This Saturday’s 6th Annual Taste of Petaluma is a culinary journey you won’t want to miss
Pie-maker and filmmaker Lina Hoshino, of Petaluma's famed Petaluma Pie Company will be serving chocolate creme pie and cheeseburger pie at Saturday's 6th annual Taste of Petaluma. Photo: Geneva Anderson
It’s no secret to those of us who live in Petaluma that our town is bursting with fabulous eateries—we now have over 140 restaurants─ and Petaluma is now recognized as the gourmet dining destination for Sonoma County and the Wine Country. This Saturday, the 6th annual Taste of Petaluma will offer samplings from over 60 of our town’s finest chefs, food purveyors, wineries and breweries. “Taste” is the perfect way to acquaint yourself with Petaluma’s culinary offerings by spending a leisurely afternoon visiting the eateries, hosting galleries and stores, (many of which are in Petaluma’s lovely Historic Downtown area) which will be serving generous tastes of signature dishes. The festive afternoon will also include live musical entertainment (schedule)—classical, jazz, folk, acoustic, rock─and belly dancers, an aspiring Elvis, a magician and more!
Over the past two weeks, I accompanied Taste of Petaluma’s coordinator Laura Sunday and a gung-ho group of local food writers to pre-tastes all around town and ate (and ate and ate). I have been asked to focus on a few tantalizing vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free offerings, along with my personal favorites.
Elly Lichtenstein, Cinnabar Theater’s Artistic Director, and Laura Sunday, Taste of Petaluma’s coordinator, share a hug at Cordoza’s Deli and Café. They have worked for months to organize Taste of Petaluma, one of Cinnabar Theater’s most important fundraisers. Photo: Geneva Anderson
“Taste of Petaluma” is truly unique in the roll-out of gourmet events in Northern CA,” explained Laura Sunday. “You get to experience the ambience of the restaurant or venue itself, chat with the owners, and the food is all prepared right on the spot─it hasn’t been sitting around waiting to be served in a booth.”
All of the purveyors generously donate their food to Taste, knowing that a sample is the best advertising that money can buy. And because the proceeds go directly to Cinnabar Theater, which so enriches our community, the entire event has a feel-good vibe to it, whether you’re on the supply or demand end of the equation.
Sunday is quick to point out that Cinnabar Theater is struggling to make up the funding it lost when the City of Petaluma’s TOT (Transient Occupancy Tax) subcommittee cut Cinnabar’s annual TOT funding from $70,000 to zero over the course of two years. “That was a tremendous blow. Now, Cinnabar is even more dependent on its two main fund-raising events─the Great Petaluma Chili Cookoff, Salsa and Beer Tasting (every May) and Taste of Petaluma (every
Nancy DeLorenzo of Wild Goat Bistro, located in the Great Petaluma Mill, has a reputation for serving the best artisan pizzas in town, along with tantalizing salads, all made from local organic produce. Photo: Geneva Anderson
September). I moved to Petaluma because of Cinnabar Theatre and its tremendous youth programming. Both of my children have careers in the arts that are a direct result of the training they received at Cinnabar. Cinnabar’s productions are an integral part of our community’s rich offerings.”
Now, on to the food!
Wild Goat Bistro (6 Petaluma Boulevard North, Suite A5) in the Great Petaluma Mill, wowed me last year with its offerings of rustic artisan pizzas and, once again, owner Nancy DeLorenzo bowled me over by presenting an array of foods that looked and tasted so good, I literally got lost in taking photos of these magnificent gourmet artworks. This year, Nancy’s sisters are flying in to help out for Taste, and Wild Goat is offering three of it most demanded artisanal pizzas: Perfect Pair–pear, fontina cheese, smoked ham, topped with gorgonzola; Mediterranean Pizza—pesto base with purple onions, tomatoes, fresh mushrooms, artichokes, mozzarella cheese; and That’s a Meatball—tomato sauce, pesto, mozzarella and Niman Ranch Angus meatballs. Wild Goat is not offering any gluten-free selections for Taste but their regular menu does include several gluten free options, including gluten-free Neapolitan-style thin crust pizzas and several desserts.
