San Rafael
Luck of the Marin
The Marin Irish Festival returns to Lagoon Park with two days of Celtic revelry, lakeside camaraderie and enough fiddles to temporarily convince Northern California it borders the Atlantic.
Inspired by the ancient spring festival of Beltane, the event mixes traditional Irish music, dance and storytelling with modern festival pleasures like pints, shepherd’s pie and artisan shopping. Six entertainment areas host performances ranging from step dancing to live bands, while the returning Céilí on the Lake Championships brings competitive Irish dance back to the fairgrounds with enough flying feet to rattle nearby Guinness glasses.
There are also open music sessions, maypole dancing, Gaelic sports demonstrations and, because Marin remains gloriously unpredictable, falcons.
10am to 6pm, Saturday–Sunday, May 16–17, at Lagoon Park, Marin County Fairgrounds, 110 Armory Dr., San Rafael. $30 adults, $15 children; weekend passes available. More information at marinirishfestival.com.
Petaluma
Bat Boxes & More
Bats, it should be noted, are excellent neighbors. They eat mosquitoes, mind their own business and rarely demand much beyond a properly constructed domicile.
That’s the thinking behind the latest installment of the Integrative Native Artisans Art Ecology Workshop Series at Slough City Studios, where participants can build reclaimed-wood bat boxes while learning beginner-friendly woodworking skills in the process. For the less nocturnally inclined, the afternoon also includes a flower press station, offering attendees the chance to create botanical keepsakes from reclaimed materials.
Equal parts craft workshop, ecology lesson and communal tinkering session, the event continues Slough City’s quietly charming mission of making practical art feel approachable. No prior skills required—just a willingness to saw, assemble and perhaps reconsider bats as part of the garden ecosystem.
1-3pm, Saturday, May 16, at Slough City Studios, 409 Petaluma Blvd. South, Petaluma. Free admission; $40 flower press, $60 bat box. More information at sloughcity.com.
Santa Rosa
Meeting the Moment
As immigration policy continues to ripple through schools, workplaces and family life across Sonoma County, Los Cien Sonoma County convenes a public forum aimed at replacing confusion with information and isolation with solidarity.
“Immigration Update 2026: Meeting the Moment with Truth, Resilience and Courage” brings together legal experts, advocates and frontline community leaders for a discussion examining how national immigration policies are affecting local residents in real time.
The program features keynote remarks from immigration law scholar Bill Ong Hing alongside panelists working directly with immigrant families throughout the region. Spanish-language interpretation will be available, with organizers emphasizing community connection, practical resources and collective response over rhetoric alone.
10:30am to 1pm, Friday, May 15, at The Backdrop at Becoming Independent, 1455 Corporate Center Pkwy., Santa Rosa. Tickets required. More information at mynorthbaytickets.com.
San Geronimo
Spring Awakening
West Marin’s creative ecosystem is on full display at the 36th Annual Spring Art Show. Featuring more than 100 artists from the San Geronimo and Nicasio valleys, the exhibition spans painting, photography, sculpture, textiles, ceramics and mixed media, offering a snapshot of the region’s deeply rooted artistic culture.
The work ranges from emerging voices to longtime local fixtures, with recurring themes of landscape, ecology and connection to place running through the galleries like coastal fog. Opening festivities include a public reception with live music by the Old Time Music Makers, adding a little string-band warmth to the proceedings.
The exhibition continues through May 17 at Maurice Del Mue Galleries, San Geronimo Valley Community Center, 6350 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., San Geronimo. Gallery hours noon to 5pm weekdays, noon to 6pm weekends. Free admission. More information at sgvcc.org.
