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Lila Downs
Dos Corazones: Día de Muertos
Connect with extraordinary artists.
There’s always something On At Mondavi Center and the ’23/24 season is no exception. Reserve your tickets now and see why Mondavi Center is our region’s home for some of the most captivating thinkers and electrifying performances.
Rising Jazz Vocalist and Grammy Winner
Samara Joy
October 4, 2023 | 7:30 pm
Awe-Inspiring Acrobatics
Cirque Mechanics
October 15, 2023 | 2:00 pm
World-Renowned Mexican Orchestra
Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería
October 19, 2023 | 7:30 pm
Hello, Molly! Author and Comedic Genius
In Conversation with Molly Shannon October 20, 2023 | 7:30 pm
Día de Muertos
Lila Downs October 24, 2023 | 7:30 pm
Immersive Theatrical Thrills
Manuel Cinema’s Frankenstein October 29, 2023 | 2:00 pm
Jazz Saxophone Supernova Lakecia Benjamin and Phoenix
February 8–10, 2024 | 7:30 pm
Sardonic Social Commentator
An Evening with Fran Lebowitz February 9, 2024 | 7:30 pm
Ballet For Everyone Dance Theatre of Harlem
April 17, 2024 | 7:30 pm
America’s Premier Humorist
An Evening with David Sedaris May 8, 2024 | 7:30 pm
WHERE MODERN MEETS TIMELESS
The inspiration behind our collection is simple: quality furniture crafted for longevity and effortless style. Create a design scheme all your own with these comfortable, versatile pieces.
MATT K. SHRUGG
TREAT YOURSELF AT
Folsom citrus heights
Page
16:
Opening Shot
Audience members help a Cirque du Soleil performer float like a butterfly during Corteo
Elk grove
Page 19: Riverfront
Lincoln
The Manetti Shrem Museum spotlights the work of acclaimed equine sculptor and UC Davis alum Deborah Butterfield this fall with a larger-thanlife retrospective; the first sculpture designed for Folsom’s Johnny Cash Trail—a massive guitar pick—is ready for its day in the sun; Sol Collective founder Estella Sanchez, pictured below, talks to us about hosting Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebrations, growing a karmic bank account, and the power of perseverance; David Spade and Tracy Morgan bring the funny to Sacramento and Lincoln; Janet Jackson takes us on an escapade at Thunder Valley; Pink gets the party started at the Golden 1 Center; the Golden Harvest Parade goes global on Capitol Mall
Page 43:
Play
Love his way: How did Rich Good, a graphic designer from London, move to the tiny town of Nevada City and wind up as the lead guitarist for The Psychedelic Furs? In the most improbable way imaginable.
Page 103: Dish
Shoki devotees, rejoice: Two years after closing their last beloved noodle nook, husband-wife owners Yasushi and Kathy Ueyama relaunch with a smaller menu but bigger flavors. Can we get a ramen amen?
Page 116:
Why Not Here?
From Iowa City to Boston and beyond, interactive art installations are drawing crowds—and shoppers—to experience art firsthand, or sometimes, feet first. Sacramento should get in on the action too.
Row
Natural wonders abound in Monterey, and there simply is no better place to experience it all than with a stay on Cannery Row. Known for it’s picturesque charm and colorful history, guests to this fabled street can enjoy a unique combination of luxurious waterfront hotels, enticing restaurants and captivating boutiques. Come, slow down and enjoy the best of Monterey on Cannery Row.
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FOUNDERS AND EDITORS-IN-CHIEF ROB TURNER & ELYSSA LEE
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STAFF REPORTER SEAN TIMM
SENIOR CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER MAX WHITTAKER
CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE
KATE GONZALES, DANIEL JAMES, SHEVA KAFAI, MARC THOMAS KALLWEIT, AARON KENEDI, NOAH LEE, CARLA MEYER, BECKY RATH, MATT K. SHRUGG, MEGAN SMITH, JEREMY SYKES, ANDREW WARNER, JOSH WOOL
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CONTACT YOUR
“Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable.”
—George Bernard Shaw
Art, in all its forms, can provide inspiration, illumination and escapism. And frankly, we feel like everybody could use a little more of each these days.
As you flip through this issue, we predict you’ll be hard-pressed to not find at least one exhibit, concert, play or musical that you’ll want to attend this fall. In fact, we hope the following pages will provide many reasons to support our amazing local arts community.
Through various stories, Sactown reporter Sean Timm spotlights dozens of must-see fall events. We also have a preview of a new exhibit on sculptor Deborah Butterfield, an update on the public art at Folsom’s Johnny Cash Trail, and a profile of a former longtime Nevada City resident who improbably became the guitarist for one of our favorite ’80s bands, The Psychedelic Furs, who are coming to town in October (yep, we’ve already got our tickets).
And don’t miss Hillary Louise Johnson’s thoughtful look at the rebirth of UC Davis’ Gorman Museum of Native American Art, a cultural institution that—with its focus on contemporary works—just might surprise you. It’s named for Carl Nelson Gorman, who co-founded the school’s Native American Studies department and was one of the fabled Navajo code talkers in World War II. The museum reopens in September in a much larger space, and its entryway features a stunning sculpture (shown above left) by its director Hulleah Tsinhnahjinnie.
In a full circle moment, we’re thrilled that Noah Lee—a 27-year-old Native American designer in Portland—agreed to create the title page artwork for this feature (pictured above right). Lee is a member of the Navajo and Pueblo of Jemez tribes of Arizona and New Mexico, and in an almost too-hard-to-believe (but true!) twist of fate, he graduated from the same New Mexico school that Gorman himself attended nearly a century earlier.
“My entire design process and theory is shaped by my cultural background,” Lee tells us. That approach extends to the headline text for the story—a typeface called Harvest that he designed, which was influenced by the textiles of the Navajo Nation.
Lee explains that his title page “is a direct homage to Tsinhnahjinnie’s metal motif. The panels are stacked to show how every generation builds on the one before.”
In other words, it’s a visual story told—beautifully, in our opinion—from the bottom up.
The bottom panel represents war, reservation life, school and “dealing with being viewed as ‘other’ and ‘mythical,’ all while inheriting culture, happiness and trauma.” Then the journey moves upward—marked by the triangles in the center—to symbolize “moving away from the reservation, sharing art from various tribes, and the creation of the museum.”
The final two panels—above the headline—represent the relaunch of the Gorman Museum and “moving on from trauma, focusing on the future while honoring the past” and “showcasing what it means to be indigenous, and the result of a revival in culture.”
We genuinely hope that Lee’s story—and all of the stories in this issue—inspire you like they’ve inspired us. Such is the power of art.
ROB TURNER & ELYSSA LEE
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OPENING SHOT
HELPING HANDS
A Cirque du Soleil performer floats above members of the audience, who nudge her along with their hands, on Aug. 5 at the Golden 1 Center during the Helium Dance act of the troupe’s Corteo show.
