Folks who stop by one of our two visitors centers are likely to be familiar with a basket of stickers that say, “I ❤️ SONOMA VALLEY.” And hopefully, some of you even stick them on your shirts or bags while you’re here. While they are fun to give out and to wear, they once had a special meaning…
Initiated in 2001 by our former executive director, Wendy Hardy Petersen, in a branding meeting with top brander Bill Blum, the two recruited graphic artist Tina Tovey and painter Alex Cole (once known as “the heart painter” around Sonoma). Inspired by the highly successful I ❤️ NY campaign of the late 1970s that took destination marketing organizations like ours by storm, this dream team literally and figuratively joined hearts and minds to create a sticker emblematic of the Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau experience. Initially, it was our way of telling member businesses we had sent a visitor their way (and not a local). Soon after, Wendy’s team added a special promotion where businesses could give special offers to visitors who came in wearing the sticker.
You will also see the first incarnations of the sticker visible in a mural along the path through that connects First St West to Second Street West by way of the Sonoma Valley Inn. The mural, painted by the talented artist Gayle Manfre in 2009, depicts people walking around downtown Sonoma, with a figure on a bench breaking the fourth wall—presumably one of our visitors—donning the famous sticker.
This little slice of Sonoma Valley history is small in the larger scheme, but hopefully it shows how important the visitor experience is. Warm hospitality and small-town charm are what make visiting Sonoma Valley special, and we hope you soak in the love while you’re here. While the sticker is more of a gift than anything, it is still our way of making sure our visitors got the VIP treatment, wherever they go!