#Petaluma’s Riverfront Art Gallery Celebrates Their 7-Year Anniversary

Art In The Park
Art In The Park

Supported by volunteers and donations, the The Petaluma Arts Association helps attract local artists by providing a great venue for them to share their artwork.  One way is by hosting Art In The Park at Walnut Park in downtown Petaluma. In 2003 it attracted two very talented local photographers Lance Kuehne and Jerrie Jerné Morago who carted their art and booths around in vans and passenger cars to show at this event. These two artists came to know each other at Art In The Park and shared a vision of a true cooperative fine-art gallery.  Four years later that vision would become a reality when they opened the Riverfront Art Gallery.  It has since become a mainstay of Petaluma’s culture and downtown landscape. Frequented by locals and visitors this gallery has come to be voted “Best of the North Bay” for “Best Art Gallery in Sonoma County” by the readers of the Bohemian in 2013 (for 6 years in a row).  After surviving one of the worst recessions in decades they were also our 2012 Petaluma People’s Choice Award for Best Art Gallery. The gallery now has twelve regular member artists. If you include the Juried and Invitational artists the collection can contain as many as 25 to 30 artist’s work at a time. Some of the artists are Petalumans and many are from surrounding Marin and Sonoma Counties.

Jerrie Jerne Moraga
Jerrie Jerne Moraga
Lance
Lance Kuehne

Jerrie, originally from San Francisco and long-time resident of Petaluma, grew into art over the years from accounting work to some graphic design and eventually photography. Over the years her photography grew into natural abstract art that is really unique and eye catching. Lance, originally from Lodi, graduated from University of Santa Cruz studying the arts and photography and now lives in Petaluma with his wife.  As a college student he took photos of his empty college campus one summer and he thought they were strange without people in them. But his friends and peers liked them which shifted his focus to landscape photography. Both Jerrie and Lance consider themselves naturalize Petaluma citizens and love the town for its culture, scenery, and close proximity to so many great places.

VIDEO UPDATE Earthquake: No Apparent visual damage to #Petaluma Historic Buildings

UPDATE: August 28, 2014, 12:01AM   Minimal quake damage seen in Petaluma (audio of the Aug. 24 quake) by BY EMILY CHARRIER ARGUS-COURIER STAFF

UPDATE August 24, 2014: Posted by Petaluma Police Department as a preliminary report on the earthquake. NO damage, injuries, or power outages.  More information will be released if the reports change.  911 Dispatchers are extremely busy, please use other media outlets and/or the internet for more details.  Go to the following link or USGS website for additional details:

UPDATE:  Here is a video of the #Petaluma Market – it appears there was someone working stocking the shelves when the earthquake hit and the isles were rocking back and forth.

Last evening we experienced a 6.1 earthquake in Sonoma/Napa Counties with the epicenter being American Canyon. We were awoken in the early AM with our home moving back and forth a few feet and chandelier in our bedroom swinging back and forth.

We were concerned with the historic buildings downtown #Petaluma knowing they have been earthquake retrofitted in the pasts. So we drove downtown and looked over the historic buildings and fortunately there is no apparent visible outside damage to the building. We did walk through this historic Herold Building on Kentucky Street and did not see any visible structural damage to the inside of that building.

So while many were affected by this earthquake, mostly in the American Canyon and Napa area, our historic downtown seems unaffected.

Here are some YouTube Videos of the earthquake caught on tape that were recently released that shows what people were awoken to last night.

Video: 2014 Taste of #Petaluma a Great Success

Gallery One: Photo By Wayne Dunbar
Gallery One: Photo By Wayne Dunbar

Today the streets of Petaluma were bustling with thousands of locals and visitors for the 2014 Taste of Petaluma. Almost everywhere you walked in the downtown you really did experience the best tastes of Petaluma restaurants.  What is interesting about this event is that it seems the entire town is involved. For example you can walk into a beauty supply store like Blush and you will find sliders from Palm Grill and wine from a local vineyard.  I can’t remember when I have seen so many different bands playing in every nook and cranny in town.  There were thousands of people walking the streets and enjoying the food and entertainment.  A side benefit to everyone enjoying their time was money to benefit the Cinnabar Theater in Petaluma.

Here is a short video of this event so you can see some of the highlights.

 

VIDEO: Tony Magee Tells Story How #Petaluma’s Lagunitas IPA was born

Tony Magee appears in this live interview by Spudnik on Cuz’s Corner video by Jam In the Van at Lagunitas Brewing Company.

Randy Gremp (Center)
Randy Gremp (Center)

The Scottish Magee tells the story how he was exhausted making beers and was frustrated with the results.  So he called on Randy Gremp Brewmaster of The Calistoga Brewing Company who unselfishly shared his brewing secret that helped Tony to change his recipe to create the Lagunitas IPA. Gremp now a brewmaster for Third Street Ale Works (shown in this picture with other brewmasters) has a reputation in Sonoma County brewing circles that is legendary.  Magee writes about him in his book speaking of the origins of his famous IPA.

