Before opening to the general public, Old Sacramento's western-themed River City Saloon hosted two preview parties late last week for two nights of wild wild fun. The saloon officially opened its doors on Saturday, May 9. On Thursday, the Saloon hosted an open house with 25-cent beer and free appetizers. The next night was an invite-only soiree for friends, family, and neighboring businesses. The cash registers were ringing and the bartenders got plenty of practice in preparation for business in coming days. The parties, held in the evening, were aimed mainly at the over 21 but patrons of all ages showed up to sample their bar and menu offerings. While the first night of business was rat

Talking to people who grew up in Sacramento in the 1930s-1950s exposed me to an aspect of Sacramento that I never expected. Despite its reputation as a place without much nightlife, Sacramento has a long history as a town that stayed open late, played as hard as it worked, and was seldom short of musical entertainment. At some point Sacramento got a reputation for being stodgy and unexciting, and most of us who grew up here assumed that was the case, but the historical evidence simply doesn’t back that up. The best description of Sacramento night life in its early days comes from Mark Twain: Territorial Enterprise, February 1866 LETTER FROM SACRAMENTO [dated February 25, 1866] ”I arrived