Sonoma Valley hoedown raises funds to support teens

Sonoma Valley folks needed no particular reason to pull out the Western duds and gussy up for a hoedown Saturday on a garden-framed lawn at Beltane Ranch. But they had one, a good one.

The evening of open-air conviviality, food, wine and music – dubbed Cowboy Cab – raised essential dollars to help prepare Sonoma Valley teens for productive and rewarding careers.

The hosting Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma Valley will commit all proceeds from the event to Teen Services, the multi-faceted nonprofit program that offers teens work readiness and career exploration, and that merged last spring with the Boys & Girls Clubs.

The 9th annual Cowboy Cab kicked off with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres on the lawn beside the elegant, 1892 Victorian house that is the jewel of Beltane Ranch, the 105-acre vineyard, B&B and agricultural preserve near Glen Ellen.

Among the guests were Sonoma Police Chief Orlando Rodriguez, Sonoma Valley Unified School District Superintendent Adrian Palazuelos, Associate Superintendent Bruce Abbott and Rebecca Hermosillo, who formerly ran Valley of the Moon Teen Center and now is senior district representative for Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena.

A team of animated young people active in Teen Services greeted the guests and assisted them throughout the evening.

Come time for grub, guests queued for a bountiful buffet set forth by Rob Larman and his crew from Cochon Volant BBQ Smoke House of Sonoma. The menu boasted a salad of little gems with mustard Parmesan dressing, baby back ribs, 14-hour beef brisket, brined and smoked chicken breast, baked beans, radish slaw and chili-cheese corn bread.

For dessert, there were famous Teen Services oatmeal-raisin and chocolate chip cookies for all. Guests keen for a bit more took part in a high-spirited Dessert Frenzy, an auction for sweets that included an avalanche of ice creams.

As part of a stage program, Sonoma Valley High alum Alondra Perez told of how her participation in Teen Services helped motivate her to enroll in the mechanical engineering program at Santa Rosa Junior College.

A bike reconditioned by kids at the Operation Bicycle shop operated by Teen Services was auctioned, and guests made cash donations to the employment readiness program during a fund-a-need appeal.

Then the Twang Ditty band fired up, and it was time to dance.

The first Cowboy Cab hosted by the new partnership of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Sonoma Valley and Teen Services looks to have taken in $150,000, a record for the event.