Sidewalk chalk isn’t just for kids, anymore. This Labor Day weekend, Sacramentans can get in touch with their inner child at the 20th annual “Chalk it Up! to Sacramento” chalk art festival in Fremont Park. Saturday through Monday, 200 professional artists will be on their hands and knees, creating two-by-four masterpieces on the sidewalk. Non-professionals can purchase their own squares for $10, which includes a box of chalk. A communal space with communal chalk on the interior of the park will also be available for kids and adults alike to chalk it up. Darby Flynn, president of Chalk it Up! said this type of event is special to Sacramento. “We want to make sure that our arts remain vi

Fresh baguettes, roasted lamb, local wines and aioli were the ingredients for a savory Village Feast last Saturday in Central Park in downtown Davis. Nearly 300 people assembled for the sixth annual Grand Aioli-style meal served to aid the Davis Farmers Market project, Davis Farm to School Connection — an organization aimed at bringing farm-fresh local fruits and vegetables to all 13 Davis public schools. At noon, members of the community entered the Village Feast area with their own silverware, plates and cups, beneath the sycamore trees in Central Park. Guests enjoyed wine, olives and almonds while strolling through the feast area, socializing and taking a look at the silent auction it

Golf, pub crawl and breast cancer are usually not three topics you see together. But then again, Albie Puttin’ is not your typical pub crawl. Saturday, Sacramentans can play a nine-hole game of miniature golf and enjoy drink specials all while helping breast cancer patients. All ticket sales will benefit the Albie Aware organization — founded to help provide resources such as paying medical fees to breast cancer patients. This is the first pub crawl event fundraiser that Albie Aware is holding, sponsored by Go-Girl Energy Drink. The crawl will begin with at noon Saturday at deVere’s Irish Pub. Each restaurant or bar has made its own themed hole and will feature drink and food specials,

Sacramento and Davis residents will visit a Grand Aioli feast in the southern France style this weekend, without having to go all the way to Provence. The Davis Farm to School Connection, a nonprofit organization and project of the Davis Farmers Market Foundation, along with Slow Food Yolo will host its sixth annual Village Feast. Three hundred community members will enjoy this Grand Aioli community dinner under the sycamore trees in Central Park Saturday in Davis. Attendees can taste local and fresh ingredients from Davis Farmers Market farmers in a four-course meal catered by Buckhorn Grill. To make the event zero-waste, participants are asked to bring their own plates, silverware and

Lions and tigers, and bears, oh my! were fortunately not present at the Crest Theatre this past Sunday — but Dorothy’s, tin men (and women) and even munchkins sure were. Outword media, an extension of Outword Magazine, collaborated with the Crest Theatre to host a “Wizard of Oz” singalong, with nearly 400 people in attendance. On stage before the show, children marched in a parade to show off their costumes. Each child received two tickets to the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circus. Children were not the only ones to dress up. An adult costume contest showed off more Dorothy’s, an apple tree, a tin woman with her own WD-40 oil and, of course, the Wicked Witch of the West. Caro

The Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op brought a fresh perspective to sustainable farming last Friday. Forty community members gathered for a screening of “Fresh: The movie”— a film by Ana Sofia Jones that focuses on sustainable agriculture. Proceeds from the film sales will benefit the co-op’s One Farm at a Time project. The documentary follows sustainable farmers in America, including pig farmers, chicken farmers and an urban farmer  who farms in the middle of a metropolitan city, to demonstrate the contrast to industrial mass-produced agriculture. “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” author Michael Pollan said in the film that “cheap food is an illusion.” Feed lots used in factory farming that hold

Nearly 4,000 festival-goers had the chance to taste everything banana last weekend: banana pancakes, bread, pudding, cookies and even banana-flavored ice cream, all while contributing to the Sojourner Truth Multicultural Art Museum at Sacramento’s inaugural banana festival. Held at Cosumnes River College Friday through Sunday, the festival educated the community on banana health benefits, said Shonna McDaniels, the museum’s director. “We wanted to bring the concept of the banana and how different cultures use and prepare the banana and educate the community,” McDaniels said. Those various cultures included the Caribbean and countries in Asia, the Americas and Africa. In conjunction wit

