National Fentanyl Awareness Day is April 29.
As a monthly publication that produces online and print editions, I am often writing weeks in advance, as is the case this month. I’ve sat down to pen this column several times, but it’s been a struggle. My mind and work have been elsewhere, because just days ago four young people in neighboring Santa Rosa overdosed due to fentanyl-related causes. For my family and many others, this tragedy hits deeply and personally. Those who have read my column with any regularity, know that in addition to writing, I dedicate my time to fentanyl advocacy. It’s a road I would’ve never imagined taking, but when I lost my 22-year-old niece to a counterfeit pill she believed was Xanax—it became my only path forward. Thank you in advance for taking in the following PSA that feels at once pertinent and urgent as Sonoma County mourns the loss of two young lives.
This month, on April 29, marks the fourth annual National Fentanyl Awareness Day (NFAD), which unites corporations, nonprofits, government agencies, community organizations and families to take action to protect Americans from fentanyl and fake pills. The collaborative initiative happens alongside hundreds of partners nationwide (including Major League Baseball, the U.S. Justice Department and DEA, Hewlett Packard, to name a few) and spearheaded by the fentanyl nonprofit, Song for Charlie, which I work with. This year the emphasis of the day has shifted from highlighting a crisis to mobilizing a movement to end it. Whether that means hosting a Corporate Lunch and Learn, a school or campus film screening, or convening with families and friends for a lifesaving “watch” party, every activation makes a difference and can happen with a keyboard click. If each person, business leader, school district and public official reading this magazine “activated” on this day, the North Bay region, could impact change and possibly save lives.
Through lived experience and as someone who has presented to thousands of youth and families across the country, I understand the complexities and know with certainty that education is the only way through the fentanyl crisis. To learn more about NFAD, visit fentanylawarenessday.org.
Escapism
With tariff talks moving from proposed to enacted, the general unease around the implications and need to escape reality has never felt more necessary. During COVID, copious amounts of wine and Schitt’s Creek bingefests became my go-tos whenever I needed to unwind the mind after long days spent juggling a new virtual workplace, homeschooling, vaccines and the anxiety that came with it. Skip ahead five years and it feels like similar coping mechanisms are in order to drown out news headlines that read like a poorly performed Saturday Night Live skit. Thankfully, later this month, Napa Valley StreamFest—a new festival concept that aims to capitalize on the new ways we consume content—kicks off. It feels somehow fitting given the COVID years all but blew up the Napa Valley Film Festival (NVFF), which has never bounced back from the grandeur of its pre-pandemic glory days, when the valley morphed into a NorCal breed of Tinsel Town and delivered a much-needed boon to business in November.
StreamFest founders Fearon DeWeese and Juliana Folk, who worked together at NVFF, appear to be stepping in to resurrect the festival going experience in Napa County. The concept emerged as its founders saw a disconnect between traditional festival formats and the way we stream shortform content on YouTube, TikTok, and others of that ilk. Unlike more traditional festivals that feature big-screen and indie darlings, StreamFest aims to honor creators who are breaking barriers and creating content on viral platforms. The four-day event, which runs April 24 to 27, will spotlight podcasts, series, films and social content, with screenings, panel talks, live entertainment and an abundance of wine and culinary delights. The ticket model feels familiar with different pass options that range from $250 to $1,300 depending on the level of “access” and party options you please.
The festival kicks off with an opening reception at Feast it Forward in downtown Napa, followed by a pass-the-mic conversation with former NBA star and media entrepreneur Baron Davis. Other events include “binges” of podcasts, comedy, pilot episodes, shortform content, industry meetups, awards dinners and a closing party at Signorello Estate. DeWeese and Folk’s experience in the entertainment industry and on the festival circuit, inspired the nonprofit StreamFest Society, which works alongside the fest to support mid-career professionals looking to transition into the film industry through guidance and mentorship from those in the biz.
As I conclude this column, all goods imported from Canada and Mexico are subject to 25% tariffs (except Canadian energy products which face a 10% tariff) and products from China are subject to a 20% tax. While each country threatens retaliatory acts and the current administration hints at modifications just a day after the tariffs were enacted, the idea of drifting into films, food and fun at StreamFest feels like a tempting antidote to the bedlam.
