As he says, “It’s been a long time since I came into The Press Democrat with info on my first band in 1971. That was ‘Hot Chakra.’”

Now, he has come to pressdemocrat.com to say he’s throwing himself a birthday party, although he doesn’t mention exactly what birthday it is.

“My annual Jazz Party and Birthday Bash is coming up,” he says. “This group started 25 years ago and played every week in Sonoma County for about 15 years.”

The lineup for this band should impress any locals who know their Sonoma County musicians: Rita Thies, sax; Tim Haggerty,  keyboards; Randy Quan, guitar; Jeff Forehan, drums; Blair Hardman, bass.

The show also features Frank Hayhurst & the Zone All-Stars and Uncle Wiggly.

His “Blair Hardman Jazz Party & Pisces Birthday Bash” starts at 9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 20, at the Tradewinds Bar In downtown Cotati. Admission: $8. Information: (707) 664-1221, www.blairhardman.com.

Poor Man's Whiskey

Sonoma County bluegrass band Poor Man’s Whiskey reprises “Dark Side of the Moonshine,” a bluegrass interpretation of the classic Pink Floyd album, in Sebastopol this weekend.

And Jason Beard, guitarist and mandolinist with the band, urges you not to miss your chance to see this show.

“We last performed this show locally at the Mystic Theater in 2005 to a sold-out crowd,” Beard said.

The band released its double-disk  “Dark Side of the Moonshine”  album last year, sparking  international attention.

“We just got signed to perform at a very large festival in Australia, the Byron Bay Blues Festival, ” Beard added.

Think of all the money you’ll save seeing the band in Sebastopol, instead of going to Australia.

The details: 9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 13, a the Sebastopol Community Center, 390 Morris St. $20-$23. (707) 823-1511,  www.cumuluspresents.com, www.seb.org.

It’s hard to keep a good woman down, even if she has been dead since 1963.

“Always, Patsy Cline,” brings the country singer back to life, beautifully played by longtime Sonoma County actress and singer Mary Gannon Graham.

This production has sold out three runs since last November, two at the Cinnabar in Petaluma and one at the 6th Street Playhouse in Santa Rosa.

And it’s not over yet. “Always, Patsy Cline” has been booked into the 1,550-seat main auditorium at Wells Fargo Center for one show only, at 8 p.m. Nov. 28.

It should be a Saturday night to remember.

Graham is quick to point out that this is not a one-woman show. It co-stars Liz Jahren in a manic, comic performance as Patsy’s biggest fan. And it features a hot country band, led by musical director Jim Peterson.

“I knew how popular this show could be, but did I think we’d have four rides with it? No,”  said Elizabeth Craven, executive director of the 6th Street Playhouse and co-director of “Always, Patsy Cline,” with Elly Lichenstein of Cinnabar.

“I think we could just get a bus and take this show on the road,” Craven added.

Who can resist country classics like “Crazy” and “I Fall to Pieces”?

Graham is a versatile and experienced actress, who gave a great performance last year in the solo show “Shirley Valentine,” about a frustrated working-class London housewife, at the Sonoma County Repertory Theater.

But in this current show, she becomes Patsy Cline.

“It all started when Mary was sitting on my office floor one night, and I said, ‘There’s a great show about Patsy Cline and you’d be right for it.’  And she said, ‘I love Patsy Cline. I grew up on her,’” Craven said.

Tickets for the Wells Fargo Center performance will cost $29-$39. wellsfargocenterarts.org, 6thstreetplayhouse.com.

Artists and local leaders will gather in downtown Santa Rosa at 5:30 p.m.  today (Tuesday, Aug. 25) to honor Sonoma County artist Daniel Oberti, who died of cancer at age 64 last May.

A memorial bench, decorated with a portrait of Oberti at work, will be dedicated to the artist at Gateway Park, near the entrance to the Prince Memorial Greenway on Santa Rosa Avenue.

The bench is near Oberti’s best-known local sculpture, titled “Guardian of the Creek” but popularly known as the “The Fish.”

The 13-foot-tall, mosaic-covered statue of a rainbow trout was designed by Mario Uribe and created by Oberti and students in Santa Rosa’s Artstart program for artists in training.

Two Artstart apprentices worked with artist Mary Vaughan on the Oberti memorial bench, advised by Oberti’s neice, Dolly, and his friend and fellow artist Joel Bennett, Uribe said.

“We wanted to do something to commemorate Daniel’s involvement in the city and public art,” said Charles Evans, chairman of Santa Rosa’s Art in Public Places committee.

During his long career here, Oberti also created two prominently placed concrete-and-brass sculptures:  “Three Spheres,” at the Hyatt Vineyard Creek Hotel on the Prince Memorial Greenway, and “Shadow Catcher, ” at Wells Fargo Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa.

His outdoor artworks also can be seen in Healdsburg, Penngrove, Rohnert Park and Mendocino.

