If you live in the Sacramento area, there is a good chance you have ridden your bike while commuting or for pleasure, and you have probably indulged in some locally made craft beer. Living in an area with an abundance of beautiful weather and locations to feed an appetite only increases the chance you have combined outdoor recreation with beer and cuisine. In honor of springtime in the Sacramento valley, why not hop on your bike and explore what’s brewing near you. Biking and Beer offers a perfect yin and yang experience between the indoor and the outdoor, the intimate conversation that sharing a freshly poured pint encourages, and the freedom gained through traveling on a bicycle. Not on

UC Davis’ Whole Earth Festival is returning this Mother’s Day weekend. Activities, classes, and performances will be featured at the festival to celebrate the planet. Going strong since 1969, this yearly event honors the earth and our existence upon it. Yoga classes and standing mediation will target the mind-and body- conscious festival-goers. Entertainment will include daily performances like choral acts and spoken-word poetry. Hula-hoop classes and environmentally friendly workshops (like how to compost) are also on deck. The festival also aims to be kid-friendly. Alcohol is not allowed on the quad, and an entire section of the festival will be dedicated to children’s activities – inc

A Davis resident, who had been missing for over a week, was found near Indian Valley Reservoir in Lake County on Sunday, April 21. After over a week of waiting and a weekend of searching, Daniel Brian Thompson’s friends, family and colleagues can breathe a bit easier. Thompson had been last seen at his apartment on Friday, April 12 and his last communication was on April 13, a text message sent to a friend confirming plans for that same evening. According to Lieutenant Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff’s department, a passerby saw a vehicle off Walker Ridge Road, what the lieutenant called a rather remote part of Lake County near Indian Valley Reservoir. The passerby was able to e

Update (4/22, 6:17 a.m..): Daniel Brian Thompson has been found by police in Lake County and is in "good spirts," according to a report in The Sacramento Bee.  Update (4/21, 3:25 p.m.): According to the Davis Enterprise, Daniel Brian Thompson rented a zipcar in Sacramento on Saturday, April 13. Lieutenant Paul Doroshov of the Davis Police Department confirmed that Thompson checked the vehicle out, a 2012 Honda Insight hybrid with the license-plate number 6WKR534, near 10th and I streets in downtown Sacramento. In regards to the Amtrak ticket Thompson purchased, Doroshov said, "We don’t believe, based on the evidence that we have, that he ever used that ticket." The claim that Thompson e

April and May are the perfect months for enjoying the Sacramento sun. Sure, you can drink a decent beer outside on many a streetside table, but this is about back patios, gardens and out-of-the-way spots to drink out of doors. A lack of car traffic is key, and both fountains and live music earn you extra points. Before long it will be far too hot to sit and bask with a beer, so without further ado, here are five excellent places in the area to enjoy a beer outdoors.  If you agree, disagree, or wish to share your favorite spot in the area, I invite you to do so – secret spots welcome! Bows & Arrows This collective has a nice, albeit generally minimal, selection of beers; excellent food

You can tell a lot about a person by their hands. Randii MacNear’s hands have touched a lot of California produce since first shopping at the Davis Farmers Market in 1976. One of the most recent projects she has touched has gained national recognition — The Davis Farmers Market Cookbook: Tasting California’s Small Farms. It is difficult to choose a favorite recipe, MacNear says. “The concept of the cookbook is really that you don’t have to change the types of things you eat…you just have to change what you put in them,” she said.  MacNear's favorite recipe in the cookbook is the heirloom tomato watermelon salad, though the barbeque short ribs and berry pie recipes are also very deliciou

It had been a few years since I last had been in Davis so I was surprised when I turned into town to see a giant three story sculpture of a man on first street. I was there to meet up with friends for brunch at Cafe Bernardo. I quickly parked my car and walked to the restaurant. As I walked down the streets of Davis I spotted different murals on the sides of restaurants and various sculptures. I would later learn that these works were part of a new art walk. My friends and I thought we would take advantage of the great weekend weather and explore the Davis Art walk. We obtained a map from the John Natsoulas Gallery where we learned from a friendly staff person that the art pieces had R

