Author: Wayne Dunbar

Second Look Sunday: A Positively Petaluma Weeks In Review

Over the last few weeks many of the stories below were created by us, or scattered over several different media and social media sources.  The Petaluma Magazine was created to collect them all in one place with easy navigation either by a click of a mouse or swipe of your finger on your smart devices.  The Second Look will be a reflection of some of the posts from the previous weeks.

1000’s are enjoying their free subscription with thousands of positive articles including these highlights from the last few weeks:

Other posts can be found on our home page.  Also check out the sidebar Categories, Archives and Tag Cloud. Thanks also for “Like”ing us on Facebook and following us on Twitter.

Thank you for following, recommending and sharing this post and website.

VIDEO: LumaCON’s First Comic Convention a Success

LumaCon 2014-4 Resize
Photo By Ashley Collingwood

Petaluma held the first LumaCON on Saturday, January 17th at Herzog Hall on the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds. Turnout was high and some sources reported over 1500 attended.

The event showcased local artists ranging from professionals, including “Pearls Before Swine” author Stephan Pastis, to blooming artists from the local schools. LumaCON was brought about with collaboration between Petaluma High School, Casa Grande High School, and the Sonoma County Library along with help from numerous sponsors and volunteer artists.

 

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Photo By Ashley Collingwood

Connie Williams, LumaCON Co-Organizer and Teacher Librarian at Petaluma High School recalls, “I saw an article about a Comic-Con and I thought, ‘Why don’t we do that?’ and I broached the subject … and everybody we asked said ‘Yes!’ So once we knew we had a base of folks to do it, then it all developed from there … You know, one little idea sparked it but everybody jumped in and it was totally the group [who made it happen].”

CLICK ON PAGE 2 BELOW TO SEE MORE INFO, PHOTOS, AND SHORT VIDEO SHOWCASING THE EVENT

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#Petaluma Celebrates “The Birth of an AVA – Petaluma Gap”

Recently the Petaluma Historical Museum and Library had a fantastic display of our city’s viticulture history.  Kaye Chandler did a great job in capturing the display on video (which can be found on the next page of this article).  Over the years our town’s rolling hills have evolved into what now is starting to look like the Sonoma or Napa Valley.  After reviewing Kaye’s film you realize that Petaluma families have been making wine since the mid 1900s (some sources say for over 150 years).

Keller Estate & Petaluma River, Photo by Wayne Dunbar

While we have a rich history in viticulture, 2015 marks the birth of a new American Viticulture Area (AVA), The Petaluma GAP. An AVA is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States distinguishable by geographic features with boundaries defined by the Alcohol and Tobacco Trade Bureau and United States Department of Treasury. The geographic features that distinguish the Petaluma GAP is the wind and the fog. The “GAP” refers to the wind gap named after a coastal mountain opening that stretches east from the Pacific through the town of Petaluma and then roars south to San Pablo Bay which makes this AVA ideal for growing certain grapes (Pinot, Chardonnay & Syrah).  The AVA designation allows the wine makers to label their bottles indicating the grapes in the wine came from this region.

On Friday, January 30 from 6-8PM located at the Healdsburg Public Library the “The Birth of an AVA – Petaluma GAP” event will be hosted by the Wine Library Associates of Sonoma County and the Petaluma GAP Winegrowers Alliance.  This is a great opportunity to have some wine and learn about the region.  Tickets are $35 per person but only $25 for Wine Library and Alliance members.  You can reserve tickets by calling (707) 433-1660 or purchasing tickets on Eventbrite.

CLICK PAGE 2 TO SEE KAYE CHANDLERS VIDEO AND THE PETALUMA GAP MAP

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#Petaluma’s Tara Firma Farms Connects With The Community

Tara Firma Farms opened in 2009, with a philosophy that focused on rotational grazing, stress-free animal life, and sustainable farming practices. Six years later, the farm is still going strong and giving weekend tours to anyone who wants to see how the farm works.

