Tag: Events

Dinner at the Dump

Taking the back entrance into Tahoe Park, where the CoolDMZ clan resides, my wife and I keep noticing the banner advertising the Power Inn Business & Transportation Association’s self proclaimed “unique and lively event” Dinner at the Dump. Why work so hard to convince people not to conjure up the smell of a landfill when sampling your catered surf and turf? Why not just have a tour of the dump and let everybody have a free grab at some of the many usable items others have discarded but are usually protected against scavenging? Why not just put Jack Gallagher on top of a pile of concrete waste and have him do jokes?

Speaking of scavenging, big trash pick up day in my neck of the woods was last week, and my wife reported that while walking home with the kids, she came upon a woman scavenging somebody’s pile of garbage. Now, hey, we’ll all been there. One man’s broken chair is another man’s broken chair. But this woman fended off Mrs. CoolDMZ’s friendly smile with the following: “Back off! I got kids of my own.” Which reinforced my wife’s theory that ghosts of the Gold Rush still walk the streets of Sacto. Mostly the streets around the downtown bus station.

(On a side note, check out the redesign of CBS13/UPN31’s site. It’s a pretty good design, many notches above UPN 31’s previous one.)

Oktoberfest

My German blood warms at the thought of Weisswurst, Oompah bands and an overflowing stein. Everyone is German during Oktoberfest, so come out and help drain the tanks!

Fair Oaks’toberfest is this Saturday from 1-5pm at Fair Oaks Park. More than 25 breweries will bring their Autumnal favorites for local charities, with celebrity tap handlers. Well, me.

I will also be attending Capitol Public Radio’s Oktoberfest at Pavilions Shopping Plaza on Sunday, October 2 from Noon-3pm. The Carntoa Schuhplattler will lead drunken revelers in German folk dancing.

Sacramento’s Turn Verein Soccer Club will hold their 36th annual Oktoberfest on October 7 & 8.

Prost!

California Brewer’s Festival

On Saturday, I was privileged to attend the California Brewer�s Festival at Discovery Park. It was a fantastically fun event with a diverse crowd and plenty of beer. For $20, much of which went toward hurricane victims, you got 10 tokens, good for beer samples and the option to purchase more. Since my memory of the event is a little shaky, I thought I�d just post my notes from the event.
Continue reading “California Brewer’s Festival”

Flickr: Photos from Big Fun

So the State Fair is over. The CoolDMZ clan didn’t get a chance to go, though we were thinking about it this fine Labor Day weekend. To see what you missed, or to help jog your memory if you had too many deep fried delicacies and blacked out, check out these Big Fun ’05 tagged Flickr photos that I found via Get in the Sac.

A few Administrative tidbits: Contrary to popular belief, comments on The Sac Rag are not moderated, but merely checked by humans in order to obliterate spam. Fortunately, comments by people who have previously commented can be automatically accepted, it turns out. In case some of them are coming back ever, which at this point is kinda 50/50. Also, comments on The Sac Rag reflect the respective opinions of the commenters, even if the commenters are Sac Rag contributors.

And who doesn’t love fireworks?

The California State Fair experienced its first fireworks show Friday evening of ’05. Unfortunately, this show wasn’t of the “…skyrockets in flight, afternoon delight” variety. No, the CSF (again, the acronym thing, not good) just wouldn’t be the same without some good old fashioned gunplay. According to News10.net, “as many as nine shots from a .22 caliber handgun” were fired as two groups of teens, “engaged in some kind of altercation with another group.” And to top it all off the suspect (who was arrested) is only 17! And to top it all off even more, “authorities said the alleged gunman threw the handgun away just before he was grabbed by officers on Heritage Lane.” Super, great, grand. Just what we need as folks make their way to the fair from offsite parking. No word yet on whether the gun was retrieved.

Cali-what now?

Graswich has a great tidbit today from one of his readers…

Jacquelin Siegel wonders why the California State Fair is embracing all things Hawaiian, from Hawaiian shirts to Hawaiian surf legends. “That is really sending the wrong message,” Jacquelin said. Fair officials say they tried to limit the Hawaiian references. On the bright side, the fair isn’t embracing all things Texan.

Genius. Can’t wait to avoid that crap. But what’s up with the Texas dig, Bob? I heard it’s unwise to mess.

Because two weeks just wasn’t long enough

Please allow me to switch gears for a moment and do away with this WNV chatter. Who wants to talk California State Fair? According to our dear friends at News10.net this year’s fair has been extended another week! That’s 3, count them, 3 weeks to savor your favorite deep fried chocolate treat, to try out that great utility knife that can simply cut through anything, and to enjoy your favorite band of yesteryear. While I could go on and on about this “celebration of all things Californian” let me leave you this excerpt (also from the News10.net article):

    “Parking is $7, though carpools of four or more are $6.“

That’s right, our beloved environmentally friendly, always pushing the envelope, never to be outdone, city (could be a state order, I’ll admit) is offering a whopping dollar discount for loading up your SUV with your friends and family and heading out to the fair! Now that’s something to celebrate!

West Coast Brew Fest

At the west end of Broadway, there is a colony of feral cats and skunks that harmoniously co-exist. The cats don’t mind the stink, the skunks don’t mind the cat politics. All is well.

This Saturday, if you hang a left at the cat/skunk colony, you will see a similar example of peaceful coexistence. People of all races, creeds and tattoo colors will congregate and ignore the things about each other that makes them want to “la la”. They will be enjoying the universal lubricant.

Free Beer.

Free, that is, with a $25 donation to local charities. But who can’t blow $25 in an hour or two at the local watering hole? I sure can.

The West Coast Brew Festival will be at Miller Park on May 14 from 1-5pm. Advance tickets for $20 at local breweries.

See www.matsonian.com/wcbf for more info.