Fall Events Roundup: Autumn festivities can be wonderful, wistful or weird

A calendar of upcoming event, festival and celebrations to mark the harvest season|

There’s something about the fall that makes people go a little weird.

Especially in groups.

From September on, the yearly turning of the season inspires hordes of humans to respond, react, recalibrate, and celebrate in some very strange - excuse me, very creative - ways, commonly referred to as “traditions.”

Some of these traditions are beautiful.

Some are bizarre.

Many involve animals, from India’s annual Pushkar Camel Fair (featuring 50,000 stampeding dromedaries) to Switzerland’s “Battle of the Queens” (in which cows compete for the right to win a special Queen Cow belt) to the festive and massive “Trailing of the Sheep” taking place each Autumn in Idaho (it’s considered the state’s foremost cultural experience).

Some observations revolve around agricultural products, such as Thailand’s nine-day-long Vegetarian Festival, and Lowville, New York’s popular Cream Cheese Festival, during which celebrants join up to paint an enormous mural with nothing but multi-colored cream cheese.

In a many parts of the world, autumn is a time for religious festivities, including Peru’s 350-year-old celebration of the Lord of Miracles (El Senor de los Milagros), and Kyoto, Japan’s Festival of Ages (Jidai Matsuri), and India’s Diwali Festival of Lights, celebrating the victory of light over darkness.

Some celebrations, as mentioned above, tend to get a little ... um, out-there.

Take Germany’s annual rubber duck race on the Neckar River (7,000 ducks are launched) or West Virginia’s annual Bridge Day (in which thousands of people watch 500 base jumpers leap from an 869 foot bridge over the New River Gorge. How about Losdoonvarna, Ireland’s hyper-romantic annual Match Making Festival (drawing 40,000 lonely people looking for love)? Or Arezzo, Italy’s annual Jousting of the Saracens, a medieval pageant culminating in “knights” from different neighborhoods competing for highest score in jousting on horseback against wooden effigies.

Here in Petaluma, when autumn comes, we might not stampede herds of camels and sheep down our streets, or hit each other with rubberized sticks, or paint our downtown walls with cheese, but we manage to have a pretty good time with a variety of celebrations all our own. Here are some of them to put on your calendar, so you and whatever horde you hang with can plan a fall that’s just as busy, eccentric, fun and/or sacred as you want it to be.

FANDANGO!

Saturday, Sept. 22, Noon-4 p.m.

Petaluma Adobe State Historic

Park

Travel back in time to the days of harvest ranchero celebrations, as the performers of Baile de California and the Yesteryear Dancers demonstrate and teach dances of the 1840s. Attendees will have a chance to learn historic folk dance techniques, and join in the fun on the historic site of countless such celebration in Petaluma’s past. Admission is $3 for adults, $2 for kids 6-17, and free for kids under 5 years of age. 3325 Adobe Road.

Want to know more? Call 762-4871 or visit SonomaParks.org.

HARVEST FESTIVAL

Saturday, Sept. 22, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

Two Rock Presbyterian Church,

Two Rock

For the 72nd year, the Two Rock Presbyterian Church will be hosting its annual Harvest Festival, with oodles of crafts and piles of cookies and pies, raffles and crafts and a silent auction, a good, old-fashioned barbecue chicken dinner, plus plenty of quilts to peruse and purchase. A petting area filled with farm animals will be part of the kids’ area, along with a farm stand where an array of local produce, plants and flowers will be on sale. Live violin music by Kyle Craft will be part of the festivities.

Want to know more? TwoRockValleyPresbyterianChurch.org.

ALL HALLOWS ART FEST

Saturday, September 29,

9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Hermann Sons Hall

Halloween fans come to Petaluma from all over the country for the annual All Hallows Art Fest, a showcase of hand-crafted Halloween-themed art, decorations and collectibles by some of the most renowned artists in the field. Everything from whimsical skeletons to gorgeous gothic jewelry will be on display and for sale. The line begins forming before sunrise, and some participating artists see their entire supply sell out in the first hour. Hermann Sons Hall, 860 Western Avenue. Admission is $5 at the door.

Want to know more? Visit the website at Halloweenfolkartsociety.com, or read Stephanie Sherratt’s blog at Allhallowsartfest.blogspot.com

THE PETALUMA ANTIQUE FAIRE

Sunday, Sept. 30, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Downtown Petaluma

For its 32nd consecutive year, the Petaluma Antique Faire will transform the streets of Petaluma into a gigantic open-air shopping mall, with antiques, collectibles, furniture and oddities of all kinds. The Faire takes place on Fourth, Kentucky and Western Streets.

Want to know more?

Petalumadowntown.com

PETALUMA OYSTER FEST 2018

Saturday, Sept. 29, 12 p.m - 4 p.m.

Bodega Bay Oyster Company

Fresh, delicious oysters, served raw or barbecued, are the main attraction of the Petaluma Sunrise Rotary’s annual Oyster Fest fundraiser. Served up with plenty of pasta, beer and wine, soda and water and more, the oysters are courtesy of Bodega Bay Oyster Company, the site of which is where attendees will gather to slurp and sip and contribute to a great community organization. $60 per person. 12830 Valley Ford Rd., Petaluma.

Want to know more? Visit EventBrite and search for Oyster Fest.

OKTOBERFEST

Sunday, October 14, 12 p.m.

Hermann Sons Hall

This is one of the most popular local Octoberfest events in Sonoma County. You cannot beat the authentic revelry of the annual shindig thrown by Hermann Sons’ Petaluma Lodge #26. Festivities begin with a parade of flags, followed by the first of two performances by the Nature Friends Schuhplattler Folk Dancers, a big feast of bratwurst and all the appropriate side dishes, dancing to the music of the Steve Balich Band, a big raffle, and amiable German high-spirits. Tickets are $14 in advance, $17 at the door, and $12 for the full bratwurst dinner. 860 Western Ave.

Want to know more? For information call 664-0375 or 778-8066.

WINE COUNTRY SPOKEN WORD FESTIVAL

Friday-Sunday, Oct. 19-21

Downtown Petaluma

Billed as The Second Annual Inaugural Wine Country Spoken Words Festival, this ambitious accumulation of renowned storytellers, poets, performers, speakers and tellers of jokes returns to Petaluma, with an all-star lineup of guests including comedian W. Kamau Bell, storyteller Bil Lepp, performance artists Zahra NoorBaksch, actor/poet Steve Connell, Appalachian storyteller Elizabeth Ellis and New York City poet-performer Denice Frohman. Plus a whole lot more. Shows take place at a variety of locations including the Mystic Theatre, the Hotel Petaluma, and others.

Want to know more? Visit DavePokornyPresents.com

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