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Photo By Ashley K. Collingwood

The tour begins at the farm’s small store, which is filled with produce from local organic farms and meat from Tara Firma, before proceeding to walk visitors across the farmland, stopping to see the baby chicks and pigs, while giving the public the opportunity to ask questions about the farm. The baby chicks and pigs are a great draw for children and the information on the tour gives both kids and adults a chance to learn about the process of food and sustainable farming. Visitors also learn that the farm has a membership program, which people can join in order to sign up for various food delivery packages all over the bay area and become more connected to the farm.

Tara Firma Farm Photos-5 Resized
Photo By Ashley K. Collingwood

After the tour Tara Firma member Jim Bloom tells me, “It’s amazing how much we’ve destroyed our food culture through over-processing and it’s horrible, so finding folks like this is amazing. The tour’s been fantastic. It’s really great property, it’s great seeing how they produce, and getting out here.”

 

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Photo By Ashley K. Collingwood

As an environmentally focused farm, Tara Firma concentrates on creating a stress-free environment for the livestock in addition to rotational grazing. Besides appealing to animal lovers, when there is no stress on animals, there is no need to use chemicals and medications on them. When talking about the farm’s open-door policy Tara explains, “We’re open seven days a week. People can come and sneak around and look in the closets and the drawers, or whatever, ‘cause we don’t use antibiotics, we don’t use any kind of sprays on the land or the animals. Probably the closest spray we have is tea tree oil and water on the baby pigs in the winter … and they love it and it smells like a spa in the pig pen.”

CLICK PAGE 2 BELOW TO SEE SHORT VIDEO ON TARA FIRMA FARMS

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Positively Petaluma Welcomes Visual Journalist Ashley K. Collingwood

Ashley Collingwood ResizeWe would like to introduce Ashley K. Collingwood an aspiring Petaluma journalist to our team of contributors. She earned a Bachelors in Arts Degree in Journalism at the University of Oregon. In 2014 she was in the top 10% of her class and recognized by the National Honor Society for Journalism.

Ashley Collingwood Resize Sunflower

 

Ashley is a visual journalist, photographer, videographer and graphic designer. This makes her a great fit for what we are trying to accomplish and that is to capture and share great things going on in Petaluma.  When she was a Petaluma High School student she is noted to have contributed to Teen Life blog in The Press Democrat.

Please join me in welcoming Ashley to our team of contributors and look for her articles in the very near future.

For more information about Ashley click here to go to her website.

VIDEO: #Petaluma’s Laurie Figone Appears On Good Day Sacramento

Our very own Dessert World Champ Laurie Figone appeared on Good Day Sacramento sharing secrets on how to make her Mojito Marvel Money Bars that give all the flavors of a Mojito in a creamy dessert.

The video will appear below and may take some machines a few seconds to populate.

Also check out her website that has a ‘Recipes’ tab where she shares many of her great recipes. Click here to see her dessert recipes.  She will be releasing her cookbook in the near future.

For more on Laurie Figone see our previous post VIDEO UPDATE: #Petaluma’s Laurie Figone gets her shot on the big screen on TNT’s “On The Menu”.

Nominate A ‘Good Egg’ & Get Butter & Egg Days Applications In

The 2015 Butter & Egg Days Parade will be here before you know it so mark your calendar for April 25. The Petaluma Downtown Association has updated their site for this year’s event.

GET YOUR NOMINATIONS FOR GOOD EGG IN BY FEBRUARY 25

The downtown association is working hard to get things tied up for the Good Egg nomination and ceremony but provided us with a copy of the form that will be used for this year.

The Good Egg Award is presented annually to a Petaluma citizen whose ‘egg-ceptional’ effort over time has helped preserve and contribute to the positive promotion of the city of Petaluma, its history and its people.

To nominate a “Good Egg”, send a nomination form or letter to: The Good Egg Award Committee, c/o Petaluma Downtown Association, 210 Lakeville Street, Petaluma, CA, 94952. All applications must be received by Wednesday, February 25 at 5 p.m.

Your letter should identify how your prospective Good Egg has helped to promote Petaluma and its history within the community and beyond. They may have done this by working to preserve Petaluma history, promoting Petaluma’s distinctive resources, or helping others to remember and honor historic Petalumans or Petaluma achievements. This needs to be someone who has contributed to the preservation or promotion of Petaluma’s history.