(Be sure to check out ARThound’s slide show of an afternoon of pizza-making with Nancy, Laura Sunday and Houston Porter. We mastered the thin crust.)
Everest Indian Restaurant, (56 East Washington Street) in the Golden Eagle Shopping Center, owned and managed by Gopal and Shanti Gauchan and their daughter, Sunita, offers a tantalizing mix of Indian, Nepalese and Tibetan dishes with sauces of sheer perfection. For Taste, Everest will offer a choice of Vegetable Tikka Masala or Prawns in Apricot Sauce. The Vegetable Tikka Masala is a perfect choice for vegetarians as it contains locally-sourced carrots, cauliflower, mushrooms, Italian squash and a smattering of white turnip —all slowly cooked to
Gopal (right) and Shanti (left) Gauchan and their daughter Sunita (center) own Everest Indian Restaurant in the Golden Eagle Shopping Center. Vegetable Tikka Masala (left front) is a delicious vegetarian dish and their Apricot Prawns (back right) features Gopal’s signature succulent apricot-coconut sauce. Photo: Geneva Anderson
release maximum flavor in a sauce whose base ingredients include sautéed onions, tomato paste, garlic, and light cream simmered with a special blend of spices (including ancient fenugreek, cardamom, and ginger), and slices of dried Granny Smith apples. The result─a rich, sweet golden medley.
And in case you haven’t tried Everest’s signature Apricot Chicken or Apricot Prawns yet, the secret is in Gopal’s succulent apricot-coconut sauce─it’s sweet and creamy, but not too sweet. After living in California, Gopal noticed that people here love sauces but are weary of cumin-dominated flavoring. When he added the apricots, a beautiful orange fruit just loaded with that most people find delicious (that is actually categorized as a plum species), he had a winner. Everest will offer a lightly fried jumbo prawn simmered in this succulent sauce, garnished with dried apricot and lightly steamed broccoli.
And when you decide to come back for lunch or dinner, Everest’s Chicken Tikka Masala is consistently ranked by customers as the best they have had, ever. There are also several variations of freshly cooked naan, that sumptuous traditional Indian bread, ranging from unembellished Plain Naan to Garlic Basil Naan, which is topped with garlic and fresh basil—a staple when it comes to sopping up every drop of sauce on your plate. And, one of the best aspects of dining at Everest, is the chance to take in the artworks that grace the dining area. Right now, there are several charcoal works by Miguel Gonzales on display, and his portraits are very skillfully executed.
Everest Indian Restaurant’s Vegetable Tikka Masala is a slow simmered richly-hued masterpiece made from locally grown produce which is perfect with naan or rice. Photo: Geneva Anderson
Lydia’s Lovin’ Foods, a newcomer to Taste of Petaluma, will be hosted at Pelican Art Gallery (143 Petaluma Blvd. North). Based in Fairfax, Lydia’s has three branches─Lydia’s Organics, Lydia’s Kitchen and Lydia’s Lovin’ Foods─and was founded by Lydia Kindheart. Kindheart was raised in France and lived in Petaluma “many moons ago,” before she started her highly successful companies some 15 years ago which specialize in high-end all organic and gluten free foods, and several raw food items. You may have seen a few of Lydia’s products in Petaluma Whole Foods, where they are sold in the refrigerated deli section. The big news is, within the next couple of months, Lydia is relocating much of her operations to Petaluma and will open Sunflower Center, an 8,000 square feet space on North McDowell with a café, gluten-free bakery and educational center which will host speakers and hold seminars, screenings and events geared toward teaching people about healthful foods and living. Stay tuned.
Go green! After trying Lydia’s Green Soup, a raw, organic, vegan, and gluten-free revitalizing super soup, your body will thank you. Green Soup is Lydia’s Lovin’ Foods’ best seller and is a healthful blend of kale, cucumber, celery, parsley, cilantro, basil, avocado, dulse seaweed, lemon, ginger and salt. Photo: courtesy Lydia’s Lovin’ Foods.
