Join Sonoma County Museum for an evening of live music, a vodka bar, and Russian-style appetizers, as it celebrates the opening of the exhibition, The Tsar’s Cabinet: Two Hundred Years of Russian Decorative Arts under the Romanovs. Admission: Museum Members are Free. $15 for the general public.  Feb 25, 2012 5:00pm - 7:00pm.

The Tsar's Cabinet runs from February 26 through May 27, 2012.

The exhibition, Kashaya Portraits: Historic and Contemporary, highlights the cultural heritage and generational continuity of the Kashaya Pomo people through past and recent photographs. In the early 1960s, photographer William Heick, working on the American Indian Film Project for the Anthropology Department at the University of California, Berkeley, visited the Stewart’s Point Rancheria. He recorded images of the Kashaya Pomo, including iconic photographs of revered spiritual leader, Essie Parrish. Parrish, the last local Kashaya spiritual leader, passed away in 1979, but her daughters and close family members have carried on the Kashaya language and traditions in a secluded corner of northern Sonoma County. Fifty years after his father, William Heick, Jr., has photographed the Kashaya, portraying a living, contemporary culture, as well as the remarkable legacy that is passed from generation to generation. The exhibition will feature the photographs of William Heick, Jr. and selected photographs by his father. Kashaya Portraits is part of the ongoing commemoration of the 200th anniversary of Fort Ross.

The Kashaya were the first people known to have lived in the area that is now Fort Ross State Historic Park.

On March 7, join fellow friends of Fort Ross for "Dinner at Six," a Russian-style dinner at the Gualala Arts Center to highlight the Russian presence on the Sonoma Coast. Presentations by Fort Ross staff and members of the Kashaya and Russian Community to highlight various aspects of Fort Ross SHP. 

On March 8, Gualala Art Center will host Robin Joy, Park Interpretive Specialist at its monthly lecture series. Robin will discuss the events and programs of 2012 as well as present the history of Fort Ross and Russian American history of the Sonoma coast. 

Rancho Bodega Historical Society presents Professor Serge Doroshov from the UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory. This presentation will highlight the science endeavors and accomplishments of the Russian American Company.  Caviar will be served with drinks. Event starts at 4pm at the Bodega Marine Laboratory. 

From April 4th through 9th the tall ships LADY WASHINGTON and HAWAIIAN CHIEFTAIN will visit Bodega Bay, or Port Rumiantsev. Throughout the week the crew will offer day sails from Bodega Bay and visits aboard ship. Russian Navy long boats, baidarka re-constructions, and traditional small craft will be in the bay and on display. An exhibit of artifacts from "Science under Sail" and historic charts/maps of Bodega Bay from Russian Archives will accompany lectures hosted by The Inn at the Tides.  See Rancho Bodega Historical Society for updates. 

The Edith Coliver Festival of Cultures "SpringFest" is an exuberant celebration of life and culture from around the globe. This annual event is held in conjunction with Cal Day, the UC Berkeley campus open house. 



This year, Springfest has chosen Russia as its country of focus, and FRIA is working with groups around the bay area to make this an eventful year. 

The Society of Living Traditions presents a five-day conference and performance event, focusing on the area of Fort Ross from the establishment of the Russian American settlement to the present day. The main venue is the Hyatt Vineyard Creek Hotel  in Santa Rosa, with complementary exhibits at Sonoma County Museum, a themed Historic Ball  and performance lunch, to culminate in an all-day trip to Fort Ross and performance at Fort Ross Winery. A further performance at Gualala Arts will take place at the weekend. Scholars and tradition bearers have submitted abstracts focusing on Fort Ross research from historical, anthropological, and archaeological perspectives over 200 years. Please click here to buy conference and event tickets. Click here to register at the Hyatt Vineyard Creek with the Conference discount. 

For more information, or to submit an abstract for consideration. email us at fortrossconference@gmail.com.

Celebrating the 200th Anniversary of Russia's return to Bodega Bay to build Fort Ross. The Bodega Bay community will celebrate its 39th annual Fisherman's Festival, packed with music, food, and entertainment. 

Retired State Parks Ranger Dan Murley will be sharing his stories on the natural influences made during the Russian American Company era. Notable scientists and ethnographers studied the northern areas of California making many contributions of value today. Please join Dan as he highlights this era, giving special attention to the sea otter, with images, hands on opportunities, and stories of this fascinating time in California.

May 17 - Dan Murley at the Golden Gate Club, Presidio, San Francisco, from 7pm to 8pm

May 18 - Dan Murley at the Sonoma County Museum, 6pm to 8pm;
SCM members $8; non-SCM members $10.

May 19 - Dan Murley at Fort Ross, 1:30pm to 3:30pm. 

The Society of California Pioneers will host a program to introduce the accounts of Spanish Mexicans and Russians in California, with an opening gala reception to be held June 2. The program will be presented by Martha Ann Francisca Vallejo McGettigan, great great granddaughter of General Vallejo and granddaughter of Francisca Vallejo McGettigan. The story of General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo and the Princess Helena Gagarin will be presented to the music of Francisca Vallejo McGettigan.  An exquisite mahogany military chest, a gift to the General by the Russians, handed down through Francisca’s family and now part of the Society’s historical collection, will be on display.  Martha Ann Francisco Vallejo-Mettigan

In addition, Vallejo's Silver exhibit will be on display at the Pioneer House in San Francisco.  See the California State Park site for background on the relationship between Vallejo's silver and the Fort Ross colony.

