Like all of Mill Valley’s landmark events, Winterfest, the 94941’s annual holiday celebration, looked a little bit different in 2020.

On the heels of a spectacular, in-person Winterfest on Dec. 5, the quasi-virtual, hugely popular Winterfest Holiday Hunt, a three-week, scavenger hunt-style contest at dozens of businesses throughout Mill Valley, ends at the end of the day today. Kids accompanied by a parent can travel around town, preferably by bike or on foot, to take photos of silver stars, as selfies in front of the stars they choose, in at least eight of the 40 participating businesses, including some amazing local restaurants and retail shops.

Holiday Hunters who email at least eight of their photos as attachments to info@millvalley.org are entered into a raffle for one of 18 $20 gift cards to participating businesses (one gift card per raffle winner), with the contenstant who takes and submits the most star photos winning a $40 gift card.

We posted a series of clues about participating businesses for Holiday Hunters on the EMV Blog. See below. Pro tip: We just added a few more specific clues below to leave no doubt for those struggling to identify the businesses!

Rules for entry:
1. Kids, accompanied by a parent, must go to at least eight participating businesses and take photos of silver stars, as selfies in front of the stars they choose.
2. Email a minimum of eight photos as attachments to info@millvalley.org to be entered into a raffle to win one of 18 $20 gift cards at participating businesses. One gift card awarded per raffle winner.
3. The submission that includes the highest number of silver stars at participating businesses will automatically win a $40 gift card at a participating business of they choice. Include the name, age and telephone # in the body of the email.

Perhaps the most important part: ​While kids and their parents scurry around town looking for the Iridescent Stars, we hope they’ll do plenty of #ShopMV holiday buying.

Here are the clues, in no particular order (Businesses, if you want to participate but haven’t signed up, it’s not too late – email us ASAP at info@millvalley.org):

