Santa Rosa, CA – Can social distancing bring the community closer together? That’s the question, and opportunity, presented by a new website recently launched by the City of Santa Rosa.
The site, InsideOutThere.com, is a place to stay connected while enjoying and supporting the incredible arts and culture, food and beverages, fun, and sense of citizenry that make Santa Rosa unique.
While communities everywhere are working hard to promote local shops and restaurants during Covid-19, Inside Out There takes that concept a step further by offering a site that is easy to navigate – organized into clear categories with simple icons for each business that show their special offerings during the current Public Health Orders – and serving as a unique marketplace for local culture and the arts.
The Music section features videos created exclusively for the site by local musicians including Schlee & John Courage, Timothy O’Neil and Kalei Yamanoha. The Art section offers up a range of online galleries curated by Santa Rosa’s Public Art Program, several of which are virtual versions of exhibits that had to be postponed because of the virus, and much of the work is available for sale through the artist.
Additional categories include Eat, which covers restaurants and markets, Drink, with listings for all local brewers, in-town wineries, bars and specialty beverage stores, and a section called Market presenting a range of shops and makers that sell through them.
Inside Out There is still very new and is currently in the process of adding additional listings. Businesses are encouraged to visit the Get Listed page and complete the form to add a new listing.
“The site is an online market for merchants and makers, keepers of shops, bars, inns and more to bring their goods and incredible goodness to our community.” Said Raissa de la Rosa, Deputy Director of Economic Development. “And it is meant to function beyond the public health orders. It’s important to remember that we’ll need a way to stay connected and support local artists and businesses long after COVID-19. Inside Out There is about preserving the Santa Rosa we love for the long haul,”
Inside Out There is a new component of Santa Rosa’s place branding campaign “Out There In The Middle of Everything,” which promotes tourism through a more local-focused approach. The ongoing program engages with SR artists, staging events and bringing unique aspects of the city to prospective visitors who likely already know about wine county and the coast.