Sept. 29 & 30: Rock for Autism

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If you haven’t checked out Santa Rosa’s Rock Star University’s House of Rock concert venue, this weekend is the perfect opportunity, as the space hosts two benefit concerts for the Anova School for Autism and Learning Differences. Friday features nationally touring Journey tribute act Faithfully, and Saturday brings Van Halen tribute band Atomic Punks, rocking out to the David Lee Roth–era of the classic group. Local teens V Squared open both shows, and 100 percent of ticket sales go to building a much-needed playground for Anova students. Sept. 29–30, at House of Rock, 3410 Industrial Drive, Santa Rosa. 7:30pm, both nights. $25–$40. rockstaruniversity.com.

Oct. 1: Days of Agriculture in Yountville

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Napa Valley’s harvest is in full swing, and the town of Yountville commemorates the occasion at the 40th annual Yountville Days parade and festival. The theme of this year’s event is “Celebrating Our Agricultural History,” and includes wineries, vineyard owners, farmers and other local businesses marching down the town’s Washington Street from Veterans Park to Yountville Park. Once the parade reaches its destination, the festival gathers several food vendors, beer and wine from the local Kiwanis Club and Yountville school PTA, and live music from big-band swing group On the Avenue. The family-friendly day happens Sunday, Oct. 1, at 6516 Washington St., Yountville. 10am, parade; 11am, festival. Free admission. townofyountville.com.

Oct. 1: New Harvest in Fulton

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After two decades of spotlighting heirloom tomatoes in their fall festival, the discerning harvesters at Kendall-Jackson are expanding their palette with their inaugural Harvest Celebration. The indulgent experience still features the popular tomatoes, though this fest features much more, with locally sourced plates of food from over a dozen purveyors, seminars on everything from beekeeping to barrel making, painting sessions, live music and more. Proceeds from tickets sales benefit the nonprofit UC Master Gardener Program of Sonoma County. Celebrate the harvest on Sunday, Oct. 1, at Kendall-Jackson Wine Center, 5007 Fulton Road, Fulton. 11am. $125. 707.576.3810.

Oct. 2-3: Haunted Harvest in Sonoma

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Last year, filmmaker Tom Wyrsch documented local ghost stories in his film Haunted Sonoma County. This autumn, Wyrsch is back with a new spooky spectacle on the North Bay in his new documentary ‘Haunted Wine Country.’ Among the picturesque vineyards and valleys, the film exposes an array of scary encounters and spirited experiences as recounted by paranormal experts, authors and historians, who all examine how the allure of wine country brought both hard-working homesteaders and Wild West adventurers, some of whom never left! The film premieres with cast and crew in attendance, Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 2–3, at Sebastiani Theatre, 476 First St. E., Sonoma. 7pm. $15. 707.996.9756.

Pass the Baton

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After 12 years on the conductor’s podium, Bruno Ferrandis is stepping down as music director of the Santa Rosa Symphony at the end of the 2017–18 season.

“He’s been an absolute joy to work with,” says Santa Rosa Symphony president and CEO Alan Silow. “He felt it was time to explore new musical horizons back in Europe, where he is based, and give the orchestra a time to refresh and have a new artistic vision for this organization going forward.”

Ferrandis gave the symphony an ample two-year notice of his intentions, and a 10-person committee that includes Silow, musicians and board members
has searched the globe for his replacement.

From a list that originally topped 70 names, the committee has narrowed the candidates down to five, and each will have the chance to perform for local audiences in the symphony’s 90th concert season, beginning Oct. 7 at the Green Music Center’s Weill Hall.

“All five of these candidates are or have been musical directors of highly distinguished orchestras,” Silow says. “I think that shows the stature that the Santa Rosa Symphony has acquired.”

In addition to the technical aspects of conducting and leading an orchestra, the search committee is looking for a director who will engage audiences and the community at large, collaborate well with the orchestra and visiting soloists and create imaginative, diverse and challenging programs.

The candidates were involved in selecting their concert’s program, with each concert featuring a solo pianist and containing classical, romantic and contemporary periods of music.

First up is Francesco Lecce-Chong. The San Francisco native, currently conducting at the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and directing at the Eugene Symphony, will lead a program that includes Beethoven’s Piano Concerto no. 3, Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony and a 2014 piece, “Garages of the Valley,” by Grammy-nominated composer Mason Bates.

The other candidates are Mei-Ann Chen, music director emeritus at Memphis Symphony Orchestra and director at the Chicago Sinfonietta; Andrew Grams, former assistant conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra; Graeme Jenkins, former music director of the Dallas Opera; and Michael Christie, formerly of the Brooklyn Philharmonic and the Phoenix Symphony and currently at the Minnesota Opera.

The board will decide in March after taking input from audiences and musicians. “We’re looking for somebody who has the ‘it’ factor,” says Silow. “Somebody who brings the magic to the concert.”

