FREE fun & educational event for children next Sunday (3/16)

Bring your children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or neighbors’ children to next Sunday’s presentation of “The Tale Spinner.”

This is a musical theatre production by the Junior League of Sacramento (JLS) — a women’s volunteer organization that performs hands-on work and trains its members to be leaders. The JLS has been staging its Children’s Theatre productions for more than 60 years, and the JLS has served the Sacramento community for just over 65 years.

What: “The Tale Spinner” — a musical theatre production for children, geared to Pre-K through 3rd grade, but even adults have a lot of fun.

When: Sunday 3/16 with the performance at 2pm — it lasts about 40 minutes, and there will be activities for children after the play

Where: Hiram Johnson High School Auditorium — take U.S. 50 to 65th Street, go south on 65th, turn left on 14th Ave

About 16,000 school children will be seeing this year’s play, which has been running for the past month during the week. Back when school districts had funds for extracurricular activities, upwards of 50,000 children would see it annually. The schools incur costs to bus the children to the production. In recent years, the JLS has received grants specifically for bus transportation from corporate sponsors.

Continue reading “FREE fun & educational event for children next Sunday (3/16)”

Fieri pushing his competition?

Guy FieriI have to think that the new ads for TGI Fridays, featuring Tex Wasabi’s own Guy Fieri (left), are irksome to the employees of Tex Wasabi’s. Why go to some kooky fusion mess (feel free to use that as an album title or band name) that got bad reviews on some local blog when you can go right around the corner to Friday’s for the kooky fusion mess you know and love?

Local panhandling film premieres Friday at Crest

Friday night the Crest is hosting the premiere of Keith Lowell Jensen’s documentary about his experience at pretend(?) panhandling, “Why Lie I Need A Drink.” Keith’s invitation reads in part…

For the last three years Jonathan Morken, John Astobiza and myself have
been working on a funny and accidentally poignant documentary about panhandling. Now we present the world premier of our film Why Lie I Need A Drink. I hope you all can make it. My birthday is March 5th, and I’m celebrating my birthday at the Premier. The greatest present anyone can give me is to help me fill up these 1,000 seats and get our documentary off to a good start.

In case you were wondering if it is funny, just ask KLJ! 🙂

Two unlikely heroes

Okay, yes, blogging. Here we go. A couple of items in today’s Bee today that caught my eye (does anybody else love Fred Armisen’s “political comedian” character on SNL?)… First is Jeannette Barrett of Placerville, who is highlighted in a piece about public assistance and social services for people caring for children of relatives. In Barrett’s case, she is living in the house she planned to be her retirement castle with 5 great-nieces and nephews (I have always wondered why there is not a word like “sibling” or “spouse” to refer to nieces and nephews).

“I’m having the time of my life,” she said. “It’s filled my life.”

Continue reading “Two unlikely heroes”

Sacramento’s Darlings: Agent Ribbons at the Press Club

It’s been a little over a year since I saw Agent Ribbons play, for the first and only time, opening for the Dead Hensons at Old Ironsides. When they had finished their set, I was left with the satisfied feeling that one gets after seeing a very promising band at the beginning. Unfortunately, that summed up what I knew about the band. Shows came and went and I twiddled my thumbs, barely registered their passing until on Monday I finally got the gumption to see them. I even braved the echo chamber that is the Press Club, wary of the fact that I’ve been near deaf for days after going to punk shows there.

Agent Ribbons, of course, is nothing like punk. Their collection of love songs is charming, pleasantly full of sass and embodies a whimsy more along the lines of LA’s the Ditty Bops, though without the signature vocal harmonies and less complex songs. However, the lyrics are intricate and clever; paired with the music, the songs bring to mind the some Anne of Green Gables universe where troubles are something that can be kissed away. Considering that Agent Ribbons boasts a mere two musicians, drummer Lauren Hess and singer/guitarist Natalie Gordon who play without a backing band, they’re also remarkably complete. “Birds and Bees,” a fifties throwback ballad, is filled in on the chorus with a quickly strummed guitar and Lauren’s tom playing keeping time until the music simplifies to the next verse to give attention to the lyrics.

Continue reading “Sacramento’s Darlings: Agent Ribbons at the Press Club”

The Hidden Kitchen

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from my first experience at an “underground” restaurant. Ok, I’m lying, I’ll tell you exactly what I was expecting: passwords, dead-drops, eye patches, a husky voiced madam with arm garters and fake moles, a guy playing ragtime on the upright piano, veiled threats on my life, legally dubious foods, and more eye patches (I was expecting a lot of eye patches). The Hidden Kitchen is not really a restaurant, you see, but rather one of a number of subterranean eating spots popping up all over the country. Existing just below the surface of every day commerce, it’s a different kind of dining experience. Continue reading “The Hidden Kitchen”

The Most Confusing Restaurant in Sacramento

On Fulton Avenue is a restaurant suffering from and extreme case of multiple personality disorder. From the street, you might think it a breakfast spot, from the side you might think it a Mexican restaurant, from the other side you might confuse it with one of those ubiquitous Ukrainian “European Food” stores dotting the burbs, and from the inside you give up all hope of trying to figure out what the hell is going on. I, of course, am speaking of Daniels/Waffle King/Koricancha. Yes, that’s right, everyone’s favorite breakfast cum American cum Peruvian food purveyor. Beyond category, beyond explanation, beyond most people’s comprehension. Continue reading “The Most Confusing Restaurant in Sacramento”

Sampino Towne Foods: The Extra “E” is for “Excellent”

Bill Sampino knows what he’s doing. After 17 years at David Berkley, he could do this in his sleep. If an individual could have the specialty foods business running his veins without his blood turning to cherry tomato compote, then Bill Sampino would. Opened a little over a year ago in a dismally unprepossessing shopping strip on 16th Street, Sampino’s Towne Foods is a realized gem along an otherwise confused corridor. Specializing in Italian meats, sandwiches, hot foods, and sundries, the store is a retirement project for Bill, who runs the shop with his son. And for a retirement project, it’s a pretty fleshed out operation. Other than the limited hours (10-4, six days a week), there doesn’t appear to be any corner-cutting going on at Sampino’s. And, if anything, the limited hours allow Bill & Co. to produce small batches of hand-made, top-quality food. Continue reading “Sampino Towne Foods: The Extra “E” is for “Excellent””

Product Placement

Today’s Bee reports that Haagen Dazs is donating $100,000 to UC Davis to help find out why honey bees are disappearing at alarming rates. (OK, so I grew up watching Leonard Nimoy’s In Search Of and being frightened about the impending killer bees, and now the nice bees are vanishing? What gives? I want to keep bees.)

What products or companies would you suggest as possible sponsors or tie-ins to other issues plaguing our region, and why can’t I think of how to work Mayor McCheese into any of this?