The cocktail is one of few things Americans can call their own as part of the American legacy, aside from Texas barbeque and jazz, Erick Castro told his Cocktail 101 class Saturday afternoon at Midtown's Dragonfly. A former Zócalo bartender and cofounder of Sacramento’s annual Midtown Cocktail Week, Castro taught a group of almost 30 how to make an Oriental, gin gimlet and Manhattan in just two hours, while sharing more knowledge and history about the art of cocktail-making than they could hope to remember. This is the first year the class has been incorporated into the week-long event.  Participants worked at tables lined with shakers, jiggers (or measures), bottle openers, martini glas

"Sculpture doesn't have to answer to society or beauty," Japanese contemporary ceramic artist Takako Araki once said. Referred to by some as sacrilegious, her lifelike tattered Bible sculptures, one of which she made by silkscreening text from the Bible onto fired clay, are part of the Soaring Voices ceramic exhibition at the Crocker Art Museum in Downtown Sacramento. The exhibition opened to the public Saturday and features a collection of more than 80 ceramic pieces by 25 female Japanese artists. Until the 1950s, the world of ceramics in Japan has been a "man's world," exhibit organizer Maya Nishi told an audience at Sunday's gallery talk. She elaborated on how Japanese women had been

Renowned hip hop icon Too $hort, known by many as the "Godfather" of Bay Area hip hop, will be performing at Chris Webber’s Center Court Friday night in Natomas. The show was arranged by Everett Hunter Presents and will include appearances by guest DJs MP 3, Reese Roundtree and Steve DTrix. The multi-platinum artist began his career on the streets of East Oakland during his early teens, selling $5 cassette recordings of his work. He gained widespread acclaim in the hip hop scene with the success of Born to Mack, released in 1986 on his independent label Dangerous Music. The album was later re-released on the Jive Records label and went gold, selling more than 500,000 copies. He has relea

Babe the sheep-herding pig and his talking farm friends will revisit the big screen Saturday night at East Portal Park in East Sacramento. The '90s classic Babe is the first film to be featured at Sacramento's fifth Screen on the Green free movie series, held in different local neighborhood parks for four consecutive Saturdays in August. Founded by City Councilman Steve Cohn, Screen on the Green has grown immensely in attendance each year since it first began five years ago, said District Director Sue Brown. Although anyone is welcome to attend, the films are geared toward families. Last year's films included Charlotte's Web, Hairspray, Ratatouille and The Goonies. Screen on the Green i

Just a few steps into Taiko Dan's dojo stands a Goliath-like wooden drum looming overhead. The drum is 780 pounds and rests on a 860-pound stand, standing nine feet tall altogether, according to the dojo's owner and founder, Tiffany Tamaribuchi. Despite its intimidating proportions, the drum is beautiful, with a glossy finish and a large black and white skin stretched over it. Dojo is another word for a school of training in Japanese; in this case, the Sacramento Taiko Dan performing ensemble uses its dojo to teach the ancient art of Japanese Taiko drumming. Behind the large drum inside the dojo are smaller drums stacked on wooden shelves, and the dojo's walls are lined with even more dru

How late are they staying open now on weekends?

Image 4 is awesome! Did you take these photos?

This is my second year as a student at Sac State. It does seem like there is a portion of the student body that does not engage a whole lot in their education, maybe they are not paying for it. There are overcrowded classrooms, and some of the facilities are quite old. However, out of the twenty or so professors I've had there so far, I personally have been disappointed with maybe two. All of the others have been really engaging and I've gotten quite a bit out of my classes. Although the tuition may be lower in California than in other states, there are a number of students who were not prepared for the increases, especially within a short frame of time, and are now struggling to find the extra money to pay.

I know that myself and others are extremely grateful for the Javalounge and the all of the support that has come with it toward local musicians.

Another idea is to have a small, red "clickable" disclaimer that is always at the bottom of any Sac Press page. (Again, when someone clicks on it they would be taken to a mission statement, history, etc.)