Graton Community Club sells flowers to fund local scholarships

The Graton Community Club’s Fall Flower Show Oct. 14 and Oct. 15 featured hundreds of garden-ready plants available for purchase for a good cause.

The show raised money for the nonprofit club’s scholarship program and to maintain the group’s historic Graton Road building.

It was the club’s first flower show since 2019 and attracted between 200 and 300 people each day, according to club official Kathi Jacobs.

“The people who came really seemed to enjoy it, they stayed for a long time and bought many items,” Jacobs said. “They were glad to see it come back.”

Along with plants donated by members, other items for sale during the event included handcrafted items like quilts and small works of art made by club members. Attendees also had the opportunity to enter a raffle for a chance to win prizes ranging from Sonoma County wine to giant handmade Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls.

Club members made lunch, which was available for $15 each day. Coffee and homemade desserts were also available to buy. Local musicians provided the soundtrack for the show, which was themed “mystical magic.”

The building, in keeping with the “mystical” theme, was decorated “very Halloweeny,” Jacobs said, and a life-size capped wizard statue greeted attendees.

The scholarship program the show raised money for dates back to 1954. The club annually gives out between five to 10 scholarships ranging between $500 and $1500 to graduates of west county high schools and Santa Rosa Junior College, according to Jacobs.

In addition to hosting its own gatherings, the club regularly rents out its building for other local clubs and events.

“It’s really a community center,“ Jacobs said.

For more information, go to gratoncommunityclub.org.