PHOTOGRAPH BY
DANIEL JAMES
Horses of a Different Color
When is a horse not a horse? When it’s a bronze abstract by acclaimed sculptor and UC Davis alum Deborah Butterfield, whose work the Manetti Shrem Museum is celebrating this fall with a larger-than-life retrospective. By Hillary Louise Johnson
P.S. These are not horses. The title of equine sculptor Deborah Butterfield’s upcoming retrospective at UC Davis’ Manetti Shrem Museum is taken from the last line of a poem that one of her mentors at the school, the painter William T. Wiley, once wrote in celebration of her deceptively figurative work.
Butterfield earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UCD in the early 1970s, when her alma mater boasted an art faculty that included now-renowned artists like Wiley, Wayne Thiebaud, Robert Arneson, Manuel Neri and Roy De Forest. In those halcyon days, the university’s art department was the kind of place where students and professors worked
Deborah Butterfield’s Isabelle sculpture will be among the works on exhibit at the Manetti Shrem Museum starting Oct. 1.
closely together. And Butterfield’s new exhibit, which will open Oct. 1 and run for nearly nine months until June 24, is both a tribute to one of its most notable graduates, and a celebration of that collaborative spirit.
“That’s the way Davis was,” says Gloria Marchant, Butterfield’s friend and De Forest’s widow. “Deborah spoke at Roy’s memorial at SFMOMA, and she said that the artists who taught there invited the students to the table of art.”
Fifteen of Butterfield’s monumental, outsized horse sculptures will be on view as part of her first solo museum show in her native California in nearly
30 years, from early iterations made of sticks and mud, to more recent works cast in bronze and assembled in her Montana studio. They will be displayed alongside works by her professors and colleagues in a complementary presentation titled Kindred Spirits, which will include two horse pieces by De Forest, and a pair of works by Arneson that mirror and illustrate Butterfield’s fascination with the fine line between representation and abstraction.
Because, as Wiley astutely if playfully noted, Butterfield’s horses are not just horses. They are abstracts. They can represent self-portraits, or portraits
of family and friends. They can also be radical acts of environmental salvage. “Debbie has always been interested in the environment,” says the exhibit’s curator and Manetti Shrem’s founding director Rachel Teagle. “In the very first works of mud and clay, she figured out how to make art from her backyard. The scrap metal work came from clearing fences on her ranch.” One poetic bit of environmental commentary in the retrospective will be 2016’s Three Sorrows, a horse made of scraps of plastic flotsam and found objects that washed up after an earthquake-triggered tsunami hit Japan in 2011 and led to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant disaster.
Butterfield herself first took the art world by storm in 1979 when she was included in the Whitney Biennial in New York. Today she’s in the permanent collections of SFMOMA, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian, as well as in prominent public areas like the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, which also features works by iconic artists like Roy Lichtenstein, Alexander Calder, Richard Serra, Claes Oldenburg and Robert Indiana. Her sculptures have also stood tall in uniquely private spaces—for example, she was commissioned to create a horse for each of Robin Williams’ three children to grace his Napa ranch. Unlike many artists who work in bronze and produce multiple editions of a sculpture, every Butterfield is unique, and in 2016, one of her equine masterpieces, Setsuko (1994), sold for a record $468,500.
The delight of seeing so large a “herd” assembled under one roof is to see the progression of Butterfield’s methods and materials. A 1978 “reclining horse” is constructed of twigs, straw and mud, while John (1984)—a “portrait” of her husband, fellow artist and Davis alum John Buck—is made from scrap metal.
The most recent work in the show is Bow Tie (2021-22)—a horse assembled from wildfire-charred wood then cast into bronze. Once again, Butterfield has created beauty out of tragedy in an inimitable, indelible way. As Wiley wrote in his title-giving poem, “Look at Debbie’s horses. You’ll remember.” S
An equine “portrait” of Butterfield’s husband, John Buck, at the lobby of the Manetti Shrem Museum
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OPEN
November 10-11-12
All Artists OPEN
November 17-18-19
Encore Weekend
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
The Perfect Pick to Honor the Man in Black
The first sculpture designed for Folsom’s Johnny Cash Trail—a massive guitar pick—is ready for its day in the sun. Get set to start your hike on a high note.
Adan Romo’s long-awaited sculpture, Cash’s Pick, is about to take center stage.
Back in 2014, the Sacramento artist won a national competition to design seven public art works planned for Folsom’s Johnny Cash Trail, named for the country music icon who recorded his landmark live album At Folsom Prison at the site of the penitentiary in 1968. Nearly a decade later, organizers have announced that Romo’s first piece is expected to take its place at the head of the 2.5-mile-long path, near historic downtown Folsom, in early 2024.
Once in place, the sculpture—a 7-foot-tall bronze likeness of a guitar pick—will stand above a base that resembles a vinyl record. Looking further down the road, $425,000 in state funding has now been secured to help cover the cost of the production of a second pick that will eventually be placed at the eastern terminus of the trail near Folsom Lake.
Romo’s idea to mark the start of the trail with a guitar pick comes from the way Cash would always tune up his guitar with a pick before his trademark introduction: “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash.” And the sculptor has always envisioned the trail as a metaphorical song. “The landscape has a rhythm,” he says. “The hills rise up and down, and the land takes you away, much like a song does. The picks would always start the experience of music for [Cash’s] concerts. In this case, they’ll start the experience of the trail.”
And while he admits to a bit of stage fright regarding the unveiling, Romo says he’s excited to see this first of his sculptures finally come to fruition: “For me, it feels like the song is about to begin.” —Rob Turner
Adan Romo’s bronze pick sculpture was fabricated in Berkeley and completed earlier this year.