Click this link to download a 2015 Good Egg Nomination Form and print it out.

Here is the video of 2014 Good Egg John Crowley, owner of Aqus Cafe Foundry Wharf.

CLICK ON PAGE 2 BELOW TO GET IMPORTANT LINKS AND DATES FOR THIS YEAR’S PARADE

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Ends January 31! Have Fun, Get Recognized, and Support Your Community

You may remember the release of our Special Limited Edition shirts in December.  Since then you have purchases nearly 300 shirts. Thank You! Our goal is to hand a check to COTS for over a $1,000 in February.  The cost of the shirts are only $5.00 with $1.00 going to COTS. The shirts can be purchased at Zephyr Sportswear.

Have fun and get noticed for spreading the good news in Petaluma while supporting your community.  Submit a photo wearing the shirt in Petaluma and we will post them in the month of February.  Be creative! maybe you are a….

  • Restaurant or Bar owner, host(ess), or worker
  • Band or musician playing at a Petaluma venue
  • Petaluma public works, police, firefighter or politician
  • Team, athlete, or coach of a Petaluma sport.
  • Traveler in a foreign country
  • Participant at a Petaluma event or standing next to a Petaluma historical site or Landmark
  • Petaluma business owner or entire company
  • Volunteer for a Petaluma charity or docent
  • Teacher or Student at a Petaluma school or away for college
  • On a walk or hike at a Petaluma park or open space
  • Fisherman or water sportsman on the Petaluma river
  • Petaluma Author or Artist holding a copy of your book or artwork

Entries must be submitted by January 31st

Congratulations To Petaluma’s Shelina Moreda Winning For United States

You may recall in June last year we interviewed Shelina in an article Herding cows on motorcycles to pro racing internationally: An interview with Shelina Moreda.  This interview led to Ken Wayne anchor of KTVU channel 2 to interview her on the local news station.

Shelina Moreda reports today that she placed first winning the Losail Asian Road Racing Series representing the United States and breaks her personal record for fastest time on the Losail International Circuit in Qatar.   She posts  “I WON!” and was grateful hearing our national anthem playing for a woman winning in the middle east in a sport that is dominated by men.

Even though she stated having challenges with her bike setup she states that when they fix those issues she will even be able to go faster.   She thanks all her supporters and credits her fans for contributing to her success.

Post by Shelina Moreda Racing.

To get an idea of the course here is a video on a preliminary run.

Post by Christopher Bell.

Petaluma Eats! at Sugo Trattoria

Although Petaluma has a lot of great restaurants, I always find myself returning to Sugo.  Whether visiting for a business lunch, dinner before the movies, or just for some after-dinner sweets and a glass of wine, you will love Sugo.

Having moved back to Petaluma in the mid-2000’s, I have tasted everything on Sugo’s menu, with the most memorable items being…well…everything.  In fact, I always arrive at Sugo knowing exactly what I want, only to find myself seduced by menu items I had forgotten about, or new specials.  It isn’t unusual for me to tell my partner to pick two things as I’m sure I’ll be happy with half of both.  Sugo’s food is simply that good.

Some personal favorites…

Bruschetta Trio

Sugo Trattoria Bruschetta TrioYou can’t go wrong starting out with the Bruschetta Trio…your choice of three different (and delicious) bruschetta combinations all for the very reasonable price of $7.  This price has never changed, and I hope it never will.  When I haven’t been in a while, or we are entertaining others, I order three different toppings.  Otherwise I simply order the phenomenal prosciutto/fig/brie for the entire Trio.
Gnocchi

Sugo Trattoria GnocchiI get Gnocchi at every restaurant I can, and have had Sugo’s on many occasions.  The gnocchi pillows are light yet firm, made with ricotta instead of the American standard of making them from potatoes.  Sugo’s feel as if they are on the brink of melting in my mouth, holding their shape just long enough to be bitten into.  And the pesto crème sauce is so good that I asked for more bread so I could polish it off.  Although not on the menu, if you’re lucky, they will sprinkle crispy Pancetta over the top for you.  That’s call the “Sugo a la Houston” in our house and is punching up my taste buds just sitting here thinking about it.

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