Who'll Stop the Rain!?!?

Coming up this weekend at TAPS in Petaluma is the BIG SOIREE OF THE WEEK being put on as a benefit for our good old home town celebration, The Butter & Egg Days Parade.

The parade, which takes place this year on Saturday, April 24, was looking like a fiscal rainout for 2010 due to a combination of increased expenses and city budget cuts, but overwhelming community support, business involvement, and special fund raising activities, such as the February 27 Don't Rain On My Parade concert at TAPS, have turned things sunny side up.

Saturday evening's festivities will begin at 7:00 pm with the first band, Petaluma bluesmen, Randy & The Special Agent kicking off the music at 7:30. Bring your dancin' shoes for a screamin' good time with a blues band that's raw... powerful... and just plain fun!

They will be followed at 10:00 by Northern California alternative rockers, Five A.M. - a major North Bay, and Petaluma, favorite - in a rare, not to be missed, acoustic performance.

The ticket price of $15 includes the first beer of the evening and special appetizers provided by TAPS, all music, and as a special added bonus, a free "We Love Our Parade" button which offers special privileges on parade day, and special offers from select downtown merchants. All proceeds from the event go directly to support The Butter & Eggs Parade.

Tickets for this special one time only event can be purchased in advance from the Petaluma Downtown Association (Petaluma Blvd N, Suite A-11) and at TAPS (located at Kentucky and Washington below the historic Petaluma Hotel). While supplies last, tickets will also be available at the door on Saturday, February 27.

TAPS owner and pub master, Eric Lafranchi expressed his own excitement about the event. "What could be better than the chance to have a little beer, a little food, and a little fun while supporting Petaluma's Big Parade at the same time? It's a win - win - win for everybody. Let's Party!"

And a Good Time Was Had By All...

As most folks know, Monday January 18 was Martin Luther King day, the annual federal holiday in celebration of Dr. King's birthday and legacy.

What makes the day different from other holidays is the fact that a large number of folks in communities across the country take the time as "A Day On... Not a Day Off" as a way of celebrating with their own time, and feet, and hands the message that Dr. King set forth... a message of all working together in service.

For an event at Petaluma's Valley Vista Child Care, Rebuilding Together Petaluma got together with a group of volunteers (featuring approximately 30 Kaiser Permanente Marin-Sonoma employees and their friends and family members) for a day of volunteerism honoring Dr. King.

Under the direction of RTP Executive Director Jane Hamilton, the group made a cheerful difference at Valley Vista Childcare Center on North Webster Street. Volunteers spent the day cleaning and repairing toys, furniture, and bicycles, in addition to repainting one of two large playrooms.

This is the sixth year Kaiser Permanente has participated with Rebuilding Together in an MLK Day of Volunteerism. Previous Petaluma projects have included renovations at the Petaluma Recycling Center and Petaluma High School.

T-shirts for the MLK Day volunteers (like the one above) were provided by Kaiser-Permanente, discounted (and very tasty) lunches were provided by Aqus Cafe, and The Petaluma Seed Bank provided an array of complimentary seed packets as a bonus Thank You for the meaningful day's work.

Volunteerism in P-town (and anywhere for that matter) isn't just a matter of one day a year, and Rebuilding Together Petaluma has a terrific city-wide volunteer work day planned for Saturday, April 17! For information on this and other opportunities check the Rebuilding Together website.


For more photos of the day, go to the Rebuilding Together Photo Page.

PET SOUNDS

One of the great things about Northern California in general and Petaluma in particular is the abundance of musical culture that can be found here.

Performance venues abound (with more joining the crowd every week) from The Phoenix, to the infamous Mystic Theater, to the ecelctic mix at Aqus Cafe or special performances at Cinnabar, you can hear (and see) almost any kind of musical performance you might desire.

There's gospel from Wings of Glory, jazz with Peter Welker on trumpet or Tracy Rose on drums, a sort of jazz/folk music from the likes of The Artifacts (to be heard at the Mentor Me Dance benefit this coming Saturday) to the incredible Arann Harris (in any of a number of wonderful musical incarnations, and especially as singer/guitarist with the Green String Farm Band), the folky funkiness of D'Bunchovus, the hometown hardware music of Larry Potts. or the homegrown rock and roll of Hillside Fire... and more more more where that all comes from.

Here at Gateway2WineCountry, we've decided that it's about time to put a spotlight on some of this. This spring SpeakLo Media and Gateway2WineCountry will release a showcase album of locally made music. We're calling it PETaluma SOUNDS Vol. 1 and we're looking for entries and suggestions fom local artists, bands, and fans!

So... leave us a comment on the page, drop us an email at info@visitpetaluma.net or stop on by Gateway2WineCountry.Com and use the email signup form to send us your suggestions.

We'll have more details on how to submit music, who we pick, and when we're going to release it shortly... In the meantime... I'm thinking everyone should be put on A&R detail, so get out there and track down some LIVE LOCAL MUSIC and then come back here and clue us all in!

Welcome to Wine Country

Welcome to our first VisitPetaluma blog.

This blog is dedicated to providing information on, and insights into this place called Petaluma, while expressing (perhaps a little bit of inordinate) pride in this paradise where the Northern California wine country mingles with the historic dairy industry amid our rolling hills to create the perfect mix of wine and cheese country (along with all the other lovely foods and experiences that go along with it).

For additional information on Petaluma, including sights and sounds, events, places to eat and stay, and even a downtown audio tour for your iPod, check out our sister website visitpetaluma.net

Stay tuned... there's lots more to come.