We all love IPAs, but what else out there can ease us into the warm spring afternoons? The answer is the saison. On cool nights, get your last few sips of the beers that are going out – barley wines, porters and sweet stouts. These rich varieties tend to go out of favor after the temperature gets above 80. To be clear, there is no need to get rid of these beers. Strong, dark beers generally age very well. Find a dark, cool place to store them for the summer and they will be even better next fall. Heed the warning on storage though; both light and drastic temperature changes are dangerous for beer of any style. Now on to the saison, a farmhouse ale. Lately, I just haven't been able to st

Who said fundraising can’t be fun? After all, "fun? is part of the word. But to be fair, fund is too. So why not take a cue from Golden Bear and Low Brau’s St. Baldrick’s fundraising team and their effort and simply do both? All leading up to Monday’s big shave day, team “Balds Deep” has been setting up its own mini-benefits around Midtown. With the goal to raise money benefiting cancer research, team captain Kellen Mcconnell said “Balds Deep” held an event Friday, March 8, at The Golden Bear to raise money, and confirmed new Midtown favorite, LowBrau, has been donating $1 for every beer sold to his team’s efforts. A little healthy competition never hurt anyone, especially if the result

Pliny the Younger, Russian River Brewing Company's 10.25 percent ABV triple IPA, was featured on another local tap Thursday afternoon. One of the coveted 5-gallon kegs was tapped at Burgers & Brew in Davis on Thursday afternoon. Lines began forming around noon, although at 2 p.m. there were just around 70 people. Burgers & Brew had given Pliny enthusiasts plenty of time to prepare - they had posted the release date and time already on Monday on their Facebook page - so there was plenty of talk of rearranging work schedules. It might come as a surprise, but beer lovers can be quite organized and resourceful when it comes to limited-release brews. Around 4 p.m. it seemed that the keg was ru

Sacramento Beer Week kicked off on Friday, and since then our region has played host to plenty of fun and real social contact in the name of beer. Fests, happy hours, tap takeovers, brunches, dinners and exclusive tastings – it has all been happening and there is more to come. Some great local breweries have been featured and new collaborative brews released. The Knee Deep in Beer Week Track 7 collaboration, a really great Belgian double IPA, was both fresh and rich. Try it at Track 7 while it lasts, at Final Gravity on Thursday or at Capitol Beer and Tap Room on Friday. Remember that author and brewing scientist Dr. Charlie Bamforth of the University of California, Davis, will be at New

There is no more exciting time in the Sacramento craft beer scene than right now, a mere five days before Sacramento Beer Week. Starting Friday, SBW will consume bars, restaurants, breweries and tap rooms in the area and bring in new SBW brews, rare treats and more. The fourth annual week of fun will continue until March 3, when the week will conclude with a delicious brunch after a full Saturday at the Capital Beerfest on March 2 at Cal Expo. Come from noon to 5 p.m. for beer and food tasting and 2 to 5 p.m. for beer tasting only. Tickets are $75 and $45, respectively. Like last year, the number of events scheduled on the official SBW calendar is in the hundreds and continuing to grow. W

Dance through the lives of choreographers Iu-Hui Chua and Christine Germain with MFA Thesis Choreographies presented by UC Davis Department of Theatre and Dance. The production runs at Mondavi Center’s Vanderhoef Studio Theatre from Thursday, Feb. 21 to Sunday, March 3. The performance is rated R for nudity and adult language. Tickets are $17 in advance or $19 at the door and are available at the Mondavi Center. Jarrell Iu-Hui Chua presents “Liglio” in collaboration with Bobby August Jr., traveling through the worlds of memories, dreams and present realities to investigate touch and its effects on relationships. Christine Germain presents “Transmutation,” in collaboration with Andrea del

