Mouthful: Fun spring events around Sonoma County

Everyone loves a parade: The season of spring parades reaches its zenith Saturday, when the 121st Annual Luther Burbank Rose Parade and Festival kicks off at 10 a.m. at Sonoma Ave. and E St.

The parade winds through town, wrapping up sometime between noon and 1 p.m. At 2 p.m., there will be an awards ceremony in Old Courthouse Square, where the festival takes place, with live music, activities for the entire family and a large array of food booths, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For complete details, including a map of the parade route and a list of street closures, visit roseparadefestival.com.

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Second Annual Wool Festival: This Saturday and Sunday, May 16 and 17, the Valley Ford Wool Mill hosts a lively fete featuring all things wool. The free event takes place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days.

Highlights include local fiber arts and crafts people, wool grading and trading, demonstrations of carding, spinning, weaving and felting, fun hands-on activities, live music, beverages and nibbles.

Our favorite feature may be a yurt, which will be on display. The spacious circular structure is constructed of wet-felted wool and there is something magical about lingering inside it.

On Saturday and Sunday at 11 a.m., Johnny Sanchez and Jack Strozzi will present a sheep shearing demonstration. At 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. on both days, there will be tours of the mill and its activities, which include washing, picking, carding, pin drafting and spinning.

Haverton Hill Creamery will join in the festivities with samples of their yummy sheep milk ice cream.

Although admission is free, some activities have a fee. For example, you’ll pay $10 to learn needle felting but it’s a great deal, as you’ll walk away with a completed project.

Food, beverages, clothing, bedding, home accessories, equipment and more will all be available for purchase. Parking is $5.

The festival takes place at 14390 Highway 1 in Valley Ford. For a complete schedule, visit valleyfordwoolmill.com.

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Happy Birthday, Rosso Petaluma: On Saturday from 4 to 7 p.m., Rosso Pizzeria and Mozzarella Bar (151 Petaluma Blvd. South) will celebrate its third anniversary with Pigs ‘n Pints, a party on the patio.

Highlights include a whole roasted pig, polenta, salsa verde and sweet and sour raspberries. Brewer Shane Goepel of HenHouse Brewing Co. will be on hand to chat while he pours HenHouse Saison, Honest Day’s Pay and Stoked.

All you need to do is show up; no RSVP or reservation is required.

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Farm to Fiesta: As of press time, there were still tickets available for Summerfield Waldorf School and Farm’s annual fundraising fete, known this year as Farm to Fiesta. Cost is $90 per person and tickets are available at farmtofeast.org.

Things get started at 4 p.m., with live music, an art show, a silent auction and wine tasting. Dinner, which follows at 6 p.m., is a joint effort by Traci Des Jardins of San Francisco, Duskie Estes and John Stewart of Zazu Restaurant in Sebastopol, Evelyn Cheatham of Worth Our Weight and several others.

The evening concludes with a bonfire, more live music and dancing until 11 p.m.

The fete takes place at the school and farm, located at 655 Willowside Rd., Santa Rosa.

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Aloha Alert: On Wednesday, May 27, Faith Ako, beloved Hawaiian singer and songwriter from Sonoma County, and Weldon Kekauoha perform at Petaluma’s Mystic Theater, located at 21 Petaluma Blvd. North.

Kekauoha has been performing his version of traditional Hawaiian music since he was a young boy in Honolulu; he began playing ukulele at age four and has performed throughout the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Ako will be joined by dancers from Na Pua O Ka La’akea.

There will also be Hawaiian food available, along with beer, wine and soft drinks.

General admission is $21. You can purchase tickets at ticketweb.com and either print them yourself or have them held at the box office for no additional charge.

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Chroma Gallery Hosts Benefit Concert: On Saturday afternoon from 4 to 6 p.m., Santa Rosa continues downtown festivities at Chroma Gallery (312 South A St., Santa Rosa), where there will be a celebration of the release of Teresa Tudury’s “West of Paradise.”

Doors open at 3 p.m., with a live performance starting at 4 p.m. in the garden. Guests are invited to bring low-backed chairs and enjoy an afternoon with artists, musicians and members of the KRCB FM staff.

Admission is $10 for the general public and $5 for kids and seniors. Wine, beer and soft drinks will be available for purchase. A portion of the proceeds benefit KRCB.

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Occidental Center for the Arts: If you’ve not been to the community treasure that is Occidental Center for the Arts (3850 Doris Murphy Ct., Occidental), there are several upcoming opportunities to do so. On Sunday from 4 to 6 p.m., there is a tribute to the Kingston Trio, with the County Line Trio celebrating 45 years of playing together. Admission is $15 and there will be refreshments available for purchase.

On June 26, journalist and author Susan Swartz and Liberty Lee, a stage actress, present “Secret Lives,” a conversation about their new play “People Like Us,” an exploration of women living with HIV. Admission is free.

This Friday, the center hosts a book launch party featuring my four most recent titles, along with the Magic Pantry Apron, a slide show, a reading and a cooking demonstration. Admission is free and the fun starts at 7 p.m. This fete is part of the center’s ongoing book launch series. Local authors are invited to apply; for more information and application guidelines, visit occidentalcenterforthearts.org.

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Road Trip!: Farmers market shoppers have been enjoying the hand milled spices and spice blends from Nick Davoren and Evelyn Wood of Local Spicery for a few years. Now, they are opening a brick-and-mortar shop in Tiburon, at 80 Main St., the town’s historic Ark Row.

The grand opening takes place Friday, May 15.

The shop features more than 200 spices, herbs and blends, along with utensils, accessories, books and gift items.

The shop will be open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, visit freshlocalspices.com.

Michele Anna Jordan has written 19 books to date, including the new “More Than Meatballs.” Email Jordan at catsmilk@sonic.net. You’ll find her blog, “Eat This Now,” at pantry.blogs.pressdemocrat.com.