Montclair’s new nature mural has been christened with the kind of fanfare only Mother Nature can orchestrate. Related Articles Saturday’s heavy rain with intermittent sunshine forced those gathered for the unveiling ceremony indoors but didn’t dampen the spirits of donors and the four artists whose work is featured on the large, outside wall of the Montclair Parking Garage. The approximately 60-by-20 foot wall is the first thing you see when you come off the Montclair Railroad Trail, and its four panels celebrate the flora and fauna in the Oakland district’s forested hills. The catalyst for the outdoor art installation was late local resident Millient Zaludek, who died in 2022 and loved Montclair Village. “She was passionate about flowers and the healing properties of nature,” says Daniel Swafford, the Montclair Village Association’s executive director. Her family’s donation kick-started the fund-raising campaign for the mural and was soon augmented with money from the Ken Betts Chevron family and one of Montclair’s newest businesses, cannabis dispensary Element 7. The four mural panels feature a rainbow trout, deer, quail and fox under a starry, crescent
moon sky, with a splash of
California poppies and berries for color. Swafford says the artists themselves represent
Women from a diverse lineage of backgrounds. Kristi Holohan’s work focuses on community healing and nature; Keena Romano loves celebrating culture and ancestral connections; Felicia Gabaldon draws from the imagination both a mythical and mystic part of human experience in the natural world; and Stephanie Hooper finds inspiration in Latin
American culture. The new mural ties the Montclair Railroad Trail’s natural environment to the commercial district and joins a train mural on the north end and a butterflies mural on the south end of Montclair Village to make welcoming points of entry. Berkeley’s Restaurant Week (March 21-30) has a clever tie-in to the NCAA
basketball tournament with its aptly-named March Munch Mushroom Madness. Chefs all over the city are creating culinary magic with mushrooms in everything from appetizers to desserts. Zino Mediterranean Restaurant in Berkeley’s historic Shattuck Hotel has an intensely flavorful three-course dinner for $45 with Chef Andrew Bierman’s foraged favorites like oyster mushroom crowns served with octopus, couscous and grilled asparagus; a mushroom bisque with white truffle mushroom flatbread; and truffle caramel gelato with candy mushrooms for dessert. Even the featured cocktail features fungi — blending mushroom demerara syrup with vodka from Richmond’s Dissident Spirits and a mushroom-and-lime-zest foam. Eyeglasses and optometry are the focus of a new business moving into Montclair Village on Mountain Boulevard. U & Eye Optometry is in the same block as CityHealth Urgent Care in the village, adding to the health and wellness service industry. The long-awaited Glenview Taqueria has opened at 4207 Park Blvd., the former longtime location of Pastino’s Italian Restaurant. The owners of this new Mexican takeout spot run SaveMore Market nearby. Tacos sell for $4.50 apiece, and specialty items like cheesy, Mexican street fries with pico de gallo and guacamole are $12.