This Saturday, come visit North Sacramento's latest addition at the opening ceremony of the Hagginwood Park Playground. Festivities will take place from 10:30am to noon on Saturday, November 17, with a ribbon cutting at 11am. There will be refreshments, games, arts and crafts, face painting, and more. Hagginwood Park is located at 3217 Marysville Blvd. near Arcade Blvd. For more information, call (916) 808-7002.

This Saturday, head over to Del Paso Boulevard for a fun evening of storytelling and more. Starting at 6:30pm, Fenix Drum and Dance will host Tellabration, an event for all ages with entertainment from some of Sacramento's best storytellers. There will be stories galore as well as poetry, music, dance, and refreshments. Fenix Drum and Dance is located at 2110 Del Paso Blvd. in North Sacramento, and is Sacramento's premier West African and Afro-Caribbean drum and dance ensemble. Tellabration is a nationally-acclaimed festival with the goal of keeping the traditional art of storytelling alive. This event is held the weekend before Thanksgiving at locations all over the world.

Things will be looking Grimm at Fairytale Town for this year's Safe and Super Halloween. The fairytales of Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm will come to life for three nights of family fun on October 26, 27 and 28 from 5 to 9 p.m. Families will enjoy visiting Sleeping Beauty’s castle, walking through Little Red Riding Hood’s forest, and sneaking a peek at the Evil Queen’s Lair. Seventeen candy stations will be scattered throughout the park for trick-or-treaters to visit. The evening also features hands-on activities and a costume parade. Puppet Art Theater Company will perform “Goldilocks and the Three Sharks” in the Children’s Theater at 6, 7 and 8 p.m. Through the magic of blacklight, the audie

There’s a new resident at the Sacramento Zoo, the 2-year old Masai giraffe named Shani. “She is a pretty special girl,” said zoo spokeswoman Tonja Swank. “There are only about 100 Masai giraffes in American zoos.” She added that Shani will eventually mate with the zoo’s other Masai giraffe, Chifu. Shani came to Sacramento from the Los Angeles Zoo in mid-August and recently completed her quarantine period so she can now explore the exhibit, according to the zoo blog. The blog also notes that the Masai giraffe is the largest subspecies, and it is native to southern Kenya and Tanzania. Shani is about 11 feet tall, and she is expected to reach between 16 and 19 feet in height when she is

The Grown Folks Red Carpet Entertainment Event was held at the historic Guild Theater in Oak Park this past Saturday evening. Terry Moore of T-Mo Entertainment brought Courtney Dempsey of CW 31’s “Good Day Sacramento” to serve as the special guest host and emcee. “We were determined to go all out and really make our last red carpet event of the year an evening to remember,” stated Moore before the show began. “We’ve put together a lineup of entertainment that will feature a few of Sacramento’s favorite performers as well as bringing some newly discovered talent to the stage for their first appearance at the Guild.” The pre-show entertainment began with a fashion show featuring models rec

A full lineup of local singers, dancers, and poets, were featured at the Red Carpet R&B Concert this past Saturday evening at the historic Guild Theater in Oak Park. Host Terry Moore of T-Mo Entertainment invited some of Sacramento’s most popular R&B vocalists to perform for the event. The concert also featured a number of surprises, in the form of up-and-coming talent that was showcased at the Guild for the first time. “It’s difficult not to bring some of Sacramento’s favorite R&B singers back to the Guild when I received such overwhelming feedback from supporters who wanted to see them return,” stated Moore, when describing why the focus for the evening was on R&B. Moore explained tha

Everyone knows what a toilet is used for, but in Fair Oaks, racing them is one of the most anticipated events of the year. During the 63rd annual Fair Oaks Fiesta on Saturday over one hundred people of all ages and backgrounds came out to Fair Oaks village to enjoy the race. This year's race included six toilet racers with three-person teams. The rules require one driver, who must sit on the toilet at all times, and two pushers. Two teams represented the Fair Oaks Park and Recreational District, calling themselves the Parks District and Rocky the Rooster. The other four teams were privately owned and called themselves The Royal Flush, Hot Rod Toilet and Porcelain Princess. Contestants c