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OUT & ABOUT
BY SEAN TIMM
ON GOLDEN POND
DAVID SPADE
Through Sept. 24 Best known by the 1981 Oscar-winning film adaptation starring Katharine Hepburn, Henry Fonda and Jane Fonda, On Golden Pond originated with a 1979 play by Ernest Thompson. Bittersweet and timeless, this slice of life, love, loss and longing comes to Sutter Street Theatre. sutterstreettheatre.com
FOLSOM LAKE SYMPHONY
Oct. 14 Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the Folsom Lake Symphony opens its milestone season with “Emerald Extravaganza” at the Harris Center. The performance features renowned Korean violinist Chee-Yun (pictured) and a wide-ranging lineup that includes Tchaikovsky’s 1878 Violin Concerto and music by mid-century jazz master Dave Brubeck. harriscenter.net
Oct. 14 As longtime fans of David Spade, it didn’t take even a Hollywood minute for us to decide that we’ll be front row for the comedian’s upcoming Sacramento standup concert. The Emmy-nominated actor and popular podcaster (who hosts Fly on the Wall—one of our favorite pods—with fellow SNL alum Dana Carvey) will stop by the SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center during his “Catch Me Inside” tour. ticketmaster.com
Gaelic songstress Julie Fowlis’s lilting voice captivated the world in 2012 with her breakout hit “Touch the Sky” from the Pixar movie Brave, but the Scottish government had already anointed the beloved folk singer its first National Gaelic Ambassador back in 2008. Come soar with her over the Scottish Highlands when she brings her modernized take on traditional music from her homeland to the Mondavi Center. mondaviarts.org
JULIE FOWLIS
TRACY MORGAN
“I am the new Black,” quips the powerhouse comedian, who brings the sarcastic sass and brass wherever he goes—be it on TV (SNL, 30 Rock) or the silver screen (Spirited , Coming 2 America)—keeping the blade of his humor sharp for almost 30 years. This fall, Morgan will kick off his latest stand-up tour at Cache Creek Casino Resort. cachecreek.com
PAPI, ME AND CESAR CHAVEZ OCT. 4–28
After discovering that his younger patrons didn’t know who Cesar Chavez was, Anthony Garcia, executive artistic director of Denver’s historic Su Teatro, created this play about the legendary labor activist in 2000. B Street Theatre will stage the work—which recounts the Chavez-led 1966 farmworker march from Delano, California, to Sacramento—for its family series. bstreettheatre.org
JANET JACKSON ALEJANDRO FERNÁNDEZ
Oct. 27 Come on, let Miss Jackson take you on an escapade. The pop icon wraps up her blockbuster tour with a final “Together Again” concert at Thunder Valley, performing favorites like “Control,” “Miss You Much,” “That’s the Way Love Goes” and “Rhythm Nation.” thundervalleyresort.com
Sept. 8 Chart-topping Mexican ranchera singer and humanitarian Alejandro Fernández has earned three Latin Grammys, dedicating his last golden gramophone win in 2020 to hurricane victims and donating a million pesos. First performing alongside his father Vicente at the age of 5, Fernández takes the Golden 1 Center stage half a century later with his son Alex during their “Amor y Patria” (aka, “Love and Homeland”) tour. golden1center.com
Oct. 12 “Party emphatically started by superhuman pop star,” declared a headline in The Guardian about Pink’s recent acrobatic concert in Horwich, England. The singer and winemaker—who studied oenology at UC Davis!— gets a new party started at the Golden 1 Center this October in support of her ninth album, Trustfall golden1center.com
THE SECOND ANNUAL GOLDEN HARVEST PARADE
Oct. 28 From Chinese lion dancers to Brazilian samba performers, this multiethnic festival will roll out a globally inspired cavalcade to Capitol Mall. The event will also feature over 50 booths of international eats (like Asian fusion BBQ from Mak & Grille), crafts and demonstrations, and a theme of “Greener Tomorrow for Youth” for an eco-educational twist. goldenharvestparade.org
Born in Sacramento to Mexican immigrants, Estella Sanchez has always navigated the influences of both her Hispanic heritage and her California upbringing. In 2005, at age 30, she founded the local multicultural nonprofit Sol Collective to help others explore and express their own diverse identities by hosting gallery shows, leading art classes and participating in social justice and health initiatives at its headquarters and beyond. This fall, the group will host events throughout town to observe Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), and Sanchez talks to us about those celebrations, growing a karmic bank account, and the power of perseverance. By Rob
Turner
Can you tell us a little bit about the roots of Sol Collective?
It was something I had thought about since I was a teenager. I would fantasize about a space where creatives could come. When I was young, art was such a refuge for me, and I tended to gravitate toward creative people—friends
FOUNDER OF SOL COLLECTIVE
ESTELLA SANCHEZ
who were making music and photographers and artists— and I loved the idea of having a home for these kinds of folks.
In my 20s, I had an opportunity to be part of a cultural exchange tour that I created with my godbrothers. Over three years, we took more than 100 artists and other creatives like dancers and poets on these tours through California, New York, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Cuba. We would stop at community centers, galleries, and a lot of different creative spaces where people would gather and we were able to perform, and we were able to meet with people and create murals and have workshops.
And when I came back to Sacramento, a gathering space [for creatives] was something that I really wanted to have here. The idea of what a creative space could look like completely opened up for me because I saw so many different versions of creative spaces.
I had worked with the Washington Neighborhood Center [a nonprofit founded in 1952 that serves the Alkali Flat and Washington neighborhoods located between downtown and the railyards and provides programs in the arts and culture, education, health and youth development] for years prior to that.
So I rolled this idea of a community gathering space into my master’s thesis at Sacramento State and thought I could research how to provide the services and resources and space that currently isn’t already offered. [Sanchez earned a grad-
uate degree in Educational Leadership & Policy Studies, as well as a bachelor’s in Social Science, also at Sacramento State.] So I opened it up in 2005 and I figured I could afford to pay the rent for a year and then see what happens.
Given that you thought about doing this from a very young age, what do you think led you to choose this path?
I think one factor was being a daughter of immigrants, and not knowing where I fit in. My parents are both from Mexico, and I was born here, in Oak Park. And when you’re a kid of immigrants, you’re not Mexican enough and you’re also not American enough. We don’t always know where we fit in. Our identity is incredibly complex.
It was also influenced by where I grew up. I grew up in California in the ’80s and ’90s with Mexican culture and traditions, but also during the golden era of hip hop, and around cholo culture and lowrider culture in Sacramento. And I really wanted to have a space where we could embrace the complexity of our identity, and I felt like there was such a need for us, as BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, People of Color] people, to have a space where we could fully step into that complexity. So, I feel like it really stems from the need to have a space where it was okay to be ourselves. As Mexicans, we have European roots, we have indigenous roots, and we have African roots. And I think we don’t often get to really know the cul-
(l to r): Scott D. Green, M.D., Georgina Nichols, M.D., Wayne I. Yamahata, M.D. and J. Rudy Coscia, M.D.
www.tastenorthsacramento.org
tural nuances of the DNA that we carry. From the very beginning, [Sol Collective] was multicultural. As a Chicana, of course, I wanted to explore Chicano culture and explore my Mexican roots. But because we are a collective, we have people from all different backgrounds. We really wanted it to be a collective for everyone under the sun.
So that’s where the name Sol Collective comes from?
Yes. Everyone under the sun.
Where
was that first location?
On Del Paso Boulevard. We were open for about three years, then there was a fire and we lost everything, including some incredible artwork that we had archived. And at that time, I had my master’s and my second child, and I was like, “Well, we had a good run.”
You thought that was the end?
Yeah, and I was teaching at the Met Sacramento High School full-time. But then I would continuously get called or emailed by people saying, “Hey, we have this artist coming through and they don’t have anywhere to show [their work],” or “We have a curandera—a Mexican healer—who is going to be in town and wants to teach people about traditional healing,” or “My friend is coming into town, and he’s an incredible graphic designer.” I was getting these calls and it was hard to say no. It was just really hard to find [creative] spaces that were accessible. So in 2009, like I did the first time, I rented a space for a year on a whim—this time on 21st Street [in Curtis Park]. And I was like, “Oh, my God, what did I get myself into?”
