Downtown Events

Photo essay: costumes on halloween weekend

2011-10-31T05:49:23Z

The costumes on the streets of Sacramento during the Halloween weekend highlighted the creativity of Sacramentans. Everything from rock stars to actual rocks were present on the streets during the evenings.

Government employee Michael Larson, and his girlfriend Caroline Wright said they channelled their relationship into their costumes.

“My sister suggested I be Aron Ralston from 127 Hours,” Larson said. “She said our costumes would be a metaphor for our relationship.”

Larson utilized a backpack, bandanna, headband and mock bloody splint to dress as Aron Ralston. Wright made herself the rock that took Ralston’s arm by covering herself in packing paper and textured spray paint. Her shoes where mini-rocks as well.

Student Shalha Farzan, said she was inspired to dress up as the house from the movie “Up” after looking in the mirror.

“This just came to me in the shower,” she said. “I realized that my body resembles a house.”

Farzan cut out cardboard, painted it to resemble a house, and draped the house over her shoulders. She did not comment on the balloons.

Another couple, Kate Zenenick and Marshall McMunn, said their “Wayne’s World” costumes were inspired by a gift and a mutual love for two of their childhood heroes.

“My dad mailed this hat to me from Michigan, and it just inspired me to be Wayne,” UC Davis doctoral student Kate Zenenick said.

“I also feel like I relate to Garth,” McMunn said.

Even Eskew said he dressed up as John Mayer due to a friend’s comment.

“My friend jokingly referred to me as John Mayer, and I think we share some characteristics,” Eskew said.

Eskew said he picked up his blazer and scarf at the Goodwill, but the guitar was one he has owned and played for years.

Student Matt Whalen converted an ostrich costume into Aquaman.

“I was just watching television,” Whalen said. “I thought, this guy is cool. I should be aquaman.”

An ocean creature was also present Saturday evening.

“I am a sea anemone,” student Bree Putman said. “This fabric reminded me of the ocean. I used pipe cleaners for the antennae and used a hot glue gun to glue these starfish on,” she said.

Is trick-or-treating what it used to be?

2011-10-26T06:02:48Z

Is Halloween what it once was? Events hosted by churches, schools and businesses, as well as parents dropping their children off in wealthy neighborhoods, may have eclipsed the good old-fashioned door-to-door trick-or-treating.

“I think parents are much more cautious than they used to be,” said Lourdes Brown, an office manager at the Capital Heights Academy, an elementary school located at 2520 33 st.

Aveola Abedipe, a teacher at the Phoenix Private Preschool(600 I st.) said that the school offers a Halloween party because parents of preschool children don’t commonly take their kids out on Halloween anymore.

“I think some schools offer parties for children. We host a party with candy and decorations, and it is open to the public as well,” Abedipe said.

Abedipe and William Land Elementary School Receptionist Paula Maran said that another alternative to trick-or-treating is church events.

“River Life Covenant Church (4401 A st.) puts on a Halloween event, and I know of some churches in Midtown that do too,” Maran said.

Children can also go to the mall for candy and haunted fun. Westfield Downtown Plaza will have treats, decorations, a spooky fun house and maze to enjoy on Sunday.

Angela Hassle, a receptionist at the Mustard Seed school for homeless kids, said businesses along J and K streets will be giving out candy to trick-or-treater’s on Monday as well.

“There is a party in the Wells Fargo building. And lots of the stores give out candy,” Abedipe said.

The Hines Corp., the owner of the Wells Fargo building at 400 Capitol Mall, puts on a Halloween party in the Wells Fargo lobby.

"Midtown does a trick-or-treat day," said Washington Elementary School principal Marilyn Collins.

While events may have become a popular alternative to trick-or-treating, some parents still drop their children off in neighborhoods to give them a taste of the real thing.

“Parents will drop off their kids in the ‘Fabulous 40’s’ or East Sacramento because these are nicer neighborhoods than some of the others in town,” Maran said.

The “Fabulous 40’s” is a neighborhood in East Sacramento famous for having some of the largest houses in the city.

“I used to go to the ‘Fabulous 40’s’ thinking they would give out more candy,” said Melissa Krause of the Courtyard Private School. “I think parents take their kids there because they think it’s safer too.”

Collins believes that walking the neighborhood has not gone out of fashion.

"The neighborhoods are still very popular. Some people drive to the 'fab 40's' or Land Park, but most people still go through the neighborhood door-to-door. It just depends on what part of town it is," she said.

But for the best decoration, Maran suggests visiting T and 56th streets.

“T and 56 goes all out and completely decorates the block,” Maran said.

Where do you suggest trick-or-treating this Halloween? Leave your comments below.

Washington Park vandal targets children

2011-10-07T05:19:11Z

A Sacramento vandal has targeted children in a recent string of Washington Park vandalism that involves cut swings and a sawed tetherball pole. The perpetrator is currently unknown.

