Sheep are herded along a Petaluma street for the Transhumance Festival in 2018. [Photo by Paige Green.]
Transhumance Fest hoofs it through Petaluma
River Town’s annual nod to the ‘brilliance of grazing’ draws a crowd
Petaluma’s Transhumance Festival is a celebration of the brilliance of grazing and the city’s embrace of the age-old method of protecting the land. The festival began in 2018 and has quickly become a beloved celebration of Petaluma’s quirky fun-loving farming community. The highlight of the family friendly event is when sheep are herded down the street to Steamer Landing Park where they then lazily graze while the festival continues around them. We spoke with one of the organizers, Sarah Keister of Wild Oat Hollow, who is a grazing consultant for the City of Petaluma. She described lots of fun activities that took place at this year’s festival held in early May—like the herding of sheep through town, shearing workshops and different fiber activities. “We show people how the sheep are shorn,” Keister says. “They can take that wool and wash it and then do some felting or spinning or weaving. We have a whole community weaving platform.” Transhumance is the concept of moving animals across the land on hoof. Historically the animals would be taken up into the mountains in the summers and brought
back down into the valleys in the winters. The moving of animals—or, transhumance—happens all over the world. “We’re trying to bring back that age-old concept in the very agriculturally oriented community of Petaluma,” Keister says.
They herded the sheep from the Petaluma Fairgrounds to Steamer Landing Park where police made sure the roads were closed and traffic didn’t interfere with the animals and herders. “It starts out with the transhumance, which is the movement of the sheep, and then we have live music, a band playing when we get there,” Keister says. Once in Steamer Landing Park the sheep may present a bucolic scene, but they are actually doing important work for the city. Petaluma is leading the way for municipalities in the eco-friendly practice of using grazing sheep to maintain vegetation, increase the health of the soil and encourage the return of native plants in their open space parks. People, including families with children and babies in strollers, line up along the street to see the transhumance. “This year we had a great border collie that assisted us,” Keister says. “And then we have like 50 to 100 people behind us, following all the sheep. The movement of the sheep and the people across the land—I love it. That’s my favorite part.”— Janet Perry
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July 2024
NorthBaybiz 45
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