It’s Laugh Time Comedy Night at the Guild Theater took place in Oak Park this past Saturday night. The event featured a full lineup of local comedy talent along with live music and poetry. Veteran comedian and actor Steph Sanders was the event emcee, which was sponsored by T-Mo Entertainment. “We are always trying new ideas and concepts in response to community feedback,” local poet and T-Mo founder Terry Moore said. “It is our goal to showcase the best of Sacramento’s local talent while providing affordable family-friendly entertainment.” Local veteran band LSB (LoveSomebody) warmed up the crowd before opening the show with an extended set from their extensive repertoire of gospel, jaz

Sacramento's best storytellers will be entertaining at the very first Spring into Stories festival on Saturday, April 21. From 10am to 10pm, Carol's Books at 1913 Del Paso Boulevard will feature stories, music, poetry, dance, juggling, food and more. The all-day entertainment includes a Story Slam, a Liar's Contest, Kids' Place, Spoken Word, and cultural performances. A story concert begins at 7pm. All events are free, with a suggested donation of $5 during the reception and story concert. The program is “a must for the entire family” according to Angela James of Fenix Drum and Dance. The festival is sponsored by Carol’s Books and Fenix Drum and Dance Company, Sacramento's premier West A

Local poet and community leader Terry Moore hosted a full house for the “Relaxed Poetry and Jazz Night Out” Saturday evening at the Guild Theater in Oak Park. “T-Mo Entertainment is always willing to listen and act in response to what and who the community says it wants to see and hear when they come out to our events,” Moore said about combining poetry and jazz. “The fact that we provide an alternative to the nightclub and bar scene while focusing on family-friendly entertainment featuring locally based talent speaks volumes.” Members of the audience who arrived early were treated to a fashion show sponsored by Robin’s Nest Fashions. The fashion show featured original Nk Designs by Nat

The Del Paso Boulevard Partnership is hosting its 3rd annual Spring Carnival on The Boulevard from Wednesday, April 4, to Sunday, April 8. It will be held in the Rite Aid/O'Reilly Auto Parts Lot at Del Paso Blvd. and El Camino Ave. in North Sacramento from 3pm to 10pm Wednesday-Friday and 10am to 11pm Saturday and Sunday. Carnival attendees can enjoy rides, games, corn dogs, cotton candy, and other fun. Proceeds of the event go to the Del Paso Boulevard Partnership Foundation. Their website (with information on the carnival and other events) is http://dpbpartnership.com.

In an unprecedented collaborative effort to find homes for shelter pets, the Sacramento SPCA, Sacramento County Shelter, Sacramento City Shelter and Happy Tails will be joining forces in a mega adoption event! Hoping to adopt out at least 200 animals, the area shelters will hold a Certified Pre-Owned Pets Adoption Event.  This two day mega adoption extravaganza will offer amazing adoptable animals for only $39.99 and will include a multi-point inspection, standard four-paw drive, a spay or neuter and much, much, more.  Everything must go! Liquidation sale! Bargain prices for ever lasting companionship! Specials start on Saturday, March 31, 2012 and end on Sunday, April 1, 2012.  Hurry, don

Hop down the bunny trail with Peter Cottontail and celebrate spring with family and friends at Fairytale Town's annual Spring Eggstravaganza. The event is set for Saturday and Sunday, Apr. 7 and 8, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and features egg hunts, puppet shows, hands-on art activities and photo opportunities with the big bunny himself. Egg hunts will be held promptly at 12, 1 and 2 p.m. each day, and guests are encouraged to arrive early and bring a basket for collecting eggs. The egg hunts are separated by age group: 3 and under, 4 to 6 and 7 to 12. Each child will return their eggs to Mr. McGregor's Garden to receive a small prize, no matter how few or how many eggs they find. Following

