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Sonoma County Fair – Brilliant!!

The Don Giovannis at the Sonoma County Fair
The Don Giovannis at the Sonoma County Fair

As soon as we were clicked through the entrance and escaped the  bombardment of the knives, fudge, and dill pickles in the Pavilion, we were treated to the sound of the  most glorious tenor singing his heart out.  I’m a sucker for a good tenor.  He was part of a group called The Don Giovannis.  We were seranaded while we ate our plates of Ibletto’s green and red spaghetti.

Horse in parade ring before racing

The sound of the horses enticed us to place several bets which we lost, but last year we won, so there you go.  One horse in the 8th jumped the gun and ran the wrong way all around the track.  (Yes, I bet on him).  As he crossed the finish line, the highly amused crowd burst into rousing applause and cheering!  Sometimes you just don’t care if you lose as long as you are entertained.

There were several new attractions this year,  notably Mechanical Bull Riding!  Very amusing.  Everyone looks cool while the bull is going slow, but invariably the bull wins the contest.

Riding the mechanical bull

The DJ/bull-master was having a great time matching the music to the rider and giving riders a chance to demonstrate at least a few seconds of glory.

The flower show was brilliant!  The flowers  glowed with exuberance about their own color and design.  The exhibits are a beautiful look at past fair themes, called “A Stroll Down Memory Lane”.  Very nicely done.

One of the greatest feelings I get living in Sonoma County is the friendliness of the people.  Everywhere we turned, people said hello and spoke to us as if we were long term friends.  In the rest room (which was very clean , by the way) w0men who didn’t know each other were helping  apply sunscreen to the backs of their fellow fair travelers.  I love living here!  It really is “the chosen place”  to paraphrase our good friend Luther.

Dinner plate dahlia at Sonoma County Fair
Glorious dahlia

I love the Sonoma County Fair!  We’re going back aagin to see the art, animals, and  play a few more horses.  See you there!

Posted in: Activities, Day Trips, Entertainment, Events, Live Music

Art at the Source

One of our favorite Sonoma County drives is the two weekend art tour known as Open Studios from Art at the Source. This year the art weekends are June 4 & 5 and June 11 & 12. We’re always amazed at the high quality of art generated in Sonoma County and this is a chance to meet the artists in their studios. Whether you want to just look at their work or get into discussions about art and technique, this is a great opportunity to engage with your neighbor artists and get to know them and their passion.

You can download a pdf map of art sites online or just look up one or two sites to visit after looking through the Artists Gallery to find work you enjoy.

Sebastopol Center for the ArtsThis artistic endeavor is sponsored by the Sebastopol Center for the Arts, a vibrant organization with an active calendar of visual, performing, literary and film arts.

Be nice to yourself and spend a weekend or two in early June in the company of some very creative people. This is among the best events Sonoma County has to offer.

Some Local Talent

Featured artists:

These are artists I have personally visited. Some are in ARTrails, some are in Art at the Source, some are in both, and some are independent.

 

Sally Baker Art at the SourceARTrails

Sally Baker, Sonoma County artistSharp focused watercolor still life with Asian themes. This is a true pro! Many prints and matted work available. Her studio is immaculate. Former high school art teacher who practices what she taught. Many artists could take a clue from her presentation and style. Excellent shadow work!

5990 Vine Hill School Rd
Sebastopol 829-0396
knsbaker@aol.com

Frank Gannon ARTrails

Frank Gannon, Sonoma County artistBeautiful landscapes using unexpected vibrant colors and muted shades giving an almost surrealistic feel. Latest work features oil on board. Lots of seascapes with fog and smoke… interesting play with light. Makes me want to be there.

9610 Rio Vista Rd
Forestville 887-1858
merielenr@msn.com

Barbara Greensweig ARTrails

Barbara Greensweig, Sonoma County artistHappy colorful flowers abound in oil and acrylic! Provincial scenes, vineyards, creeping vines, baskets of bloom, sunflowers, and lavendar. Lots of prints and cards available. Friendly and uplifting subject matter.

1549 E. Foothill Dr
Santa Rosa 525-8437
barbara@bgreensweigart.com

Craig Nelson ARTrails

 

Craig Nelson, Sonoma County artistConsummate artist – the one who deserves to be framed in an ornate gold frame and hung in an all-important prominence above the fireplace position. Museum quality work. It’s no wonder that he is also selling his less-than-stellar early work. He is collectable!

