It’s arts and harvest season in Sonoma Valley, a time to celebrate what grows on the vines and what grows from the community’s creative spirit. As artists fill galleries, musicians fill the plazas, and neighbors fill the sidewalks, a good harvest can’t be measured by the ton alone. The following celebrations mark this year’s abundance in Sonoma Valley:
Sonoma Plein Air Foundation
Sonoma Plein Air Festival (September 14–19). The 24th annual festival brings 29 juried artists to Sonoma Valley for a week of outdoor painting, capturing the region from vineyard to city to coast. Forty percent of sales support art education in local public schools and arts organizations. The week culminates in a gala dinner Friday, September 18, and an Art Show & Sale Saturday, September 19.
Bartholomew Park
“125 Years in the Making” at Bartholomew Estate Winery. Sonoma-based fine art photographer Jason Tinacci presents original black-and-white panoramas shot with a 1900 panoramic camera — antique in process yet contemporary in subject, bridging past and present through a distinctly mechanical way of seeing. The Bartholomew Estate gallery also showcases paintings by local artists. At his downtown gallery in Vine Alley, Tinacci will open a new exhibit of harvest photography from area wineries at the next Sonoma Art Walk.
Sonoma Community Center
Día de los Muertos Lantern Workshop — Family & Friends Day (Saturday, September 20). Visiting artist Valerie Seaberg leads half-day workshops creating illuminated lanterns from vellum, paper, tissue, and light to honor ancestors, loved ones, and the cycles of life. Sessions run 10 a.m.–1 p.m. and 2–5 p.m. A full-day/full-weekend workshop follows September 26–27, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Charles M. Schulz Museum & Research Center
Celebrating Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s Running Fence (September 26, 2 p.m.). A 50th-anniversary event with the Museum of Sonoma County and its current Christo exhibition. Charles Schulz was a friend of the artists, and the museum holds one of their few works in any collection, Wrapped Snoopy House. Free with admission.
Great Pumpkin 60th Anniversary (Saturday, October 17, 1–5 p.m.). Celebrate the classic Peanuts special It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown with special guests, live music, crafts, and costume and mustache contests.
Pearls Jubilee: Celebrating 25 Years of Pearls Before Swine (Tuesday, November 10, 6:30 p.m.). Cartoonist Stephan Pastis kicks off his national anniversary book tour in conversation with retired Press Democrat columnist Chris Smith, followed by a book signing.
Blanket Statements: The Philosophies of Linus (September 26, 2026–March 10, 2027). An exhibition on Peanuts’ resident philosopher, featuring original comic strips, vintage products, animation cels, and playful photo ops.
Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa
The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa hosts a curated calendar of culinary, cultural, and wine country experiences through August and September, celebrating Sonoma’s food, wine, wellness, and entertainment scene.
Pinot Noir Day Poolside Paint & Sip (Tuesday, August 18, 1–3 p.m.). Toast National Pinot Noir Day under the historic Water Tower, creating a canvas led by East Bay artist Stephanie Kelly, plus a Resort Pool Day Pass.
Santé Sunday Supper Club — A Provençal Summer in Sonoma (Sunday, August 23, 5:30–9 p.m.). A four-course, family-style prix fixe inspired by the markets and gardens of Provence, complemented by live acoustic music.
Transcendence Theatre Company — Skits Under the Stars (August 26). A free, family-friendly evening of live music, community performances, and local wine and food. Sign-ups begin 6 p.m.; performances begin 6:30 p.m.
Santé Sunday Supper Club — Crush! Sonoma Harvest Dinner (Sunday, September 20, 5:30–9 p.m.). A harvest-inspired supper showcasing peak-season ingredients and thoughtfully paired wines, served family-style with live music.
Valley of the Moon Vintage Festival (September 25–27). Fairmont Sonoma joins the Sonoma Valley Vintners & Growers Foundation for the beloved community celebration on the historic Sonoma Plaza, featuring Sonoma Valley wines, live music, local food, and signature events.
Sonoma Botanical Garden
The Sonoma Botanical Garden’s 67 acres in Sonoma Valley encompass an Asian woodland, a California native oak savanna, and a Cabernet vineyard, with a mission to inspire appreciation and conservation of Asian and California native plants.
Spirit Guides: Fantastical Creatures from the Workshop of Jacobo and María Ángeles (through September 20). Eight monumental, brightly patterned sculptures depict imaginary hybrid animals as spirit guides and astrological embodiments, inspired by the Zapotec calendar and organized by Denver Botanic Gardens. Tickets.
Acoustic Sunsets (through September 16). Now in its third season, the Garden extends Wednesday hours to 8 p.m. with live music by Bay Area musicians (5:30–7:30 p.m.), local wine tastings, and picnics and leashed dogs are welcome. A free Noche Latina performance celebrating Latin music and the Spirit Guides exhibition takes place August 26. Free for members and included with admission for non-members.
Sonoma Valley Museum of Art
Founded in 1998, the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art is a membership-supported nonprofit presenting seasonal exhibitions of modern and contemporary art alongside education and public programming — building community around art.
John Paul Morabito: Dancing in the Night (through September 6). Transdisciplinary weaver John Paul Morabito (they/them) transforms linen, cotton, gold-leaf threads, and beading into opulent, metaphoric weavings that bend and twist time.
Norma I. Quintana: Paradise of Memory / Paraíso de la Memoria (through September 6). A compelling portrait series linking memory with community identity, inspired by itinerant photographers in Puerto Rico and honoring everyday lives as cultural remembrance.
Disco Paradise Dance Party (Saturday, August 22, 6–9 p.m.). Celebrate Queer and Latinx music with DJ Stanley Frank Sensation, food, signature drinks, and prizes for the most inventive outfits.
Summer Family Make-In: Remember When! (Saturday, August 29, 11 a.m.–3 p.m.). A free, all-ages celebration to make butterfly mementos, learn weaving and cyanotype techniques, and join a disco dance lesson and live performance. Pre-registration recommended.
Music in Place
Music in Place continues its 2026 Sonoma Sundays on the Plaza season at the Grinstead Amphitheater, with free live music every Sunday from 2–5 p.m. through the summer — spanning bluegrass, soulful vocals, Brazilian bossa nova and samba, tango, zydeco, indie singer-songwriters, and jump jive and swing. The season closes October 4 with a festive Oktoberfest celebration. Show schedule available online.
Green Music Center
The Green Music Center announces its 2026–27 season in Weill Hall & Schroeder Hall, headlined by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, Ingrid Michaelson, Lyle Lovett and his Small Large Band, La Santa Cecilia, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Mavis Staples, Step Afrika!, and the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus Holiday Spectacular.
Active Wine Adventures
Private Art & Wine Tour. Make your visit a creative discovery with a private Art & Wine Tour from Active Wine Adventures. Guided visits to eclectic art collections of celebrated painters, photographers, and sculptors pair with lunch at a local restaurant and private tastings of limited-production Sonoma Valley wines. Tours are private for groups of 2–6 and include SUV pickup at your Sonoma Valley lodging. Save 10% with promo code HAPPY10AWA through September 24. Book at ActiveWineAdventures.com or 707-927-1058.
Visitors can find participating venues, events, and lodging at the Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau.