They just love PEANUTS

In tribute to Peanuts cartoonist Charles M. Schulz, who lived and worked in this city for four decades, Santa Rosa has painted the town Brow...

In tribute to Peanuts cartoonist Charles M. Schulz, who lived and worked in this city for four decades, Santa Rosa has painted the town Brown. This June, after the installation of the statues, the number of people stopping in at the Santa Rosa Convention and Visitors Bureau increased by more than 50 per cent to a record 6,660, said Mo Renfro, the bureau8217;s executive director.

8220;We8217;re getting visitors from all over, literally,8221; said Santa Rosa City Councilwoman Janet Condron, who helped organize the 8220;It8217;s Your Town Charlie Brown8221; celebration, which also commemorates the comic strip8217;s 55th anniversary. 8220;The recognition of Charles Schulz and the Peanuts8217; characters is international.8221;

Just as artists decorated statues of cows in Chicago and angels in Los Angeles, artists in Santa Rosa were allowed to paint blank statues as they saw fit. Like Snoopy imagining himself as a World War I flying ace, Charlie Brown was depicted in different personas: 8220;Good Grief, It8217;s Superman!,8221; painted with a red cape, blue tights and black hair; 8220;Aloha Charlie8221;, wearing a Hawaiian shirt, sunglasses and a lei; and 8220;Surf Chuck8221;, with suntan and surfboard.

The summer celebration has had its 8220;good grief!8221; moments. In June, someone stole Charlie Brown, dressed as a chef, from his spot in front of Michele8217;s Restaurant. He reappeared after co-owner Bob Forsyth offered a 2,500 reward.

Fifty-five miles north of San Francisco, Santa Rosa is near 200 wineries, has its own symphony and boasts the famous Luther Burbank Home 038; Gardens. Schulz spent the last 40 years of his life in the Sonoma County town, which dubbed him the 8220;most beloved resident of the 20th century8221;. He is known locally as 8220;Sparky8221;, the nickname given to him as an infant.

The man who gave the world Snoopy, Lucy, Linus and the rest of the Peanuts8217; gang also gave much to this community. In 1969, Schulz and his wife built the Redwood Empire Skating Arena 8212; also known as 8220;Snoopy8217;s Home Ice8221; 8212; which plays host to an annual Christmas show with nationally known skaters. 8220;Every child who8217;s grown up in our community has been to there for lessons, birthdays,8221; Condron said.

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Vandals ripped the arm off 8220;Dive On In, Charlie Brown8221;, and tipped him over. They crushed the gold leaf-covered peanuts attached to 8220;Gold Rush8221;, and stole the sunglasses off another statue. As Charlie Brown might say: Rats!
But such treatment is rare. What is obvious are families snapping photographs around Charlie Brown, each with a Peanuts story

Next to the arena is the Warm Puppy Cafe, where Schulz ate breakfast most mornings before heading to his nearby studio to draw. In 2002, the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center opened, featuring more than 7,000 original strips, cartooning classes for children, and discussions with cartoonists.

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Santa Rosa isn8217;t the only city that claims a special bond with the cartoonist. Schulz spent his childhood in St. Paul, Minn. For six years it has held a Peanuts-themed statue celebration, beginning with 8220;Peanuts on Parade8221; in 2000. That summer, 101 statues of Snoopy were stationed throughout the city. Each year, members of the Schulz family traveled to St. Paul for the event, which inspired Schulz8217;s son Craig, a Santa Rosa resident, to suggest a similar event.

Artists in Santa Rosa spent four days painting the statues in a warehouse, with the public invited to watch. Each polyurethane statue is bolted to a concrete base. The combined statue and base weighs 500 pounds and stands 5 feet tall. 8220;We let people be as free as they wanted to be,8221; said Craig Schulz, the celebration8217;s co-chairman who reviewed and approved all of the designs. His 16-year-old daughter, Lindsey, helped paint 8220;Holiday Special8221;, a Charlie Brown statue covered with scenes from animated TV specials such as 8220;A Charlie Brown Christmas8221;.

Photos of all 55 statues can be found under the visitors section of the city8217;s Web site, http://ci.santa-rosa.ca.us/. Local business owners paid 5,000 to have a statue placed at their establishment, and 7,000 to own one. About 20 statues will be auctioned off in September after a 8220;Blockhead Party8221;. The proceeds will fund art scholarships and help pay for a permanent bronze Peanuts statue at the county8217;s airport, renamed Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport after his death in 2000.

In addition to attracting tourists, the statues have drawn locals out of their neighborhoods. 8220;It has a tendency to bring people together,8221; said Craig Schulz. 8220;It8217;s what I call rediscovering Santa Rosa.8221;

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Janet and Tim Sandis of Mountain View, California, recently visited Santa Rosa. Born and raised in Greece, Tim knew nothing about Charlie Brown until he met Janet, then 25 years old and a Peanuts lover. That love persisted through parenting, work, retirement. Multiple sclerosis has left Janet, now 60, in a wheelchair. It has robbed her of tennis and the symphony, things she once enjoyed. So Tim, 75, brought her to Santa Rosa. He wheeled her through the museum8217;s halls and past the Charlie Brown statues. They purchased a T-shirt for their daughter, who recently graduated from art school. Janet8217;s spirits are 8220;still high from the trip,8221; said Tim, days later. 8220;She8217;s a fan.8221;

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