If you know me reasonably well, I may have sent you emails extolling the virtues of Lydia’s elegant and delicious Purple Goddess Salad. It encapsulates what I, a former Balkan journalist, stand for—namely cabbage, beets, kalamata olives and judicious use of the word “goddess.” This gorgeous, deep purple, hearty salad is dressed with a slightly tangy olive oil vinaigrette, and just bursting with beneficial flavonoids.
For Taste, Lydia will be serving several of her best-sellers: Raw Green Soup (an alkalizing soup with avocado, cucumber and seaweed), Kale-Seaweed Salad (with carrots, sesame seeds and a tamari-ginger dressing), Purple Goddess Salad (with beets, cabbage and Kalamata olives). She will also offer mini raw pizzas made with Cashew “Cheez” ( a delicious dairy alternative spread made from cashews, sesame seeds, tomato, olive oil) and marinated vegetables atop Lydia’s crackers. For dessert, there will be “Cheez” Cake, a light creamy healthy alternative to the traditional favorite made with fresh apples and served on a nut crust.
Hiro’s Japanese Restaurant will be serving its popular California Roll at the 6th Annual Taste of Petaluma. Established in 2002, Hiro’s is one of Petaluma’s first high-end sushi bars and its features traditional sushi using the finest ingredients. Photo: Geneva Anderson
Hiro Yamamoto’s Hiro’s Japanese Restaurant (107 Petaluma Blvd. North) will be serving its signature California Roll—rice, vinaigrette-marinated seaweed, crab mix, avocado, diced cucumber, mayonaise─prepared on the spot by chef Shige Mori. Hiro’s house salad of organic greens topped with its amazing sesame-miso vinaigrette has such a following that they are asked over and over again to bottle it. For now, it’s only available on the house salad. When you enter, check out Hiro’s marvelous centerpiece—a stunning 7’ x 21’ woodblock print of a giant fish engulfing a crowd of people, which delighted this Pisces to no end. This epic artwork was created especially for the sushi bar by artist Naoki Tekenouchi, who also created the large abstract wood sculpture behind the bar for the restaurant and hand carved its lovely tables from exotic natural woods.
Let’s move on to dessert–
Bovine Bakery (23 Kentucky Street) has earned a special place in my heart for its inviting atmosphere, huge open kitchen where you watch the baking unfold, and their legendary hand-made baked goods—breads, French pastries, coffee cakes, muffins, scones, tarts, pies and cakes─and lunch items such as pizzas, soups, and fabulous salads. And then there’s the sheer bravado of Bovine’s Petaluma Manager, Carolyn Williams, whose first day in business in Petaluma last year was planned to sync with Taste of Petaluma. She was hit with “outrageous demand” all day long and emerged “exhausted but deeply jazzed” that Bovine was on the map. And on the map it is, Bovine has fast become a local hangout and the inviting benches and tables outdoors are usually occupied.
Bovine Bakery’s Carolyn Williams served us an entire tray of freshly baked aromatic scones, muffins, frittatas, cookies and cakes—all made with local and almost exclusively organic ingredients. The dark chocolate cherry cookie is gluten-free and as moist and chewy and chocolaty as any I have tasted. Photo: Geneva Anderson
This year, Taste participants visiting Bovine will have a choice of sampling any muffin, scone or stuffed croissant─including their best-selling morning buns. And since “fresh, local and organic” is the Bovine mantra, every hearty and satisfying treat they make is top quality.
Bovine’s gluten-free Taste options this year will include a chewy dark chocolate cherry almond cookie, a coconut macaroon, or a muffin. And for those of you who are not gluten intolerant, these items are so delicious, and have such a wonderful texture, that you won’t even know they are gluten free. I sampled their sinful chewy dark chocolate cherry almond cookie, made with a minimal amount of rice flower, and then I tried their peach orange almond muffin, which was moist and bursting with fruit. Their sugar-free oat bran date almond muffin is sweetened only with dates was delicious. One of the best things about Bovine is their generosity—whether its dark organic chocolate, poppy seeds, nuts, or cheese─ they do NOT skimp on their fillings and that creates a lot of good will. And speak of poppy seeds, Bovine’s poppy seed pastry, a staple of my years in Eastern Europe, warms my heart every time I bite into one—rich (but not too sweet) and so satisfying with that glorious poppy taste. Bovine also offers healthy hearty lunches including a gluten-free quiche option with a polenta crust.