I told our board of directors, “Look, everything that we’ve been doing has been around collective effort, and I can put up a chunk of the rent, but I’m going to need help with the rest of it. And if I can’t make it sustainable after a year, then we’ll just be there for a year.” Some board members put in $50, some $100 or $200, and they made up the rest of that rent. Many of them were professors from Sacramento State—really wonderful mentors to me and the community in general, people who were investing time and energy into the space.
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We wanted to have a space for community members to come together and have their ideas come to life and be supported. There was so much beauty and richness already existing in our community, and we just needed a space to be able to show it and share it with each other.
But it took a long time to become a self-sustaining venture, yes?
Yes, over the years, it got really tough. I had other full-time jobs, and I didn’t know much about managing a nonprofit. And about six or seven years in, I had to sell my car to pay the rent. I didn’t want to be late on any of those obligations. I had a Volvo SUV and I was so proud of it because it was my first grown-up car, you know?
You had kids at this point and you were also running this organization. How did you get around?
Well, my partner had a car, so we just went down to one car. But I remember being bummed out about it. I had left my job as a full-time teacher to really try to invest my time into developing Sol. And I thought, “I’m building up my karmic bank account, but my financial bank account is a mess. I’m not making the best financial decisions.”
One night, I came across an ad where a nonprofit could win a car—a Toyota. And I remember thinking, “Oh, that’s funny—of all things.” It was probably midnight, and on a whim, I filled it out and told them our stories. And I got an email back saying that we made it to this online contest.
And Andru Defeye, [who was then Sol Collective’s communications director and is now Sacramento’s poet laureate] said, “Estella, you can win. This is so meant to be.” Long story short, we ended up winning a brand-new Toyota Highlander SUV that we used for the organization, which was pretty awesome. And it’s actually still being used by our admin, Ruby. It all comes back around some way.
And things eventually ended up falling into place for the collective. I would say maybe around 10 years in, we became more financially sustainable. We
put a strategic plan together. And I think it just took time for the community, the city and foundations to see that we had a track record. The impact we had in communities was very clear, and people started feeling way more comfortable giving us money and funding.
Those first 10 years were definitely a labor of love. I dreamt of a time when we would have a full-time staff, and when we would have artists and creatives being paid a wage that was comparable to other cities. This is why artists and activists leave our city—because it’s very hard to make a living doing this. So, in those early years, the conversation was about: How do we give people a living wage so that they can do this work in our community?
Can you cite some examples of the people or groups that Sol Collective works with?
One great example is Unseen Heroes, a creative agency doing amazing things across the city. [Founded by Roshaun and Maritza Davis, the firm has created community events like the NeighborGood Markets.] They were my neighbors and had a business that they were running out of their house, and I said, “Hey, we have a space. We’ll give you an office, and we could just trade—you guys can help us with feedback on what we’re doing.” So, they opened an office in Sol Collective, and they really blew up from there.
One current example is we have Yogi Homie. Her name is Veronica Bolds, and she is using the space to do her yoga classes, which are free, at Sol Collective. We’re able to support her work, and pay her for the work she’s doing, and help her get the equipment that’s needed so that yoga is accessible for the community. It has helped her develop and build her brand and give her an anchor location.
Another current example is Samuel Rose [co-founder of the soft goods production house Topstitch]. He has been one of our partners for years. He has a beautiful vision of helping people get started in sewing and the fashion industry in Sacramento and helping the next generation have a place to be able to learn to produce things locally. We recently worked with him, via grants, to get a group of BIPOC youth to learn the ba-
From learning to play piano as a child, to performing at Carnegie Hall, Jacqueline Hairston never wavered in the pursuit of her greatest passion. To this day, she pours her heart into every note she plays.
Jacqueline Hairston, 90
Accomplished Pianist and Composer
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sics of sewing their [cultures’] traditional clothing and regalia with him.
We’ve incubated so many different creative businesses and people—musicians, artists, healers, activists—and they’re in our city doing big things and beautiful work, and I love that we have been a safe space to develop one’s craft.
In 2011, Sol Collective launched its annual Day of the Dead celebration— called Souls of the City—in Old Sacramento, which will take place this year on Oct. 21. How did it come to be?
We were looking for a way to have a place where the community could come and celebrate their loved ones, and really understand the idea of what Día de los Muertos is, and the way that we honor our ancestors.
Souls of the City is a partnership we created with the Sacramento History Museum, and not only is there the traditional Día de los Muertos ceremony with the Sacramento Aztec dance group Maquilli Tonatiuh, but we have art installations and cultural vendors, and other traditional and contemporary performers.
The traditional Día de los Muertos ceremony is one that is very beautiful, but it’s often closed to the community at large. Our intent was to open it up for community members who may not have been able to experience it, and to provide a communal way to celebrate and honor loved ones who have passed away. I think some of the parts that are most engaging are the community altars, where people bring pictures and items of loved ones who have passed away.
We’re also partnering with the Sacramento Lowrider Commission, which concurrently has a multimedia exhibit at the history museum [starting on Sept. 15] that we are co-curating, on the significance and impact of a lowriding culture in Sacramento. There’s also another exhibit with the Lowrider Commission that we’re co-curating at the California Museum, as well as one at Sol Collective [which are set to begin on Oct. 22 and Oct. 14, respectively]. And all of those exhibits open up during Día de los Muertos season this fall, and actually go on for the next few months. We’ll also have a few workshops in the month of October,
including calavera face painting, paper flower and altar workshops.
The collective seems stronger than ever, but you’ve been transitioning out of your leadership role as executive director. What led to that decision?
I would say one selfish reason is just burnout. For 14 to 15 years straight, Sol Collective was my entire life. My kids grew up there, we would have dinner there. And I knew that that wasn’t sustainable. I think it’s very common for founders of nonprofits and organizations, so I began to look at different types of models.
Once we realized the space was going to go beyond myself and the founding members on the board, we had to really think through our organizational structure. So in the past three to four years, we’ve shifted from having myself as executive director to me being the cultural strategist, and moving toward a collective leadership. I’m helping with the overall strategy about where we go next and the impact that we want to have in the community.
And I really love the nonhierarchical, democratic models that I’ve seen in different nonprofits, and in different social justice groups around the country. We dove into learning about the different models and what could work for us.
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We’re three years into [the transition] and we’re still figuring it out. But I love the idea of having something where everyone feels empowered. We’ve been around for 18 years now, and we have a healthy, sustainable budget, and we have full-time staff. So how do we keep the heart and soul and the energy that we’ve always had as a grassroots community organization as we grow up?
Our organization now is in a completely different place. We bought our building [in 2017]. I have six full-time staff getting paid well. I’m getting paid well. And we’re able to offer a very flexible and people-centered workspace.
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This interview has been edited for length, flow and clarity.
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MUSIC & DANCE
THEATER & FILM
LITERATURE
ART & CULTURE
Love His Way
How did Rich Good, a graphic designer from London, move to the tiny town of Nevada City and wind up as the lead guitarist for The Psychedelic Furs? In the most improbable way imaginable.
