Tag: Events

Sac City Open Enrollment Fair Saturday

I mean to blog this earlier in the week, but if you’re a current or potential Sac City Unified parent, you might want to check out the “Showcase of Schools/Open Enrollment Fair” tomorrow:

The fair is the place to go for information about SCUSD schools and programs and meeting principals, students and teachers from all schools in the district. Translators will be available. Families will also be able to learn more about the February 2010 open enrollment application process which will allow students to apply to schools not in their neighborhood attendance area. Representatives from local colleges and technical institutes will be available with information about their programs and to answer questions about how to apply at their
colleges or institutes. District staff from offices such as Special Education, Child Development, and Health Services will also be on hand.

The fair will be held tomorrow (Saturday, Nov. 7) from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Serna Center, 5735 47th Ave.

Haunted Sacramento: Your Guide to a Happy Halloween

halloween

Possible Halloween costumes: junior high P.E. teacher (wig, sweatshirt, and gym shorts found at local thrift store)
Possible Halloween costumes: junior high P.E. teacher (wig, sweatshirt, and gym shorts found at local thrift store)

A Sacramentan’s go-to Halloween guide featuring tips on ghost stories, jack-o-lanterns, costumes, ghostly haunts, and spirits.

Ghost Stories:
No Halloween party is complete without a haunted tale. If your theatrical skills are lacking, or you’ve long forgotten how the story of The Hook ends, I’ve got the answer for you! Professionally-narrated audio ghost stories are available for download from the Sacramento Public Library. Simply download your favorites and turn up the volume. You are no longer limited to the spooky CD of the door creaking or the smash hit “Monster Mash” played on repeat. These ghost stories are sure to send tingles down your spine.

Continue reading “Haunted Sacramento: Your Guide to a Happy Halloween”

Witchapalooza

This weekend, Cal Expo gets a head start on the Halloween season with the inaugural Witchapalooza. Music, street entertainers, celebrities, inflatable rides and, of course, spooky things abound to support several local charities. The best news is the bargain price for family fun — admission is only $5 and kids 12 and younger are free. Many of the attractions are geared towards fans of fantasy fiction, so if you have a kid, or are a kid of any age who loves to read about wizards, vampires or ghosts, you’ll find something at Witchapalooza to tickle your fancy.

Check their website for all the details, but some intriguing features include appearances by film legend Malcolm McDowell, the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer Kristy Swanson, and paranormal romance author and lycanthropy expert Eva Gordon. Awesome shopping opportunities are available from dozens of vendors, including costumes from Badger’s Den, one of the best suppliers of historical reenactment and fantasy supplies in the US, and Whimsic Alley, a recreation of numerous shops from the world of Harry Potter. Several contests have prizes, including a costume contest for both kids and adults, and patrons will have the opportunity to win $500 in cash. Steampunk culture will also be featured, including demonstrations of strange and fantastic gizmos.

Smart Eats- Grub and Trivia Nights

Ok, maybe you’re not quite as obsessed with trivia as I am. Not too many folks consider Ken Jennings, all-time JEOPARDY! champion, a personal hero. But to me, anyone who can house that much info in a human brain is impressive beyond category.

So if you’re looking to test your wits against other folks and looking for a good meal while you do it, it’s hard to beat the area’s trivia nights and pub quizzes. Here’s a list of some of the most popular knowledge nights with a few suggestions on meal pairing to go with your brain teasers.

Streets of London– Probably the longest running pub quiz in town, the Sunday night quiz at Streets of London is also one of the most challenging. Quizmaster Ken Koch, the grand daddy of local quiz purveyors, can be jovial, bombastic, or even downright surly, but he’s always fair. It’s a written quiz, so don’t even try to shout out the answer or you will receive a tongue lashing to remember.
To keep your stomach from grumbling and keep the brain fed, try Street’s fish and chips. It’s one of the best in town. Or for the more adventurous, go for the Scotch egg, a hard boiled egg rolled in ground sausage and deep fried. I’m told it’s an acquired taste.
Where: Streets of London, 1804 J St., Sacramento
When: Fridays, 9PM (also held on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at their Folsom and West Sacramento locations respectively, both at 8:30) Continue reading “Smart Eats- Grub and Trivia Nights”

Sacramento brewers best in state, again

28 beers and ciders from Sacramento were recognized at the 2009 California State Fair Commercial Craft Brew Competition.

Sac Brew Master Brewer Peter Hoey is proud of his creations! (photo courtesy of Rick Sellers & Tracy Bethune, Pacific Brew News)
Sac Brew Master Brewer Peter Hoey is proud of his creations! (photo courtesy of Rick Sellers & Tracy Bethune, Pacific Brew News)

The 2009 California State Fair has faded off into fond memory, but you can still enjoy many of the beers that were honored at this year’s Commercial Craft Brew competition. In case you are confused by the judging results, beers (and ciders and meads) are entered into one of 28 categories (and 93 styles), are awarded both a designation of overall quality (gold, silver, bronze) and and an overall ranking in their beer style (1st, 2nd, 3rd). Congrats to our local brewers and thanks for all the great beer!
Continue reading “Sacramento brewers best in state, again”

Spare me the labor

Labor Day is one of the few holidays I can think of where you celebrate something by not doing it.

