The Arts in Sebastopol
Sebastopol is brimming with artists, musicians, actors, authors, dancers and creative thinkers, and there’s a lot to explore here, from local galleries to famous folk art to an award-winning art center, showing cutting-edge international exhibitions. Sebastopol is also a hub of the local music scene, and you can always find live music in town.
Visual Arts
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Sebastopol Center for the Arts
A local art center with international reach, Sebastopol Center for the Arts (SebARTS) hosts an annual Abstract Exhibition and a Book Arts show each summer, as well as a well-regarded biennial Fabric Arts Exhibition. They have a community clay studio, host classes and events, and also run two open studios events each year: Art at the Source in June and Art Trails in September.
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Famous Folk Art
When you visit Sebastopol, you can’t help but notice the colorful junk art sculptures of Patriot Amiot and Brigitte Laurent. They’re everywhere, and on one street, Florence Avenue, almost every house boasts a whimsical sculpture in the front yard. There’s even a special Art Walk you can take to see them all.
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Art Galleries
There are art galleries all over town, with several in the downtown core and in The Barlow, a 12-acre maker marketplace on the east edge of town. Look for nationally and internationally known artists and local favorites as well, working in a variety of mediums and styles.
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North Bay Letterpress Arts
North Bay Letterpress Arts is a center of teaching and practicing letterpress printing located in Sebastopol California. It is also an experimental commons for those who are fascinated by the graphic presence of words and images formed & printed by hand. Our shop hosts workshops, tours, exhibits, poetry readings, book launches, and more.
Live Music
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Peacetown Summer Concerts
What began as a small town get-together-to-dance-on-the-grass has morphed into huge multi-stage happening in the Barlow that draws people from all over Sonoma County and beyond. And Wednesday night for heaven’s sake! Join the party.
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Live Music Almost Every Night
There is live music somewhere in Sebastopol almost every night. Hopmonk Tavern has a two stages - one outdoors, one indoors in The Abbey, and other breweries and wineries host regular concerts as well. The Community Cultural Center also brings in well-known folk, and acoustic groups from around the country.
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The Sonoma County Sound
What is the Sonoma sound? It’s a blend of folk and Americana, with an indie, sometimes old-timey edge. Hear it in concerts at the Sebastopol Community Cultural Center, which features big name acts on the folk and acoustic circuit. And tune your radio to KRUSH, 95.9 FM for the authentic Sonoma County sound.
Theater and Film
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Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival
The Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival is counted as one of the top 10 documentary events in the country with films presented from all over the world. The films cover topics from the light and entertaining to serious contemporary issues. Frequently the director or producer will be available after the screening to talk about the production and answer questions from the audience.
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Rialto Cinemas
For 20 years Rialto Cinemas has been an important part of the cultural landscape of Sonoma County, showing both commercial and art house films. Their tagline, “Bringing the best films in the world to Sonoma County” says it all. The Rialto also offers The Met and National Theatre Live, Bolshoi Ballet, Exhibition, Great Art on Screen and selected plays from Broadway.
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Main Stage West
Many cultural institutions were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, but none more than live theater. The goals of Main Stage West are to widen the impact and improve the quality of professional performing arts in the North Bay, sustain a theater education program for youth and to build and showcase theatrical and musical performances in an intimate dialogue with the residents of Sebastopol and the North Bay.
Literary Pursuits
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Great Local Bookstores
In an age where books are disappearing, Sebastopol boasts three terrific bookstores in downtown, all within a block of each other: Copperfield’s, which offers new books and gifts and has a superb children’s section; Second Chance Books, a cozy place to explore and curl up with used books; and Many Rivers Books & Tea, a beloved spiitual bookstore, offering books on a vast range of spiritual traditions.
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Poetry & the Sonoma County Poet Laureate Proram
Sebastopol Center for the Arts is the home of the county’s Poet Laureate Program and also hosts a monthly poetry reading series, Poetic License. And until May 15, you can see a collaborative exhibition of poetry and visual arts called Reverberations:two at Sebastopol Center for the Arts.
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Larry Robinson's Poem for the Day
For more than 20 years, Sebastopol resident and poet Larry Robinson has gifted the town with a Poem for the Day. Sometimes written by him, mostly not, the poems are chosen to fit the mood and historical moment of each day and are drawn from Robinson’s vast internal repository of world poetry.