The fair's theme is this year's Jurassic Jubilee, which means there are no dinosaurs on the grounds. But the most incredible and gigantic crowd roared through the Hall of Flowers: 10 living animatronic beasts, all moving, roaring and threatening to destroy the flower. The 11th dinosaur greets people and scares onlookers at the entrance to the Grace Pavilion, where all kinds of Whiz-Bang gadgets and merchandise are sold.
Longtime floral hall designer Greg Duncan convinced the fair board to spend $150,000 over its $250,000 budget, hoping it would bring more children and families to the hall.
The prehistoric menagerie arrived a little more worn.
"They are not in good shape. We have to work hard for them to bring it all together," Duncan said. "They sent two people with them and a lot of our staff had to be trained. But we put them together and it worked.
During the Jurassic period, there were no flowering plants as we know them today, Duncan admits. But the room is a flower show and things are still strange, so there will be the usual complements of eye flower.
Small dinosaur, big tree
The Sotos ended up with small dinosaurs, but their olive tree is the largest and oldest tree in the room. They invested $15,000 in materials and labor and hired landscape architect Mark Bauer, with whom they work regularly, to create a project believed to have been inhabited by reptiles between 65 and 245 million years ago.
They brought in a close family friend, Cesar Nazareth of ASAP Pro Masonry, to do the heavy lifting and help them look like they were made of straw, weathered and cracked.
Because human life had not yet appeared, this prehistoric world lacked the structure to organize itself into the realistic and likable propositions for which Duncan is known. But the flower room still has two fountains, two aerial dinosaurs, and an LED light on the ceiling that will launch a comet that will eventually wipe out the dinosaurs.
The Soto family is a well-oiled machine with each member playing a different role.
"Everyone has their own profession. Francisco and Leo worked on lighting and irrigation. "Juan works in the service department and with all the staff," Jose Jr. said. "What about my father?" He is everywhere. He made sure everything went well.
Leo, 27, installed the drip irrigation system. During the fair, most of the exhibitors watered the vegetables by hand to keep them fresh. But Leo is correct when it comes to protecting the irreplaceable olive tree.
"We wanted to do it differently and uniquely and save water, especially with this olive tree," said Leo. “I don't want to overload the water, I want him to be safe while he's here.
It includes a simple body of water, a few columns of basalt rock through which the water flows. It's a look that works well in a modern garden, but honestly evokes wet rocks that might have lived in the age of the dinosaurs.
Olive trees aside, some yucca saplings and other less common garden plants may not be historically or biologically accurate, but they provide a mysterious prehistoric sight.
"We try to stay on the natural side," says Leo. "For this we use natural stones and olives".
Play in harmony, work
Soto got along well and worked together. In addition to working in the family business, the respected family has a mariachi band, in which every member, from my father, José, to the end, plays an instrument.
"We're all mariachi and all landscapers," said Jose Jr., who also founded the Luther Burbank Center Mariachi Ensemble, a show featuring 31 local students. After receiving a music degree from Sonoma State University, he joined Burbank Lutheran Center as a music teacher.
They spend a lot of time in the flower room, but the brothers say it's important to show what they can do and give back to the communities that receive it.
"We are excited to be doing this for the first time and to help the FFA kids," said Leo.
Managing Editor Meg McConahey can be reached at 707-521-5204 or meg.mcconahey@pressdemocrat.com.
