Annual Events in Cotati California
Rancho Cotati Little League Opening Day Parade
March, La Plaza Park to Cator Field
RCLL – (707) 795-7974
www.eteamz.com/RCLL/
Cotati Farmers Market
Thursdays, Memorial Day through mid-September
Cotati Chamber of Commerce – (707) 795-5508
www.sonomacounty.com
Movies in the Park
1st and 3rd Fridays, mid-June through mid-September
City of Cotati – (707) 765-3939
www.cotaticity.org
Cotati Accordion Festival
Weekend before Labor Day weekend, in La Plaza Park
Cotati Accordion Festival – (707) 664-0444
www.cotatifest.com
Halloween in Cotati
October, Ray Miller Community Center
City of Cotati – (707) 792-4600, ext. 640
www.cotaticity.org
Holiday Tree Lighting
First Wednesday in December, La Plaza Park & Rancho Adobe Fire Station
City of Cotati – (707) 765-3939
www.cotaticity.org
Cotati Points of Interest
California Historical Landmark No. 879 was granted to the Cotati Downtown Plaza on March 6, 1975, based on Cotati’s unique hexagonal town plaza designed in 1897 by Newton Smyth. He was hired by the sons of the original landowner, Dr. Thomas Page, to design the six-sided town site. The outer streets of the Cotati hub are named after six of Page’s sons – William, George, Arthur, Charles, Henry and Olof. The plaque is located in the southeast plaza section off Old Redwood Highway, next to the rose garden and flag pole.
Chief Kotate Statue was designed and sculpted in cement composite in 1980 by the late artist Vito Paulekas, and it sits in the southwest section of La Plaza Park off West Sierra Avenue. The 350-pound, nine-foot-tall statue is a tribute to the peaceful Miwok, their way of life and the legendary chief of the Kotate clan. The statue was officially dedicated by the Cotati City Council in 1990.
Jim Boggio Statue in La Plaza Park is a bronze sculpture of Cotati’s well-loved musician and accordionist, built to honor his death in 1996. He was a co-founder of the Cotati Accordion Festival, which began as an annual event in 1990, and a member of the Sonoma Swamp Dogs band.
The original St. Joseph Church, built at the corner of West Cotati Avenue and William Street in 1908, began life as a mission church. It was a regular parish from 1914 until 1962, when the new St. Joseph Church was built up the hill. It is now the Korean Baptist Church.
Congregation Ner Shalom started out as the Ladies’ Club Hall, which was organized by 12 members of the Cotati Women’s Improvement Club and was built in 1910 on La Plaza. It served as a town meeting place and community center until 1978 when it became the Cotati Cabaret, a hot spot for dancing and big name entertainment until 1990. Now it is home to the synagogue Ner Shalom, or “Light of Peace.”
Former Odd Fellows Hall is located on the corner of Old Redwood Highway and George Street, and it was built in 1910 as a lodge hall by the Independent Order of Odd Fellows – Manchester Unity. It was restored in the 1960s and has housed several businesses over the years.
Church of the Oaks was built out of redwood in 1907 on property purchased for $100 in gold coin at the corner of Page Street and West Sierra Avenue. The fellowship hall was added in 1910. There are a few oaks remaining today, but they surrounded the church originally.
Cotati City Hall was the Cotati School, built in 1921 after an earlier school burned down. When the school moved next door in 1971, it became City Hall and the Cotati Police Department. The Cotati School eventually became the Ray Miller Community Center, and a new state-of-the-art green certified police facility was built next door to City Hall.