SANTA ROSA, Calif. — People can find many opportunities to welcome winter, but Winterblast’s sofa spectacle is an unforgettable and fun way to roll into the season.<\/p>\n
“Sofas on wheels. Lighted up. Whimsical. Irreverent. Silly.” Santa Rosa Urban Arts Partnership Director Spring Maxfield said. “You kind of think of it as a kickoff to winter and the holidays. We’re welcoming the darkness and bringing the light.”<\/p>\n
The event has art, food, music and of course, a nighttime procession of wildly decorated, brightly illuminated sofas on wheels.<\/p>\n
“You make your own sofa. You bring it,” parade participant Mae says.<\/p>\n
“It’s fun, and it’s wholesome, and it feels good,” float designer Lisa said.<\/p>\n
“We have a little bit of Christmas, a little bit of Halloween, a little bit of Cirque du Soleil,” Maxfield said.<\/p>\n
The event was started in 2004 in Santa Rosa’s designated arts district, located just south of A Street.<\/p>\n
“Artists thinking that was kind of funny, decided to make a play of words. And they pushed their sofas out into the street and had a little party. It started small, and it has grown ever since,” Maxfield said.<\/p>\n
The Santa Rosa Urban Arts Partnership, a nonprofit group, puts on the annual event to foster civic engagement and create community.<\/p>\n
“I just love that the community just loves this,” Maxfield says, “It’s just going to keep going on. We couldn’t stop if we wanted to. We want to see more. More weird, more fun, more community.”<\/p>\n