This Ain’t Your Momma’s Apple Blossom Festival
Myriah Volk is breathing new life into this old Sebastopol tradition
Myriah Volk, the new director of the Sebastopol Chamber of Commerce, has big plans for this year’s Apple Blossom Parade and Festival, which is the chamber’s biggest event and fundraiser of the year.
The parade will be led by Snoopy this year (a Myriah touch), but otherwise it will be the same classic small-town parade it’s always been, filled with school bands; sweet home-made floats; and classic cars with waving local poohbahs. (One of those wavers will be the grand master of this year’s parade, Sebastopol’s Citizen of the Year Lawrence Jaffe of the Sebastopol Grange.) The parade kicks off at 10 am on Saturday, April 29, starting at Analy High School and flowing down Main Street, ending at Calder Avenue at noon.
While the parade will be similar to years past, the festival is getting a long-overdue sprucing up, thanks to Volk and her vendor coordinator Janet Ciel, organizer of the Bodega Seafood Festival. The two-day festival runs from 11 to 6 pm on April 29 and 11 am to 5 pm on Sunday, April 30, in Ives Park.
The theme this year is “Sonoma County Blossoms.” Volk had the fun idea of laying out the festival like a map of Sonoma County, with each city represented, so visitors can get a vicarious tour of the whole county just by walking around the festival.
“The Sonoma County Blossoms theme has the intention of collaboration countywide,” Volk said. “Having the other towns involved in the festival is a good move in terms of collaboration and moving forward, coming out of COVID with everyone working together. We’ll have the park set up with signs for each town.”
What’s happening at the festival this year?
The Apple Blossom Festival Art Show, an exhibition by members of the Art Workshop of Western Sonoma County (AWS), will open with a reception (including music) on Friday, April 28 from 7 PM to 9 PM at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 282 S. High Street. Admission to the reception is free, and wine and appetizers will be served. The exhibition continues on Saturday, April 29, from 10 AM to 6 PM and on Sunday, April 30, from 10 AM to 5 PM. Entrance to the art show is included in the Apple Blossom Festival admission.
As in the past, there will be carnival rides for kids, but there will also be an expanded children's area this year, created by Elizabeth Smith the new director of Peacetown and creator of the Peacetown Family Village. The children’s area will have a petting zoo, soccer kicking area, puppet shows, as well as face painting and glitter tatoos.
Smith will also be emcee-ing the video portion of the event, walking around interviewing folks, which will be broadcast on the Stellar XP screen at the fair.
Snoopy will be at the festival on Saturday from noon to 2 pm, and Charlie Brown and Woodstock will be there on Sunday.
Another new fun thing: there will be a dance contest at the end of the day on both Saturday and Sunday.
Speaking of dancing, the music line-up is being put together by Jim Corbett. Here’s the list:
Saturday, April 29
STAGE 1
12:00 School of Rock – stellar house band from School of Rock
1:30 Parade Awards
2:00 Gas Money – a young local band, birthed by School of Rock
4:00 The Bluebyrds – Country Rock
STAGE 2
12:00 Sonoma Aroma – old time rock-n-roll and party music
2:00 Familiar Strangers – Classic country and western swing
4:00 Songs of the 60s – Jim Corbet and friends
Sunday, April 30
STAGE 1
12:00 The 7th Son – 70s rock ‘n’ roll
3:00 Court n’ Disaster – A country music group composed of local attorneys and led by a local judge
STAGE 2
12:00. Stella Heath doing her Billie Holiday Show
2:00 Blues Defenders ( A Musical Tribute to Levi Lloyd)
Local-vendors-only need apply
“We have three times the number of vendors we had last year,” Volk said. “We’re also eliminating any imported goods, so we’ll have local crafts people, mostly from Sonoma County, with a few from the wider Bay Area.”
She ticked off a list of some of the things they’ll be selling: “Wild Huckleberry syrups and jams, Brazilian chocolate truffles, art, clothing, jewelry, candles, knives, ceramics, CBD cosmetics, tie dye, stained glass, dog treats, and much more.”
They also have many more food vendors so you won’t go hungry.
“This will be the first year in about 20 years that Screamin’ Mimi's will be at the festival with ice cream sandwiches,” Volk said. “We’ll have Dino's Greek food truck, and we have oysters this year. We have so many varieties of food. We have Sunrise Rotary making three kinds of sloppy joes, plus there will be Aunt Betty’s gourmet corndogs, Austin Southern Smoke BBQ, Bubbles and Boba, Cajun Connects, as well as funnel cakes, churros, and kettle corn. We have El Coronel, and the Lions Club is making root beer floats. We have ‘Just Eat Some,’ which offers a plant-based menu, and the Hopmonk food truck. Mom's Apple Pie is coming, and Sonoma Burger will be there with burgers and wraps.”
How you can get involved
VOLUNTEER: “We are still looking for more volunteers,” Volk said. “Right now we have about 60, and we need about 80 more.” There are plenty of volunteer jobs available, and you’re bound to be able to find one to fit your talents and temperament. Volunteers get free tickets to the event and are invited to a pre-festival party at the Barlow on Friday night. Volunteer here.
SPONSOR: There is still time to sponsor the event. The Barlow is the premier sponsor of the event, but there a several sponsorship opportunities remaining. Find out about sponsorship opportunities here.
BE IN THE PARADE: The deadline to be in the parade is today, April 7. Find the parade entry form here. (Pro-tip: there’s a little wiggle room here if you’re willing to pay a $50 late fee.)
ATTEND: Most importantly, come to the parade and the festival. It’s such a classic small-town experience, and it looks like it’s shaping up to be better than ever this year. See you there!