“I wrote the recipe, but it was directly inspired by the very best brewer in the North Bay, who brewed the most sophisticated and subtle beers in the very tiniest and most compact brewery I’d ever seen: Randy Gremp…”

In this interview we find not only did Magee learn a lot about making beer from the British but he can also play guitar and sing.  He also announced that they just signed a contract that will put Lagunitas beer in over 900 bars in London in the near future.

Video: KRON 4 News #Petaluma a Culinary Destination

River View From Taps: Photo By Wayne Dunbar
River View From Taps: Photo By Wayne Dunbar

Last night was a beautiful evening in Petaluma.  We had the pleasure of dining at Rosso Pizzeria & Mozzarella Bar.  The service is amazing and the food is excellent. Also there is no corkage fee when you bring your own wine.  We took advantage of this and brought our favorite bottle of Rombauer Chardonnay.  We enjoyed the salad and the Margherita pizza which is made with local ingredients including McEvoy Ranch extra virgin olive oil.  The theater district was bustling full of participants from the days 2014 Great Petaluma Treasure Hunt. We also enjoyed stops at Seared Restaurant and finished the evening out at Petaluma Taps with the incredible view of the river while enjoying a cold Petaluma Hills IPA.

I guess it was fitting to find a report this morning from KRON 4 News weekend anchor Marty Gonzalez who states that Petaluma has grown from a small quiet town to a culinary destination. Yelps north bay community manager Kevin Blum starts off talking about Rosso Pizzeria & Mozzarella Bar.  He goes on to tell about our other fantastic venues including Lagunitas Brewing Company, Lombardi’s Gourmet Deli, Central Market, and Powell’s Sweet Shoppe.  But Kevin says if you want to dive deep into the Petaluma culinary experience he recommends the Taste of Petaluma which is the best venue to journey through the Petaluma culinary experience on Saturday August 23, 2014 from 11:30AM to 4:00PM. 

Here is the video from this recently released report.

 

Video: #Petaluma’s Cerra Pampa Draws Internationally for the “The Game of Kings”

                           Photo: Laura Morton SFGate.com

The Press Democrat recently report an article on August 3, 2014 Polo in Petaluma?  Located in the wine country and just off San Antonio road, the Cerro Pampa Polo Club is the closest venue to San Francisco offering an attractive place for polo teams all over the world. Polo SF has started an exchange program, bringing teams from other nations to compete in the U.S. as well as sending teams and players abroad.  On August 3, 2014 The Horses Horsepower event was the first international polo tournament in the U.S. in years and the first match at the polo grounds at the Sonoma-Marin County line since 2009.

This facility also offers a playground for young Petaluman’s to learn and play in the sport. The PoloSF Club offers group and individual lessons as well as practice games for beginners. Cerra Pampa is located at 1295 San Antonio Road in Petaluma on a 25 acre lot set in meadows and oaks tucked in a knoll known as Round Hill.  The property has turkeys, goats, rabbits and wildlife and of course the real kings of the sport, horses.

Today CBS San Francisco KPIX Channel 5 News released a video on their Where’s Roberta? segment. Reporter Roberta Gonzales takes us to Petaluma to learn about the game of poetry and motion with Polo SF.  Here is that video clip.

Update – just found this on the Alice 97.3 Facebook

 

 

VIDEO UPDATE: #Petaluma Resident Rescues Rare Aquatic Chick The Size of a Cotton Ball

Update: August 19, 2014 - from International Bird Rescue - Video - Feeding time for a rare Black Rail chick.

 

Click here for more information on the International Bird Rescue Site.  This is a photo of what an adult Black Rail looks like.  I have never seen one before.

An adult black rail. © Stephen E. Kacir
An adult black rail. © Stephen E. Kacir

———————–

Original Story.

The Black Rail chick is seen at the International Bird Rescue, left, and in the hand of Dione Rochelle when she found it, right. International Bird Rescue Isabel Luevano / Dione Rochelle.

Dione Rochelle probably had no idea what was in store for her on her walk at Shollenberger Park. In the middle of the path she found a rare aquatic shore baby chick. The baby chick is as small as a cotton ball and looks like a small puff of black fur but will grow to the size of a Sparrow.

According to the KSBW article, the Black Rail are hardly found and an threatened species. The bird was transferred to the Internation Bird Rescue’s San Francisco Bay Center and placed in an incubator.

Click here to read more on this story.



 


Video: #Petaluma’s Jonny Gomes Great Stand-up Comedy Host Potential

                       Video Clip By MLB Network Intentional Talk

Jonny Gomes appears on MLB Network show Intentional Talk with hosts MLB broadcasters Chris Rose and 2004 World Series Champion Kevin Millar introducing Gomes as a “ratings booster”.  It’s not clear who is actually running the show or if the hosts were ready for what Gomes was going to do.  Gomes, now an Oakland Athletic, brings on a special guest Steve who is a satirical “Oakland Athletics NBA Basketball Referee”.  Gomes choreographed this hilarious interview like a pro.  Positively Petaluma sees great potential for Gomes to take over Kimmel’s job in the future.  This referee is a crack-up.  Click the video below to start enjoying this interview.