Ünnecessary Ümlaut

For the 1st annual Petaluma Rivertown Revival festival at Steamer Landing Park there was a loose river monster (which was later caught … see below), viking ships, SRL robots, Lagunitas, deep-fried pickles, and killer handmade crafts. If you missed it, you really missed out. One more reason to love this crazy-ass town.

Huge submarine sculpture by Judson King Smith; inside were animal bones and random cogs ‘n springs. Rad.

SRL‘s first show in Petaluma! They brought Running Machine and Big Arm plus some very special props.

What’s under the silver wraps? One of their special surprises …

The wraps came off to unveil … old ladies! The other surprise rolled in later in the afternoon.

Creepy carnage aftermath.

David demonstrates the #1 rule of safety: Lagunitas.

Thanks to one of the event’s brainchild’s, Jack Haye, I got up close and personal with Running Machine. Most impressive.

One of the last, red Petaluma Whiskerino 2009 prints left for sale. They turned out pretty damn sweet if I do say so myself. And I just did. So there.

Designer, silk-screener extraordinaire Tim McSweeney gives the über-secret double thumbs-up visual handshake. Shhh.

Winslow and his Pop, Petaluma Whiskerino 3rd Place Beard winner Beau Bouverat.

I simply cannot resist a pic with The Bearded Lady.

Mel of Blue Ribbon Salvage standing next to her latest creation: Dangerous Parts for the Arts. A box of random parts, pieces, and surprises guaranteed to un-block creative block and invigorate imaginators anywhere.

Lagunitas flowing.

Killer stenciled shirts from Rock n Roll Crafts. This beer-stained one has extra character.

JD in mid serenade.

The fabulous ‘staches of the Fabulous Frickle Brothers. Mmm … deep-fried pickles.

The children’s area had a boat-making station. Clover milk cartons, wine corks, and tons of other faux nautical accoutrements. Then a big pool where you could test your sea legs.

Jon Sarriugarte gave Everett and friend a ride on the amazing, trilobite-shaped Electrobite.

The best fake moustache award goes to … this man.

August stares into the Black Hole cyclone.

Phyxx, aka Michael Yates, created the Black Hole and is a regular contributor of oddities at Burning Man.

By running jets around the edge of the tub he increases the diameter of the natural whirlpool several inches. You can look all the way down to the ground as it swirls around. And yes, if you were in Australia, it would go the other direction.

Pennyfarthing!

SRL‘s other special surprise was this motorized chicken. Complete with matching masked RC operator.

One chicken you don’t want to get behind. Hopefully, you don’t want to get behind any chicken.

Finally, the Petaluma River Monster was caught. Celebration ensued. And we all slept a little better that night.

RELATED:
Time Lapse: My Hairy Commute / Readying For Whiskerino
Video: Petaluma Pete Does Whiskerino
Whiskerino: Postcard Peeps at the Great Handcar Regatta 2009
Gallery: The Great Handcar Regatta 2009