 pm – 3:30 pm
REGISTER HERE 
Free Hikes With Healthy Parks, Healthy People – Mill Valley Community Center
2 pm – 3:30 pm
REGISTER HERE 
Gravity Car Barn: How the Railroad Encouraged Hiking on Tam
2:30 pm – 3:00 pm
REGISTER HERE

AN EVENING OF ART AT THE CENTER
Our “Preview and Poetry Night” will feature two fabulous local artists whose work has been inspired by the mountain and the natural environment.
This event kicks off the month-long exhibit of Tom Killion’sartwork and will feature a reading, Q&A and book signing by Internationally acclaimed poet, Jane Hirshfield. 
The Depot Bookstore will be onsite selling Hirshfield’s books.
Jane Hirshfield is a National Book Award longlist poet and Mill Valley resident. In addition to her poetry, her book of essays on the “mind of poetry”, her collection and translations of other poets have become classics in their fields. 
Registration is required for this free event and spaces are limited. 

Sunday, October 4
TAM DAY AT THE CENTER  – 10am–2pm
Come for a day of family-friendly fun and activities at the Mill Valley Community Center
The Center’s Kid Zone is the perfect place for your toddler through middle schooler to test their jumbo Jenga skills at the Tower of Tam, work off some extra energy in our bouncy houses, get creative with face-painting, temporary tattoos, and a variety of arts and crafts for all ages. Some samples of activities include bird nest making, dot art, bag decoration, jewelry making and more! 
You’ll also enjoy food trucks, live music by Jill and Steven Pierce (2/3 of the band Orange Sherbet), and the chance to interact in fun ways with the amazing organizations listed below that are working to care for Mt. Tam.

TAM TALK AT THE CENTER, 2pm–5pm
Join the leadership of the five Tamalpais Lands Collaborative (TLC) partner organizations at the Mill Valley Community Center for an interactive and engaging dialogue about the TLC and its One Tam initiative, what the collaborative has undertaken in its first year, and plans for the year ahead 
This event is open to the public, and registration is not required. Download agenda here