Seeing Sacramento & Beyond
Exploring a City with a Small-Town Feel and World of PotentialArchive for Art & Culture
Lights, Camera, Action, Enjoy
Crest's Marqui Being Remodled
Now in its 11th year, the SF&MF has grown quite colorfully to embrace and encourage new facets of filmmaking. Two programs for local filmmakers, both in their seventh year, encourage and support community engagement. Sac Music Seen is a program that matches local filmmakers to local musicians to make original music videos, with almost 150 completed projects to date. The 10×10 Filmmaker Challenge is SF&MF’s own answer to the guerilla filmmaking phenomenon, with teams being allowed ten days to make a ten minute movie.
The Festival also partners with other longstanding community events, such as the Sacramento International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. This year, one evening includes a fascinating pair of documentaries about the dangers to senior citizens in the LGBT community who sometimes find themselves going back into the closet to avoid discrimination in settings like assisted living facilities, and a film about transgendered musicians and singers.
SF&MF’s ongoing relationships allows for further interesting partnerships, including Sony, Rubios, Sacramento News & Review, Capital Film Arts Alliance and Mayor Kevin Johnson’s Arts Initiative. “Our primary mission is to showcase the work of talented filmmakers, but we’re also very much a community arts event and we work closely with our partners…to promote local interest and involvement at all levels.”
www.sacfilm.com
Freeport Festa: You are Cordially Invited
Mary, Monica & Justina Invite you to Festa
Festa Dinner
Saturday, May 29
Tri-Tip, Beans, Bread, Salad, Dessert
$15 per person
Music
Festa
Sunday, May 30
Parade starts at 10am
Mass at 11:30am
Auction at 1:30 (Donations are welcome)
Freeport-Clarksburg
Portuguese Hall
54113 South River Road
[North of Clarksburg in Yolo County - 2 ½ miles north of Freeport Bridge]
For more information, contact Monica Souza at (916) 925-8661.
Scotts, Celts, Kilts, Cold Beer!
Festival-Goers and Historical Characters Mingling
Since I live there, it’s probably okay for me to admit that Woodland is not especially well known for its fancy variety of world-renowned festivals… But having just attended the 134th Annual Sacramento Valley Scottish Games & Festival at the Yolo County Fairgrounds, I think this one’s worth writing home about.
Modeled after the traditional gatherings of Scots in their homeland, the weekend-long festival features Olympic-style heavy athletics and Highland dancing, pipe bands and Celtic rock groups, sheep dog trials, historical re-enactments and more.
Just like any festival, there’s plenty of good food and fun, cold beer and faire frills, shows and vendors (although I would have personally appreciated more of those). But unlike many festivals, this one’s got an eye-full of colorful kilts walking around, as well as those manly Scottish games playing out on the open field. This April, there was plenty of sunshine and luckily also plenty of shade beneath ye olde olive trees. And if there’s one thing about Woodland, everything’s pretty easy here: easy to access, easy entry… easy escape.
What began as a simple “Scottish Picnic Competition” in a park is now what allows the club to “benefit” the public through education, scholarships and charity. McKinley Park in East Sacramento was the site of the first Sacramento Scottish Games & Gathering on June 16, 1877. The festival moved to the 55-acre Yolo County Fairgrounds in 1997 due to it having more elbow room, ample parking and helpful fairground staff.
The event is hosted by the Caledonian Club of Sacramento, a nonprofit organization established in 1876. Club membership is open to any one of Scottish birth or descent, their kin, and to any person interested in the rich and historic traditions of Scotland. They host other annual events, including the Sacramento Tartan Ball in November.
Keep the Sacramento Scottish Games in mind next year; it’s a magical day for anyone interested in Scottish and Celtic arts, culture and history – or anyone just a fan of festivals, period. It takes place the last full weekend of every April.
www.saccallie.org, (916) 557-0764.
Moon in Your Eye Like a Big Pizza Pie
Camellia Symphony Orchestra
The moon was as round and large as a family-sized pizza from Ricos. It was even more startling since we hadn’t seen the likes of a moon in quite some time. The air had a hint of crispness to it, but not so much that it really felt like winter anymore.
After a cozy visit with drinks and spring rolls at PF Changs, Tom and I ventured just across the street to the Memorial Auditorium for some pre-show wine tasting by Scribner Bend. There was also a silent auction before ‘Charms, Spells and Enchantments’ was set to begin.
The title alone was enough to intrigue me, but the question remained: Would the Camellia Symphony Orchestra’s performance equally entrance us? There was, perhaps, another question I should have been asking myself instead… What is the Camellia Symphony all about?
