You are invited to a very tasting FUNdraising Dinner at Red Boy Pizza. Either Novato Red Boy.
For more information.

The historic downtown Novato Theater has been closed for 20 years.  With continued community support, it will be rebuilt as a community cultural center where live music, performing arts such as live theater and dance recitals, simulcast showing of live opera, Broadway shows, sports events, as well as a daily film program will have a year round venue.  It will be open 7 days a week, 365 days a year and will be available to rent for meetings, private events and educational outreach programming. Novato Theater, a Non-Profit 501(c)(3) public benefit corporation is leading the renovation project and will operate the theater once completed.

The Novato City Council kindly requests that Grant Avenue Business Owners sweep the sidewalk in front of their store fronts on July 2nd.  The City sweeper will come by on July 3rd and sweep to the curb.

The City Council would like to have our Downtown shine for the expected 12,000 visitors for the 4th of July Parade.

If you are interested in participating in the parade, or volunteering please visit the Novato Parade website

The new Novato 4th of July website is now available.  You can sign up  your Parade Entry or Support the Parade by being a sponsor.  Sponsors receive early recognition on the Parade website.

The new website was design and development donated by Solvatech Website Design and Sara Blackwell.

Fresh Fish will be available from Ocean Fresh Fish, a company out of Half Moon Bay, weekly to our Tuesday Night Farmer’s Market – 4pm-7pm, Grant Avenue, Downtown Novato.

Come and see what is fresh this week!

There are also raspberries and blackberries. Great for your breakfast granola or topping for ice cream for dessert or to pop in your mouth for an all around healthy treat.

PSA- Please do not bring your pets to the farmers market.  It is a health code.  The market management will require you to leave the market should you show up with your pet so please make sure to leave them at home.  We love your pets just not at the farmers market.  Thank you kindly.

San Rafael trades right-hander Downs to Lancaster Barnstormers

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — The San Rafael Pacifics have announced the signing of left-handed pitcher A.J. Gallardo. In a corresponding move, right-handed pitcher Brodie Downs has been traded to the Atlantic League’s Lancaster Barnstormers (Penn.), for future considerations.

“While we’re really saddened to lose a player of Brodie Down’s quality, we’re so happy to have AJ join us and bring us another power left-handed arm to our club,” said Pacifics  President and General Manager Mike Shapiro.

Downs, a 33-year old native of Modesto, Calif. struck out eight and posted a 5.40 ERA over the course of 8.1 innings in four appearances for the Pacifics.

Gallardo was signed after playing for the East Bay Lumberjacks, which are looking to join the Pacific Association in the future.

Originally hailing from Ventura, Calif. and now calling the Bay Area home, Gallardo played two seasons at Ventura College, followed by two seasons at Cal State East Bay in Hayward, Calif. During his senior season, the lefty went 6-1 in nine starts. He threw a total of 56.2 innings, including three complete games, and struck out 37 in 14 appearances.

Gallardo was activated before Friday’s game, which happened to be versus Gallardo’s former ball club.

For the Pacfics Game Schedule visit The Pacifics Website

Future Prospects Baseball To Partner with Pacifics
SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — A unique partnership deal between the San Rafael Pacifics minor league baseball team and Future Prospects Instructional Baseball was announced today. The Pacifics will feature Future Prospects Director and Marin Athletic Foundation Hall of Famer, Charles Scott, as an analyst on select radio (bggg101.com) and television (Marin TV) broadcasts of Pacifics games.

The deal struck between Marin County’s two foremost baseball entities includes the use of the Future Prospects coaching staff as guest radio and TV analysts; the appointment of Future Prospects’ strength and conditioning instructor, Taylor Lewis as the strength and conditioning coach of the Pacifics; and the use of Future Prospects batting cages by Pacifics players.

“Charles and his staff are all professional and knowledgeable baseball people that we get to tap into for our broadcasts and our team’s training,” said Pacifics President and General Manager Mike Shapiro. “This is a win-win for both of us and our fans, but more importantly I get to have Charles Scott, who I admire and respect greatly, as a part of the Pacifics family.”

Scott, a Marin County native who pitched at Terra Linda High School and for three major league organizations before serving as a MLB scout, founded the Future Prospects Baseball program in 2002. Future Prospects Baseball programs encompass a unique comprehensive approach facilitating successful growth and development of young boys and girls up to and through professional levels.

For the Pacfics Game Schedule visit The Pacifics Website

Standup Comedy is back at Trek Wine in Novato on Thursday, June 20th, at 8:00 PM. This great show will feature Headliner: Johnny Steele (Former winner of the San Francisco International Comedy Competition), along with Special Guest: Brendan Lynch. General Admission – $20

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/390495

The DNBA marketing committee invites DNBA business owners to participate in the creation of the new DNBA commercial.

12-24 businesses in the following categories (clothing, jewelry, Flowers, Toys, Candy, Food, Drink, Spa services, Hair salon, Sporting goods, dance or martial arts studio, Financial services) are invited to participate in the commercial, we also need another 50 or so extras to be on the sidewalks and in the procession, so invite your friends and family. Participation is on a first come first chosen basis, if you would like to represent your business category in the commercial, please contact Heather Elliott at info@downtwonnovato.com. RSVP by Friday June 14th, 2013.

