Happy Friday, Sonoma County. PorchFest, Open Studios and a Greek festival all share this Saturday, so pace yourself. Luckily it's finally cooling down.
In this week's Signal:
Signal Check: Gas climbs again, and the weekend cools off.
Business Happenings: Eight restaurants new to the Signal, six in Santa Rosa, and transit-map zines from Fort Bragg.
The Weekend: From a 6 am run in Petaluma to the PorchFest afterparty, with a Greek festival holding down both days.
Live Music, One Glance: 21 acts from Geyserville to Petaluma.
Signal Check
Fires | 2 active · Steele Fire (Napa, 50 ac); Lucas Fire (Mendocino, 400 ac) |
|---|---|
Gas | $6.10 · ▲ 12¢ wk |
Highs | Fr 84° · Sa 79° · Su 81° · ▼ cooling |
Business Happenings
Sonoma County gained more than a dozen restaurants this summer. Sonoma Magazine's running list, updated September 8, sorts them by what is open, what just opened and what is still coming. Checkout Sonoma Magazine for more details: Sonoma Magazine.
Open now in Santa Rosa:
Capriciano Osteria, 505 Mendocino Ave. Italian-American with a fine-dining hand from chef Baki Bekci, who cooked in Four Seasons kitchens and founded Mezzaluna. Lemon ravioli, grilled octopus, and a seafood risotto with shrimp, lobster and clams.
Jamerikan Jerk, 2792 Fourth St. The longtime Jamaican food truck now has a brick-and-mortar.
Kyoto Ramen and Hawaiian BBQ, 1940 Piner Road. Fifteen kinds of ramen, plus poke bowls, katsu and kalua pork.
Afghan Kabob Cafe, 2478 W. Third St. Second location of a Tracy halal restaurant, serving kabobs, biryani and bolani.
Aladdin Grill, 2101 W. College Ave. Wraps, kabobs and Turkish coffee. The list ran it as opening the week of September 8, so call first.
Still to come:
Olives and Agave, 909 Village Court, Santa Rosa. Spanish and Middle Eastern tapas in Montgomery Village's former Cascabel space, now slated for mid-September.
Wild Poppy, 6780 Depot St., Sebastopol. The west county cafe takes the former Woodfour Brewing space at The Barlow, with a tofu factory planned for the old brewery room.
Spur Saloon, 9000 Windsor Road, Windsor. A country-Western bar from the Grata Italian Eatery owners in the long-vacant Windsor Brewing Co. site. Batwing doors, saddle seats, and details promised shortly.
Gift idea: I wanted to share some fun art from Deth P. Sun up in Fort Bragg. I'm an artist myself and love supporting other artists. Deth has some really fun zines of North Coast transit maps on their store. San Francisco to Mendocino. They're useful and cute. They'd make great gifts or use them yourself for your next public transport trip.
One-page North Coast By Transit mini zines: San Francisco to Mendocino in Vol. 1, and back again in Vol. 2. $3 each. More in Deth’s store →
The Weekend
All Weekend
🍎 17th Annual Greek and Middle Eastern Festival
Saturday and Sunday, 12–8 pm
St. George Orthodox Church, 7311 College View Dr., Rohnert Park
See more →
🎨 Santa Rosa Open Studios
Saturday and Sunday, 10 am–4 pm
Artist studios across Santa Rosa, self-guided map at sropenstudios.com
Free · See more →
🥾 Free guided walks through Armstrong Redwoods in Guerneville
Saturday and Sunday, 10–11:30 am
Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve, 17000 Armstrong Woods Rd, Guerneville
See more →
🎭 macbitches at the Raven, Healdsburg
Friday 7:30 pm, Saturday 7:30 pm, Sunday 2 pm
Raven Performing Arts Theater, 115 North Street, Healdsburg
Cost: $10 – $25 · See more →
🎭 One Act Play Festival at the Cloverdale Performing Arts Center
Friday 7:30 pm, Saturday 7:30 pm, Sunday 2 pm
Cloverdale Performing Arts Center, 209 N. Cloverdale Blvd., Cloverdale
Cost: $25 · See more →
Friday · Sep 11
🎶 Ross Street Sessions: Osito
Friday, 6–9:30 pm
Ross Street, Santa Rosa
Free · See more →
🎶 Benefit for Walker Creek Music Camp: An Evening of American Roots Music
Friday, 7–9 pm
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center, 390 Morris St, Sebastopol
Cost: $35 – $100 · See more →
📚 Sara Kehaulani Goo at Copperfield’s Books
Friday, 7–8 pm
Copperfield’s Books, 775 Village Court, Santa Rosa