3563 Alturia Hts
Santa Rosa 591-9327
craigzart@aol.com

Phil & Ann Leech ARTrails
Art at the Source

Ann & Phil Leech, Sonoma County artistsJewelry made with precious metals and semi-precious stones crafted in an interesting and wearable fashion.

1416 Quail Ct
Santa Rosa 538-8557
leechstudios@sonic.net

Jerry & Deborah Kermode ARTrails
Art at the Source

Jerry Kermode, Sonoma County artistBeautiful turned wood bowls and other objects. What can only be termed an improvement on nature. Absolutely gorgeous!

8891 Avila Ln
Sebastopol 824-9893
debjer@earthlink.net

Sandra Maresca

Art at the Source

Sandra Maresca, Sonoma County artistOil and watercolor landscapes, figures, and animals. I love the crone clown series and the whimsical animals. Captures a moment in time. Vibrancy and form mixed with folly. A nice combination!

16120 Watson Rd
Guerneville 869-9419
croneclown@comcast.net

Carol Golden

Carol Golden, Sonoma County artistArtists change and as they do their styles change. I loved her bold large figured women with sagging breasts and huge bulbous thighs. Now she is doing more introverted work in pastels with a more moderate controlled stroke. Where is she now I wonder? I have been looking for her all day….

Green Greenwald

Green Greenwald, Sonoma County artistGreen is like walking art! Ever since I met him at Popeye’s in Sebastopol when he was sporting a swath of green hair and green cowboy boots to match, I have loved him! You might see one of his special cars driving around town. They look like something out of a cartoon. Or you may have seen one of his Cirque du Silly shows at First Night in Santa Rosa featuring sculpted form creatures come to life through the magic of puppetry. Or perhaps you’ve seen one of his giant statue/pedestals fashioned out of paper machie representing giant koi or some other undefinable object de arte. Green amuses me with his huge colorful canvases of pool playing samurai or his acrylic aquarium on display at one of his favorite sushi haunts. I know where he’s been because I know he’s been trading art for sushi!

Porcelain L.E.

Some artists go on to other things…very successful commercial artists producing tens of thousands of pieces of fine porcelain every year. Do you miss it, I ask? “The first ten thousand pieces was fun. The second ten thousand not so much and finally you just keep on producing because you have orders to fill and it’s a job.” Now they have retired to other pursuits. I am lucky enough to have several of their pieces in my home. Their kilns and studio lay dormant. Who knows? Maybe they will begin anew someday – we can only hope.

Posted in: Activities, Day Trips, Events

Whole Foods Adventure

It probably wasn’t the best timing on our part to visit the new Santa Rosa Whole Foods Market in Coddingtown…  It was late afternoon and we hadn’t eaten lunch yet, so that made everything in the store look twice as delicious. You’ll see by our shopping list that we ended up buying way too many carbs, but we had a great adventure!

At the entrance dozens of fragrant Christmas trees announced the season along with bins of colorful sweet cooking pumpkins, squashes and gourds.   The scent of flowers and winter fruits enticed us to explore further.  A half dozen Fuji apples called my name.

Whole Foods Produce
Whole Foods produce department
Inside the store there were elaborate pyramids of cascading produce.  Further on towards the back led to the fish monger and a beautiful selection of fresh organic meats and poultry.  I felt like I was entering a show of Broadway proportions as the lighting, sounds, smells set the stage, and the actions of the truly friendly and helpful staff came together to do their parts at every turn of every aisle.

Whole Foods Tap Room
Whole Foods Tap Room
The beer selection at the back of the store appears to have every micro-beer you’ve ever heard of and then some.  As you may have heard, you can get a beer at the Tap Room while waiting for other shoppers…or taking a lunch break. A group of determined customers sat contentedly at the bar sipping their brews overseen by a big screen TV on a sports channel.

At the Health and Beauty aisle I picked up some grapefruit deodorant that sounded interesting and a bar of sandalwood soap.  I passed over a really cute pink alpaca hat with multi-colored tassels; maybe someone will get that for me for Christmas?

Whole Foods snack aisle
Whole Foods snack aisle
By now we are really getting hungry and items from every corner of the store are calling out to assuage us.  Unfortunately, it was at exactly this moment that we turned down an aisle that can only be described as Heaven to me – think crunch, salt, oil, and sugar – the chip, cracker, and cookie department!  “…and it’s all so healthy too!”  I remarked as packages of Akmak, Rice Chips, Bunny Crackers, Lemon Scones, and Sesame Thins end up in the basket. (I did skip the peanut butter chocolate cookies).