Rancho Murieta Online has a few suggestions on things to do on this upcoming Labor Day weekend, in case you were becoming overwhelmed with all the options for the holiday.

In case you would like to spend Labor Day by walking down streets and randomly explaining the history of Labor Day to passers by, check out the Department of Labor website on this very topic. If you could do this in a mailman’s uniform sitting at a bar, you’d be my hero. Cheers.

Big week for music at The Fair

A preview of the mainstage musical acts during the last week of the California State Fair.

This is it, folks, the week that the California State Fair brings out the big guns on the Golden 1 Stage. Well, more like medium range artillery. I can’t say that I am thrilled about any of these acts, but am curious to see what kind of show they will deliver and they should each please their target audience. Hey, I was pleasantly surprised last week by the Hullabaloo Music Festival and I didn’t hate Salvador, so I am going in with an open mind.
Continue reading “Big week for music at The Fair”

Some State Fair Weirdness

Put this on the ballot - When the budget is late, we have to fly this above the Capitol.
Put this on the ballot - When the budget is late, we have to fly this above the Capitol.

As encouragement for you to head over to Cal Expo for the California State Fair, I will entice you with some little tastes of what you could be enjoying if you were there right now. But first, a huge congrats to the state’s most famous purveyor of deep fried treats and his new bride! Chicken Charlie got married at The Fair today on the promenade stage in front of his food stand. The wedding cake? Totally fried cheesecake, and it was delicious. Mazel Tov, and thanks for sharing the special day with us!

Continue reading “Some State Fair Weirdness”

Urban Farm Celebrates Autumn Equinox

Soil Born Farms
Soil Born Farm: “A Day On the Farm”
by Annie&John via Flickr

Some folks wait with giddy anticipation for their latest movie rental to arrive in the mail. Others look for letters from Mom. Me? I pace the front porch waiting for the arrival of my seed catalogs. Well, apparently, it’s still too early for those. But I got something equally exciting yesterday: my invitation to the Soil Born Farm AUTUMN EQUINOX CELEBRATION!

What better way to party than with a gang of dirt-loving, plant-hugging gardeners? Weeds and wall flowers won’t stand a chance with this bunch! The affair promises live music, strolls under the stars and through the gardens on Hurley Way, and seasonal, organic food prepared by some of Sac’s finest chefs. The Waterboy, Grange, Hawks, Old Soul, and plenty of others are turning out to provide yummy eats. They’re even serving up wine and organic beer.

In case you haven’t heard of the wildly popular farm yet, Soil Born Farms started in 2000 when two ambitious youngsters left a note in the mailbox of a local landowner, asking permission to grow crops in exchange for fresh produce. With a nod and a handshake, the farm began.

Today, there are two farms: one on Hurley Way and another in Rancho Cordova. In addition to growing food, they educate youth and reconnect them to the land. On Saturdays, you can volunteer at their American River Ranch in Rancho Cordova and discover farm life first-hand. You can also sign up for one of their monthly gardening seminars to learn about pruning fruit trees or composting with worms. Or, if you just want to eat their juicy heirloom tomatoes already, you can sign up to receive a weekly box of fresh farm goodies year-round. The fun never ends!

It’s pretty cool stuff, and it’s happening right here in urban Sac. If you want to join the fun, hurry and get your ticket to the Autumn Equinox Celebration, held Saturday, September 19 from 4:30 to 8:30 P.M. They anticipate a sold-out event. You can call the farm at (916) 363-9685, or purchase tickets at the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op, 1900 Alhambra Blvd.

Keith Lowell Jensen’s “To The Moon … Live at Luna’s”

Keith Lowell Jensen: To The Moon... Live at Lunas
Keith Lowell Jensen:
To The Moon...Live at Luna's
Some of the best stuff on Keith Lowell Jensen’s debut comedy CD, “To the Moon … Live at Luna’s” comes at the beginning of the record; Jensen turns a throwaway Light Rail Drivers joke into an extended piece about remixing the joke for different audiences, and segues from that into a great series of jokes about performing in small town “comedy clubs,” building to a great bit about parents who bring their kids to bars, with a classic R-rated punchline. In fact, beneath his “alt comic” veneer there are lots of classic comic skills behind KLJ’s act. He does pretty slick segues (except for one groaner, you’ll know it when you hear it) and keeps his bits threaded into the act, such as his comment about the phrase “I’m just saying.” He seems very comfortable mining his personal life for his act, with some raunchy jokes about his wife’s pregnancy and his own childhood and educational experiences at “Success High.” But he seems equally comfortable in lots of other areas like Windows Vista and tech support.

Continue reading “Keith Lowell Jensen’s “To The Moon … Live at Luna’s””