We will be filming the new DNBA commercial on Sunday June 23rd from 11a-5pm. participants will need to be there for the duration of the shooting.

• Grant Ave will be closed from Sherman to Reichert from 10:30am-5pm.
  There is still accessibility for parking and getting to this part of Grant.
• We are in the process of finalizing the permit.
• No Parking signs will be posted on Friday the 21st for Sunday closure.
• A sign will be posted at both ends of the closed area stating that people walking into this area are entering a filming area and maybe caught on film.
• We will have the main talent and product/services represented in the commercial with no focus on a specific business.
• We are also looking for extra’s to be on the sidewalks during the shoot and hope that you can bring friends and family members.
• The concept is fun and fresh and we hope that you will participate.

OAKLAND, Calif. — The San Rafael Pacifics tuned up for the team’s Opening Night at Albert Park with a 5-0 victory over the East Bay Lumberjacks on Sunday night.

Starter Christian Scholl gave San Rafael another strong pitching performance in the team’s first shutout of the season. The righty scattered three hits over seven innings while striking out seven, and improved to 2-0 on the season.

“My biggest approach is to make sure I can stay deep in the game and to do that is to get ahead of guys, three pitches or less,” said Scholl. I’m not trying to get a lot of strikeouts but that’s a plus if I do.”

Nate King and J.J. Whetsel combined for a pair of scoreless innings to seal up the victory.

“Seeing Scholl go out there and do what he did, he absolutely painted tonight and executed all night,” said Pacifics Manager Ryan Priddy. “And we got some innings of work out of our bullpen.”

Center fielder Zack Pace went 3 for 3 with a run and an RBI to increase his average to a team-best .583. Price Kendall singled in the first inning and has started the season with a nine-game hit streak. Kendall came around for the game’s first run on a Darrick Hale triple and Maikel Jova proceeded to drive in Hale to give the Pacifics an early 2-0 lead.

Hale drove in Pace in the second to add another run. In the third, back-to-back singles by Danny Gonzalez and Matt Kavanaugh set up an RBI single for Pace, then Kavanaugh came trotted home to make it 5-0.

“The lineup’s kind of solidifying itself. Looking at the homestand, I’m getting excited,” said Priddy. “We’re going to be playing some good baseball in front of our fans.”

After a slow start, the Pacifics won all three games during the weekend series and are now 6-3. San Rafael hosts the first-year Vallejo Admirals (3-4) at Albert Park beginning on Opening Night, Tuesday, June 11. First pitch is slated for 7:05 p.m. Tickets for the opening series with the Admirals are still available at pacificsbaseball.com.

For the Pacfics Game Schedule visit The Pacifics Website

OAKLAND, Calif. — There were many contributors in Friday night’s 18-2 victory over the East Bay Lumberjacks but San Rafael Pacifics (4-3) third baseman Kyle Dhanani and starting pitcher Tyler Pearson’s performances were worth taking notice of.

Dhanani set the tone early when he mashed a 1-1 pitch to left field with two outs in the first inning to give San Rafael an early 3-0 lead. A single in the third, an RBI single in the fourth, and a double to left in the eighth inning rounded out his career night. He finished 4 for 6 to lift his average to .400 and has hit safely in his last three games. He also made five plays at third, including a nice play to his left and throwing on the run for the out.

“I’ve been working a lot with [manager Ryan] Priddy and Price [Kendall] is always in my ear when I’m hitting and it helped a lot,” said Dhanani. “I’m seeing the ball a lot better and I’m not as anxious as the first couple of days.”

Stellar defense backed Pearson (1-1, 5.40 ERA), who spun a three-hit gem. He struck out and walked just three batters over eight innings of work. The two runs came off a two-out double by Mike Taylor to the center field wall that center fielder Zack Pace nearly caught until he went crashing back into the wall. Pearson allowed just one hit over the next seven innings.

After extending the lead to 6-2 in the third, San Rafael blew it open in the fourth with a six-run fourth. Six more runs in the eighth inning allowed Priddy, who was named the club’s new manager earlier in the day, to rest a little easier as the Pacifics sealed up his first career victory as a manager.

“Our hitters came out and attacked the ball, that was number one. We had good at bats throughout the game,” said Priddy. “Just seeing Pearson come through like that was awesome. I knew he had it in him. He’s a competitor and he showed it.”

Casey Russell came on in the ninth and after a leadoff walk, struck out the side. Then, the Pacifics players doused Priddy with a jug of water, and also presented him with the game’s scorecard to mark his accomplishment.

“I’m going to home and have a bowl of cereal and kind of enjoy it, definitely, but baseball’s a long season,” added Priddy. “we have a lot of them so hopefully there will be a lot more W’s.”

When all was said and done, the Pacifics posted 19 runs on 18 hits. Every batter tallied at least one hit. Kendall went 3 for 5 at the top of the order and collected a pair of runs and an RBI. First baseman Johnny Woodard drove in a pair, scored three times, and drew a walk to go along with a 3 for 4 night. Pace, who remained in the game after his collision with the wall, added two hits, a pair of RBIs, and a run to lift his-team best batting average to .517.

San Rafael heads to Santa Rosa on Saturday to face the Santa Rosa Rose Buds. First pitch is slated for 2:00 p.m. at Maria Carrillo HS.