Movies on a Big Screen will host the first live broadcast taping of “Cinema Insomnia” Saturday. Fans can watch the “1960’s mess” horror film that is “The Undertaker and His Pals” at the Guild Theater, located at 2828 35th St in Sacramento, as horror host Mr. Lobo — a television personality and actor— provides comic relief in between segments. Movies on the Big Screen is an ongoing film festival, said Robert McKeown who helped start it in September 2006. They show films every week at the historic Guild in various genres including cult classics, documentaries and independent films. Cinema Insomnia is a television series that shows horror films. This is the first time MOBS is teaming up wit

Sacramentans in the mood for specially made cocktails need to look no further than Midtown this week. The annual Midtown Cocktail Week kicks off on Monday with seven nights filled to the brim with cocktail culture. Co-founder Joe Anthony Savala began the event in 2008 with Erick Castro after attending San Francisco’s Cocktail Week. “We really love the whole Midtown vibe and how it’s growing, so [we thought,] let’s put something together here,” Savala said. After some planning in conjunction with local restaurants and bars in Midtown and some help from San Francisco’s best bars, MCW was born. In 2009, the Midtown Business Association joined in. MCW is more than just enjoying beverages,

This weekend marked the 25th annual Festa Italiana celebration of Italian heritage in Sacramento. Sponsored by the Sacramento Italian Cultural Society, Italians, Italian Americans and beyond gathered at the Croatian American Cultural Center Saturday and Sunday for a festival resembling a two-day-long Italian wedding. Under the hot Sacramento sun, shaded by large canopies, festival-goers enjoyed musical entertainment by the likes of Italica and Moreno Fruzzetti and dancing from the society’s Balliamo dance troupe. Husband and wife Victor and Eva Musammam have been attending the festival for 20 years and are big fans of Fruzzetti. “I have all of his CDs,” Eva said. Eva was born in Bari,

Everyone can be Italian this weekend at the Italian Cultural Society of Sacramento’s Festa Italiana. The 25th annual Italian festival has much more to offer than the stereotypical spaghetti and meatballs. Once held at the Cal Expo, the fair is now at the Croatian-American Cultural Center at 3730 Auburn Blvd. This year’s Festa Italiana is set up to represent authentic festivals in towns across Italy. It started as a small picnic in the park by the society’s Gioventú young people group, the festival has grown to an average 6,000 visitors per year. Bill Cerruti, executive director of the Italian Cultural Society, said the Italian-American community of Sacramento wanted something to celebra

Chef Ryan Rose, the 28-year-old chef at the Zócalo restaurant in Sacramento, is one of the top 15 finalists in the “Next Food Network Star YouTube Challenge.” His in-it-to-win-it dish: paella. Originally on a search to apply for the Food Network’s casting call for the “Next Food Network Star,” Rose came across the YouTube challenge. Viewers can vote daily on their favorite video of national chefs demonstrating their favorite dishes in three minutes or less. The winner will fly out to New York for an audition with executive producers of the show. But Rose didn’t always want to be a chef. It wasn’t till a two-year visit to Spain where he watched his Italian roommate cook every day, that he

Leslie Lindsey holds a clipboard in one hand while her Cat Crew stands around with a large tarp depicting hamburger patties sizzling on a grill. “Leslie to Steven,” she says, speaking into the walkie-talkie on her shoulder. Little kids surround her holding sliced cheese-shaped bean bags, waiting to throw them on the tarp. The child that gets the most “cheese” on the hamburger, wins. This is just a typical day on the job for Lindsey, coordinator for day-of-games events for the Sacramento River Cats minor league baseball team. She arrives at Raley Field for a night game (which begins at 7:05) around 3 p.m. She holds a Cat Crew meeting near 5 p.m. to let her staff of about six, plus Dinger

