Displaying items by tag: Santa Rosa

TASTE News Service, January 5, 2021 - Eating locally is in — again. During the pandemic, Americans renewed their appetite for the "locavore" diet, which consists of food from local places like nearby gardens, farmers markets, and farm-to-table restaurants.

TASTE News Service, July 31, 2019 –WINE WOMEN hosts, “Is That Wine Corked? Learn About Wine Faults,” on August 13th at DeLoach Vineyards in Santa Rosa at 5:30 p.m.

Kids can get into sculpture, too.

TASTE News Service July 27, 2015 - Art and nature lovers can view, touch, walk through, and climb 16 colossal wood sculptures made from salvaged old-growth redwood and metal in the new one-acre outdoor sculpture garden at the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa.

Created by acclaimed local artist Bruce Johnson and installed in a natural setting designed by Bill Mastick of Quadriga Landscape Architecture and Planning, the free outdoor exhibit "Root 101" opened to the public in June 2015.

The result of two years of planning, design, construction, and collaboration, the new sculpture garden stretches along the border of the arts center and its new neighbor, Sutter Hospital. Johnson's artwork will be on display in the sculpture garden for two years.

The garden will showcase large scale works by regional artists on a rotating basis, with new exhibits installed every other year. A free audio tour is available via cell phone, or guided docent tours can be arranged with advance reservations. The sculpture garden is an expansion of the center's visual arts program, with art by more than a dozen other artists displayed throughout the center's campus.

The nonprofit Wells Fargo Center for the Arts presents world-class performances, nationally recognized education programs, contemporary visual art, and many popular civic events.

Editor’s note:  Wells Fargo Center for the Arts is located at 50 Mark West Springs Road, just north of downtown Santa Rosa off Hwy 101. More information about it can be found at wellsfargocenterarts.org. If you’re thinking of visiting we suggest your first check out the Sonoma County listings in the North Coast section of Taste California Travel’s Resource Directory. There you will find links to the websites of hundreds of Lodging and Dining options, as well as those to Wineries and Craft Beer specialists.

TASTE News Service June 10, 2015 - With a new Peanuts movie hitting movie screens in November 2015, this is a perfect time to celebrate the funny, touching, and loveable Peanuts cartoon characters by visiting their "home town", Santa Rosa, California.

Created by the late cartoonist Charles "Sparky" Schulz, the Peanuts gang lives in our hearts and minds: Charlie Brown working up the courage to talk to the red-haired girl. Lucy pulling away the football at the last possible moment, or just being her crabby self. Linus philosophizing while clutching his security blanket. Snoopy flying his doghouse in a battle against the Red Baron, dancing with wild abandon, or simply being cool.

Schulz passed away in 2000, but his characters continue to charm us, and make us laugh. Nowhere is their presence felt more than in Sonoma County, which Schulz called home for more than 40 years. He moved to the town of Sebastopol in 1958, and settled in Santa Rosa in the early 70s.

A modest man, Schulz nixed the idea of sculptures of himself. However, he approved statues of his characters. In tribute, the city of Santa Rosa sponsored "Peanuts on Parade" art projects, in which local artists decorated five-foot-tall fiberglass statues of a single character.

Charlie Brown figures were decorated in the summer of 2005, Woodstock in 2006, Snoopy in 2007, and Lucy in 2010. In all, the program distributed more than 200 statues and raised more than $500,000 for art scholarships and to install permanent bronze Peanuts sculptures at three sites in town.

As a result, whimsically decorated images of these four Peanuts characters are scattered across Santa Rosa and its environs, tempting fans to explore the community that Schulz loved. Each individual statue has its own color scheme and personality, depending on the organization or individual who commissioned each piece and the vision of the artist who decorated it. Although they are privately owned, more than 70 are still in public view.

Sonoma County has designed a two-day itinerary to take you to some of the most memorable and entertaining of those images, along with places significant to Schulz.

Editor’s Note: If you’re planning a trip to Sonoma County, we suggest first visiting Taste California Travel’s Resource Directory. There you will find links to the websites of hundreds of Lodging and Dining options, as well as links to Sonoma Wineries and Craft Beer Purveyors.