The 4th Annual Family Picnic and Kite Day will be held on Sunday, April 1st from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. at the McFarland Living History Ranch at 8899 Orr Road, Galt. The Galt Historical Society hosts the free event that celebrates old-fashioned fun for kids and their families. Kite making will be the featured activity with free makings and lots of help for constructing your very own kite. Ron Jacobson is the director of the Living History Ranch and said a hot dog lunch will be offered for $1.50. “This event is just a whole lot of fun,” said Jacobson. “The kids have a great time making their kites and flying them. It’s a ball to watch them run and chase kites. It just makes your heart throb. Bu

Sacramento City Shelter offers customers a chance to roll the dice for pet adoption pricing! Starting Wednesday, March 14, 2012 through Sunday, March 18, 2012, area adopters will get a chance to roll the lucky dice to determine adoption pricing. In celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, the city shelter on Front Street is hoping to pass along the luck of the Irish to its customers. In yet another effort to promote shelter pet adoption, thus reducing the number of animals that are euthanized unnecessarily, the Sacramento City Shelter once again reaches out to its community for support. Offering periodic specials can dramatically improve adoption rates, while offering our customers a pet that

College internships are the Oak Park Neighborhood Association’s new tactic to keeping the Oak Park Community Center open in the face of continued budget cuts. A year ago the Oak Park Community Center, which offers the community space for classes, recreation, conferences, meetings, weddings, banquets, and performances became one of many community centers in Sacramento facing closure. Its governing body, the Department of Parks and Recreation, blamed budget cuts and lack of funding. Hours were reduced and programming was cut by almost half. The center now only operates Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. That’s when the Oak Park Neighborhood Association (OPNA) stepped in and offered to take ov

The 2012 premier of the Ladies Night Out series of events returned to the historic Guild Theater in Oak Park Saturday evening. The headlining act was veteran singer, songwriter, producer and actor Danny Boy. Best known for his work as a backup singer during the heyday of Death Row Records, Danny Boy’s solo music is grounded in his musical roots of R&B and gospel as he ably demonstrated to an appreciative audience. “In 2012 we are taking the Ladies Night Out concept to a new level,” said poet Terry Moore, the T-Mo Entertainment founder who was responsible for bringing Danny Boy from Atlanta to Sacramento. “It is the vision of T-Mo Entertainment to bring outstanding artists to Sacramento w

Like most families around the country, here in the Sacramento area we’re all watching our budgets very closely. I didn’t want that to stop me from having fun with my family during the weekends and our off-time from school and work. My initial inclination was to share many of the spots I had visited with my friends while we were teenagers growing up in this great area. Now that I’m older and going back to these fun places, I’m reminded how entertaining and enjoyable they are. It’s great to start with some of the more obvious attractions like the California State Capitol. My daughter loved walking the big stair cases, sitting in the senate chambers, exploring the museum rooms, and of course

The world renowned Harlem Globetrotters were at Power Balance Pavilion Sunday to take on the International Elite, as they went head-to-head to determine who would be the world champions. Globie, the team mascot, came out before the show to entertain the crowd with a little bit of magic and some dance moves. As Globie strutted around like Michael Jackson the crowd went wild with some kids jumping up to dance along with Globie. Even though the stadium was far from sold out, the audience members made up for it in enthusiasm. Throughout the game the crowd was cheering and clapping for the Globetrotters, with a few boos thrown in for team Elite. As with all Globetrotter games this was an aud

After a record-breaking attendance of more than 115,000 visitors last year, 28 Sacramento area museums will offer free or half-priced admission all day on Saturday, February 4, 2012, during the 14th Annual Sacramento Museum Day.  New this year, 26 of the 28 museums will offer free admission whereas two destinations located in residential areas -- the Sacramento Zoo and Fairytale Town -- will offer half-priced admission to offset parking control and security costs.  This hugely popular community event is presented by the Sacramento Association of Museums (SAM) and proudly supported by Umpqua Bank. Sacramento Museum event hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (with the last guests admitted at 4 p.m.).