Viva Roseland

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Roseland is a neighborhood in transition. Located west of Highway 101 and south of Highway 12, the area is an unincorporated island under the governance of Sonoma County, though Santa Rosa is moving to annex the burg and incorporate it into the city proper.

Roseland is also a cultural bastion for local artists, musicians and working-class Latino families. Its mix of affordable properties and rich heritages make for unique culinary destinations and DIY artisan experiences, many of which will be on display at the inaugural Roseland Community Festival on Oct 1.

The bilingual affair is the brainchild of event planner and promoter Jake Ward, who lives in Roseland and hosts the monthly North Bay Cabaret events at the Whiskey Tip.

“The initial inspiration was wanting to do an event featuring Roseland-based artists,” Ward says. “It’s an underserved community in terms of the arts. There’s no performing arts center and there’s no conversation about Roseland being an arts hub, but a lot of local artists live there. And not just Latino artists—all sorts of artists.”

This summer, Ward received funds from Creative Sonoma, as part of the economic development program’s Pop Up Creativity Grants, to get the ball rolling.

“I knew I was going to need help,” Ward says. “Particularly a strong partner within the Latino community who could help pull in artists and vendors.”

Through his connections, Ward met Neil Pacheco, who works as a Latino marketing and hospitality coordinator at Graton Resort & Casino. “One thing that really touched me” about the idea for the event, Pacheco says, “was the blending of two communities. That’s very important to me.”

The festival is slated to offer two stages of entertainment, in English and Spanish, with music from Banda Pacifica, Black Sheep Brass Band, Nuevos Aventureros, Oddjob Ensemble, the Easy Leaves and others paired with Oaxacan cultural dancers, Miss Latina Wine Country, a low-rider car show and more.

Roseland’s culinary offerings will include food from El Paisa Taqueria, Sazón Peruvian Cuisine, Cancun Mexican Restaurant, Pacheco’s Roasted Corn and others. Art from local talents like Martín Zúñiga, George Utrilla Angulo and others will be on display, and a kids’ area will feature interactive sculptures, games and activities.

“This is about supporting Roseland,” Ward says. “Getting people from outside of Roseland to come in, see it and celebrate it.”

Viva Roseland

Suroste de Santa Rosa la da la bienbenda con una fiesta de inaguaracion

La communidad de Roseland is un vecendario este de highway 12 esta zona por mucho tempo nunca fue incorporada por la ciudad de Santa Rosa . La ciudad de Santa Rosa ahora esta por incorporar Roseland para que ahora sea parte de la Cuidad de Santa Rosa.

La zona de Roseland es el centro cultural para artistas , musica y el hogar de la communidad mas trabajadora en nuestro condado. Igualmente demonstra ser zona donde vasa probar sabores authenticos.

Este vencenedario offrece viviendas que la gente puede adqurie. Cantitad de estos negocios estaran presente el 01 de Octubre en el festival inaguaracion de Roseland.

Este evento is bilingue por el promotor Jake Ward quien vive en Roseland “mi inspiracion fue crear una fuente donde artistas locals puedan lucir su talento ”

Roseland es un zona que es hogar no solo para muchos Latinos sin no donde la gente comun, Los artistas la gente normal que le da sabores y color ha Santa Rosa. Es el sitio donde Los artistas viven.

Este verano Ward recibio una suma de dinero de Creative Sonoma para crear fondos par que empiese a ver un pulso para mejoar la economia. Con sus conexciones Ward concio ha Niel Pacheco, Latino Marketing at Graton Resort ambos estan unidos para que este zona de conveirta una una communidad para todos. El festival habra dos sitios de entreteniemiento y incluyen baile tipico de Oaxaca , Miss Latina wine country y el show de autos low rider y mas.

El festival es el Domingo 01 de Octubre en Roseland village center 555 Sebastopol Road. Medio dia – 6 de la tarde. Gratis. roselandcommunityfestival.com

Grand Harvest

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One of the most acclaimed fairs in the North Bay, the 43rd annual Sonoma County Harvest Fair packs in a thousand acres’ worth of wine, beer, food and fun into a three-day affair.

The traditional attractions, like the world championship grape stomp, pumpkin patch and art show and sale are all on hand, and the fair’s recent additions, like the Wine Country Marketplace and tasting pavilion, feed the masses with the best of Sonoma County’s bounty.

Over a hundred wineries set up shop this year, selling their award-winning bottles at deep discounts; homebrewers enter their far-reaching styles of beer, cider, mead and more; and celebrated chefs demonstrate techniques and offer tastings in culinary showdowns. Each day also features its own food and wine pairings, meaning that food lovers may want to come back for more throughout the weekend.