By Aaron Kenedi
Portrait by Sheva Kafai
IIf Rich Good ever held aspirations of becoming a rock star, he certainly took the road less traveled. Way less traveled. The young Brit moved thousands of miles away from the fertile rock star breeding ground of 1990s London—at his prime rock-star age of 24 no less—to tranquil and remote Nevada City.
Good and his then-partner were both graphic designers looking to escape the big city. When she brought him to visit her tiny Northern California hometown, “I was absolutely smitten by the Sierra Mountains and Lake Tahoe,” he says. “The minute I saw Nevada City, I fell in love with it, and I realized I was born in the wrong country.”
They made the move in 1998, got married, opened their own design studio, and settled into the serenity of small-
town life. And while they parted ways amicably in 2010 and Good now lives in Twentynine Palms, near Joshua Tree National Park (“Unbeknownst to me, the desert was my real calling,” he says), he spent more than a decade in Nevada City and still visits frequently.
But as they say, you can’t escape your destiny. And Good’s long and winding road eventually reconnected him to his English roots through music, and—for the past 15 years—he has taken on the role of lead guitarist for The Psychedelic Furs, one of the most iconic and influential British post-punk bands of the era, with hits like “Pretty in Pink,” “Love My Way” and “Heartbreak Beat.”
Though the peak of their popularity was in the ’80s and early ’90s, and the band took a hiatus between 1992 and
2000, they have toured steadily over the years, playing their considerable catalog of moody, catchy songs in venues as revered and far flung as Royal Albert Hall, the Hollywood Bowl and, as part of their upcoming tour, even the Grand Ole Opry—a surprising stop for a band like the Furs.
And it’s a long way from the small British town of Horley just outside of London that he grew up in. In fact, he says Furs founders and brothers Richard and Tim Butler “grew up about half an hour from where I did, so really, we all traveled thousands of miles to eventually meet up when we were just down the road from each other.” But Good says his fate as a Fur “wouldn’t have happened if I’d stayed in England.”
Good, who is 49 now, explains over Zoom that Nevada City turned out to be the springboard he needed. He got plugged into the town’s small but formidable music scene by simply running into the right people on the street. “I got a free pass with the cool music kids because I was British.”
Despite its size, Nevada City has held a curious appeal to notable musicians over the years, including the celebrated singer-songwriter Jonathan Richman, Roger Hodgson of Supertramp fame, and avant-garde composer Terry Riley. While there, Good met Joanna Newsom (yes, she’s a distant cousin of our state’s governor) and Noah Georgeson—accomplished local musicians in their own right. In fact, Newsom’s critically acclaimed debut album, The Milk-Eyed Mender, was produced by Georgeson and introduced the harp to rock-and-roll fans everywhere.
“Noah and I became good friends and made a pact to do something ‘one day,’ ” Good recalls “And a few years later, that pact became [the band] The Pleased,” which included Newsom.
Because The Pleased and The Psychedelic Furs shared a booking agent, an introduction was made, a short sixweek U.S. tour was scheduled for The Pleased to open for the Furs in 2006, and friendships were formed.
“I definitely bonded with Richard and Tim and [guitarist] John [Ashton] over Roxy Music,” says Good. “I got a Roxy Music cassette right around when I started playing the guitar, when I was
Rich Good standing below the signage he designed for Nevada City’s National Exchange Hotel
like 12 or 13. And about a week before the end of that tour, Richard said, ‘C’mon, Rich, we’ll do Virginia Plain.’ And so, for a nerve-wracking couple of days, I thought in my mind, ‘I might do a Roxy song with The Furs.’ So, I learned
the hell out of it, and then on the last night, he called me up [on stage] and we did it. It’s a song that is so close to my heart, so it was a crazy moment. To me, that ended up being the audition. I think that is really what cemented things.”
A year or so later, Good got a call from the Furs’ manager. “I figured he just wanted me to design a poster or a website,” Good says with a laugh. “I was standing in the sun on my porch on Bloomfield Road in Nevada City. And he was like, ‘How would you feel about playing guitar for the Furs?’ I remember thinking, ‘Just say yes and think about it later.’ I put the phone down and thought, ‘Can I do that? Can I?’ I was elated.” And now it’s been nearly 15 years.
The Furs have also enjoyed something of an unexpected second act that has helped introduce the band’s music to a whole new generation. Two of their biggest songs were included on hugely successful soundtracks—in 2017, “The Ghost in You” was used in the Netflix series Stranger Things, and “Love My Way” appeared in the Oscar-nominated film Call Me by Your Name.
In July 2020, the band released Made of Rain, their first album of original music in almost 30 years. It’s a collection of songs (many written or co-written by
Rich Good (left) with Richard Butler, co-founder and lead singer of The Psychedelic Furs at The Sylvee in Madison, Wisconsin, in July 2022
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Good) that are new, but sound unmistakably like the Furs. The driving rhythms and infectious melodies are still there, and Butler’s provocative and gravelly voice is somehow as powerful today as it was in the band’s heyday.
All this new work and attention helped lead to an upcoming North American tour (alongside another British darling band, Squeeze) that’s set to kick off in New York in early September. The Furs will play at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sacramento at Fire Mountain, in Wheatland, on Oct. 7.
Along the way, and amid all his previous musical endeavors, Good has maintained his passion for graphic design and has continued to work on various creative projects through his one-man design firm, No One, taking on clients as diverse as Airstream, Amy’s Kitchen, Lagunitas Brewing, Virgin, “and approximately one zillion bands.”
It’s also a way for Good to stay connected to Nevada City. In fact, he’s been the creative director for the Nevada City Film Festival for the past 13 years, handling all the branding. He also did all the graphic design work and exterior signage for the recently remodeled National and Holbrooke hotels—two prominent historically significant institutions in Nevada City and Grass Valley. “Half of my graphic design work seems to center around Nevada City,” he says. “It’s almost like if you walk down the streets of the city, and there’s just a parade of my work.”
When asked how he balances being a rock star with being a graphic designer, Good says “it’s a hard question to answer and it’s agonizing sometimes. I wish I could spend all my time devoted to music, but I continue to be a graphic designer, and I do love that as well. It’s a passion of mine. As a musician, you don’t expect the path you end up on. You don’t plan to be in The Psychedelic Furs. Honestly, I feel like the perfect job for me would be to write an album and design the cover because I feel like the aesthetic is the same for me with both—my music would sound like my design work looks.”
Until then, Rich Good will continue to design, write, and make music—most likely in one small town or another— that’s fit for a much bigger stage. S
ROAM WHERE NATURE LEADS
Fall 2023 TRAVE L PLANNER
With smaller crowds and slightly cooler temps, some of the area’s most popular destinations are even more enjoyable in the fall. Celebrate harvest season with a trek through wine country, spend a few days in a classic California beach town, hike through the epic landscape of Yosemite, or attend one of the many seasonal events planned throughout the region, from train rides to haunted houses.
