Step right up and hold onto those peanuts because Petaluma’s Lagunitas Brewing Company is about to host the fantastical Fourth Annual North Bay Fashion Ball.
This year’s gathering of local fashionistas, makers, creators and otherwise stylish individuals is circus-themed, which means it’s time to get a ticket and let those freak flags fly loud and proud.
The North Bay Fashion Ball began four years ago when a group of friends got together, drank a bit of wine and developed a foolproof plan to spread fashion to and through Petaluma.
“Basically, I was drinking red wine with a couple of local artists … and we were just toying with an idea,” said Cincinnatus Hibbard, founder of the North Bay Fashion Ball and a regular Weeklys contributor. “All of our friends have skills, talents, aspirations … the same goes with any random group of friends. So we were talking about, if you put those skills of ours together, what business would they form?
“So we just started asking people, friends of friends, people with contacts and, of course, a few sparkly people we knew, too,” Hibbard continued. “The scene was ready for something like this, and there was plenty of hard work to be done. But certain passion projects like this make it feel like you’re working downhill.”
This fourth year of the North Bay Fashion Ball marks the passage of leadership from one organizer to another. Think of it like a trapeze act but without the nets. On one hand is Hibbard, hanging from a rope by his knees, ready to drop down and hand over his spotlight to the new organizer of the Fashion Ball and local fashion business owner, Lena Claypool.
“I got involved with the fashion ball because Cincinnatus came into my store one day and asked me to be a designer for the first year,” Claypool said. “Then, I was co-host in my second year. Last year, I had more control over the event. And then this year, the others are giving up the reins and letting me take over. Next year, it’ll be all me, which is exciting, fun and a lot of work. I’m going to need to find myself a co-host …”
The Fourth Annual North Bay Fashion Ball promises a runway experience unlike any other, blending fashion, performance and community into one high-energy spectacle. Six local designers will showcase their latest collections, with booths set up in the Lagunitas courtyard for early shopping.
“The fashion show has grown and changed a lot in only four years,” Claypool said. “The first two years were at The Phoenix Theater and had a smaller, grungier vibe, which was really cool. But the size of our event started to outgrow that. So we looked into Lagunitas last year, and here we are. We’re very excited about it, especially since there’s such a different vibe—it’s outdoors, very bright and open, and really leaves room for us to build the vision we wanted.
“The event is a cool way for local designers to showcase their work,” Claypool continued. “Being a designer myself, it’s really hard to get your work out there and be noticed. So, the goal of our fashion show is to support the community and give local artists and designers a platform to show their work and promote themselves. This year we have local performers, burlesque … music … [we’re] working with Wine Country Zoological, so they’re going to do an animal presentation. Just cool local talent showing what they do, and it’ll be circus-themed.”
This year’s North Bay Fashion Ball is set to bring a kaleidoscope of fashionable local talent to Lagunitas, with a curated lineup of designers, performers and vendors with personalities and products colorful enough to match the circus theme. Burlesque artist and costume designer Sweet Beat Petite, for instance, will return to the stage alongside vintage showstopper Chenoa Faun. Meanwhile, Saint Rose Disco will bring a disco-leaning DJ set to keep the mood properly groovy. Latin-pop spectacle Fleevs will join the bill with backup dancers in tow.
That’s right, ladies and gentlemen: The showstoppers of the fashion show may very well be those in fur and scales and not much else. In other words, Wine Country Zoological will add some authentic circus flair to the event with a few special, rehabilitated animal guest appearances with a kangaroo, a yellow boa and an alligator—oh my! Nothing says fashion show like a full-on menagerie.
Trashion Fashion Sonoma will show highlights from its 15th anniversary “best of” trash couture collection, while Frenchy Rene is blending pop culture and menswear into eye-catching looks. Buck Lucky, Lena Claypool’s own label, will deliver corsets, bows and full-fledged fun edge.
“My brand is very clown-y and fun. And since Lagunitas has done the beer circus so successfully in the past, it tied the two together,” Claypool said. “Plus, it gives the designers a lot of freedom to do a lot of fun looks. The circus theme really seemed like it would just fit the vibe.”
Rumor also has it that Big Mouth Unique will roll in via monster truck with ice-cream-hatted “frechards” and a fresh collection drop. Plus, an open-call runway will invite audience members to strut their stuff for a chance to win the crown by crowd acclaim. Off the runway, designer market stalls, tooth gems, free circus-themed face painting and decadent Mexican-American treats from The Real Chemoy really round out the freaky festival atmosphere.
“I feel like, especially now, people are sort of realizing that fast fashion is not worth it. And if you can make something yourself, it’s so much better in the long run … and so much more sustainable,” Claypool said.
“The general goal is to inspire the people to dress up—we don’t think fashion is superficial; it makes apparent all that is hidden within us,” Hibbard noted. “Fashion shows our pattern, our story, our complex cultural reference, our ambitions, our mask, our vulnerability. It’s all very meaningful. We also have the charity, which is a big component of the fashion show.”
This year’s Fashion Ball doubles as a fundraiser for Face to Face, a Sonoma County nonprofit leading the charge in compassionate, harm-reduction-based care. Known for its needle-exchange program and wide distribution of Narcan, Face to Face quietly saves thousands of lives each year during the ongoing opioid crisis. A portion of the evening’s door profits will go directly to supporting its essential programs. Attendees will have the chance to contribute further through a raffle packed with local prizes—fashion for a good cause with all the bells, whistles and brews one could possibly desire.
It’s time to put on the best circus outfit, gather all those freaky friends and carpool over to the Fourth Annual North Bay Fashion Ball in an appropriately crowded clown car—and don’t forget a designated clown car driver, too. Red noses that honk and flower brocades that squirt water are optional but encouraged. Flaming hoops, lions without registered trainers and acts of random juggling will not be tolerated.
Doors for the Fourth Annual North Bay Fashion Ball open at 5pm, with the show running from 6-8pm on June 28. To tightrope into the circus/fashion epicenter of Petaluma, grab a ticket online through the Eventbrite link.
an “experiential dispensary” with a focus on hyper-local products and credits its success to knowledgeable and long-tenured budtenders and the variety and quality products available. “It’s designed so customers have an experience when they come in,” said Charlie Woods, one of four partner friends and Santa Rosa residents who own and operate the business. “It’s immersive and psychedelic. It’s like a show piece, so there’s a wow factor, and when our customers come in, they are transported to a different universe.” 
