Petaluma Perspective by Houston Porter - May 2017
The Great Petaluma Chili Cookoff, Salsa, and Beer Tasting is the perfect spring primer for us all to get out and enjoy Petaluma’s great weather, food, and beer, after a long and soggy winter. Held at the Petaluma Fairgrounds on Sat, May 6, the Great Petaluma Chill Cookoff is not only a great food event, but has been highlighted by craft beef aficionados due to the two dozen breweries and cideries that pour in the beer garden each year. Where other beer festivals cost more, and do not include any food, “Chili” offers a great selection of local craft beers, along with all the great chili and salsa you can eat.
This year marks several milestones for “Chili”, including its 20th Anniversary. Known as the Chili Empress, this will beLaura Sunday’s final year running the event, after creating and nurturing “Chili” into the North Bay’s premier spring food and beer event over the past 20 years. Also retiring this year are the Tree Huggin’ Hippies, whose very first chili competition was 20 years ago at the inaugural Great Petaluma Chili Cookoff. Since that time, they have gone on to win just about every chili competition they entered, including the state finals. Yours truly will be in attendance too, as I run the local celeb judging panel, as well as tally all the People’s Choice votes at the end of the day.
The 2017 Open Studios Tours is scheduled for the weekend of May 6-7, from 11am – 5pm. Sponsored by the Petaluma Arts Association, which marks its 60th anniversary this year, this year’s tour includes 22 artists at 14 different studios around Petaluma. We try to buy at least one local piece of artwork a year, to not only support local artists, but also because once hung on our wall, it reminds us of what a great community we live in.
The Sonoma Resource Conservation District is a “local non-regulatory organization whose mission is to promote responsible natural resource management through voluntary community stewardship and technical assistance.” Basically, RCD helps preserve our natural resources, often by teaming with local farmers and ranchers to help them maintain their land for agriculture, instead of selling out to a developer. Because of RCD’s work, they often get access to areas that are not generally open to the public, like their upcoming private tour of Jacobsen Ranch (Sat, May 6, 10am-1pm), where guests will learn about the Petaluma Marsh, hay production and ranching near the bay, and walk the stunning ranch property along the river.
“The Petaluma Community Engagement Fair (Sun, May 7, noon – 4pm @ the Lucchesi Center) is a grassroots, non-partisan effort to encourage and support residents’ engagement in the life of our community based on the values of respect, appreciation, and understanding of diversity and toward the goals of a sustainable environment, inclusive economy and the provision of assistance to those in need.” Contact Marjorie Helm for more info.
As a kid, one of my favorite events of the year was the Living History Days (Sat, May 13, 10am – 4pm) at Petaluma’s Old Adobe. Living History Days gives present-day Petalumans a glimpse at what life was like on the historic adobe in the mid-1800’s, when the Old Adobe served as the agricultural center of General Vallejo’s 100 square mile ranch and employed as many as 2,000 workers. Much of what we enjoy about Petaluma today, including our great wineries and breweries, can trace their roots back to the Old Adobe.
“Daily Acts is a non-profit focused on sustainability, with the“core belief that every choice you make matters.” They offer some incredibly insightful, and useful classes, including their upcoming “EmPOWERing Our Communities” forum on energy and efficiency, with tips on how to conduct your own DIY energy audit of your home (Thur, May 4, 6:30-8pm),“Waste Not, Want Not – Buiding Soil & Community through Composting” (Tue, May 9, 6-8pm),“Garden Design Workshop – Creating your Water-Wise Oasis” (Wed, May 17, 5:30-8pm), and“Growing Our Gardens More Resilient – Habitat Gardening for Pollinators” (Wed, May 24, 5:30-7:30pm.) They will also be holding“Rockin’ Homesteads Tours” in Petaluma, Cotati, and Windsor on Sat, May 13, from 10am – 1pm.
The Petaluma Policeare warning both homes and business to be aware of a current telephone scam in which the caller demands immediate payment for alleged past due PG&E bills or else the customer will immediately lose their power. I’ll keep this simple - legit companies send bills, and when not paid, send more bills, and when not paid, resort to warning letters. By the time they call, you are well aware that you are in arrears.Trust your intuition – If it doesn’t feel right, that’s because it isn’t.