Region:North Coast     City: Santa Rosa     Contact: www.roseparadefestival.com

While there are always celebrities and stars visiting Santa Rosa and Sonoma Wine Country, the next 30 days are a great time to meet them up close and personal. Who knows, you maybe even be able to ask them a question or get a personal picture with some of the stars.

If you consider yourself a foodie or just love watching The Food Network, you will have a chance not only to meet Mario Batali but also Santa Rosa's own Guy Fieri. On Friday, September 14th Guy and Mario will be hosting Chef's Tables in the Vineyard. The event is in conjunction with 16th Annual Kendall-Jackson Heirloom Tomato Festival and benefits the Cooking with Kids Foundation. A limited number of extra special VIP tickets are available with assigned seating at the head table, hosted by Guy Fieri and Mario Batali. If you prefer to dine with other Celebrity Chefs, also sponsoring tables are John Ash, Douglas Keane, Top Chef Season 6 contestant Eli Kirshtein and Top Chef Season 3 contestant Casey Thompson, just to name a few. While the Tomato Festival tickets are sold out, you can still dine with celebrity chefs. Tickets are available at www.kj.com/chef-tables-in-the-vineyard.

Basketball fans will want to know that Phil Jackson and Chris Mullin will be speaking on September 16th. Jackson is widely considered one of the greatest coaches in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA). As head coach of the Chicago Bulls and the LFormer Santa Rosan Guy Fieri.os Angeles Lakers, he won a total 11 NBA titles as a coach, the most ever. Mullin is an NBA Hall of Famer and Bay Area and New York City basketball legend; he is recognized as one of the best shooters of all time. Winner of the 1985 John Wooden Award, 2 Gold medals and was a member of the "Dream Team.", as a professional Mullin was named to the All Star Team 5 times. Phil and Chris will be discussing the spiritual nature of sports, overcoming challenges, and the essence of teamwork. Following their presentations Phil and Chris will answer questions about their philosophy and experiences. Tickets are available at www.innergame.us.

If cycling, the Amgen Tour of California and the Tour de France are more your style then you can come ride with Levi Leipheimer's Gran Fondo on September 29th. Levi was the overall winner of the Amgen Tour of California in 2007, 2008 and 2009. He also has four top ten finishes in the Tour de France along with third overall in 2007 and a bronze medal from the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Cyclists have a chance not only to ride with Levi on the 29th, they also have a chance to purchase VIP tickets for an up close and personal chance to share dinner with Levi at the Fiesta del Fondo on the 27th. Tickets are available for the Fiesta and the Piccolo Fondo at www.levisgranfondo.com.

If politics is your specialty, on October 15th you can hear Washington D.C.'s "odd couple," Mary Matalin—staunch Republican and Bush advisor—and James "The Ragin' Cajun" Carville—steadfast Democrat and Clinton campaign strategist. The couple will give audiences an enlightening and entertaining look at today's most important political issues, as well as a behind-the-scenes look at politics inside Washington and how today's headlines are playing out around the country. Matalin and Carville are key players on the national political stage—they each have over 30 years of experience in politics and have individually worked for Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. VIP tickets include a meet and greet reception before the performance with both James Carville and Mary Matalin. Patrons will have the opportunity for autographs and pictures. Tickets are available from www.wellsfargocenterarts.org.

Of course if you do not want to meet your celebrities at dinner or one on one, you can still visit Santa Rosa and enjoy shows from such performers as Lang Lang (September 29), Alison Krauss (September 30) and Bill Maher (October 20) at the Green Music Center www.gmc.sonoma.edu or Trombone Shorty (September 19), Anjelah Johnson (October 19) and Loretta Lynn (October 22) at the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts.

TravMedia sources contributed to this article.

Editor's note: Thinking of visiting the Santa Rosa area? You'll find links to the websites of hundreds of Lodging and Dining options in the area, as well as links to area wineries and beer-centric pubs and restaurants, in Taste California Travel's Resource Directory.