Wilmar BBQ set for Sunday

Wilmar Fire will host their 50th Annual Chicken BBQ Fundraiser on July 24, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Holy Ghost Hall at the corner of Bodega Avenue and Eucalyptus/Skillman.

Along with a hearty barbecued chicken meal and a no-host bar, check out the silent auction and raffles, including a trip for two to Hawaii. Kids games will be in abundance, along with fire engine rides. All proceeds benefit the Wimar Volunteer Fire Department. To-go meals are also available.

Tickets are $14 for adults and $9 for kids 12 and under, making this is a great alternative to making dinner yourself.

Paint the Hall Purple

Many of us have been touched by cancer, either personally, or through friends, co-workers or loved ones. “Paint the Hall Purple” is the pre-party for the Petaluma Relay For Life, which raises funds and awareness for a cure for cancer.

I will be masters of ceremonies at this year’s Paint the Hall Purple event at Hermann Sons Hall on July 24, from 4 to 7 p.m. Please stop by to say hi, let me know about your favorite restaurants and local food events, and help out this great cause.

The event gives those of us who don’t want to don our running shoes a chance to still help the cause, while enjoying great food, drink, auction items and even a costume contest with prizes for the best adult and child dressed in purple.

Recent graduate of our very the SRJC Culinary Academy, Gene McCloud will be serving up pulled pork sliders, with all the fixings. Dessert is available from the Elim Lites, and there will be plenty of wine and beer available for purchase.

Live entertainment will be provided by Bands Together for a Cure and Side Dish - a little country, a little bluegrass, a little old-time.

Auction items include a night at the McCallum House bed and breakfast in Mendocino, free beer for a year from Lagunitas and two nights at a vacation home in Tahoe -Donner. There is also a raffle for an instant wine collection made up of 40 to 50 bottles of locally donated wine. Called the Boozer Schooner, the wine will be on display in a miniature replica of the still-operational historic Petaluma Schooner Alma.

Tickets are $25 at the door, or in advance for $20 for adults. Kids ages 4 to 12 years old are $10, and ages 3 and under are free. Tickets can be purchased from any Elim Lites Relay for Life Team members or at the Elim church office at 504 Baker Street. For more information, visit elimpetaluma.org/news-blog.

Salad-bration

Readers should know by now that I don’t eat veggies. Well, okay, I sometimes eat them, but begrudgingly.

Don’t get me wrong, I love salads, so long as they are mayonnaise based, such as potato salad, macaroni salad, seafood salad, you get the picture. But when Suzanne Alexandre announced that Free Range would hold a “Salad-Bration” on Fridays during July, my mouth actually started watering.

Even though I am not in town on Fridays, I made special arrangements for someone to pick up a salad for me on both July 1 (Field Caesar) and July 8 (Quinoa Fattoush) and hope to keep this ritual going through July 15 (Rainbow Crunch), July 22 (Rancho) and July 29 (Suzanne’s famous Silo and Seed).

There isn’t enough room to describe what went into the first two salads, but trust me when I say that Suzanne is a master when it comes to combining fresh, local, seasonal ingredients and knows how to create tasty and hearty salads. This carnivore never passes up an opportunity to dine on creations coming out of Free Range, and I would consider eating salads regularly if they tasted as good and filled me up as much as Suzanne’s masterpieces.

Free Range is located downtown on 4th Street, between B Street Mercantile and Acre Coffee, across from the Petaluma Museum.

Berber Cellars cheese

In place of their normal monthly cheese-makers’ night, Barber Cellars will hold an Art + Wine + Charcuterie + Cheese event on July 30, starting at 6 p.m. in both their tasting room and the newly renovated lobby of the Hotel Petaluma.

Barber Cellars will highlight the works of local Petaluma artists while treating guests to a glass of wine and samplings of delicious salamis from Thistle Meats, along with a selection of local cheeses.

Tickets are $10 pre-sale, $15 at the door, with the ticket price being applied to any artwork purchases. Visit Barber Cellar’s Facebook page or website for more information.

(Contact Houston Porter at houston@avant-larde.com.)