SOFA arts district in Santa Rosa has ‘sweet reunion’

There was excitement, relief and just plain conviviality in the air in the SOFA arts district Friday at the first First Friday event in more than a year.

“This is a beginning, a rebirth,” said longtime Santa Rosa artist Maurio Uribe from his Seishin Studio located on Art Alley in Santa Rosa. “This is a resurgence of the arts and the neighborhood. We really all missed each other.”

Art lovers strolled around the SOFA (South of A) district on A Street, smiling and chatting as they visited galleries, restaurants and listened to live music.

Many in the arts community suffered financial loss during the pandemic. Some compensated with art shows online, said Simmon Factor, director of the Santa Rosa Art Center and one of the organizers of First Friday, a type of gallery crawl with music and food on the first Friday of every month.

“All the galleries were closed for over a year,” Factor said. “This really needed a kick-start. This is special because California is opening up and this is like ’Welcome back, Sonoma County!’ ”

Factor held a grand opening reception for the center’s invitational exhibit “Just Flowers” with wine, cheese and crackers for art aficionados near the Art Center Backyard Stage. The florist next door, Papillon Floral, delivered a bouquet of flowers in honor of the show.

The event was billed on numerous posters tacked up at various businesses as “The return of First Friday to the SOFA arts district.” Uribe said he expects to hold another First Friday in June and every month forward as conditions continue to get safer.

Artist Connie Robeson of Rohnert Park had two of her works on display at the art center gallery. One was a giant flower made with the technique of clay mono printing, which involves imprinting a clay slab with liquid clay.

“I get to submit to this wonderful venue, ” said Robeson, a member of the Santa Rosa Art Center. “I’m glad we’re out of our houses. This is an out-of-house experience.”

She added that she believes “this part of town is really going to flower.”

Musicians John Strider, Robin Factor and Bruce Kramer entertained the crowd on the Backyard Stage to the delight of art lover Ellen Skagerberg of Santa Rosa, who took off early from her job in Petaluma to get to the celebration.

“This is a revival of a social event,” she enthused. “This is a very sweet reunion.”

The Cafe Frida Gallery was jumping, as people danced or relaxed on the patio enjoying the salsa and Latin music of the Batacha Quartet. The cafe-gallery at 300 South A St., owned by Uribe, has an ongoing exhibit of the artworks of artist Alejandro Salazar called “Plates & Prints” running through May 28.

The cafe served a limited menu of hot dogs along with beer and wine just for the event.

Also participating was the Avalow Garden nursery. Masks and social distancing were lightly enforced.

The goal of the the First Friday events is to bring people to the arts district and promote all kinds of art, Simmon Factor said. South A Street and surrounding streets were packed with cars, a good indication of a nice crowd enjoying the festivities.

Mother-daughter art lovers Cheryl and Madlyn Smith, longtime Santa Rosa residents, came to First Friday for the first time, although they have attended the group’s “Winter Blast” before.

“This is more colorful, much better because of the weather,” Cheryl Smith said. The district “is Santa Rosa, but it seems like another place.”

Madlyn had brought her mother to do a little Mother’s Day shopping.

“There’s good food, good art and everybody seems happier here,” she said. “I love it around here. I feel like I haven’t been out of the house to look at art for a long time.”

You can reach Staff Writer Kathleen Coates at kathleen.coates@pressdemocrat.com.