Among the tasty highlights, there are local bands like the Pulsators and Royal Jelly Jive, a classic cars show, Halloween displays, kids’ activities and more.

Head to the Sonoma County Harvest Fair, Oct. 6–8, at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds, 1350 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa. Friday, 4–9pm; Saturday–Sunday, 11am–5pm. Gate admission, $5; tastings and seminars are extra. harvestfair.org.

Happy Birthday

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Two Santa Rosa institutions are celebrating major anniversaries this month, and they’ve joined forces to celebrate.

Radio station KSRO 1350-AM marks 80 years. At one time it was the only radio station between San Francisco and Portland, Ore. Santa Rosa’s Flamingo Conference Resort & Spa isn’t as long in the tooth, but this month it’s marking 60 years of stylish accommodations and relaxation. Fun fact: When the Flamingo opened in 1957, KSRO began broadcasting from the hotel.

To mark the double birthday party, Steve Jaxon’s The Drive on KSRO will broadcast live from the Flamingo on Sept. 27, 3–6pm—we’ll be there, too, at 4pm for the “Boho Buzz”. During the celebrations, which will feature live flamingo’s from Safari West and synchronized swimmers from Redwood Empire Synchro, Flamingo staffers will open the 20-year-old time capsule tucked under the hotel’s signature spinning flamingo. What will they find? George H. W. Bush memorabilia? Backstreet Boys LPs? A Nokia flip-phone? The event is closed to the public, but you can tune in to find out and listen in on the celebration.

Letters to the Editor: September 27, 2017

Which Essick?

I’m confused. Which Mark Essick is running for sheriff? Is it the one who wrote the article for the Bohemian “Open Mic,” Sept. 20) or the one I saw at the Community and Local Law Enforcement Task Force meetings?

The newspaper Essick wants to “build partnerships to better engage with the community.” The meeting Essick was generally disdainful of the public, as well as uncooperative with his fellow appointees and outright disrespectful to the committee chairperson.

Newspaper Essick says, “If we work together we can keep Sonoma County a special place to live.” Meeting Essick refused to join the other members of the task force in sending their recommendations to the board of supervisors. He was the lone dissenter in a 19–1 vote. The recommendations included forming an independent review of law enforcement.

Newspaper Essick says he “worked to train police officers in de-escalation.” Meeting Essick nearly broke his neck shaking his head no when the public suggested a code of conduct that would avoid escalating language by law enforcement.

Newspaper Essick wants “to correct problems with transparency, oversight and community relations.” To do this he will need to make sure that Meeting Essick does not become sheriff of Sonoma County.

Sebastopol

Donald
McCarthy

Donald Trump has some striking similarities to Sen. Joe McCarthy of anti-communist fame. He is clearly a disturbed man who is out of touch with reality. McCarthy mobilized hysteria to harass and persecute people, and got away with it until he went looking for communists in the Army. Trump is now taking on the NFL and the NBA. Could this be his Army-geddon?

Santa Rosa

Go Ride a Bike

As a bicyclist, I am the first to admit that there are cyclists who give bicycling a bad name by the way they ride, but Keith Rhinehart’s letter “Road Hogs” (Sept. 20) points to one of the problems of cycling that non-cyclists seem to be unaware of. Mr. Rhinehart complains that “rude” bicyclists are riding on the outside of the bike lane “purposefully forcing motorists to give them an additional three feet of space.” What Mr. Rhinehart doesn’t see is that most bike lanes are full of debris and broken glass, some purposefully thrown into the bike lane by “rude” citizens to interfere with cyclists.

I don’t have an answer about how to clean up the bike lanes, but how about if all motorists spend one day a year outside of their two-ton killing machines and on a bicycle or as a pedestrian to understand the real dangers of Sonoma County roads.

Santa Rosa

Write to us at le*****@******an.com.

Burn Notice

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After a summer that felt like one endless heat wave, I was hearing two different kinds of reports on the state of the 2017 vintage. As quoted in various media reports, wineries had “dodged a bullet” and everything was peachy; by word of mouth, whole vineyards had crisped under the relentless sun. So, which is it, I asked North Coast winemakers: a sea of raisins or smooth sailing?

“It’s been kind of a crazy harvest, to be honest with you,” Charlie Tsegeletos, director of winemaking at Cline Cellars, tells Swirl. Normally cool Carneros, where Cline has Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, kicked off the season with late rain, followed by a few days of temperatures well over 100 degrees.

Up to that point, the big concern was mildew, which gets going amid the kind of exuberant, leafy conditions promoted after the drought-busting rains of this past winter. Usually, it’s a smart move to give the grape bunches some breathing room by removing leaves. But growers who got overzealous in their leaf-pulling project, according to Tsegeletos, might have run into problems when the furnace clicked on in early June, and seemed to stay lit all summer long, capped off with a scorcher that didn’t even spare the Sonoma Coast much.