As it turns out, the CSO musicians are volunteers. It’s been that way for 47 years. And for 47 years, area residents have enjoyed and supported the orchestra in return. I just wish I knew that going in. I also wish I knew this was a one-night only gig. Meaning, the musicians put all that blood, sweat and tears into learning these magnificent pieces… only to perform them in front of a crowd once.
On this night – Saturday, February 27th – the music unveiled a tale that words perhaps could not, but a little background information did help set the stage. ‘Charms, Spells and Enchantments’ was composed of three unusual masterpieces that are not frequently played. Each one is “derived from worlds of fantasy and magic … capable of transporting the receptive listener into realms foreign to customary daily life.” For instance, there’s a wizard’s apprentice who summons up some serious trouble; a broomstick brought to life, a flood of cascading waters and an anarchic world of frenzy (The Sorcerer’s Apprentice by Paul Dukas). And a beautiful gypsy girl falls in love with a handsome young man, only to be held back from true love by a pursuant ghost (El Amor Brujo by Manuel De Falla). Finally, with Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, the “unrelenting rhythms mirror our darker, more irrational nature” and tendency to sacrifice purity for prosperity.
Although often mesmerized by the movements of the musicians, I had to look at the majesty of the space I was in to fully engage my imagination. What the Memorial Auditorium lacks in acoustics, it makes up for with eclectic and elegant old-world beauty. Built in 1926, the auditorium has welcomed such musical talents as the Rolling Stones, Beach Boys, Melissa Etheridge and Death Cab for Cutie. It is on the National Historic Register.
The Camellia Symphony Orchestra next will present ‘The Great Classics’ on April 17, again at the Memorial Auditorium. Tickets are affordable, the venue is enchanting and the music is moving and soothing to the soul.
Local volunteer musicians and members ensure the orchestra will persevere, making it practically a family affair. When it comes to the survival of art in all forms in our community, it is in large part up to us to stay engaged and continue to try new things. Charms, spells and enchantments ~ Isn’t that pretty much what life is all about?
[On the way home, you might think I was craving a pizza... But what I actually had to have instead was a cold, creamy chocolate milkshake.] ; }
For more information, visit www.camelliasymphony.org.
And thanks to www.SacramentoPress.com for the lovely evening!
Lounging in Style
Rainy Window at Level Up Lounge
The Sacramento Convention & Visitors Bureau held a networking mixer at Level Up Lounge on Tuesday night, February 23, 2010. The lounge is above Thai Basil Restaurant at 2341 J Street. (There’s a 3rd floor as well, but I think they try to keep that under wraps).
Level Up generously provided beverages and a variety of appetizers for guests, including chicken satay skewers, mango salsa on fried wontons and “beef jerky” on sticky rice pads. In addition, owner Suleka Sun-Lindley handed out coupons for her alluring mid-level space.
There’s something about the decor of this place that I just love. Rain or shine, it’s appealing and comfortable. With its colorful chandeliers, ever-color-changing backdrop lighting and sheer-curtain-covered windows overlooking the lights and action on J Street, Level Up has a unique look and feel all its own when it comes to Sacramento area lounges.
For the literally young, I think it can get pretty hip and hoppin’ late at night. For those of us a little older (but still young enough at heart), afternoon and evenings are always a great time to discover the place, take it over outright or duck into a low-lit corner.
The artist responsible for all the colorful, eclectic artwork currently adorning Level Up’s walls is John Titus Krempel, a well travelled and lived man with much to show for it.
www.LevelUpLounge.com
Sacramento’s Annual FREE MUSEUM Day is Here
Leland Stanford Mansion State Historic Park
Free Museum Day is just ’round the bend, this Saturday, February 6!
Free shuttle and all the art and culture you can handle in one day included.
Rain or shine. Expand your mind!
www.sacmuseums.org
An Acquired Taste
Noises Off
It was a mild early Autumn day ~ The leaves were beginning to turn various colors and the sun was still high and bright in the sky. We walked toward the entrance of the theatre’s courtyard to meet my stepdad, stepsister and brother-in-law for a matinee showing of ‘Noises Off’… but what stood before me – outside the theatre – was almost like a dream…
There were rows and rows of vintage costumes reminding me of both richer and simpler times ~ frocks of sheer cotton, velvet robes with ruffled trims, patchwork pastel aprons, long luscious coats, sailor dresses, shortsuits, scarves and more. All were for sale, all those dreamy textures and classy shapes… And from so many different eras ~ Oh, the stories these garments could tell!
Come to find out it was Sacramento Theatre Company’s 1st Annual costume sale. All this before the show even began!