Petaluma Pie Company(125 Petaluma Blvd. North, Suite D, at Putnam Plaza) It’s no secret that filmmakers and bakers Lina Hoshina and Angelo Sacerdote have captured ARThound’s heart on many occasions. Their films are inspirational and their pies are heavenly. Their little shop is just packed with evidence of their artistic flair—a “pie story” board, chalk boards with lists (of ingredients, pie quotes), pie plate mirrors─and it has the BEST aroma in town. For taste, they will offer bites of their two most popular hand pies–chocolate crème and their cheeseburger pie. The cheeseburger pie is made with locally-sourced grass-fed
Bovine Bakery's Poppy Seed Pastry, which evokes old world European pastries, is bursting with the rich natural flavor of poppy seeds. Photo: Geneva Anderson
beef and the cheese is from Spring Hill Jersey Cheese Company. The chocolate cream pie is made with chocolate by San Francisco-based Tcho chocolate. Butter in the pie crusts is provided by Straus Family Creamery.
One of the secrets to Petaluma Pie Company’s fabulous pie crusts is that they are constantly tweaking the crust recipe to fit the filling and that means that that a pie that looks great in their shop will not sag once you get it home. In addition to pie, your Taste ticket will also allow you to try Kona Brewing Company’s beer which pairs wonderfully with any of their savory pies. And if you really want to test Petaluma Pie at their game, ask Angelo if he can assess your “pie face”—that is, accurately predict what type of pie you’ll order.
(Be sure to read ARThound’s feature storyon Petaluma Pie Company’s opening last December. It contains loads of information on the full scope of Lina and Angelo’s creative endeavors.)
Petaluma Pie Company's Chocolate Creme Hand Pie is made with Tcho dark chocolate and is so popular that it always sells-out. You can try it at this Saturday's 6th Annual Taste of Petaluma. Photo: Geneva Anderson
Taste of Petaluma Details: Saturday August 27, 2011, 11:30 AM to 4:00 PM.
Pre-event ticket purchases: Packages of 10 tasting tickets are $35 in advance, available online and through Friday, August 26th, at Haus Fortuna (111 2nd Street in the Theater District) and Pelican Art Gallery (143 Petaluma Boulevard North).
Day of Event tickets: On Saturday, August 27th, ticket packages will be $40 and available at
Putnam Plaza (on Petaluma Blvd. North) and Haus Fortuna (111 2nd Street in the Theater District).
A maximum of 1500 ticket packages will be sold for Taste of Petaluma, so buy your tickets early.
Ticket Package Includes:
• Book of 10 dine-around tickets – One sampling item per ticket. You can purchase more tickets throughout the day for $4 each at Putnam Plaza or Haus Fortuna.
• Street Map of sampling locations
• Menu of food and special events offered by participants
• Taste of Petaluma tote bag to first 500 guests
Cinnabar Theater:
Cinnabar Theatre’s fall season kicks off on September 9, 2011 with the musical, She Loves Me. This delightful romantic comedy is based on the play of the same name and the popular film, The Shop Around the Corner, on which the more recent film You’ve Got Mail is also based. (Book by Joe Masteroff/Music by Jerry Bock; Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick; Based on Parfumerie by Miklos Laszlo.) Get your tickets here or call 707.763.8920.