NAPA VALLEY WINE TRAIN
Discover a world-renowned destination for extraordinary wine and culinary experiences less than an hour from your front door. Combining the best of Napa Valley, the Wine Train is both a fine dining restaurant and one-of-a-kind educational tour. Offering an array of culinary experiences ranging from a full day of tastings to a leisurely lunch or dinner, explore our incredible wine tasting journeys and curate a remarkable adventure in the Valley. Whichever you choose, dazzling vineyard views and exquisite memories await. winetrain.com
VISIT MARIN
Discover the essence of Marin County through agritourism, a captivating experience that embraces the farm-to-table philosophy. Nestled in the heart of Northern California, this region is a haven for food enthusiasts and nature lovers alike. Embark on a delightful journey through lush farms and ranches, immersing yourself in the farm-to-fork culture. Whether you’re exploring organic cheeses, milking cows or picking seasonal produce, Marin County’s agritourism offers an authentic taste of the land’s bounty. visitmarin.org
CALAVERAS COUNTY
Calaveras County is nestled in the central Sierra of California between Yosemite and Lake Tahoe. The golden hue of oak-covered foothills along with fall colors at higher elevations give you some of the most spectacular scenery found anywhere. Mark Twain’s story of “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” launched his literary career and made him, as well as Calaveras, known around the world. Visit our natural wonders, from caverns and sequoia groves to high mountain lakes, reservoirs and rivers. Enjoy our wineries, restaurants, boutique shops, art venues, events and museums. Stop by the Calaveras Visitors Bureau or call us directly at 209-736-0049 to customize your visit. Mention this article to receive free admission for two adults and two children to the Angels Camp City Museum (a $40 value) and a frog pin to commemorate your visit. #gocalaveras 753 S. Main St. Angels Camp. gocalaveras.com
VISIT LODI
Lodi Wine Country is a special place. With over 125 varietals grown here and 450 labels, you can taste from a vast portfolio of wines. Seven different soils make Lodi one of the most diverse winegrape-growing regions in the U.S. From world-class Zinfandels to award-winning Rhone, Spanish, German, Italian and Portuguese varietals, you can experience the world from here. Visit 85-plus boutique wineries from fifth-generation artisan winemakers. Share laughs with friends on winery patios. Eat wood-fired pizza while listening to live jazz music. Experience award-winning restaurants serving farm-to-fork cuisine. Kayak the Mokelumne River. Visit an olive mill and learn how olive oil is made. And when the day is done, stay overnight in a world-class resort, bed & breakfast inn, one of Lodi’s dozens of individually owned properties or your favorite franchise. Above all, meet the people of Lodi and experience the amazing hospitality. visitlodi.com
RIVER FOX TRAIN
Railbike rides, refreshing beer and wine trains, and holidaythemed outings like the Pumpkin Patch Express and Magical Christmas Train immerse you in nostalgic railroad charm while you enjoy quintessential Sactown activities. The River Fox Train traverses the countryside of Yolo County with multiple rail adventures offered weekly. Guests sightsee Sacramento from a unique perspective and find ivy-covered woodlands, fields of sunflowers, expansive acreage and glistening riverfront views with each traveled mile. A world away, but just 15 minutes from downtown Sacramento. The River Fox is a sister train of the World-Famous Skunk Train in Mendocino County. 800-866-1690. riverfoxtrain.com
PISMO BEACH
Pismo Beach is the true classic California beach town and is celebrated for its world-famous pier, miles of beautiful white sand beaches, outstanding accommodations and a rich wine region only minutes away. You’ll find a wide variety of lodging to meet everyone’s needs and budget. There are restaurants with original new cuisines or time-honored menus for everyone to enjoy. It’s all here waiting for you—a gentle climate, where sand, sun, sea and sky converge to create the ideal getaway. California’s golden past is alive and well in Pismo Beach. For more information and to check our current lodging specials, go to experiencepismobeach.com. Also, join us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest.
PINK FLOYD
THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON
Get ready for an immersive planetarium experience featured at MOSAC’s UC Davis Multiverse Theater celebrating the 50 year anniversary of the iconic album, The Dark Side of the Moon.
Tickets available at visitmosac.org
SMUD MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND CURIOSITY
Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon is an immersive planetarium experience at MOSAC’s UC Davis Multiverse Theater. This show celebrates the 50-year anniversary of the album and features the full album accompanied by stunning visuals that only a planetarium can display. Tickets are selling fast! visitmosac.org
RODNEY STRONG VINEYARDS
Our story begins in 1959, when Rodney Strong envisioned Sonoma County as a special place for producing wine. A true pioneer, he led the way for the future of Sonoma County winemaking. Rodney Strong Vineyards was the 13th winery bonded in the newly discovered Sonoma County wine industry. Today, Rodney Strong Vineyards is a family of passionate people committed to crafting premium wines, meaningful experiences and sustainable leadership. We are united by our passion for wine and the belief that nothing brings people together better than sharing a great bottle of Rodney Strong wine. For over 30 years, RSWE has flourished under the leadership of the Klein family, fourth-generation California farmers, who are committed to protecting and preserving the environment in both the vineyards and at the winery through sustainable farming and winemaking. rodneystrong.com
Check out all the Amador County wineries that will be rocking beautiful fall colors during their harvest! Book a stay and you’ll be just steps from Deaver Vineyards, offering a wide selection of red, white, port and sparkling wines. Explore the many adventures Amador County has to offer right now! amadorharvestinn.com
Magical Christmas Train
WEEkends Starting November 25th
Daily from December 18th
No membership required!
Pumpkin Patch Ex s Pumpkin Patch Ex s
Saturdays & Sundays from Sept. 30th to Oct. 29tH
(Plus Friday Oct. 20th)
Costumes are encouraged!