• A Mill Valley (Market) institution, the history of this business dates back to our town’s earliest years. Its shelves span both day-to-day staples and the latest – and tastiest – culinary products.
• Helmed by a pair of powerhouse women, this Throckmorton Ave. shop, along with its beach-centric spinoff a few doors down, is widely adored.
• After being largely dormant through much of the pandemic, this Mill Valley sonic icon has returned with a bang, giving us all a reason to dance and cheer the return of live music. Oh, and foodies are loving its new in-house restaurant.
• This historic (Depot) building is the center of it all, the heart of Mill Valley’s acclaimed railroad history and the subject of a recent makeover that has made this yummy space the talk of the town.
• This relatively new arrival in town has taken Tam Junction by storm, serving up oven-fired deliciousness, live music and comedy and one of the best outdoor spaces in the 94941. Its moniker rhymes with “function.”
• Located amidst the historic Mill Valley Lumber Yard (as are several of the participating businesses hinted at below), you won’t find a more eclectic, sustainability-minded business in town. 
• This shop has been riding the electric trends of its industry in recent years, and is ready to expand to accommodate its massive, two wheel-centric growth. Its name is the short version of Tamalpais + Bikes.
• The proprietor of this Miller Ave. shop is an expert at finding just the right sonic beauty for your ears, even if you don’t know what you’re seeking.
• If you find yourself with tighter-than-preferred limbs while doing your holiday shopping, this Strawberry Village space has you covered.
• Floral creativity is on gorgeous display at this Watershed neighbor in the Lumber Yard. Rhymes with Bloomingdales.
• A dog- and pet-lover’s paradise, this Marin juggernaut, located in Strawberry, has anything and everything for your pooch.
• You’re likely to walk out of this Throckmorton Ave. space singing Johnny Nash’s “I Can See Clearly Now.”
• Creation and curation are at the heart of this custom jewelry business that counts Mill Valley’s movie house among its neighbors.
• Just a few steps from Good Earth in Tam Junction, this tiny shop is packed with lovely orchids that will beautify any space.
• This innovative downtown jeweler shares part of its name with a 1997 film starring Cher.
• If you walk too quickly on Throckmorton and find yourself at a shop selling delicious beverages, you’ve missed this family-run jewel of downtown.
• Spawned from a longtime local religious and cultural organization, you can do everything from learning to braid challah to celebrating Hanukkah at this unique downtown shop and gathering space. Brooklyn!
• The Once Around arts and crafts hub moved out of downtown to the Lumber Yard not too long ago, so you can still find a little of a lot of things to spark your imagination.
• Not far from the Safeway at Camino Alto, this home of south of the border – rhymes with ‘phillies’ – deliciousness also makes it easy to get a blowout fixed. 
• From greeting cards and recorded music to all manner of toys and treats foe the whole family, you’re unlikely to visit this creative gem without having at least a few LOLs.
• Also a neighbor of the Sequoia, this downtown shop oozes creative cool and likes to celebrate the slow, the unique and the exceptional.
• Get fit, serve and volley and go for a swim with one of the best views in town at this multi-faceted club on Mill Valley’s eastern edge.
• This space is located in one of Mill Valley’s oldest buildings, just across from Mill Valley Market, but step inside and you’ll find some of the most beautiful furniture and home goods in the Bay Area..
• Wedged between Watershed and Makers Market at MVLY, this tiny shop has oodles of gorgeous clothing. 
• In the heart of downtown Mill Valley, this women’s boutique lets you follow clothing trends without being trendy. 
• The newest pet-centric shop in town is the second location for this Healdsburg-based business, and draws its name from a French twist on a famous Italian dog.
• From its multi-colored, record cover-laden walls and gorgeous clothing for all ages, this shop serves up oodles of eye candy.
• This grocery powerhouse shares an owner with the Washington Post and features design elements that rely on Mt. Tam, as well as the ocean, bay, lanes and creeks that surround us..
• The silhouette of a Bengal Tiger is the logo for this purveyor of percolating deliciousness.
• Classic, kid-friendly Mexican cuisine? This Miller Ave. mainstay has been churning it out for nearly 25 years.
• This Mill Valley institution created the Kiddo! Pizza to benefit local schools. Piazza D’Angelo!
• This incredible school outgrew its previous home Miller Ave., and now teaches the next generation of dancers in proximity to all-terrain riders.
• Always at the forefront of art trends, this downtown space is widely revered and oozes creativity.
• One of the best breakfast joints in Marin, this decades-old Tam Junction haunt got a refresh several years ago, and its magnetic alphabet tiles provide a distraction for kiddos waiting to be seated.
• This restaurant’s name celebrates Mill Valley’s restaurant railway history – it also has several brother and sister locations in the Bay Area.
• Especially during King High Tides, this restaurant and its surrounding areas need to break out the sand bags, allowing you to safely visit one of the largest, most beautifully design restaurants and bars in town.
• This East Blithedale Ave. business, the former French Laundry, is now home to both a salon and a barbershop, and longtime clients report having their hair done there for the Tam High prom in the 1970s.
• The moniker of this Miller Ave. restaurant combines the name of the mountain looking down upon us and a word synonymous with pizza.
• This “a little bit of everything” shop shares a block with the popular Stefano’s Pizza, and its owner has beautified the block and made it a destination.
• A gorgeous hotel with quite possibly the best view in Mill Valley.
• A cornerstone organization on Camino Alto is widely known as “the church with the sign,” regularly sharing words of wisdom and comfort.
• This colorful space draws its moniker from the Amharic language’s word for joy, which we could all use a bit more of these days.
• This is the home base of one of Mill Valley’s favorite Winterfest performances every year.
• Want to be inspired by the power of collective creativity and girl power? This landmark local business is buzz worthy.

Questions? Email us at info@millvalley.org.

Want to know what’s happening around town? Click here to subscribe to the Enjoy Mill Valley Blog by Email!