Would you walk a mile for Fort Ross? How about 25 miles? Sonoma County Historical Society will sponsor its annual 25 mile hike to Fort Ross. This hike will walk the hills above Fort Ross, highlighting some historic places along the way ending at Fort Ross for a BBQ and presentation by park staff. Contact lead Jeff Tobes to join. 

Join us for an ascent to the top of Mt Saint Helena to commemorate the climb by Ilya Voznesenski in 1841. Led by Robin Joy, Fort Ross State Historic Park, and Dan Murley, historian on local and Russian American History.   Email Robin Joy for details. 

Californian historian Martha Ann Francisco Vallejo-McGettigan will speak on the Spanish and Russian American Company influences in California, and how they tie into the Presidio's history. She will also share stories of her family, the Vallejos.  Please join us as we learn more about this fascinating relationship of Spanish and Russians. Sonoma County Museum, 6pm to 8pm. SCM members $8; non-members $10. 

The Presidio in San Francisco will focus on Fort Ross as they hold their annual Pasados del Presidio, highlighting the relations between the Russian American Company and the Spanish and Mexicans of Alta California. The Russians made port at Yerba Buena long before Fort Ross was established, and they had a working relationship with the Presidio authorities under both Spanish and Mexican rule. 

Pasados del Presidio is a series of free, public programs commemorating the journey, 236 years ago, of a group of soldiers and pioneering families from Mexico to the bay in Alta California. Their modest, fortified settlement, El Presidio, would eventually grow into the Presidio we know today and the city of San Francisco.

Please visit the Presidio Trust's website at www.presidio.gov for more information.

Saturday July 28 and Sunday July 29, 2012, from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Celebrate the cultural history at Fort Ross with costumed participants and interactive activities.  Fort Ross will hold its annual Cultural Heritage Day – expanded to a two-day event this year and highlighting the area’s history as well as celebrating contemporary culture through song, dance, scenarios, and special events. Tall ships from locations along the Pacific Coast and from Russia are expected to come together at Fort Ross and be joined by baidarkas (kayaks) and baidaras setting out from our cove.

Fort Ross will commemorate the original Colony Ross dedication. The Russian Orthodox churches in the United States and Russia will hold a unified church service at the Holy Trinity Chapel at Fort Ross SHP. The Churches will also host a dedication ceremony to honor those who lived and died at Ross Colony and to dedicate the new interpretive panels to be placed at the cemetery. Fort Ross SHP will also dedicate a bench in the cemetery. 

Join a docent-led tour of the Call House every weekend in September between 1pm and 4pm. Learn how local families lived on the coast during the Ranch Era, 1845 - 1976. The house is normally open the first two weekends of the month throughout the year, but for the month of September only, in honor of "Ranch Month,"  it will be open every Saturday and Sunday! Day-use fees apply.

Always the third Saturday of October, Harvest Festival celebrates the agricultural traditions at Fort Ross. During the morning, help us gather the harvest in our orchard, then, in the afternoon, within the walls of the fort, join us where we will be juicing, baking, making crafts and the group “Kedry” will share traditional Russian song and dance!

Join us in the Fort Ross visitor center for our end-of-year celebration and community potluck as our bicentennial commemoration draws to a close.  Enjoy live music, excellent food, and a slide-show retrospective of our historic bicentennial year.   

Ongoing interpretive presentations are generally held on Saturdays and Sundays, 12 pm and 2 pm, throughout the summer. Learn about Russian-era buildings, neighborhoods, intercultural relations, agriculture & trade.
Call to confirm times. 707-847-4777.

Show solidarity with state park enthusiasts across the country by participating in the Fort Ross First Day Hike on Jan 1. We’ll get outside the walls of the fort as we explore a bit of our neighbor to the north – Salt Point State Park. 

Emilio Valencia, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Kashaya Band of Pomo Indians of the Stewarts Point Rancheria, invites you to an open discussion on the history of the Kashaya, with traditional stories, and contemporary tales. The Kashaya People are from the land called Mettini, a place now called Fort Ross State Historic Park.  Several members of the Kashaya Band will speak and answer questions. We will discuss impacts of the Russian American Company, relationships between the Kashaya and Russians, Alaskans, and Creoles which changed the lives of the Kashaya People. Historic drawings and landscapes, as well as artifacts will be shown. Kashaya food will be shared.  Please join us to hear this unique story.

Come to a reception hosted by Congress of Russian Americans with presentations by Natalie Sabelnik, President of Congress of Russian Americans, and Robin Joy, Park Interpretive Specialist at Fort Ross SHP and co-chair of Fort Ross Bicentennial.  Champagne and music to bring in the 2012 celebrations will be shared. Thanks to underwriting by Congress of Russian Americans, this event is free to the public. Held at the Russian Center, 2460 Sutter Street in San Francisco, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM; parking available across the street.

Visit the San Francisco Russian Center's 24th annual Russian Festival, a Russian-American celebration of food, music, dance, and art. This year's theme is the 200th anniversary of the founding of Fort Ross and Russians in California.