THE PRISONER WINE COMPANY
Our house of brands brings together exceptional California fruit, unparalleled winemaking expertise and a spirit of fearless thinking to create the most memorable wines and tasting experiences available. Just a 1.5hour drive (or a podcast away) from downtown Sacramento, our Tasting Lounge in St. Helena is a memorable experience you won’t want to miss. Enter the dark, mysterious, stylish space and find yourself transported to a cosmopolitan oasis. Choose from dozens of bold, innovative blends, plus deliciously unexpected pairings—dim sum, gourmet Mexican cuisine and local artisan chocolates are on the menu. We guarantee you won’t find another place like it in Napa. Please reserve your spot in advance and always drink responsibly. 1178 Galleron Rd. St Helena. 877-283-5934. theprisonerwinecompany.com
NUT TREE
Vacaville businesses were given the opportunity to purchase a “cow” as new public art that will be a part of the Art Trail. The display begins during Vacaville’s Art Week, starting September 16th through the 25th. The Nut Tree’s cow, designed and painted by Nancy Donahue-Schuetz, a proud Vacaville resident, will be a permanent fixture at the Nut Tree near the carousel. Check out her work on Facebook and stop by the carousel to see her finished product! nancyks.com
WESTERN RAILWAY MUSEUM
Take a step back in time on the historic Sacramento Northern Railroad, which once ran between Sacramento, Oakland and San Francisco. Guests can enjoy an 11-mile round-trip train ride along the Delta, aboard one of the iconic vintage trains in our collection. This October, join us for a spooky good time at our annual Pumpkin Patch and Haunted Carhouse Tours. Don’t forget to spend the holidays with us aboard our Santa Trains, coming this December. See you on the rails! wrm.org
VISIT YOSEMITE MARIPOSA COUNTY
Autumn in Yosemite Mariposa County offers the perfect opportunity for outdoor enthusiasts and nature lovers to explore Yosemite National Park and its surroundings in a less busy season. Travelers can immerse themselves in nature’s splendor with a sense of tranquility and solitude. Whether it’s stargazing, wildlife watching or taking long hikes, autumn promises an unforgettable and soul-soothing experience. Numerous trails lead to stunning vistas around Yosemite Valley, and the High Sierra via Tioga Road offers stunning alpine lakes and granite domes. Beyond Yosemite, the quaint towns within Mariposa County deliver authentic Western charm. The town of Mariposa boasts historic Gold Rush-era buildings, award-winning museums, wonderful restaurants and artisan shops. Lodging options range from rustic cabins to Four-Diamond resorts. For more information, visit yosemite.com.
BLIND SCREAM HAUNTED HOUSE
Doc Hunter and his family are back and they are dying to meat you! Blind Scream Haunted House celebrates 14 years of terrorizing the North Bay with the all-new House of Horror! Dare to stay awhile? Visit blindscream.com for tickets, partner lodging and libations. Not appropriate for children under 7.
Opening October 1, 2O23 through June 24, 2O24
Deborah Butterfield, John, 1984. Found steel, welded. 82 x 88 x 32 in. The Fine Arts Collection,
Deborah Butterfield /Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY.
Photo: Muzi Rowe. Photographed on site at the Manetti Shrem Museum.
Les Misérables
OCT. 24-29 Long before Hugh Jackman took to the barricaded Parisian streets in the 2012 film adaptation, the plight, redemption and tragedy of Victor Hugo’s Jean Valjean was sweeping up generations of theatergoers. Over 40-some years—Les Misérables is one of the longest running musicals in the world—songs like “Bring Him Home,” “On My Own,” “One Day More,” “I Dreamed a Dream” and “Do You Hear the People Sing” have become instantly recognizable, even to those who haven’t teared up themselves during the allegorical drama about a hunted and haunted ex-convict and an ill-fated revolution. And the latest national touring version doesn’t disappoint—as the Chicago Tribune wrote, “Any opera company in the nation would be glad to showcase this level of ensemble singing of Claude-Michel Schönberg’s internationally famous score, exquisite diction and all, and would struggle to combine such singing with such intense and emotional acting.” Given that, our hearts are already full of love for this Broadway Sacramento production. broadwaysacramento.com
Black Pioneers
THROUGH OCT. 1 You wouldn’t know it from watching John Wayne movies, but historians estimate that 25% of cowboys in the Wild West were Black. Celebrating contributions of the seldom-recognized Black Americans who helped build the Western United States, from the 1500s through the civil rights movement, this California Museum exhibit stitches together a fresh perspective on pioneer history. Comprising 50 pictorial quilts sewn specifically for this traveling show by members of the nation-spanning nonprofit Women of Color Quilters Network, Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West tells the stories of trailblazers like Elizabeth Thorn Scott Flood, Sacramento’s first Black schoolteacher, who started a private school for non-white students in her home in 1854; Edward Parker Duplex, a barber and businessman who became California’s first Black mayor when the citizens of Wheatland elected him to the position in 1888; and the men who in 1849 established one of the first Gold Rush mining claims in Sacramento County at what is now called Black Miners Bar in Folsom (pictured). californiamuseum.org
Clyde’s
Through Sept. 24 Welcome to Clyde’s, a truckstop sandwich shop in rural Pennsylvania, where a multiethnic staff of formerly incarcerated employees toil away, slinging sandos and insults and dreaming of better lives. You might even recognize the character of Jason, a recently released former white supremacist who was previously featured in playwright Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Sweat, which Capital Stage presented in 2018. Sacramento actor Ian C. Hopps reprises the role in this deft dramedy—also written by Nottage and mounted by the midtown theater company—which was the most-produced modern play in the country last year, perhaps because it takes a stand against despair. “Though it’s still about dark things, including prison, drugs, homelessness and poverty, it somehow turns them into bright comedy,” The New York Times wrote when Clyde’s premiered in 2021, starring Uzo Aduba of Orange Is the New Black fame in the titular role. The first (and only) woman to win two Pulitzer Prizes for drama, Nottage has long had her finger planted firmly on the pulse of America—and with Clyde’s, the heartbeat goes on. capstage.org
Estampas de la Raza
Through Oct. 1 The Royal Chicano Air Force (RCAF), the locally based artist collective founded in 1969 by then-Sacramento State professors Jose Montoya and Esteban Villa, has been imprinting the Chicanx and Latinx cultural movements for decades with its brand of winking humor and bold graphics—including bright-hued murals and posters. The Crocker Art Museum’s colorful, rousing exhibit Estampas de la Raza (translation: Prints of the People) showcases 11 RCAF posters from its permanent collection, alongside 61 pieces on loan from San Antonio’s McNay Art Museum, for a synergistic, genre-defining show of screen prints and lithographs created by 55 different Latinx artists from California, Texas and throughout the Western United States. The works span 30 years, from 1980 to 2010, and draw on disparate elements ranging from folk art to pop art, like famed Austin screen printer Sam Coronado’s mixed-race Virgin Mary in Mestiza Virgin, and L.A. artist Richard Duardo’s Warhol-inspired Four Fridas (shown at right). crockerart.org
California Capital International Documentary Film Festival
Sept. 29–Oct. 1 Whether it’s Bicycle Island, a short film about the twowheeled culture in Havana, or Impossible Town, a feature-length dive into the struggles of a doctor to save a West Virginia byway from chemical pollution, you might find that truth is greater than fiction at our region’s only documentary film festival. Returning for its second year, the cinema celebration—which is put on by the California Capital Arts Foundation—will screen 59 films from 23 countries at venues in and around Rancho Cordova, like the American River Room and CalCap Black Box Theatre. Kicking things off opening night is N-Men (pictured) by Sacramento native James Sweigert about our city’s history-making 1975 underground skateboarding scene, which is narrated by Josh Brolin and features interviews with sports stars like Tony Hawk. calcapdocfest.org
