Stalking Woodstock

<p>Last summer, 55 round-headed Charlie Brown statues greeted locals and tourists alike from street corners and sidewalks all over Santa Rosa. Now, the city is about to make bird-watchers of us all.</p><p>All summer long, with out-of-town guests in tow and tourist bureau maps in hand, dutiful hosts will stalk the not-so-elusive "Peanuts" character Woodstock.</p><p>The legacy of comic-strip creator Charles Schulz looms forever large in Santa Rosa, where he lived for decades. As part of the ongoing "Peanuts on Parade" public art project, statues of Schulz's frizzy-headed cartoon bird will officially arrive on Saturday, in the city's annual Rose Parade.</p><p>Starting next week, sponsors and artists will set up 76 Woodstocks -- each nested in his own polyurethane tree and individually decorated -- around the city. It may take all week for all of the statues to appear.</p><p>"It'll be a much bigger event this summer," said Schulz's son, Craig.</p><p>Wise tour leaders won't just go tramping off with their guests willy-nilly. There's a lot of ground to cover to see all the statues, and those without a plan risk losing some members of the party to foot ache or heatstroke. It's smarter to lead brief Woodstock mini-tours, making sure refreshments and other diversions are nearby.</p><p>One logical starting place is Railroad Square, where the Santa Rosa Visitors and Convention Bureau (9 Fourth St.) will serve as the information center for the "Summer of Woodstock."</p><p>The staff has geared up for a major invasion, armed with maps, buttons and souvenirs. Officials estimate tourist traffic nearly doubled last summer during the "It's Your Town, Charlie Brown" promotion, from 15,000 in 2004 to 27,000.</p><p>"It went from a community event to a major tourism event," said Mo Renfro, executive director of the city's Convention & Visitors Bureau.</p><p>Those with family members posing for photos with each of the statues, as many fans did last year, can start with "Explorer Admiral Bird," clad in snowshoes and goggles, the visitors bureau's own Woodstock, posted at the bureau office.</p><p>Snack and meal stops abound, with Chevy's and Flying Goat Coffee on one side and the A'roma Roaster coffee house on the other, and Josef's at Hotel La Rosa, across from A'roma. Farther down Wilson Street is many old-time Santa Rosans' perennial favorite, La Gare.</p><p>A quick trip across Wilson Street and up the 100 block of Fourth Street will lead to more Woodstock art, titled "Make Tracks for Railroad Square" and "Good Times With Woodstock."</p><p>The block is packed with restaurants: Lo Coco's, Mixx Enoteca Luigi, Omelette Express and the new Sushi to Dai For. A jaunt a block north leads to Syrah and the Last Day Saloon.</p><p>Not far away, at Seventh and Adams streets, the venerable Michele's will play host to a wine-themed Woodstock, "Silver Sommelier."</p><p>If your group wants to make an evening of it, don't forget the 6th Street Playhouse, 52 W. Sixth St., opening "Oklahoma" in June and "Bye, Bye Birdie" in mid-August. The statues stay up until early September.</p><p>Downtown Santa Rosa will have its share of big birds, from a scholarly Woodstock, wearing a graduation mortarboard on his head at Fourth Street and Mendocino Avenue, to the wildly colored "Impressionist Hippie Woodstock," in front of Flavor restaurant in Courthouse Square. Flavor features a full menu and Moonlight craft beer, and right next door stands Cafe Japan, for tourists with other tastes.</p><p>For footsore brew lovers, it's a very short walk across Third Street to Aleworks, or up Fourth Street to the Sweet Spot or the Russian River Brewery. Lower Fourth Street offers Tex Wasabi's (home of newly anointed Food Network chef Guy Fieri), the Cantina, Caffe Portofino, Sonoma Coffee Company and more.</p><p>For those striking out for other parts of town, one handy stop with easy parking is the G&G plaza, where Union Hotel Pizza & Pasta Co., 1007 W. College Ave., will display "Pasta al Woodstock," with the bird wearing a chef's toque. Page's Diner, across the parking lot, offers another choice.</p><p>If your party isn't hungry, you can take a different tack. Some of the Woodstocks will take up positions at other attractions.</p><p>Naturally, the late "Sparky" Schulz's beloved Redwood Empire Ice Arena, also known as Snoopy's Home Ice, 1667 W. Steele Lane, will host several of the statues. There's nothing like ice skating for cooling off quickly.</p><p>"Peanuts" buffs from all over already haunt Snoopy's Gift Shop and the Warm Puppy Cafe on the premises on a regular basis. At the gift shop, a Woodstock statue in a scout hat will roast multiple marshmallows.</p><p>Across a side street, there will also be a Woodstock at the Charles M. Schulz Museum, 2301 Hardies Lane, featuring "Peanuts" art and memorabilia. (Hours: Noon-5 p.m. Mondays; noon-5 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Admission: $5-$8. Information: 579-4452, www.schulzmuseum.org.)</p><p>Or if your group's interests are more floral and historical than cartoonish, try the Luther Burbank Home and Gardens, Santa Rosa and Sonoma avenues. A Woodstock wearing a Bacchus-style vine wreath will welcome visitors there. (Cost: Free; docent tours, $4; audio tours, $3. Information: 524-5445; www.lutherburbank.org.)</p><p>Since this is meant to be a fun outing for visitors, remember there is more to life than food or even art. There's shopping.</p><p>Montgomery Village, straddling both sides of Sonoma Avenue at Farmers Lane, offers shops, Woodstocks and, of course, food as well. A dozen paces from a Woodstock sporting shades and a sax, you'll find Japanese food at Shogun or steaks at Cattlemens. Glance across the road and you'll spot Michelle Marie's Patisserie.</p><p>On the other side of Sonoma Avenue, in the center's Village Court, cast as "The Village Gardener" in a floppy hat, Woodstock will pose close to Monti's Rotisserie and Bar, and Crepe Escape.</p><p>All of this adds up to just a random smattering of the possible tours you can map out for yourself and your friends and family. It's a game anyone can play. If the promoters are right, people will flock to see Woodstock. They might as well have some extra fun and good food along the way.</p><p>You can reach Staff Writer Dan Taylor at 521-5243 or dtaylor@pressdemocrat.com.</p>