Grateful in Graton: Graton Welcomes Spring
Graton's take on 'April in Paris', Graton Station coffee cart opens and so does the Hopyard Farmstand
Every spring for over 100 years, Graton has welcomed the season with the Community Club’s Garden and Flower show, this year dubbed “April in Paris.” Aside from a fall version of the same sale and the occasional Graton Day, that was the extent of active options for Gratonites to celebrate their one-block village.
Then a new sheriff moved into town.
When the Graton Community Services District changed its leadership over the past two elections, it also shifted from being solely a wastewater management company to a governmental entity responsible for creating a town square, acquiring a park, and supporting a consulting group, ReVillage, that has captured the town’s imagination. Jenifer Butler, the board’s secretary, joined by a unanimous board, spearheaded the town square acquisition and has been hands-on at every work party. There will be time for plaques for this board someday, but for now, they are the official catalysts supporting all else that is happening.
Which brings us to this April weekend.
The Graton Community Club, “April in Paris”
Every April and October, the Graton Community Club hosts a fundraiser featuring a floral displays, a white elephant sale, crafts, homemade lunch and desserts, coffee/tea, and live music—and in spring, an incredible plant sale. The event runs from 9 am to 4 pm on Friday and Saturday, so get over there today!
The chair of this spring’s event is China Dusk, currently the vice president of the Community Club, who has held every office during her longtime membership. China’s a real spark plug for these fundraisers, and she emphasized that the sale is so much about community. “Without the Flower Show, there was really nothing in town to bring the community together.”
Merrilyn Joyce, the artist who designed the show image, provided the reason for this year’s theme: “This world in ‘transition’ can be horrifying and at best intense, so this spring 2026 the Club has chosen to look back to another time and place, ‘April in Paris’. We all need a little respite.”
Marcy Greely, a relatively new member but certainly a vibrant one, described how it all began.
“[It started] when locals would grow all the homegrown plants in their gardens and then bring them to Louise Halberg’s place…and they would grow, propagate, and cultivate them, with many grown at the Hallberg Butterfly Garden. [They would] load up all the plants in their cars or wagons, and then just put them here on the floor for a plant sale. Soon after, they started the tradition of holding the flower show inside and the plant sale outside. It can be confusing because some people come in here thinking, ‘Are these flowers for sale?’ We have to tell them that the flowers are the show, and the plants for sale are in the annex.”
What else is for sale is really a hoot. Handmade craft items of all kinds, white elephant sale items, and, of course, an unrivaled supply of vegetable starts. The lunch looks both delicious and filling and is a bargain at $15.
There aren’t many 100-year-old traditions in West County, and this one shouldn’t be missed.
The Station Opens for the Season
Following on its success last fall, The Station, the new name for the old firehouse (and train station before that), has reprised its coffee wagon. According to their announcement,
‘We’re just a few days out and getting excited to see you at the cart this weekend. We’re officially plugged in, building steam, and “trained” on our old-school espresso machine, come give us a shot!”
Graton Station is the brainchild of Matt Jorgensen and Tori Immel, who worked for over a year with George Melo, the firehouse owner, to secure a lease and eventually purchase the building, to operate it as a restaurant and community retail space. To make this happen, they created a private offering to accredited investors, offering units of ownership. Matt tells me the offering was successful and that they anticipate doing the interior build-out soon. To wrap up the financing, they will soon be offering smaller units of ownership with a “friendship” return on investment, possibly free coffee and events. I see it as similar to buying a brick to support a public endeavor. You don’t expect any return except civic pride.
When I stopped by Friday morning, there were people in line, and the crew of Matt Jorgensen, Tori Immel, Ferrell Carter, and Adrian Apana was working like a group of one-armed paper hangers.* By closing time, I witnessed the 101st customer and a sellout of all the food. What is different this spring is the addition of a covered outdoor seating area on the Graton Road-side of the building. So grab some great espresso, locally sourced treats, and some very local conversation. I will have much more to say about this venture in future columns.
Pop-up Hours || April - June
Friday: 7 am to 12 pm
Saturday and Sunday: 8 am to 1 pm
(*Editor’s note: For those of you who, like me, had never heard this phrase, it means “frenetically busy.”)
Springtime at Hopyard Farms
Amie Neff and Doug Eck’s fantastic Friday farmstand is open for spring fruits and vegetables. It is a real treat to have our own farmstand and farm in town on both sides of the West County Trail. The best part is you can’t drive to it. You must walk to the farm, which is located along the trail just south of Graton, parallel to Railroad Street. How West County is that!
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Loving the local area coverage!
Great article, Dewey! Thank you!