Cost: $0 – $28 · See more →
🎭 Boss Burlesque Babes at The Lost Church
Friday, 7:30–10:30 pm
The Lost Church Santa Rosa, 576 Ross Street, Santa Rosa
Cost: $35 – $45 · See more →
🎬 Movies in the Park: Zootopia 2
Friday, 7:45–9:45 pm
Howarth Memorial Park, 630 Summerfield Road, Santa Rosa
See more →
Saturday · Sep 12
🥾 Running Fence Run, Petaluma
Saturday, 6 am–1 pm
Petaluma
See more →
32nd Cloverdale Car & Motorcycle Show
Saturday, 7 am–3 pm
Cloverdale
See more →
🎶 Gospel Music Day on the Square
Saturday, 9:30 am–4 pm
Courthouse Square, 69 Old Courthouse Square, Santa Rosa
See more →
🎨 Running Fence Anniversary Celebration and Reunion
Saturday, 11 am–3 pm
Museum of Sonoma County, 425 7th St, Santa Rosa
Cost: $12 · See more →
🎶 PorchFest Sebastopol
Saturday, 12–6 pm
Belmont Terrace neighborhood: Norlee, Danmar, Tocchini and Daniel Streets, behind Sebastopol Community Church, Sebastopol
Free · See more →
🎶 90's Fest Pizza Party on Ross Street
Saturday, 12–10 pm
Ross Street, Santa Rosa
Free · See more →
🎶 Saxophone Day at Green Music Center
Saturday, 12–4 pm
Green Music Center, Schroeder Hall – Sonoma State University, 1801 E Cotati Blvd, Rohnert Park
Free · See more →
🍎 2026 Petaluma River Craft Beer Festival
Saturday, 1–5 pm
Water Street @ Petaluma River, Water Street, Petaluma
Cost: $25 – $65 · See more →
🎶 Taimalietane Islands of Polynesia Showcase
Saturday, 1–8 pm
1351 Maple Avenue, Santa Rosa
Cost: $17.79 – $55.09 · See more →
🎨 Illumination in Glass: The Mosaic Art of Maria Isabel Lopez
Saturday, 5–8 pm
Usher Gallery, 1 Petaluma Blvd North, Petaluma
See more →
🔭 Cosmos and Cocoa at the Ferguson Observatory
Saturday, 7–10 pm
Robert Ferguson Observatory, 2605 Adobe Canyon Road, Kenwood
Cost: $32.55 – $48.31 · See more →
🎶 Trance Goats: The Porchfest Official Afterparty
Saturday, 9 pm
1129 Sebastopol Road, Santa Rosa
Cost: $12.51 – $23.18 · See more →
Sunday · Sep 13
🥾 Meditative Birding for California Biodiversity Day
Sunday, 8–11 am
Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, 2605 Adobe Canyon Rd, Kenwood
Cost: $5 – $12 · See more →
🥾 Boating at the Barn on the Petaluma River
Sunday, 10 am–1 pm
David Yearsley River Heritage Center, 6 Copeland St., Petaluma
Free · See more →
🧺 The SoCo Market Presents Ross Street Markets
Sunday, 12–4 pm
Ross Street, Santa Rosa
Free · See more →
🎪 Fiesta de Independencia
Sunday, 1–7 pm
Luther Burbank Center for the Arts, 50 Mark West Springs Rd, Santa Rosa
See more →
Live Music, One Glance
Friday
Foxes in the Henhouse | River Front Cafe | Friday 5:30 pm · $5
Ricardo Peixoto | Art & Music Gallery | Friday 6 pm · free
Glory Dayz | Coyote Sonoma | Friday 6 pm · $10 – $15
Andre Thierry | Murphy’s Irish Pub | Friday 7:30 pm
Tori Roze and The Hot Mess | The Big Easy | Friday 7:30 pm · free
The Aux Cajunals and The Occasionals | HopMonk Tavern Sebastopol | Friday 7:30 pm · $22
Jeffrey Halford and the Healers | Elephant in the Room | Friday 8 pm · $15
Foreverland | Mystic Theatre | Friday 9 pm · $23
Saturday
Brian Francis Baudoin | Russian River Vineyards | Saturday 1 pm
David Coller & Diane Chodkowski w/ Lolo & Pops | The Lost Church | Saturday 1 pm · $15
Flamenco Live | The Big Easy | Saturday 5 pm · $25
Humdinger Band | Rio Nido Roadhouse | Saturday 6 pm · free
The Bluebyrds | Redwood Cafe | Saturday 6 pm
Ariel Marin and the James Earley Band | Occidental Center for the Arts | Saturday 8 pm · $25
Jacob Benning | Geyserville Gun Club | Saturday 8 pm · free
Little Worth w/ Veers Duo | Elephant in the Room | Saturday 8 pm · $15
FantasÍas | Mystic Theatre | Saturday 9 pm · $12.45 – $21
Sunday
Summer Sundays | DeLoach Vineyards | Sunday 11:30 am · $15
Jazz in the Plaza | Putnam Plaza | Sunday 1 pm
Winona & The Northern Still | The Lost Church | Sunday 4 pm · $18
Carlos Reyes | Inn at Occidental | Sunday 6 pm · $25 – $30
Signing Off
That's the weekend. Reply to this email with suggestions on what you want more or less of.
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— Ben, writing from Santa Rosa