The Buzz: Dairy Princess crowned, PHS stages ‘Once Upon a Pea’

New Dairy Princess crowned: Sonoma County has a new Dairy Princess, as of April 6, when Amanda King, of Petaluma, was named the new representative of the local dairy industry during a grand ceremony and celebration at the Veteran’s Memorial Hall in Petaluma. About 400 dairy industry leaders and families were in attendance at the event, during which last year’s Dairy Princess, Jeanette Furlong, graciously passed the crown to King. King will spend the next year representing the California Milk Advisory Board’s District 3, which includes Sonoma, Marin, Mendocino, Lake, Napa and Solano counties. She is the daughter of Petaluma’s Dina and Arnold King, is a senior at Petaluma High School, and plans to attend California State University in Chico, where she will major in agribusiness and agriculture communications and marketing. Appointed King’s first alternate was Camilla Taylor, daughter of Karen and John Taylor of Point Reyes Station. Second alternate is Shelby Thomason, daughter of Maria and Scott Thomason of Napa. Taylor and Thomason will share in King’s 2019 duties, and all three will attend training sessions on presentation development, advocating for the California dairy industry, and leadership and etiquette.

PHS students transform ‘Mattress’ into ‘Pea’ for magical spring musical: Speaking of princesses, here’s another kind. Bringing a decidedly modern viewpoint to the delightful (but somewhat dated) 1959 Broadway fairytale musical “Once Upon a Mattress,” the theater arts students of Petaluma High School are emphasizing the miniscule vegetable of the classic folktale (“The Princess and the Pea”) by dubbing its own version “Once Upon a Pea.” Of course. The music and the story and the characters are the same, though “tweaked” a bit for a new age. The students will present the show as the school’s big spring musical, beginning April 25 and running Friday-Sunday through May 4 at Petaluma High School. Showtimes are 7 p.m., and tickets at the door are $7-$10.

Arts Center announces new hours: Along with the grand opening, last weekend, of its brand new exhibition, “The Inside Face of Outsider Art: New Perspectives from the North Bay,” the Petaluma Arts Center is unveiling new hours, the main new addition being that the gallery will now be open on Sundays. The PAC is welcoming visitors on Fridays from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturdays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. A number of activities and special events will be taking place during the current exhibit running through May 27. These will include an event titled “Expressions: Art and Flowers Together,” inspired by “Bouquet de Arts” at the De Young Museum in San Francisco. A collaboration with the Petaluma Garden Club, the three-day-only “Expressions” event will take place May 3-5, and will showcase floral arrangements created by Petaluma gardeners and designers, each arrangement paired with a specific piece on display in the “Outside Art” exhibit. A reception (with wine and cheese and plenty of flowers) will kick off the flowers-and-art collaboration on Friday, May 3, from 5-7 p.m. For more information visit PetalumaArtsCenter.org.

(Have a good idea for a BUZZ item? Drop a line to Community Editor David Templeton at david.templeton@arguscourier.com or give him a call at 778-8462).