 Moms and children strode in fashionable attire on a pink and white striped runway last Friday to raise funds for the Sacramento Children’s Museum. A couple hundred people gathered at 33rd St. Bistro in Midtown to support the fundraiser for the museum that begins demolition today. Ten dollar tickets benefited the museum directly. Sponsors Koukla Kids Boutique, M.E. Boutique, Firefly Salon and Boutique and 33rd St. Bistro began planning the event only three weeks ago. Kathryn O’Connell, co-owner of Koukla Kids, said they saw a need for a fundraiser to benefit a place that could be fun, safe and educational for children of the Sacramento area. “All the other major metropolitan cities have

Fabrizio Cercatore is not a chef. He is not a baker. He was trained to specialize in one thing only: pizza. Born in Verbania, Italy, Fabrizio has been a pizzaiolo — a pizza-maker, for 14 years. His knowledge of pizza stretches beyond a typical chain pizza shop around town. The Man Cercatore, co-owner of Hot Italian in Sacramento, has lived in the city to pursue what he calls this “project” of opening an authentic pizzeria restaurant abroad. He studied at a culinary school in Lerici, Italy. His familiarity with pizza hailed from working at his restaurant in La Spezia called La Tavernetta (The Little Tavern), which he owns with his sister. It was always his dream to open up a restaurant a

In the hot Sacramento summer, knowing how to make ice cream may come in handy when trying to cool off. Thankfully, that’s exactly what was on the agenda for Ginger Elizabeth Hahn’s summer class last Saturday. Thirty-five students gathered at Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates — Hahn’s boutique — which offers classes for $35 per person. The class was located at the 1818 L St. Lofts penthouse kitchen across the street. Hahn, a chocolatier, taught two sold-out classes that day. She first told the class of her training, which includes the Culinary Institute of America in New York. She has worked with world-renowned chocolatiers such as Jacques Torres and pastry chef En-Ming Hsu and had the chance

Tuesday night, The Sacramento Press office was the place to be if you wanted to improve your writing. Clare Noonan—who has more than 20 years’ experience working as a reporter and copy editor for The Modesto Bee and The Sacramento Press—presented to a crowd of roughly 50 people to “Improve Your Writing and Self-Editing.” The interactive workshop focused on tips for self-editing and common mistakes that Noonan found when reading copy. “Get rid of the clunk,” she said. She suggested to “tighten up” writing by getting rid of saying things twice. For example, the phrase “massive aircraft carrier” does not need the word massive, since an aircraft carrier is large enough already. On the han

 Dominic Cooke was a normal college student athlete until a car crash his senior year paralyzed him. It doesn’t stop him however, from hand cycling in a triathlon. Cooke, 30, was injured when he was 22 years old. His athletic ability and passion for helping other hurt athletes is what made him start “Team TFO” this year for the 37th annual Eppie’s Great Race. TFO — which stands for Try for Others — is a nonprofit organization Cooke created in 2005 to aid injured athletes. “I played rugby before here in Sacramento at Jesuit High School and then at UC Berkeley,” Cooke said. “I was getting a lot of phone calls from injured rugby players. We help them with their immediate medical needs.”

From dinosaurs to wiener dogs, lawnmower races to Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch rides, corndogs to chocolate covered bacon, the 157-year-old California State Fair has something for everyone. With roughly 40,000 people per day running through the fair, and numerous attractions to see, Norbert Bartosik, CEO and general manager of the State Fair, promises a “Passport to Adventure.” “It’s a new adventure every year,” Bartosik said. “The State Fair showcases what California is all about: its people. People showing off their talents, education, entertainment…It’s something you won’t find in a theme park.” Although the fair won’t be a theme park, the Cal Expo grounds were in fact designed

 Although cheering fans with painted faces, yellow cards or buzzing vuvuzelas were nowhere in sight Saturday night at the Hot Italian restaurant, a little piece of World Cup soccer was in Sacramento. The eatery hosted its second half of the 2010 FIFA World Cup “The Art of the Game” celebration with a fashion contest. Ten local designers randomly chose countries participating in the World Cup and were challenged to design an original piece based on them. Local judges Leigh Grogan, Sacramento Bee’s fashion editor; stylist Health Hamilton; and fashion blogger Jen Wade and votes via Facebook and Twitter decided the winner.Lindsey Bee and her outfit inspired by Spain took first place, foresha