Whole Foods deli
Whole Foods deli prepared foods
By the time we make it to the Deli section where gorgeous deli meats, cheeses. sandwiches, and prepared foods of every sort and taste await us, we have added a jar of Bubbie’s pickles, a loaf of seeded pumpernickel, some naan bread, and a pound and a half of cooked Indian food-to-go including saag paneer, Tandoori chicken, potato and pea samosas, rice, and lentils!

Whole Foods Indian food
Whole Foods hot food counter
This is a great place for lunch – or dinner for that matter!  Just load up your biodegradable to-go container with salad, chicken, turkey, stuffing, potatoes, vegetables, soup, gravy, etc. for $7.50 per pound.  All food cooked fresh and tasty on the premises!

We ended up eating our lunch leaning on our car in the parking lot under the clear sunny wintery Santa Rosa sky with a murder of crows perched on the light fixtures around us waiting for the remnants…. Beautiful day!

Whole Foods is located at the west end of the Coddingtown Shopping Center in Santa Rosa, CA in beautiful Sonoma County.  See you there!

Whole Foods
390 Coddingtown Mall
Santa Rosa, CA
(707) 542-7411

Posted in: Activities, Day Trips, Entertainment, Food, Places, Santa Rosa

Sonoma County Harvest Fair

Sonoma County Harvest Fair Logo
Sonoma County Harvest Fair Logo

It’s time (Sept 30-Oct 2) for the 2011 Sonoma County Harvest Fair. Right on schedule the vineyards around the county are laden with ripening fruit that give testament to the bounty that Luther Burbank loved about Sonoma County. You can’t see the densely grouped clusters without appreciating the gift that nature bestows on us.

The Harvest Fair is a great opportunity to get in touch with local growers and wine makers and to share a weekend of food, music, fun, and games with your  fellow food and wine enthusiasts.

Congratulations are due to these Harvest Fair award winners:

Kenwood Vineyards – 2010 Pinot Gris – Russian River Valley:
Sweepstakes Winning White Wine and the James Guymon Memorial Award

Wilson Winery – 2009 Zinfandel – Dry Creek Valley – Sawyer
Sweepstakes Winning Red Wine and the George Cooke Memorial Award

Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards – 2007 Brut Rose – Carneros
Sweepstakes Winning Specialty Wine and the Mike Lee Memorial Award

Posted in: Day Trips, Entertainment, Events, Food, Live Music, Wine

Sonoma County Fair

Too good to wait
Ibleto's - too good to photograph...
Home from the fair and everything seems dim by contrast.  It was a spectacular day – mid 80’s- sunny and breezy.  We set out to have a fun day and we did!

I love horse racing!   Horses are such gorgeous animals – strong, sleek, and fast.  The crowd anticipates each race, bettors studying the forms, checking out the contestants in the paddock, horses on parade, making the bet… two minutes til post, one minute til post,

Sonoma County Fair Horse Racing
At the Post
the horses at the gate.  They’re off!  The crowd moves forward, chanting, “# 7, come on #6, #2, etc. until both the crowd and the horses reach an astonishing crescendo!  “#2! #7!”  I can’t help myself.  I’m screaming! #2 and #7 come in  – Escape Plan in the 7th and Fancy Reader in the 8th.  The winnings pay for Ibleto’s spaghetti – both green and red – yummy!

Baby Goat
Baby Goat
Aside from the horses, we make friends with two little playful white goats, saw some magnificent cows, and our favorite chickens.  The pig pens were mostly empty – hopefully sold for future college funds.

The flower show with the theme of “Grape Escape” featured  Sonoma County appellations and was one of the best we can remember.

Sonoma County Fair Dixieland Band
Dixieland Band
We came across a random parade led by a Dixieland band.  I do love traditional jazz – it’s such happy festive music!  Kettle Korn, a dill pickle, a taste of fudge, a Clover ice cream cone, and a run through the industrial building rounded out our day.

As I drift off to sleep, the sights, the smells, the tastes and the sounds of the day linger in my mind…  We had a great time! Can’t wait til next year.

Posted in: Activities, Day Trips, Entertainment, Events, Live Music

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