In 2009 I lost someone dear to me to ALS. He was young, It was tragic. It broke my heart. By 2010 I realized I need to discover some ways to lift myself up. I started search out experiences that would bring me some joy. The first experience I came across was the Hand Fan Museum in Healdsburg California. I walked into that museum and felt my heart fill with joy.
It's a small museum devoted to the history, and and cultural meaning of hand fans. According to its website, its mission is to use hand fans to teach history, art and geography. The fans are not treated as just decorative objects but as artifacts of everyday life and ceremony across many cultures. They tell stories of fans used in fashion, religion, battle and ritual. There are both a permanent collection and rotating collections.
The last exhibit was "Love is in the Air" focusing on how fans express themes of courtship, marriage and even thwarted love. The latest exhibit, showing through September first 2026, is "Garden in Hand"
