By Jennifer Sawhney

At this year’s Petaluma Fair, running June 18 to June 21, visitors can expect fried foods, live music, and, of course, livestock showings, with an emphasis on agricultural education.

“My goal is to take pieces of agriculture and push them into the fair” – instead of simply hoping attendees will make their way to the back of the fairgrounds where livestock and agriculture take center stage – said Paulette Swallow, agricultural program manager for the City of Petaluma.  

Swallow was hired by the city in October 2025 to lead agricultural programs at the fairgrounds year-round. “I landed my dream job in my 40s,” she said with a smile.

With a number of changes in store at this year’s fair – such as guided tours of animal barns, a move away from traditional livestock-showing garb in favor of t-shirts and jeans, and barn upgrades including new lighting, siding, and paint – the sixth-generation Petaluman is “riding a fine line between keeping tradition in our shows and reinventing ourselves. Because, why not?”

Swallow noted that the fair is by far the largest event where the public gets to experience the work of local agriculture students up close and personal. She’s hoping to build on what’s already there by adding more opportunities for engagement and education.

Non-animal activities are a component of local 4-H and FFA (Future Farmers of America) programs, but they’re not typically shown at the fair. 

She plans to change that. This year she’s adding a flower-arranging contest, for example. This is one way to bring in kids who may live in a home without a yard or who can’t access rural spaces where they’d raise a goat or a steer.

“I think it fits a need for the community and the participants,” Swallow said. “We have to be here together,” and these experiences help connect those with a multi-generational background in agriculture to others for whom it may be brand new or unfamiliar.

She reflected on her own childhood, having been raised in a condominium with her mom and sister yet receiving a helping hand from others in the agricultural community. Those experiences kept her out of trouble and led her to her passion.

“I think it’s really important that you pay that forward,” she said.

Swallow has also been taking cues in her new role from a livestock-showing powerhouse, Erin Dorsey, whom she brought on as livestock superintendent. Dorsey has over 30 years of experience in the livestock show circuit at the national and international levels, including with the Cattleman Congress, a North American show for stock cattle. 

While Dorsey has coordinated shows with thousands of animals, she wasn’t opposed to working on something smaller like the Petaluma Fair, Swallow said. 

Another change this year is that rabbits and chickens will be shown inside a newly renovated building that was previously used by the Live Oak Charter School before its merger with Valley Vista Elementary School last year.

Inside, several people – including workers with local nonprofit Rebuilding Together Petaluma, which helped with the building renovations, as well as fair participants – were busy at work the Friday before the fair.

Among them was Becky Fisher, a parent and rabbit leader for 4-H who teaches students about “all the aspects” of showing a rabbit, and was busy setting up metal rabbit cages with students.

She worked alongside Olivia Swallow, 12, Paulette’s niece, who has been raising rabbits since 4th grade.

“You get to meet a lot of new people and learn about their animals,” she said about her time at the fair. “It’s really cool to learn. You learn new things every time.”

For Swallow, this work with children, longtime farmers, and the wider community is all part of a bigger goal.

“We have a little bit of an obligation to represent agriculture well, represent ourselves well, and teach the public what we’re about,” she said.