What makes Petaluma’s Art & Garden Festival special is that it combines the beauty of nature with the arts and music — as well as fine wine and food. The 8 annual event is set for Sunday, July 12 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in downtown Petaluma on Kentucky and Fourth streets. The free event for the whole family offers a wide variety of garden specialties for sale as well as the work of local artists in more than 100 art and crafts booths. New this year is . “We are pleased to showcase Petaluma’s Victory Garden at this years festival,” says Marie McMcusker, executive director for the Petaluma Downtown Association, event producers. Petaluma Bounty’s mission is to assist the community to create their own home gardens, encouraging them to grow extra fruit and vegetables to help those in need. The agency’s exhibit will feature an example of a garden with a variety of heirloom plants that thrive in Sonoma County. J Appleseed Food Garden Company will also display its sustainable gazebo and raised bed gardening containers. North Coast Native Nursery will display many varieties of native plants and provide information on how to properly care for them. Garden fans won’t believe the wide variety of gardening accessories that will be available at the festival. The Petaluma Garden Club and Sonoma Master Gardeners will also be on hand to answer questions that will help home gardeners grow the best garden ever. The music will be better than ever with four bands, mixing local favorites with Santana tribute band The band takes its name from the classic 1981 Santana album of the same title. The group was formed in 2005 by guitarist Antonio Marquez and keeps the crowd on its feet. Zebop! plays from 1:15 to 3:15 p.m. hails from Petaluma and the chemistry between vocalist Nicole Sutton and guitarist Mark McGee is the band’s creative force. Luvplanet includes bassist Tommy Sisco and drummer Scott McKenzie. Their albums have included: (2003), (2005) and (2008). They performed at the 2008 Rock n Blues at the Lake with Third Eye Blind and have also performed with acts such as Boston, Elvin Bishop and the Tubes. McGee has toured and recorded with Greg Allman for more than a decade and performed on the MTV Headbangers Ball. Luv Planet will rock the stage from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. members also make their home in Petaluma, but the band is a mainstay of nightclubs and venues all over the Bay Area. The Tom Petty tribute band makes everyone feel happy and dance to hit songs such as and . Lead singer Dan Durkin may not look like Tom Petty, but Petty fans admit the sound is fantastic. Other band members include: Django Bayless, Adam Burkowtiz, Chris Collins and Monroe Grisman. Petty Theft will perform from 3:30 to 5 p.m. will warm things up with their home-style songs from 11 a.m. to noon. The Petalumans have two CDS and Christensen is a vocalist, who has performed live with Clarence Clemons and Mikey Thomas. Geyer was Queen Ida’s guitarist for eight years.

Children will have fun in their own corner with puppet shows, a bounce house, snake handling, free ice cream, art projects, a face painter and planting their own seeds.

A commemorative wine or ale glass featuring the festival’s artwork will be sold with food, wine and beer tastings for $20. Participating wineries include: BR Cohen, Rodney Strong, Slanted House, Sonoma Vineyards, Corda Winery, Petaluma Market Wines, and Hook & Ladder. Participating breweries include: Lagunitas IPA, Dempsey’s and Santa Cruz Brewery.
Local restaurants will offer an amazing variety of menu items. There will be food pairings of cheeses, breads, fruits and all kinds of fine cuisine from Jerome’s Mesquite Barbecue, Brixx, Tres Hombres, Maguire’s Irish Pub, Preferred Sonoma Caterers, Velasco’s North of the Border, Real Doner, Bert’s Deserts, Humble Pie and many more local establishments.
Volunteers are also appreciated. Call 707-762-9348 to volunteer or go to

Free admission, No dogs please
Sponsored by Petaluma Downtown Association and Green Waste

http://marinlocalmusic.com/content/8th-annual-petaluma-art-garden-festival