Oberti’s international work included his “Venus” sphere for the world’s largest scale model of the solar system, in Stockholm, Sweden, and sculptures in Onsala, Sweden, and Palermo, Italy.

Oberti was born Feb. 26, 1945, in San Francisco, where his father was a partner in Homestead Ravioli, a wholesale food business.

Oberti moved to Sonoma County in 1978, and began his career as a ceramic artist, later moving on to large outdoor sculptures.

(The Daniel Oberti photo above was taken by Santa Rosa photographer and art teacher Kathleen McCallum.)

Labor Day looms ahead of us, on Sept. 7, the holiday that traditionally celebrates the working folk.

It’s also the traditional transition from summer to fall. That made more sense when Labor Day weekend was the last one before school started, but now many schools open in mid-August.

My mother, a home economics teacher, used to spend Labor Day weekend canning fruit she had picked during the summer. Does anyone do that anymore?

(I think she did that because she was nervous about facing 120 teen-age girls a day in a classroom that contained hot stoves and sharp knives.)

Back to the subject. What DO people do on Labor Day Weekend? Head for Tahoe? Stay in town and enjoy the empty streets while everybody else goes out of town? Barbecue in the backyard? Go to the beach?

I guess you could go to a union picnic. If you belong to a union. If you like picnics.

There must be somebody out there with a unique tradition:

* Lighting one last sparkler saved from July 4 (if city ordinances allow.)

* Inviting everyone over for a James Bond DVD marathon.

* Staging a retro Donkey Kong game party.

We put out the word on Facebook, and got this great response from Tim Hayes of Santa Rosa:

“Ours is a tradition of over 20years standing. A circle of my friends gather in a backyard for a sumptuous brunch feast followed by a frenzy of creative activity in which everyone builds a small water craft.

“A regatta then occurs in which the crafts are pitted against one another the object being to be first to reach the farther end of a shallow pool, about 20 feet in length. The winner is awarded the coveted Ladoga Cup.”

We asked Tim how the cup got its name. His family used to camp at Lake Ladoga, and the cup was one they used there.

“It is a plastic child’s cup with Raggedy Ann and Andy depicted on it. There is some discussion as to what exactly Andy is doing  with a large wedge of Swiss cheese,” Tim says.

He sent a photo (see above) of himself with the trophy after one of his victories.

But let’s stay on task here. Who can top Tim? Any other eccentric Labor Day traditions out there? Let us know. Either post it here or email me at dan.taylor@pressdemocrat.com.

The story prompted readers to send in some suggestions we missed, so we’re passing those along:

Jenny Randall says:

“I thought I would put in my two-penny’s worth for ‘cheap thrills.’ $8 a carload in Jack London State Historic gives you entrance to two museums and a whole lot of history and fun. Annnadel costs $6 for a carload. Remember our parks!”

And Jon Foreman writes:

“Two local Sonoma businesses are sponsoring free bi-weekly community theater in the Gazebo at Sonoma Marketplace shopping center at Third Street West and West Napa Streets.

“The Wireless Group’s Rick Pappas and Jon Foreman of TechPro Communications are sponsoring the showing of children’s movies in 5.1 Dolby surround sound every other Friday night at 7 p.m. There are giveaways for the audience after the show with gifts supplied by other Marketplace businesses.

“Some of the movies shown so far are ‘Kung Fu Panda’ and ‘Alvin and the Chipmunks’; other G-rated movies are planned. The next date for the movies is Aug. 28. There is no charge for these movies, so come down, have an ice cream, and enjoy the show.”

And Jenifer Hastings Cote adds:

“Saw your post. One of my favorite things to do this time of year is FREE black-berry picking. There are some great spots all over the county on public property, near the creeks especially. We love to pick them with the kids and make jams and pies … yum. What a wonderful treat nature provides this time of year, and they are free!

“We also love heading to Sebastopol for apple picking,  less free, but still fun.”

But friends and neighbors, let’s not stop here. Send us more. What are your favorite fun things to do and places to go under $10?

Within a short drive from each other in western Santa Rosa, there are two museums, each devoted to the work of one man.

One is the Charles M. Schulz Museum, just off West Steele Lane, commemorating the life’s work of the late cartoonist, world-famous as the creator of the “Peanuts” comic strip.

You’ve heard of that one.

This story is about the other one: Kimberly Mosier’s Rare Rock Mosaic Art Museum, a house remade as a public exhibition space at 3094 Coffey Lane, near Piner Road.

Where else can you see wall after wall three-dimensional, framed pictures, all made of polished rocks? Not just any rocks, mind you, but obsidian, mica, silicon, amethyst and more?

Most of the artist’s subjects are animals. A black bear looms out you. Birds take flight. And in a small side room, dinosaurs roam.

Mosier, 74, an investor and former real estate developer, opened the museum in 2001 and created the more than 60 pictures on display there.

“To my knowledge, I’m the only one in the world who does this, from obtaining these rocks, cutting them up, polishing them and making pictures entirely out of rocks,” Mosier says.

