Santa Rosa Snippets - September 2011

Hi everyone!  My name is Jo Anne and this is my very first contribution to the Sonoma County Gazette.  I noticed that there wasn’t a contributor from Santa Rosa so I volunteered.  My passion is building a sense of neighborhood and community and I thought that this would be a great way to connect with other people in Santa Rosa.  Thought a good place to start would be with what’s happening in Santa Rosa this month.

Actually, there’s so much happening in Santa Rosa, I’m not sure where to begin.  I guess I’ll have to start in my front lawn.

Need plants? 

Head to the Jail Industries Plant Sale Saturday, September 10th and Saturday, October 8th from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm

I’m taking out my front lawn and planting drought tolerant plants.  It sounds so easy if you say it fast but it’s been a lot of work.  Let’s see…I’ve laid down the cardboard, put in a layer of compost and mulch and now I’m ready for the fun stuff – picking out the plants!

We have so many options to choose from for plants but I decided to head out to the Jail Industries Demonstration Garden which is a joint project of the Sonoma County Master Gardeners and Jail Industries of Sonoma County.  It’s got California native plants, plants that are drought tolerant and can help with conservation, and plants which gave me lots of ideas for lawn alternatives.

Talk about a win-win.  I came home with lots (and lots!) of drought resistant plants that were well within my budget and at the same time I supported a project which provides rehabilitation and training for inmates who are eligible to volunteer to work at the nursery.

By the way, if you can’t make the sale, you can schedule an appointment from 9:00am to 1:00pm Monday – Friday.  Just call (707) 525-8310 or email jailind@mcn.org.

Another Farmers Market

Check out the NEW Thursday morning Farmer’s Market near Coddingtown!

Did you know that there is a new Farmers Market in Santa Rosa?  It’s Thursday mornings, now through September 29th and it’s located in the Range Road parking lot of the county’s Women, Infants and Children (WIC) office.  (For anyone directionally challenged like I am, while the actual address of WIC is 1450 Guerneville Road you can find it by just looking for a sign in the parking lot on Range Road – right across JC Penny’s at Coddingtown and just south of the Social Security office.)

The farmers market is from 8:30am to noon on Thursday mornings.  Last week I loaded up on fresh peaches, tomatoes and red onions.  They have a huge selection of all kinds of fresh vegetables including red potatoes, yellow squash, radishes, onions, kale…and everything else that is in season right now.  When I was there they were just in the process of mixing up a yummy potato salad for customers to taste.  And just like the Original Santa Rosa Market, it accepts CalFresh!

Have you heard of Swap Saturdays?

How cool is this?  The Share Exchange at 531 5th Street has just started Swap Saturdays.  Each Saturday has a different theme (toys, kids clothing, sporting goods, garden supplies, tools, pet supplies, art supplies, and more.)  All you need to do is to show up with your stuff and $5 and then go home with other people’s fun stuff.  And the best part is that anything that is left gets given to charity!

BTW…if you haven’t heard of the Share Exchange, be sure to check it out.  It is Sonoma County’s first and only entrepreneurial innovation space for co-working and business incubation.  The Share Exchange is always coming up with ways to stay connected and build community.  Speaking of which…In September, the Share Exchange is hosting a movie series on Great Communities.  Check out the Share Exchange at www.shareexchange.coop.

Wait!  There’s more! 

Don’t forget about the 12th Annual Sonoma County Book Festival, Saturday, Sept 24th from 10am – 4pm. Come to Old Courthouse Square in Downtown Santa Rosa for a full day of literature and poetry in the company of book lovers.  Adults can look forward to poetry and fiction readings by local authors and interesting panels.  And there’s a kids’ component that includes a Secret Agent Jack Stalwart treasure hunt.