What's happening this week in Sebastopol?
Porchfest 2025, a fascinating Science Buzz, Art Trails preview and opening reception, Jim Corbett's birthday bash, and more
Trash Talk with Sonoma County Resource Recovery
Monday, Sept. 8, 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm, at the Sebastopol Area Senior Center, 167 N. High St., Sebastopol. Free.
Discover the future of waste and recycling in Sonoma County. Join us in Sebastopol for an informative and interactive presentation by Sonoma County Resource Recovery. Learn how local programs are transforming the way we recycle, compost and reduce waste, and what you can do to help. Bring items you're unsure about (trash or recycle?) and get expert guidance on proper sorting. Together, we can build a cleaner, more sustainable Sonoma County. Space is limited. Reserve your spot by calling the senior center: 707-829-2440.
Science Buzz Cafe: Scientific Dating of Materials: Cosmogenic Particles or Bust!
Monday, Sept. 8, 6 pm, at HopMonk, 230 Petaluma Ave., Sebastopol. $10.
Mike Price is a science journalist and a relatively recent transplant to Sebastopol who works as a news editor for Science magazine, primarily covering human evolution, anthropology and archeology topics. You’ve seen the headlines: “Archaeologists uncover 1-million-year-old human ancestor” or “67-million-year-old T-rex skeleton sold at auction.” How do scientists come up with those numbers? The answer is scientific dating. One of the most well-known scientific dating tools has roots right here in Sebastopol: the inventor of the radiocarbon dating method, Willard Libby, attended Analy High, graduating in 1926. But scientists have an expansive toolbox of techniques including uranium-lead dating, dendrochronology, molecular clocks, optically stimulated luminescence and many others that they can use to estimate the age of an object or an event.
New Class: Irish Music for All Instruments
Mondays, Sept. 8 to Oct. 13, 6 pm to 7:15 pm, at a private home studio in Sebastopol (address provided upon sign up). $125-220 (sliding scale).
This six-week course is designed to help you learn by ear the hypnotic melodies and pulsing rhythms of traditional Irish music. Learn captivating tunes and build a common repertoire with your classmates. Suitable for intermediate or advanced instrumentalists. Reserve your spot.
Preserve the Season: Pears
Tuesday, Sept. 9, 10 am to 2 pm, at Gather, 122 N. Main St., Sebastopol. $170.
Join us at Gather Sebastopol as we capture the best of the harvest. In this hands-on class, you’ll learn the art of preserving pears through canning, jamming, and other time-honored techniques. Guided by Christina Connelly of Apple Blossom Acres — an avid jam maker with over a decade of experience — you’ll take home delicious preserves and the skills to keep the season’s bounty alive all year long. Perfect for beginners and seasoned home cooks alike. In this class, you will make and bring home jars of pear butter, spiced pears, pear jam and pear brandy. Reserve your spot.
Jewish Film Festival: Yaniv
Tuesday, Sept. 9, 1 pm and 7 pm, at Rialto Cinemas, 6868 McKinley St., Sebastopol. $15.25.
A high school teacher in the Bronx loses funding for the school musical and convinces his fellow statistics teacher—secretly a recovering gambling addict—to help him cheat at an underground card game run by the Hasidic Jewish community. The plan goes awry with mounting consequences, but help comes at an unexpected time from the least likely people. Get tickets.
Sebastopol Grange Home Gardener Produce Exchange/Donation
Tuesday, Sept. 9, 5 pm to 5:45 pm, Sebastopol Grange, 6000 Sebastopol Road (Hwy. 12), Sebastopol. Free.
This is an opportunity to trade surplus items from your garden for something you don’t have. You may also bring produce that you have gleaned (with permission, of course) from a neighbor’s yard. Master Food Preservers will be on hand at the Produce Exchange/Donation events to answer questions, and new this year, they will provide recipes and samples during tabling. In addition to produce, plant starts will also be shared and traded.
Celebrate Jim Corbett's (Mr. Music) Birthday at HopMonk
Wednesday, Sept. 10, 6 pm to 8:30 pm, at HopMonk (in the Abbey), 230 Petaluma Ave., Sebastopol. Free.