“The heat was . . . well, hot,” says Pinot Noir specialist Adam Lee of Siduri Wines. “Like super hot, and it definitely took a toll. But not always in an expected way.” Lee explains that while grape-sugar levels shot up initially, many have since pulled back.

“The reason that you are hearing such varying reports from people is that it really is all over the place, depending on what grape types you grow, where they were in the maturity curve when the heat occurred, and what you did to respond to the heat,” says Lee. “This will not be a ‘one size fits all’ type of harvest.”

“This is a year where winemaking technique and experience will count,” concurs Randy Pitts, who focuses on a Russian River Valley Zinfandel at Harvest Moon Winery. “Sugars rose faster than acids could drop.
It was like 2010 all over again. Except this time we waited and watered a bit.”

Although two weeks of harvest were compressed into about five during the heat spell, Brian Maloney, director of winemaking at DeLoach Vineyards, says that surprisingly the wait-and-see approach for the remaining grapes is paying off: remarkably, “most of the alcohols are lining up to what we see in cool years like 2011.”

Still, says Siduri’s Lee, the closing chapter of the vintage remains a mystery: “This week’s warm-up will tell a lot about whether or not these vines have anything left in them.”

Sept. 29 & 30: Rock for Autism

If you haven't checked out Santa Rosa’s Rock Star University’s House of Rock concert venue, this weekend is the perfect opportunity, as the space hosts two benefit concerts for the Anova School for Autism and Learning Differences. Friday features nationally touring Journey tribute act Faithfully, and Saturday brings Van Halen tribute band Atomic Punks, rocking out to the David...

Oct. 1: Days of Agriculture in Yountville

Napa Valley’s harvest is in full swing, and the town of Yountville commemorates the occasion at the 40th annual Yountville Days parade and festival. The theme of this year’s event is “Celebrating Our Agricultural History,” and includes wineries, vineyard owners, farmers and other local businesses marching down the town’s Washington Street from Veterans Park to Yountville Park. Once the...

Oct. 1: New Harvest in Fulton

After two decades of spotlighting heirloom tomatoes in their fall festival, the discerning harvesters at Kendall-Jackson are expanding their palette with their inaugural Harvest Celebration. The indulgent experience still features the popular tomatoes, though this fest features much more, with locally sourced plates of food from over a dozen purveyors, seminars on everything from beekeeping to barrel making, painting...

Oct. 2-3: Haunted Harvest in Sonoma

Last year, filmmaker Tom Wyrsch documented local ghost stories in his film Haunted Sonoma County. This autumn, Wyrsch is back with a new spooky spectacle on the North Bay in his new documentary ‘Haunted Wine Country.’ Among the picturesque vineyards and valleys, the film exposes an array of scary encounters and spirited experiences as recounted by paranormal experts, authors...

Pass the Baton

After 12 years on the conductor's podium, Bruno Ferrandis is stepping down as music director of the Santa Rosa Symphony at the end of the 2017–18 season. "He's been an absolute joy to work with," says Santa Rosa Symphony president and CEO Alan Silow. "He felt it was time to explore new musical horizons back in Europe, where he is...

Viva Roseland

Roseland is a neighborhood in transition. Located west of Highway 101 and south of Highway 12, the area is an unincorporated island under the governance of Sonoma County, though Santa Rosa is moving to annex the burg and incorporate it into the city proper. Roseland is also a cultural bastion for local artists, musicians and working-class Latino families. Its mix...

Grand Harvest

One of the most acclaimed fairs in the North Bay, the 43rd annual Sonoma County Harvest Fair packs in a thousand acres' worth of wine, beer, food and fun into a three-day affair. The traditional attractions, like the world championship grape stomp, pumpkin patch and art show and sale are all on hand, and the fair's recent additions, like the...

Happy Birthday

Two Santa Rosa institutions are celebrating major anniversaries this month, and they've joined forces to celebrate. Radio station KSRO 1350-AM marks 80 years. At one time it was the only radio station between San Francisco and Portland, Ore. Santa Rosa's Flamingo Conference Resort & Spa isn't as long in the tooth, but this month it's marking 60 years of stylish...

Letters to the Editor: September 27, 2017

Which Essick? I'm confused. Which Mark Essick is running for sheriff? Is it the one who wrote the article for the Bohemian "Open Mic," Sept. 20) or the one I saw at the Community and Local Law Enforcement Task Force meetings? The newspaper Essick wants to "build partnerships to better engage with the community." The meeting Essick was generally disdainful of...

Burn Notice

After a summer that felt like one endless heat wave, I was hearing two different kinds of reports on the state of the 2017 vintage. As quoted in various media reports, wineries had "dodged a bullet" and everything was peachy; by word of mouth, whole vineyards had crisped under the relentless sun. So, which is it, I asked North...
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