Santa Rosa’s Winterblast street festival carries on despite smoky conditions

Persistent smoke from Butte County’s Camp fire and chilly temperatures were of little concern to the crowd gathered Saturday night at Santa Rosa’s Winterblast street festival, continuing a lively tradition celebrating the city’s arts community.

Music from The Hubbub Club, Graton’s New Orleans-style music troupe, greeted attendees in the SOFA (South of A Street) neighborhood, an artist enclave south of Julliard Park. Hundreds of people lined the closed streets, perusing local shops and art galleries and nibbling on treats from food trucks.

The main event, an electric couch parade, featured more than a dozen wheeled, decorated couches that dazzled onlookers. One was constructed in the shape of a pink and blue dragon, with florescent lights illuminating the street in front of it. Another came in the shape of a giant turkey adorned with twinkle lights.

“You don’t see that every day,”said Cotati resident Dixon Wragg, who attended the festival for the first time. “Everyone seems to be having a good time.”

The event, in its 14th year, plays an important role in bringing in new people to what’s sometimes an overlooked area, said Simmon Factor, the director of the Santa Rosa Arts Center and owner of Chroma Gallery.

Organizers worried that smoky conditions would impact turnout, Factor said, a fear compounded by a last-minute false rumor posted onto Facebook that the festival had been canceled.

While larger crowds have attended in the past, he estimated about 2,000 people were on hand Saturday night. Only a few had donned the now ubiquitous respirator masks.

Christie Marks, one of the artists who opened studios to the public, offered chocolates to people as they entered her workspace. She’s been at the South A Street location since 2010 ,and considers the event the highlight of her year.

“A lot of people don’t know about the (SOFA) district at all,” she said. “We get more and more people coming here every time.”

Molly Perez, the co-owner of Jam Jar, a shop also located on South A Street, said the festival has brought additional attention to the neighborhood, encouraging business owners and residents to rethink how to make the district attractive to outsiders.

“A lot of it is about vitalizing the area,” Perez said.

Sebastopol resident Marty Roberts, an acrylic painter, was another first-time attendee Saturday night. Rain and cold weather have stopped her from attending in years past. The foul air was not enough to stop her from attending this year.

“It’s a wonderful parade of the arts for Sonoma County and Santa Rosa,” Roberts said.

You can reach Staff Writer Nashelly Chavez at 707-521-5203.