There are plenty of ways to throw a fundraiser, but Friends of the Petaluma River (an educational organization dedicated to the conservation of the Petaluma River) has always had a memorable approach: put people outside, next to the water, serve them good food, and let the river inspire them.
That’s the idea behind Sunset Fandango, their annual benefit, which returns from 4:00 PM 8:30 PM, on Saturday, August 29, 2026 to the David Yearsley River Heritage Center at Steamer Landing Park for an evening of food, music, dancing and riverfront revelry. The organization’s mission is to celebrate and conserve the Petaluma River through education and stewardship, and this is their biggest, (and most fun!) fundraiser of the year.
The rustic, open-air celebration starts with appetizers and a silent auction in the barn, with music by Spike Sykes. Guests can settle in, tour the barn for a little information about Friends, then gather together for a family-style dinner featuring the dramatic preparation of paella by Paella del Reyes, bread from Della Fattoria, and local wine, beer, and cider from supporters including Keller Estate, HenHouse Brewing, and Golden State Cider. After dinner, there will be a live auction and more music and dancing beside the river as the sun sets.
“It’s simple and rustic,” says Friends executive director Stephanie Bastianon.
Elizabeth Howland remembers when the fundraiser was held at the Rockin’ H Ranch on Lakeville Highway, one of the few private homes on the river. After the owners, Sid and Gigi Hendricks, moved away, the event became based at the River Heritage Center.
“And it is truly special to gather our guests here,” Howland says. “It is especially lovely at the end of the day.”
The setting is more than scenic. It’s at the heart of what Friends has been trying to accomplish since the organization was founded by David Yearsley in 2005: helping people develop a personal relationship with the river so they will want to protect it.
For Howland, that relationship with the watershed is deeply personal. “I spent many years of my life with naturalist and outdoorsman, David Yearsley, who introduced me to this beautiful watershed which I knew nothing about though I had lived here many years before I knew him,” she says. “My life was enriched by all our adventures kayaking, sailing, rowing,…. In just about every vessel. And sleeping in our little slough house, the Marshmellow, learning to love the marsh and wetlands.”
Yearsley, who passed away in 2011 believed that connection came first. “He felt that if people engage with a resource they will want to protect it,” says Howland. That philosophy became Friends’ motto: “Celebrate and Conserve.”
“The river running through the middle of Petaluma is both remarkably local and part of something much larger.”
—Elizabeth Howland, Friends of the Petaluma River
Now, Friends shares that same opportunity for connection with a new generation. Through its Watershed Classroom program, the organization reaches more than 800 students with hands-on, place-based education about the Petaluma Watershed. Their Green Heron Nature Camps and nature immersion programs take kids outside and onto the river, and the Watershed Classroom visits, field trips, and video contests help young people learn about the challenges facing their watershed.
“Our [youth programs] have touched the lives of thousands of Petaluma youth and given them the opportunity to connect with the River and learn something about where they live,” says Howland.
The work matters because the river and its surrounding watershed face real challenges. Pollution from yard and agricultural runoff threatens water quality and wildlife, while climate change adds another layer of uncertainty to an already changing landscape.
When asked about the biggest challenges facing the river today, Howland says, “Pollution through yard and agriculture run off is a serious threat to the health of the River and the wildlife who inhabit the watershed. We try to keep the public alerted to these issues.”
But Friends’ approach isn’t based on doom and gloom. It is rooted in helping people understand the place they live and giving them reasons to care about it.
“Creating a personal connection with a place helps people want to care for it,” Bastianon says. “Maybe it’s going to camp or a river cleanup or a paddle on the River. I’m hopeful because more and more people are connecting with the River and promoting the River as a rich part of the Petaluma community.”
Howland has witnessed that shift over the years. “I’ve seen such a big shift in attitudes towards the Petaluma River over the years I have lived here,” she says. “I think ‘Friends’ has been a part of opening the community’s eyes to this important resource and historical aspect of our community.”
Sunset Fandango is an important part of that work. As their largest fundraiser of the year, the proceeds support staffing for the Watershed Classroom, which is offered free to schools. This year, Friends has received a $50,000 matching donation in honor of longtime board member and friend Paul Heavenridge, who passed away in December. The organization hopes to meet the match and expand its youth programs, including regular after-school programming for teens at the River Heritage Center.
The event also gives Friends a chance to show off the many ways it works to connect people with the watershed. Guests might encounter a little of the organization’s trademark playfulness alongside the serious work, including goats grazing nearby—a nod to Friends’ annual Transhumance festival in April—and games like the “wine toss” that invite guests to throw a ring and keep whichever bottle they hook.
But in the end, the star of the evening is the river.
“The River is an integral part of our community and a place of beauty and community connection,” Bastianon says.
And there is much more to discover beyond the view from downtown. The Petaluma River is part of one of California’s largest ancient tidal marsh systems, stretching some 13 miles through historic wetlands toward San Pablo Bay and connecting Petaluma to the San Francisco Bay and, ultimately, the Pacific Ocean.
Howland puts it another way: “I would like people to imagine where you can go by boat(s) if you were to follow the Petaluma River…. Through the 13 miles along the amazing historic tidal marsh to San Pablo Bay, then across San Francisco Bay and through the Golden Gate.”
It’s a reminder that the river running through the middle of Petaluma is both local and part of something much larger. And at the Sunset Fandango, the invitation is to simply come outside, eat, listen to music, dance and enjoy it.
“I hope that people feel the enchantment of being next to the River in the middle of downtown and want to know and experience more!” Howland says.
And that’s really where conservation begins: with a sunset on the river and the space to fall a little more in love with the place we call home.
Sunset Fandango Benefit 2026
4:00 PM 8:30 PM, Saturday, August 29, 2026
Steamer Landing Park, 6 Copeland Street, Petaluma
for info and tickets: fopr.org/all-events/sunset-fandango-2026
Friends of the Petaluma River and the David Yearsley River Heritage Center
(707) 763-7756 fopr.org