Find A Legacy Of Laughter In Santa Rosa

In this week’s issue of Travel Courier, Ian Stalker reports that tourism authorities in Santa Rosa, Ca., are inviting people to visit the community that Charles Schulz chose as his adopted home and which has a standing structure to his comic genius.

Peanuts creator Schulz was smitten with Santa Rosa and ended up relocating there, says Brad Calkins, executive director of the Santa Rosa Convention & Visitors Bureau, and the community in turn is now home to the Charles M. Schulz Museum, and museum visitors can gain insights into both that hugely popular comic strip and the man who penned it.

“It’s all related to Peanuts,” he says, with visitors able to learn, for example, “how Charlie Brown liked the little red-haired girl and that Snoopy was engaged once but left at the altar.”

The museum has both rotating and ongoing exhibits; daily animated films at the Schulz Museum Theater; workshops and art classes; tours; and a gift store.

Nearby is the Snoopy’s Home Ice arena, once owned by hockey enthusiast Schulz, which in turn is home to the Warm Puppy Café. The arena hosts occasional hockey tournaments.

The late Schulz’s somewhat low-key nature meant that he was originally reluctant about seeing the museum built but became agreeable and now visitors can learn about the life of a man whose cartoon characters became immediately recognized throughout the world.

Calkins notes Schulz’s legacy can be seen throughout Santa Rosa, which has statues of the likes of Charlie Brown and Snoopy, Snoopy’s feathered friend Woodstock, and other Peanuts characters.

Meanwhile, Calkins notes that Santa Rosa is in the midst of a major wine-producing area, with visitors able to visit numerous area wineries. The surrounding region has built an international reputation for producing quality wines, he adds.

Go to http://www.visitsantarosa.com

For the full story in this week’s digital edition of Travel Courier, click here .