Sitting in the intimate theatre where nearly every seat appears to be a good one, I thought about the various performances I’d attended (and missed) throughout my lifetime – ballet, opera, orchestra… I thought about all the culture I’d tended to shy away from… And I realized how these cultural gatherings can actually help move and escalate us to new heights of the imagination. After I’ve had a good experience at a particularly inspiring performance, I often walk away a little more expanded in mind and spirit, and I dare to dream just a little bit bigger than I did the day before.
It is only now that I fully realize how invaluable this really is.
Sac has more theatres and stages than I can keep track of, but www.Sacramento365.com is a great resource. For the record, ‘Noises Off’ is showing at the Wells Fargo Pavillion through November 1. www.sactheatre.org/
[photo courtesy www.BroadwayWorld.com]
Cozy Up in Downtown Winters This Summer
Downtown Winters CA
If you’ve never been to Winters, you’re missing Norman Rockwell’s point. Adding to the small town charm of an adorable and historic rural community, the 1st Annual Winters Outdoor Quilt and Textile Art Festival is coming Saturday, June 27th and Sunday, June 28th. Take a gander because you love quilting… or just because it’s a great reason to get you to go. (I once had a roaring time at the Stockton Asparagus Festival… and I wasn’t even all that fond of Asparagus at the time).
Anyway, when things like this come to a tiny town, one might say the whole town gets involved. And the involvement in Winters is getting more and more artsy, and more and more inviting. Home to the beloved Palms Playhouse (live music), the infamous (in a good way) Buckhorn Steakhouse, Putah Creek Nature Area, art galleries, wine tasting, and plenty of good eateries and charming businesses, Winters is a perfect little day trip, afternoon jaunt or weekend getaway.
In addition, there’ll be a sunset dinner with local Firefighters. I assume it’s a fundraising thing, either for the artists or public servants. But I say, ‘sunset, firefighters, local art… you probably can’t go wrong either way.’
(Winters is just west of Woodland and Davis, north of Vacaville. Call 530-795-2580 for more information on the festival or visit www.yolocvb.org for general area and event information).
[Photo Courtesy Solano Magazine]
The Art of Ceremony
Crocker Art Museum Entrance
It was Sunday, April 19th, nearing 3pm, and the air was balmy outside the Crocker Art Museum in Downtown Sacramento. Couples, families, teens and solitary souls made their way to the back lawn of the museum grounds for a ‘Mass Meditation on Peace’. It was the closing ceremony for the ‘Buddha’ Exhibition.
I headed toward the entrance and past a guard who simply smiled as I walked by. There were no fees, no bag checks, no sign-in sheets, no questions, no hassles. The rather full crowd was mostly sitting in chairs and on the grass; a few were resting comfortably at picnic tables or standing around the shady perimeter.
There were brief introductions and warm welcomes to and from members of the Dalai Lama Foundation and Lion’s Roar Dharma Center, the exhibition’s curator and Sacramento’s City Manager. There was a brief (and very soothing) chanting demonstration by 3 monks in red and gold robes. And then the mass meditation and chanting began.
The crowd whispered the mantra of compassion and self-transformation (Om Mani Padme Hum) over and over again within the tall protective hedges of the grounds. It was so softly audible that I wondered what it might sound like to a passerby.
More like “an applied sacred psychology” than religion or even philosophy, Buddhism has long been revered for its openness and acceptance of others’ ideals and traditions. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise to me then that the gate to the museum lawn remained open during the entire ceremony – with people quietly wandering in and out, and back in again. Nonetheless, I was pleasantly surprised at the complete ease that seemed rooted within this ceremonial gathering, and radiated so effortlessly throughout the crowd.
There is something special about Sacramento; the rich land upon which she was built, the rivers that flow through her, the bounty around her and the people who make it their home.
Life is good in California’s Capital City for many reasons, including climate and geography, community and amenities, nature and wildlife, and more. It’s hard to imagine a warmer feeling than a sunshine-drenched morning here, an easier feeling than a refreshing spring day, or a more engaging experience than a night on the town after a cleansing rain.
There’s truly something for everyone and every mood, for Sacramento is a shifting entity itself, with four distinct but relatively mild seasons, diverse neighborhoods and people, a ripening food and restaurant scene, year-round events and outdoor fun, and daytime and nighttime adventures. Its magic is a blend of history and tradition, vision and reinvention. And there’s so much pleasure to be had here – with family and friends, food and wine, adventures and experiences – that they’re likely to create the kind of fond memories that might seem so familiar… but aren’t quite like any other.