During the weekend of Sept. 24, someone sawed through one of the parks’ tetherball poles just enough to cause the pole to stand straight until it was used, falling down and nearly landing on a Washington Elementary School student. According to Washington Elementary School Principal Marilyn Collins the student was unharmed.

Martha Damjanovic, a local resident of the area and owner of three buildings in blocks that surround the park, was surprised that she hadn’t noticed the sawing.

“When 14-year-olds jump over the fence in the night to play basketball, we notice them. That sort of thing is common. This isn’t the work of kids. Someone came in and cut through the metal by hand. We would’ve heard power tools,” she said.

Before the cutting of the tetherball pole, school authorities noticed vandalized swings that were cut so that students slipped through the seat when they sat on them.

“We don’t know if they were necessarily targeting students, but definitely children,” Collins said Wednesday.

Damjanovic explained the logistics of the vandalism.

“During school hours, it is locked down for the elementary school children to use,” she said. “After school hours, (the park) is open to the public. Somebody had to have come in and cut through the pole just enough so that when children played it would fall over,” she said.

According to Damjanovic, vandalism is not common in the area.

Collins, on the other hand, seemed less surprised.

“We are in an area that has the potential for something like this to happen,” she said. “There is a rehab center close by, there is transiency, so anything is possible.”

Collins said that the school is combating future vandalism by installing surveillance cameras, and promoting communication between the school and the community.

Damjanovic mentioned a rumor of the school closing the park during non-school hours, but Collins dispelled this.

“We want to maintain the community relationship, but we also want to ensure safety during the school day,” Collins said.

If you have any information regarding the vandal, email Marilyn Collins and contact the police.

Perspectives offers stories for all

2011-09-24T03:21:40Z

Despite running shorter and offering fewer speakers than past years, the Metro Chambers’ 17th annual Perspectives event offered a range of speakers diverse enough to make the morning entertaining and fascinating for all attendees.

Perspectives is an annual event for individuals to see notable political and cultural leaders speak in the Sacramento Convention Center.

This years speakers were Olympian Dara Torres, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, and former CIA Director Robert Gates.

Previous speakers include Condoleezza Rice, Mikael Gorbachev, Margaret Thatcher and Elizabeth Dole.

After videos of sponsors, various introductions to the event, and an audio-less video montage of Dara Torres swimming spliced with an interview, the Olympian, author, and TV commentator took the stage and proceeded to describe her unconventional swimming career. She focused mostly on her post-natal decision to swim in the 2008 Beijing Olympics at the age of 41. She came home from Beijing with three silver medals, one of which was due to finishing only .01 seconds behind the winner.

Erin Harris, Director of the American Heart Associations Go Red for Women, said that she found 12 time Olympic medalist and mother the most interesting of the morning.

“As a woman she was very inspiring,” Harris said.

“We all have our own obstacles we have to overcome,” Torres said. “No matter what age you are, there’s always someone helping you.”

Despite sounding trite at times, it was clear that Torres’ intention was earnestness on Friday morning, even momentarily choking up after mentioning the death of her longtime coach.

Following Torres was Twitter co-founder Isaac “Biz” Stone. The 37-year-old entrepreneur promoted creative perseverance by telling stories of starting a lacrosse team at his high school after not being accepted into any of the already organized sports teams, dropping out of college to pursue graphic design after inadvertently getting hired as a designer as a result of secretly placing his own graphic design work in a file of professional pieces at a firm where his actual duties were just moving boxes of books, and developing Twitter despite nearly unanimous skepticism.

“Creativity is a renewable resource,” Stone said. “You as a person have infinite creativity. To succeed spectacularly, be ready to fail spectacularly.”

“Biz was very fun,” said Sacramento Metro Chamber interm president and CEO Martha Clark Logren. “There was positive energy in the room.”

While Torres and Stone spoke candidly and seemed to improvise for the sake of storytelling, Robert Gates, 2006-11 Secretary of Defense, former Director of the CIA and the final speaker of the morning spent much of his time staring down into the podium while speaking about the future of the United States and its relationships with China, North Korea, and Russia.

After beginning with a series of puns such as, “It’s just great to be anywhere but Washington D.C.,” Gates spoke to Perspectives attendees as one might expect the leader of the CIA: direct, confident, and forewarning.

“In the coming years the United States and Asia will become more inextricably linked...It is important for the United States to have a military presence in Asia,” he said.

Although he admitted that he was pessimistic in his CIA days, Gates’ closing remarks suggested a change in his attitude during the years since, “There are no painless solutions to the challenges we face...But regarding the American future I am an incredible optimist.”

KFBK Operations Manager Alan Eisbenson said that Gates was his favorite speaker of the event.

“I thought he had the most interesting information,” Eisbenson said.