The museum’s a bit out of the way, and not exactly world-famous so far, but it is on the route for tour buses, and the display has proven especially popular with kids. Mosier leads the museum’s tours himself.

Part of the fun lies in the pun titles Mosier gives his artworks. The bear picture is called “Kodiak Moment,” a portrait of waterfowl is labeled, “Bills, Bills, Bills.”

The details: 10 a.m.-4 p. m. Monday through Friday. Admission is free. Call for group tours or information: 538-4008. Or visit www.mosierart.com.

Good times will abound Aug. 22-23 at Cotati’s La Plaza Park, when the 19th annual Cotati Accordion Festival presents Los Texmaniacs, Frank Maroco and Those Darn Accordions and two dozen other acts.

To get you in the mood for the event, here some samples of the kind of self-mocking  jokes accordion players love to tell about their beloved instrument:

What is perfect pitch?

That’s when you throw an accordion and it lands in a Dumpster full of banjos.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What is a bassoon good for? Kindling to start an accordion fire.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This guy plays a New Year’s Eve gig and afterward the club owner says “Great job, can you play again next year?”

The accordionist replies, “Sure, can I leave my instrument here until then?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A musician notices the window of his parked car has been smashed, so he checks to see if his accordion is still there. But when he opens up the car, he finds out somebody has left three more accordions on the back seat.

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How do you make two accordionists play in time?

Shoot one of them.

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What’s the difference between an accordion and a trampoline?

You take your shoes off before you jump up and down on a trampoline.

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The difference between an onion and accordion?

People cry when they chop up onions.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 

Got any accordion jokes? Go ahead and post them.

Details on the Cotati Accordion Festival: $15 in advance; $17 at the gate; $25 both days; children 14 and under free. 664-0444, cotatifest.com.

Since Janey Hirsh and American Dream Theatre started performing original musical comedies in West Sonoma County 10 years ago, they’ve spoofed everything from private eyes to the bubonic plague.

But probably the most popular of their zany productions has been their Western, “Lassos, Likker and Lead.”

A new production of this tale of sportin’ gals and ornery galoots opens Aug. 7 at the Graton Community Club, 8996 Graton Road, and runs at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and noon Sundays, through Aug. 23. ($15; age 65 and older, $12. 538-7543.)

The show stars Steve Hastings as Jeremiah and Alexandra Lopes as Lily (above.) The cast also includes Barbara Jeppesen as Sureshot Sue, Reggie Padua as Lotus Blossom, Dana Hunt as Scuzzy Weasel and Darren Digges as The Kentucky Kid.

As with the company’s other shows, there’s a blend of history, melodrama, humor and music, all down in an all-out, down-home style.

In this story, Sheriff Jeremiah Righteous sets out to discover who’s been ambushing Chinese railroad workers but finds it hard to round up a posse to follow the trail into Derelict Pass.

This is a story about one of fair’s biggest fans, who won’t be able to make it to the fairgrounds this year.

On June 30, I got an email from Betty Hartzog in Ozark, Alabama. It began:

“Dan, my son Charlie and I moved from Calfornia last October. Charlie is autistic.

“The Sonoma County fair is his most obsessed-about thing in the Universe. A friend of his says, ‘Charlie IS the fair,’ and would always take him, as would I, and anyone else who knew how much fun he is there.

“What I am hoping is that you might possibly could find and send me, for him, one of those booklet inserts that comes with the paper each year with all the listings. He would be so happy.”

I told Betty we’d see what we could do. My wife went by the fairgrounds the next day and got some fair goodies, which we shipped to Charlie.

I also passed Betty’s note to Marlina Harrison, the publicist at the Sonoma County Fair, who promised to send Charlie the works — “posters, stickers, anything I can find.”

Meanwhile, Betty and I continued to exchange emails. My first impression was that Charlie was a child, but I soon learned that he turned 42 on July 4.  He didn’t speak until he was 7, and began to make eye contact and communicate at 18. 

“He seems forever young when you are around him,” Betty said.

 Charlie  has been in and out of the hospital recently with serious dental problems, and isn’t up to traveling much. But a bit of his beloved fair was delivered to him.

By July 15, Charlie’s fair memorabilia had arrived by mail, and Betty sent an update.

“Dear Mr. and Mrs. Taylor and Marlina,

“Charlie got both of his packages and was so delighted. They came perfectly timed and spaced by a couple of days to extend the joy. And he was so pleased — he walked with the spring in his step with his head all raised and cocked and so jaunty. He was a happy man.

“He takes his fair book with him everywhere he goes. And he loved the ribbon.”

So, when you’re out enjoying the fair this year, think of Charlie in Alabama, who is pleased just have stuff with the fair logo on it.

The Sonoma County Fair runs Tuesday, July 28, through Sunday, Aug. 9, at the fairgrounds, 1350 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa.

Admission: $9 adults; $3 ages 7-12; 6 and younger free; 60 and older free Tuesdays. sonomacountyfair.com,   545-4200.