Cate Steane shares about why she enjoys living in Santa Rosa.
When you come to Santa Rosa, it doesn’t take long to learn that this was a home of Peanuts creator, Charles Schulz. To get here, you fly into the Charles M. Schulz Airport, which features Snoopy as World War I flying ace on its logo. We have the Charles Schulz Museum.
Our skating rink is called Snoopy’s Home Ice and features the Warm Puppy Cafe. But by far the best way to tell that you’re in Peanut’s country is Peanuts on Parade. The result of an enormous public art project. These four foot fiberglass statues of peanuts characters can be found throughout Santa Rosa.
Hand painted by local artists and themed to their location. They are 149 little joy bombs that brighten the day of Santa Rosans going about their business. Visitors seeking them out will learn a lot about our little city.
Snoopy dressed as a train conductor near the train station. Lucy dressed as a candy striper at Memorial Hospital. Charlie Brown dressed as a chef outside the Bird restaurant. Lucy riding a rollercoaster at the county fairgrounds, a look of sheer terror on her face. Woodstock in a nest filled with eggs in front of a wealth management firm.
They add random delight to a city where there is so much to love. Like being surrounded by state and regional parks that make this a nature lover’s dream. I’ve always liked the size of Santa Rosa. While it has all the amenities of a city, it’s small enough that in the course of a day, chances are good you’ll run into someone you know while shopping, walking in a park, or at an event at old Courthouse Square.
It could be a human friend, or it could be character from everyone’s favorite comic strip. With a Perspective, I’m Cate Steane.
Cate Steane is a community builder and environmentalist. She lives in Santa Rosa.