Friday evening, Feb. 1, the Art of Beer marked the start of what might be called beer season in the Sacramento area, and where better to get warmed up for the season than the bottle shops and tap rooms in the area. Taylor Ramos of The Davis Beer Shoppe and Capitol Beer and Tap Room’s Ken Hotchkiss weighed in on the beer scene and Sacramento Beer Week, coming up Feb. 22 through March 3. Before it all gets started, it might be advantageous to take a look at the last few years, and notice and appreciate how far the beer scene has come and just how richly it has developed. To name a few, New Helvetia Brewing Co., Ruhstaller, Track 7, Berryessa Brewing Co., Black Dragon Brewing Company, Loomis

Marti Smiley Childs and Jeff March, who run a publishing company in Davis called EditPros,  recently released their third book in a series about American pop music legends of the sixties and seventies. On December 8 they gave a book signing presentation at the Avid Reader in Downtown Davis. Most of this presentation can be seen on SacTV.com. The latest international release of the book series is called Where Have All the Pop Stars Gone? Volume 2. The book series reports on acts who had hits on the national charts in the "golden age of pop" and then moved on to various different careers.  The first book of the series was called Echoes of the Sixties and was published by Billboard. March sa

[Note: text written by Natalie Nelson, Director of the Pence Gallery in Davis. Natalie coordinated and moderated the "Arts Grown Locally" panel discussion.] For those living in mostly rural Yolo County, sometimesa town like Davis or Woodland can feel a little isolated. However, it means that you have a world of entertainment choices in terms of options for great art, music, and dance, despite Yolo’s small population of 200,000+ people. This past year of 2012 was a watershed year for the arts in Yolo County. The Nelson Gallery of UC Davis received a large naming gift, and embarked on a campaign to build a new facility. John Natsoulas created a gallery of public art throughout downtown Dav

On Wednesday the holiday season officially began at the UC Davis Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts. “An Nollaig in Éirinn,” or “Christmas in Ireland,” was the theme for the evening of entertainment by award-winning Irish ensemble, Danú. The performance was all about sharing Irish Christmas traditions – both those that include music and those that don’t.  Christmas in Ireland must be a whole lot of fun. The six-member group shared the stage throughout the night, each taking the mic on different occasions to introduce a song, story or joke to educate and amuse the Jackson Hall audience. Lead vocalist Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh had a voice that was powerful, smooth and entirely enchanting.

Jogja Hip Hop Foundation thundered with bangin' beats and mad flow this past Thursday at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts. Hailing from Yogyakarta, Indonesia, the politically and socially conscious Jogja Hip Hop Foundation reinvents Javanese rhythms and poetry with a modern hip hop flare. With a Javanese swag that any hip hop enthusiast would appreciate, it was unfortunate that there weren't many said enthusiasts in the crowd. The Mondavi Center's swanky, royal blue-draped tables and crimson-brimmed chalices abruptly contrasted the urban street vibe emanating from the performers; nonetheless, Jogja overwhelmed the audience with sublime passion and creativity. The Jogja members

‘Nectare,’presented by the UC Davis ITDP, is a journey in dance through time and space, emotion and narrative; a juxtaposition of vignettes choreographed by UC Davis Master of Fine Arts candidates Jarrell Iu-Hui Chua and Christine Germain blurring the boundaries between viewer and performer. These experimental explorations, a prelude to the choreographers’ Master of Fine Arts theses, play Thursday, Nov. 15 at 7:00 p.m. in the Nelson Gallery, UC Davis. ‘Nectare,’ open to the public and free of charge, is rated R for mature content including nudity. Chua and Germain present examples of their own choreography which they worked together to arrange throughout the gallery, creating a movement i

UC Davis ITDP presents “Fractalicious!” a production that engages the senses in unexpected ways, mounting as it progresses into an outburst of sensation and feeling. The show combines various forms of media working together interdependently, answering the question, “How does speed, scale and proximity influence value, desire and feeling?” The show runs Monday-Tuesday, Nov. 5-6 in Lab A, Wright Hall. It is rated R, open to the public with limited seating and free of charge. This production combines five main elements: a professor’s multiple sensibilities that reveal themselves within the presentation of a lecture; a dancer and actor playing multiple subjectivities competing for the space o