Two years ago, Camellia Waldorf School’s Winter Faire was hit by something unexpected: rain. It flooded the parking lots, turned a dry creek into a creek and threatened the good spirits of the day. Participants shifted into the school for cover, while vendors put up their canopies and served hot chocolate and soup. Despite the rain, it was one of the busiest fairs that school has hosted, with reportedly 1,000 visitors. “It didn’t seem to dampen anyone’s feelings,” event co-chair Sarah Rucker said. “It’s a reflection of the norm at Waldorf School. If it were snowing, we’d still have a blast.” This year, the Winter Faire began under a cloudless sky on Saturday, December 10th, on the school

 Community was the name of the game at the South Sacramento games on Saturday. Residents played a variety of games, all focused on building cooperation without competition. We made the games so that nobody’s a winner and nobody’s a loser,” volunteer Charles Chenauot said. The games  included capture the flag, don’t spill the beans and Simon Says, but with a twist. Simon and Simone used the same concept as Simon Says, but without winners or losers. Instead, when Simon told a player she was out, she could join Simone’s game and keep playing. “We have a lot of community games where people can come together and play without having to be competitive,” volunteer Staphonya Cabrellin said.

By night, percussionist Alex Jenkins has gigs with bands including Sound Immersion, Kairos Quartet and the Nada Brahma Music Ensemble. By day, Jenkins is at William Land Elementary School, teaching world rhythms and drumming to students in second to sixth grades. This summer, Jenkins is dedicated to raising funds for the drum program, which he started in 2003 with seed money from Best Buy. The drum class meets four times a week after school for free one-hour lessons. Students learn to play rhythms from around the world, including India, North Africa, West Africa and the Middle East. They play a variety of drums, including djembe, Darbuka, conga, bongo and snare and learn the history, ap