Category Archives: Entertainment

Politics turns Pretty

Culture, Education, Entertainment, Environment, Politics, ,

The 2020 elections are now a thing of the past. But the thousands of political yard signs that dotted Sacramento County lawns are getting a new life.

As most of the signs are not made from recyclable material, a coalition of local environmental and cultural activists is collecting and distributing them to Sacramento area artists who will turn them into art.

“Some artists want to take it and turn it into planters. Another one wants to turn it into a new type of canvas,” said Shira Lane, of The Atrium 916, “Others want to create kind messaging to make America kind again and bring us together again.”

The goal of the initiative according to Lane is to ensure that the signs do not wind up in landfills. Crafters, hobbyists, art teachers, students, and others have all reached out to get some signs.

Museum Re-Opens, Neighboring Businesses Hopeful

Business news, Community, Culture, Economy, Entertainment, , , ,

Sacramento’s largest art museum,  The Crocker Art Museum, reopened on October 16, 2020. Patrons must reserve tickets in advance; the facility is operating at 20% capacity for the time being.

Nearby Sacramento businesses, hard hit by the dramatic loss of customers over the past six months, are hoping the museum-goers also visit other storefronts, eateries, and shops.

Sacramento Welcomes Odd Cookie

Business news, Community, Culture, Entertainment, Restaurants, ,

Downtown Sacramento is now home to a new – and eccentric – bakery.

Odd Cookie Bakery Cafe and Bar has moved into the old home of the Bar Rouse on 9th Street near J Street. An opening is set for mid-December.

cupcakes topped with crispy bacon

The locally owned business will offer unexpected food and drink combinations: cupcakes topped with fried chicken, deep-fried calzones, sweet and spicy cocktails, and so much more. Traditional treats will also be available for less adventurous eaters. Yum!

The Weird and the Wacky of Sacramento

Community, Culture, Entertainment, Restaurants, ,

Over 7,000 new residents moved to Sacramento last year alone, making it the fastest growing Californian city. These newcomers are likely enjoying cheaper rents and warmer temperatures alongside all the funky, good old-fashioned weird stuff Sacramento has to offer.

As the city’s director of tourism, Nick Leonti, says “Sacramento is about 80% weird stuff.” So whether you are on your way in or out of Sacramento, you should definitely check these out:

Home of the Martini– just a few miles out of Sacramento, you’ll hit Martinez, the birthplace of the classic cocktail, the Martini. Cheers.

Jelly Belly Factory– located at 1 Jelly Belly Lane, this place is wall-to-wall jellybeans of the most delicious kind. Once you have donned your paper hat, you can walk along the factory floors to watch the magic happen and hear the fascinating history of the Jelly Belly craze.

Jelly Belly jelly beans

Osaka-Ya has been making manju and mochi since 1963; they are one of the three remaining manju shops in Northern California. But it is also a snowcone heaven. The storefront is a tiny shop tucked away near the freeway on 10th Street. From a small window next to the shop’s entrance, they sell snow cones that run from “extra small” (about as big as your face) to “extra large” (major brainfreeze potential).

Leonti explains that the city’s “history” of weird, stems from the gold rush, when scrappy adventurers from all over the world arrived in droves. Today, that quirk remains alive and well.

Celebrating Christmas in Sacramento

Entertainment,
Christmas

Marking its 10th anniversary Macy’s light show, the Downtown Commons (DOCO) is once again giving revelers a real treat this Christmas.  Getting into the holiday spirit check out the party mood on K Street (between Front and 2nd Street) and the best part?  It’s free!

So  make your way over to the Old Sacramento Waterfront, spanning eight blocks across downtown.  Even if you don’t get there Christmas time, it’s a great place to visit any time of the year, featuring more than 100 businesses independently operated at different hours of the day.  Restaurants and other entertainment are also offered.

For example the museums there provide a wonderful history lesson and the setting is the California Gold Rush and Transcontinental Railroad.  Plus, within this theme, the streets there become Gold Rush Days every Labor Day Weekend, reminiscent of 1849 Old Sacramento Waterfront.

So even if you miss the Christmas festivities, go back in time and take a wagon ride, participate in a gunfight and look at living history characters.

Crocker Park Excitement

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fun run

When a 6 year old boy has juvenile arthritis and raises money for the condition, one has to take notice that’s exactly what Carmichael’s very own Jeremy Kelley did and through this, he has –and continues – to be a huge inspiration to others.

Given that over 300,000 US kids have had a juvenile arthritis diagnosis, trying to find a cure for this is a worthy cause.  As such, the 5k race and fun run held yesterday at Crocker Park – the Jingle Bell Run – was a quite exceptional event.  As well as getting a medal, Kelley left the day with a real sense of achievement.

His mother said it did so much for him, relating:

“He started running around like crazy, the previous six months seemed like a bad dream. We couldn’t believe we had Jeremy back.”

The family is now in management mode and Jaime is an activist and mentor at the Arthritis Foundation.

Asian Brothers Brew Beers for Sacramentans

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Restaurateur Michael Khoa Le has had a dream of producing beer with his friends.  Now that dream is coming true in Sacramento at his Vietnamese Anh Hong restaurant. With their brewing company, they specialize in Asian craft beers, making them the “the first Asian Craft Beer Company in Sacramento [brewing] the first Hmong Beer in the history of Hmong people.”

Approximately 2,800 gallons of the stuff was just delivered to the restaurant, really fulfilling Le’s dream.  Over the years he has created recipes for five beers and now has a contract with Paso Robles’ Santa Maria Brewing company to handle the brewing and bottling.

According to a recent news article:

“People of Asian descent account for about 14 percent of California’s population. Le and his investment group — which includes people of Hmong, Lao, Mien, Cambodian and Vietnamese descent — see an opportunity to become the house beer for California’s Asian community. The craft beer world is riddled with stories of friends who drink a few beers late one night and decide to start a brewery. What we have not seen is California’s sizable Asian community stand up and make a beer marketed at themselves.”

Easter in Sacramento!

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There are a ton of activities for the Easter holiday in Sacramento. For the next couple of days one can enjoy the Sacramento RiverTrain for a 2 ½ hour adventure. Departing from West Sacramento and going through Elkhorn Slough, participants can enjoy an egg hunt and bouncy castles. On the ride home, the kids will feel safe sitting next to the Easter Bunny!

And to make sure your four-legged friend does not feel like they are missing out, last week there was a special dog-Easter Egg hunt, at the Rocklin RRUFF Dog Park’s fourth annual egg hunt. Your doggie pal has to sniff around for plastic eggs that will be filled with dog-friendly treats and the one who finds the golden egg will get to take home a slew of goodies for them (and their human) best friend.

For those who like a bit of beer, hopefully they didn’t miss out on last week’s Beer and Chili Festival. At this year’s sixth annual cook-off (proceeds benefitting the Sacramento Artists Council), local food companies competed in four categories: industry, individual, vegetarian and people’s choice. Once that has been consumed, beers from Highwater Brewing and others will be competing for awards.

for those who missed these events, later on this month Sacramento is hosting its age old Scottish Games & Festival event – the third oldest of its kind in America, attracting around 10,000 revelers to celebrate Scottish cultural riches such as piping, drumming and caber toss competitions! Free for kids 7 and under, $8 for kids up to 17 and $17 for adults, this is set to be a great 2-day festival from 29 to 30th April.