Art & Garden Festival Among Major Petaluma Events Canceled

PETALUMA, CA — What would have been the 19th annual Art & Garden Festival in downtown Petaluma has been cancelled. It was slated for Saturday, July 12 but the Petaluma Downtown Association confirmed its decision Tuesday to cancel, not postpone, this year's festival.

Instead, the Petaluma Downtown Association said it will save its energies on making sure the festival returns in 2021.

Other major event cancellations in Petaluma since the coronavirus outbreak began — preventing large gatherings — have included the Spring Antique Faire in March, the Petaluma Butter & Egg Days in April, and the Sonoma-Marin Fair slated for June.

"Although we do not have a new confirmed date for our beloved Butter & Egg Days Festival and Parade, we are shooting for late August," Petaluma Downtown Association said in a newsletter.

As for the Cutest Little Chick contest, a Butter & Egg Days tradition in which parents dress up their little ones in baby chicken costumes, it was held virtually this year. A gallery of all the cutest chicks is posted at Petaluma360.com.

The Sonoma-Marin Fair, home to the World's Ugliest Dog Contest, was scheduled to run the last week in June but organizers announced May 1 the fair was canceled for the first time in decades.

"Fairs represent an important celebration of community," Sonoma-Marin Fair CEO Allison Keaney said. "COVID-19 has changed how we are able to stay connected, and we are working on finding a way to adapt."

Good news: the fair board and staff found a way to continue that tradition this year. A virtual fair is scheduled June 24-28. Information about entries for the virtual fair, including the World's Ugliest Dog Contest, is posted at Sonoma-marinfair.org/.