“The V Concert” is September 10, 2011, and features works exclusively by composers whose last names begin with the letter V, including Vivaldi, and featuring Villa Lobos’ lush “Bachianas Brasileiras” No. 5 for eight cellos and solo soprano and other “V” treats. Soprano Carrie Hennessey, of Cinnabar’s Emmeline fame, will sing the Villa Lobos solo. (listen here for Villa Lobos). The concert is a fundraiser for Cinnabar’s Opera Theater Program and will take place in the lovely West Petaluma gardens at 200 Queens Lane, Petaluma, CA. Tickets: $15 to 20 (purchase here)
Cinnabar Theater, 3333 Petaluma Blvd. North, Petaluma, CA 94952, 707.763.8929.
5th Annual Taste of Petaluma this Saturday…immerse yourself in gourmet Petaluma, support Cinnabar Theatre
Gopal Gauchan, owner/chef at Everest, 56 East Washington Street, will be serving his delectible Everest Pizza, oven-baked nan piled high with shredded chicken, artichokes, cheese and a killer sauce made from local tomatoes. Gopal's menu offers a fusion of Indian, Nepalese and Tibetan foods.
In case you haven’t noticed, the dining scene in Petaluma has changed dramatically and our city has become THE gourmet dining destination for Sonoma County and the wine country. With more than 75 restaurants, cafes, wineries and downtown merchants participating in this Saturday’s 5th annual Taste of Petaluma, the downtown area will be a foodies’ paradise and your chance to get acquainted with Petaluma’s abundance of fantastic dining opportunities. Last week, I accompanied Taste of Petaluma’s energetic coordinator Laura Sunday along on a pre-taste to several of this year’s participants and am delighted to report that Taste of Petaluma will have some real gems.
Taste of Petaluma is not your run-of-the-mill ‘Taste of… Fill-in-the-Blank…explained Laura Sunday. “Most of these taste events have you going from booth to booth to sample food that has been prepared ahead of time, or assembled on the spot and you never get to experience the ambiance of the restaurant which is a huge part of going out to eat.” Taste of Petaluma offers the unique opportunity to sit down, eat, and chat with the owners of these local eateries, all of whom have very interesting stories to tell about how they landed in Petaluma. There are also numerous samplings of locally-produced beers, brandies, champagne, ports, and wines, in many cases paired with cuisine.
The festive afternoon will also include loads of live musical entertainment (schedule) —jazz, folk, blues, rock, jug band, acoustic guitar, even Elvis—all over the downtown area and the opportunity to stroll
Affendi's owner/chef "Joe" Besir brews fresh tea in his Turkish Samovar for his customers.
through the city’s numerous art galleries and shops, many of which are hosting multiple samplings.
A $60 ticket will buy you 10 dine-around tickets, enough to provide both lunch and an early dinner and no one will walk away hungry. For the hosts, who donate all the food and beverages, the effort and expense is well-justified. “Last year I served apricot chicken to 60 people,” said Gopal Gauchan owner/chef of Everest, 56 East Washington Street, in the Golden Eagle Plaza. “People came in all year long and brought their families and friends and everyone asked for apricot chicken. Taste of Petaluma is a way for us to get involved with the community.”
We began our culinary tour with dessert–traditional Turkish baklava from Afendi’s Turkish Grill restaurant in the Plaza North Shopping Center. Chef/owner Serdar “Joe” Besir greeted us with steaming hot tulip-shaped glasses of fragrant Turkish black çay (tea) that he had just brewed in his copper samovir. You may have heard about Afendi’s grilled meat—lamb, chicken or beef–doners or kebabs—or the belly dancing on the weekends. Their desserts are beautifully done too, very satisfying and not too sweet or syrupy. Joe will be sampling Pistacio Baklava (Fistikli Baklava), Walnut Baklava (Civilzi Baklava) and Sweet Semolina Cake (Revani). Baklava is eaten all over Turkey, Greece, and Central Asia. Joe makes his without shortcuts. His own handmade phyllo dough is layered with chopped nuts and honey, resulting in a rich, sweet flaky pastry that is addictive. Joe believes that tea is a crucial part of Turkish hospitality and
Afendi's Turkish Grill, Golden Eagle Plaza, has already built a reputation for its grilled meats. Owner/chef Serdar "Joe" Basir will be sampling traditional Turkish baklava in Taste of Petaluma at Louis Thomas menswear, 150 Kentucky Street.
that Afendi’s will never charge for its tea. While Afendi’s is just a few months old, it is so popular that reservations are required on the weekends.
