LEARNapalooza is coming to town

This free event at the Sebastopol Grange links local instructors and learners of all types this Sunday

Sebastopol Grange member Deborah Wiig wears many hats. As publisher and editor of HAPPENINGSonomaCounty.com and LEARNSonomaCounty.com, she connects local people with local events and classes. As CEO of Deborah Wiig Communications, she provides marketing services to area businesses and organizations. This Sunday, Sept. 15, she will host LEARNapalooza at the Sebastopol Grange.

The event, open to all, will feature teachers of all types from throughout Sonoma County who will offer workshops, demonstrations and classes to local learners. It begins at 11 a.m. and ends at 3:30 p.m.

“LEARNApalooza is the kickoff event to introduce LEARN [Sonoma County],” Wiig said. “The event will showcase a sampling of local learning opportunities, but people will find many more classes offered on the website.” 

To her way of thinking, the event is a means to get people back in the mode of learning after a long, relaxing summer.

Originally from Denver, Wiig moved to Sonoma County 10 years ago to be closer to her son, Evan Wiig, a well-known local environmentalist and musician. She relishes the dynamic people she meets here and sees an opportunity to further lifelong learning for community members.

Deborah Wiig is the creator of Learnapalooza and LEARN Sonoma County.

“Sonoma County in particular has an abundance of talented people doing interesting things,” she says. “We have so many people involved with gardening and agriculture. We must have more artists per capita than just about anywhere. We have a very strong food and drink culture in this county.

“But if you don’t know where to find them, you don’t find them,” she continues. “And so, what LEARN is about is creating a place where everybody can find each other, where people can find out about all of these many opportunities.”

All are welcome at Sunday’s LEARNapalooza event. Organizations and instructors in attendance will include multi-talented Cheryl King, owner of Stage Left Studio, “who will provide two live improv demonstrations with students and willing audience members,” according to the LEARN website. In addition, Alliance Française de Santa Rosa will attend with its own pop-up booth, providing information about the French language classes, activities and events the organization offers.

Chimera Arts and Maker Space instructors in attendance will include Linton Hale, who teaches classes on WordPress website building and music classes, and director Joe Szuecs. Per an email exchange, Szuecs (pronounced SOOCH) says, “We’ll have a table at the event and will be promoting our classes. Along with that we’ll have a laser cut hands-on activity and a microcontroller driven musical instrument.”

Cheryl Franklin, of Cheryl Teach Music school, will be in attendance. “I will be having a table full of Musical Instruments that all folks are welcome to look at, touch, pick up, play, connect with, and jam on,” she says. “Oh, yes! I am looking very forward to LEARNapalooza because I love providing Music Instruments for all ages to enjoy.”

Other instructors will include artists, college teachers, farmers and more, representing and showcasing local businesses and organizations.

Wiig’s interest in connecting teachers and learners dates back to her time in Denver in the 1970s, where she attended a few classes at Denver Free University, one of many “free,” non-academic schools born out of the free speech movement and the counterculture.

“[The Free University] has evolved, it’s changed quite a bit,” Wiig said. “But it started with that very pure concept of everybody is free to teach and everyone is free to learn.” 

Instructors didn’t require official credentials to teach, and students didn’t earn units. But the free university model helped kindle in her an interest in promoting lifelong learning.

“There is this idea that lots of people have something that they could teach other people,” Wiig says. “They don’t have a degree in it. They’re not teachers, but they’re somebody that has something that they could share with somebody else. Something they do is something somebody else would like to learn.”

As the publisher and editor of HAPPENING Sonoma County and LEARN Sonoma County, Wiig finds that people often express surprise when they realize how many readily available classes and seminars are offered locally — many of them free. LEARNapalooza will provide attendees with opportunities to engage in activities, watch demonstrations, talk to instructors and meet fellow learners — all in-person.

“So that’s the mission, to showcase all of these many opportunities that exist all over the county,” Wiig says, adding that she hopes to inspire people to practice lifelong learning and, better yet, to sign up for a class or teach one.

Admission and parking at this Sebastopol Grange-sponsored event are free.

“The Grange works hard to be a community gathering place. Our goal since we were founded in Sebastopol in 1896 is to bring people together, build community, and help our rural community be prosperous and resilient,” says Sebastopol Grange President Lawrence Jaffe. “Learnapalooza is a great fit with our mission, and we are pleased to host it at our Grange Hall.”

LEARNapalooza will be held Sunday, Sept. 15, 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., at the Sebastopol Grange, 6000 Sebastopol Ave., Hwy 12. Free admission and parking. learnsonomacounty.com/learnapalooza