Celebrate Jim’s birthday at this fun event featuring local singer songwriters and friends. including Doug Blumer & Nancy Irish, Hugh Shacklett, Katie Ketchum, Doug Jayne, Brendan Smith, Blair Hardman, Gary Knowlton, Solid Air, Johnny Campbell, Greg Abel, Paul Larkin Family Band, Love Choir, Jackson Ahern, John Duran, Hosanna, Jim Paschal, Moon Puppy, and maybe even more! This event is free, good for all ages, and partially seated.
Film: The Secret of Me
Thursday, Sept. 11, 1 pm and 7 pm, at Rialto Cinemas, 6868 McKinley St., Sebastopol. $15.25.
Part of the OUTwatch film festival, “The Secret of Me” asks a daunting question. “What if everything you were told about yourself from the people you trusted was a lie? It’s 1995 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. During a feminist studies class, college student Kristi opens her textbook to discover something that turns her world upside down. For as long as she can remember, Kristi has felt different—now she knows why. Demanding her medical records, Kristi is finally confronted with the devastating truth. Q&A with film subject Bo Laurent to follow both screenings. Get tickets.
The Ultimate Heirloom Apple Experience
Thursday and Friday, Sept. 11 and 12, at Gold Ridge Organic Farms, 3387 Canfield Road, Sebastopol. $60.
Start with a guided walk through our organic apple orchards, where guests will learn how our trees are grown and what apples and people have in common (hint: no two are alike). Enjoy the expansive views of the rolling hills and farms surrounding our 88-acre property in southwest Sebastopol. Then, enjoy a side-by-side guided tasting of four to five hand-picked heirloom apples, paired with local artisan cheeses drizzled with our apple cider syrup and a taste of freshly pressed apple juice. Get tickets.
Making ropes and cords with natural materials
Saturday, Sept. 13, 9:30 am to 3:30 pm, at Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation, 900 Sanford Road, Santa Rosa. $126.
Join Charlie Kennard for a hands-on workshop exploring the art of cordage (rope and cord) using natural materials and traditional techniques. Get tickets.
Succulents and Ceramic Garden Art Sale
Saturday, Sept. 13, 10 am to 2 pm, at Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 282 S. High St., Sebastopol.
Succulents are a great fire-wise, water-wise and colorful plant for your garden. Sonoma County Master Gardeners is teaming up with the SebARTS Ceramics department to host a succulent sale. We have the perfect succulent to fill the ceramics the Art Center will be selling. Proceeds benefit UC Master Gardeners of Sonoma County and the Sebastopol Center for the Arts. Cash or checks only.
Porchfest Sebastopol 2025
Saturday, Sept. 13, noon to 6 pm, at Ives Park. Afterparty 7 pm til 10 pm at SebArts.
The second annual Sebastopol Porchfest 2025 will be an afternoon of music at Ives Park with a rockin' afterparty at Sebastopol Center for the Arts. Afternoon music is free. Admission to the afterparty at SebArts is $10. See the our article on Porchfest 2025 here. Learn more at the Porchfest Sebastopol website.
Art Trails Preview Show and Opening Reception
Sunday, Sept. 14, 2 pm to 4 pm, at Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 282 S. High St., Sebastopol. Free.
Sonoma County Art Trails, one of the oldest juried annual open studio tours in the country, is celebrating its 41st year. This fall, over 150 professional local artists from Sebastopol to Healdsburg to Petaluma and from Sonoma to the coast will welcome visitors into their studios to see the paintings, prints, drawings, mixed media art, jewelry, sculpture, photography, fiber arts, ceramics, glass, and woodworking that make Sonoma County an art destination. Get a preview of the open studios tour at this opening reception at SebArts. You can see examples of their work at this preview show. Learn more. Download the Art Trails Guide.
See What’s Happening Sonoma County for more Sebastopol music listings.
Want us to feature your event in “What’s happening this week in Sebastopol?” Submit your events to the Sebastopol Community Calendar. This is one of the many resources I use to put this column together.
I love having this article so that I can plan my week around any events of interest. Thank you so much for compiling and distributing the information for us.