Teri Velasco owner/chef at Velasco’s North of the Border (190 Kentucky Street) will be serving chilaquiles, a traditional Mexican dish of fried tortilla quarters topped with a special chilaquiles sauce that has been handed down through her husband’s family.
Be sure to cross the bridge to the Golden Eagle Shopping Center to sample the Everest Pizza at Everest Indian Restaurant and say hello to owner/chef Gopal Gauchan. Gopal describes his cuisine as a fusion of Indian, Nepalese and Tibetan cuisines and stresses that while the flavor is intense, the food is not highly-spiced. (Those who want more spice can request it.) If you take a close look at Gopal’s Everest pizza, you will see that its crust is made of his own clay-oven baked nan (flatbread) and the cheese is not melted. Instead, he piles cooked chicken breast, crispy artichokes and mozzarella cheese atop a rich and sweet sauce he makes from local tomatoes and garnishes the pizza with sun-dried tomatoes. Come in for a 6 inch slice.
Teri Velasco owner/chef at Velasco’s North of the Border (190 Kentucky Street) has participated in all but one Taste of Petaluma and says it’s her favorite event of the year because she gets to meet so many people. She will be serving chilaquiles, a traditional Mexican dish of fried tortilla quarters topped with a special chilaquiles sauce that has been handed down through her husband’s family and on top of that chicken, onions, Mexican cheese (queso fresco) and sour cream. Teri utilizes as many fresh and local ingredients as possible and says it makes a difference—her customers have complemented her on the sweetness of her tomato sauce made from her own garden’s sun-ripened tomatoes.
Jacob Gamba of risibisi will be serving their signature mushroom risotto, a mouthwatering dish that is so turbo-charged with mushroom, it will leave you wanting to try everything on their expansive menu.
Risibi at 154 Kentucky Street is serving a creamy mushroom risotto to die for—prepared with fresh local shitake and porcini mushrooms and Carnaroli rice, a short grain high starch Italian rice that retains liquid, holds its shape better than Arborio rice which is commonly used in risotto in the US. According to manager Joe Gamba, the secret to great risotto is slowly adding broth to the rice which both slowly cooks the rice and releases its glutens and stirring constantly. But why not let Risibisi take care of the work—their risottos change daily, they have an extensive menu of Italian delicacies and an inviting upscale atmosphere.
Gourmet desserts are my downfall but I don’t like them excessively sweet. Viva Cocolat at 110 Petaluma Blvd North has been in business for just 2.5 years but chocolatier/owner Lynn Wong was voted best chocolatier by Bohemian Best of the North Bay for 2009 and 2010. Wong offers freshly-
Lynn Wong chocolatier and proprietress of Viva Cocolat will be sampling Milk Chocolate Toffee Truffles with Valley of the Moon Winery's Sonoma County Port.
made chocolate desserts and a variety of premium chocolates from the world’s best chocolatiers. “We came to Petaluma 18 years ago, making the migration from Mill Valley to Novato to Petaluma to start a family. Chocolate was my passion and I wanted to do something I loved and to be involved in the community and model that to my kids.” Wong loves it when customers introduce her to new exotic chocolates.
Savory applications are all the rage right now in the chocolate world and Wong will be sampling her lusciously creamy Milk Chocolate Toffee Truffles, with Sonoma County Port from Valley of the Moon Winery (Glen Ellen) from 2006 Souzao and Syrah grapes. Wong says the secret to her artistry lies in the premium chocolate she uses– either Guittard (French conceived, based in Burlington, CA) or Callebaut (Belgian), depending on the application. 38% cacoa couverture is the foundation for the ganache in her Milk Chocolate Toffee Truffles which are hand-rolled in buttery toffee bits. Wong selected this truffle especially to accentuate the port which has aromas of currants, cherry and dark chocolate that carry through to with accents of cinnamon and nutmeg.
Walking in to Jacqueline’s High Tea, 203 Western Avenue, can be an assault on your senses—it’s unapologetically girlie–but get over it! IF you love tea and unforgettable homemade desserts, this is home central. Afternoon tea, cream tea, dessert tea, high tea, tea parties, a cup to just relax—Jacqueline offers it all in a relaxed bistro setting. Double Dark Chocolate Mate tea (Honest Tea) got my attention and will be one of several teas she will be sampling for Taste. At 5 calories per cup, it’s a guilt free match made in heaven of antioxidant-rich, organic, roasted Yerba Maté blended with aromatic organic dark cocoa.
Jacqueline owner of Jacqueline's High Tea, 203 Western Avenue, is the force behind the unforgettable almond creme.
Jacqueline will also be sampling her famous orange-cranberry scones—light, flaky, freshly-baked. Along with the scones, don’t pass up the chance to try her famous almond crème—an airy sugar-free, fat-free whipped concoction that will have you eating it with a spoon right from the bowl. There’s also homemade lemon curd, fresh jam and whipped butter. Few know this but Jacqueline also painted a lot of the gorgeous Trompe L’oeil wall panels that create the ambiance at Jacqueline’s. Men are more than welcome too—her husband Frank will greet and seat you but in all matters of tea and dessert he defers to the boss. Frank really won my heart when he told me that Jacqueline supported him through thick and thin in his forty years in the music industry and he’s happy and proud to help her. Yes!!
Tickets sales will be capped at 1500 and Taste of Petaluma’s proceeds will go to Cinnabar Theatre which was founded by the legendary Marvin Klebe in the early 1970’s in the old red schoolhouse that was the original Cinnabar School (near the intersection of Skillman Lane and Petaluma Blvd. North.) Over the years, Cinnabar Theatre, a non-profit dedicated to encouraging community participation in the arts, has grown to become the community’s most beloved opera and theatre company committed to community education as well. The theatre offers a highly regarded Young Repertory Program that trains youth as young as 4 years old in the dramatic and musical performing arts. Now in its 38th season, Cinnabar is opening “Travels With My Aunt” this Saturday (September 24 – October 17, 2010), Giles Havergal’s lively adaptation of the classic Graham Greene novel.
Laura Sunday, Taste of Petaluma's organizer, relaxes at Jacqueline's High Tea with a cup of double dark chocolate mate tea, a mate with a rich chocolate aroma and heavenly taste...just 5 calories per cup.
Anyone who twitters can join Cinnabar’s ”hash-tag” party #top2010 . Cinnabar will be giving away tickets to different shows throughout the day.
This year, Taste of Petaluma has partnered with the Petaluma Downtown Association to offer “Petaluma Packages,” geared to weekend visitors. Two-night hotel stays have been bundled with tickets to Taste of Petaluma, to Cinnabar’s Theatre’s newest play “Travels with My Aunt,” and to Petaluma’s 24th Annual Antique Fair (this Sunday), or breakfast.
TICKETS:
$50 Advance-Sale Tickets are available until 5 pm, Friday, September 24th.
Tickets purchased after 5 pm will be $60. Sales are capped at 1500 tickets.
Advance Sale tickets can be picked up at WILL CALL at Helen Putnam Plaza after 10:30 a.m. on Saturday
Purchase: before event — online at Taste of Petaluma, or by calling Cinnabar Theater (707) 763-8920, or at the following downtown Petaluma venues: Gallery One, Haus Fortuna, I Leoni, Pelican Art Gallery, Hollingsworth Jewelers.
day of event— tickets sold at 10:30 a.m. on at Putnam Plaza (Petalma Blvd.), Haus Fortuna (111 2nd Street). No credit cards ticket purchases day of event.
Ticket Package Includes: • Book of 10 tickets – one sampling item per ticket. Additional tickets can be purchased throughout the day for $6 each.• Street Map of sampling locations • Menu of food and special events offered by participants • Taste of Petaluma tote bag to first 500 guests
ARThound 