Beer & Ballet
Sept. 29–Oct. 8 The popularity of this beloved annual event—returning this fall for its 30th year—belies the improbable juxtaposition of beer and ballet. B&B offers a chance to knock back a cold one while watching members of the Sacramento Ballet loosen their hair buns and think outside the barre as they debut pieces that they created. Last year saw the introduction of food trucks like Nash & Proper and Brunch in a Box, not to mention the addition of wine from Clarksburg’s Miner’s Leap Winery. This year, the Sacramento Ballet is also bringing in a large tent (as well as heaters and air conditioners) to cover the entire 250-person outdoor seating area at their midtown HQ in welcome shade for new matinee shows. Get to know the performers behind the coming season’s gravity-defying leaps and pirouettes at this joyous dance party, which features titular libations from Bike Dog Brewing. sacballet.org
Jo Koy
Dec. 15 & 16 Once upon a time in 2016, a comic named Jo Koy bet his career—and his credit score—by producing and paying for his own special, featuring lines like “I’m half white and half Filipino. That means my dad was in the military. A lot of soldiers were fighting for this country—my dad was dating.” Netflix subsequently bought and released it as Jo Koy: Live from Seattle—which boasts a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score—and the rest, as they say, is comedy history. Koy has since made three more specials for the streamer and landed major roles in both live-action flicks (2022’s Easter Sunday) and animated ones (August’s The Monkey King). Calling him a “legend and groundbreaker,” Variety magazine—who put him on the cover in 2020—cited “a consistency in quality that most comics would envy.” His relatable stories have sold out arenas, including the Golden 1 Center back in May. Just seven months later, Koy returns to town for a night of closer-up comedy at Thunder Valley thundervalleyresort.com
Samara Joy
Oct. 4 “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe… I’ve been watching y’all on TV for so long!” a flabbergasted Samara Joy said when she took the Grammys stage this past February. Claiming both the Best New Artist and Best New Jazz Album awards for her 2022 release Linger Awhile , the Bronxraised 23-year-old jazz singer— whose deep, heartache-filled voice sounds like it wafted straight out of the darkest basement speakeasies of Prohibition—further made a name for herself by performing her stirring song “Can’t Get Out of This Mood” at the same ceremony. Joy, who grew up singing gospel music at church, only discovered jazz five years ago, but quickly fell in love with the likes of Sarah Vaughan and Billie Holliday. Hear the rising star’s breakout hits, such as “Guess Who I Saw Today,” when her buttery vocals fill the Mondavi Center in Davis. mondaviarts.org
Thurgood
Sept. 29–Oct. 22 Director of the NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund. The lawyer who instigated the 1954 case that finally ended school segregation. The first Black Supreme Court justice. It’s hard to overstate Thurgood Marshall’s towering legacy—when President Obama moved into the Oval Office, he hung a portrait of the civil rights icon on the wall. Thurgood by playwright George Stevens Jr.— who penned and directed the 1991 miniseries Separate but Equal, starring Sidney Poitier as Marshall, about the historic Brown v. Board of Education case—is a one-man play in which the justice relives memories of his storied life, from childhood through his nearly 24 years on the highest court in the land. “The history in question is charged with a moral urgency that still resonates today,” The New York Times wrote in its thumbs-up review of the work’s Broadway debut in 2008, and that statement is even more true 15 years later, when all eyes are on the Supreme Court. Celebration Arts brings back its founder James Wheatley—who retired last year after over 40 years helming the local Black theater organization—to direct this fall’s staging of the Tony-nominated play. celebrationarts.net
Jump
Sept. 27–Nov. 5 Charly Evon Simpson—who recently wrote for HBO’s Industry—was inspired to pen Jump after reading a New Yorker story about people who leapt off the Golden Gate Bridge but survived, and the revelations they experienced on the way down. Jump is a family drama, centering on a young woman named Fay and her sister packing up their childhood home after the death of their mother from cancer, a process that takes a surreal turn when she meets a mysterious stranger on a bridge over troubled waters. An exploration of themes like grief, depression and redemption, leavened by moments of bittersweet comedy, the play—which will be staged by B Street Theatre—tells a story that is at once heartbreaking and heartwarming. bstreettheatre.org
Harry Potter and the sorcerer’s stone in Concert
Oct. 6 & 7 From the first notes of John Williams’ score, the music of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is unmistakable. There’s no denying that the 2001 film composition by the five-time Oscar winner (the same maestro behind everything from Star Wars to E.T. to Indiana Jones) is the sound of magic for an entire generation, from that opening melody on the celesta (a smaller piano that uses metal bars instead of strings), to the full orchestral send-off as Harry boards the train in the final scene, and everything in between. The Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera will take the SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center stage in the group’s first performance of this kind, playing the full soundtrack live while a film—in this case, of Harry Potter’s first year at Hogwarts—runs on a 40-foot screen above. sacphilopera.org
School of Rock
Nov. 17–Dec. 10 What happens when you take a Jack Black comedy, add the writer of Downton Abbey, the lyricist of Disney’s Tangled, and the Broadway legend responsible for everything from Phantom of the Opera to Jesus Christ Superstar? Turns out, you get the Tony-nominated musical School of Rock. Adapted by the dream team of Julian Fellowes, Glenn Slater and Andrew Lloyd Webber, and replete with 14 new songs on top of the 2003 film’s set list, the show follows down-on-his-luck musician Dewey Finn as he fakes his way into a substitute teaching position at a prestigious private school, only to then turn his class of ruled and schooled students into a rebellious rock ’n’ roll band. Woodland Opera House’s production brims with a cast of talented youngsters, all under the age of 14, playing instruments live on stage as they head-bang through songs like “Teacher’s Pet” and “Stick It to the Man.” woodlandoperahouse.org
Jack Gallagher
Dec. 9 Even setting aside his three-time Emmy-winning run as a host on PBS, his recurring role as Larry David’s doctor in Curb Your Enthusiasm, and his lauded debut on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in 1985, Sacramento writer-actor Jack Gallagher has been a mainstay with capital city comedy lovers ever since premiering his first one-man show, Letters to Declan, at the B Street Theatre back in 1993—and he’s gone on to bring seven more to the stage in the years since. This December, he heads to The Sofia with fellow funnymen Kenny Rogerson and Tony V (comedy veterans themselves who have appeared on the likes of Late Night with Conan O’Brien and The Late Show with David Letterman) for One Night Only with Jack Gallagher and Friends, featuring a festive mix of stand-up, storytelling and playful banter. bstreettheatre.org
On Your Feet!
Nov. 2–5 Married since 1978, one year after founding the Miami Sound Machine, Emilio and Gloria Estefan are the slinky, shimmery king and queen of Latin pop, with almost 30 Grammys and Latin Grammys between them. And in 2015, the lives, careers and unmistakable hits of the iconic couple—including “Words Get in the Way,” “Conga” and “Anything for You”—got the royal treatment on Broadway with On Your Feet! The Story of Emilio & Gloria Estefan. “The show builds to the full flowering of this Cuban-fusion sound, song after familiar song from the Estefan canon, mounted in full production numbers,” Variety rhapsodized. Coming to Folsom as part of the Harris Center’s newest Broadway series, the jukebox musical includes a six-piece band playing live backup for the performers on stage. So be prepared: Whether you’re in the front row or the last, the rhythm is gonna get you. harriscenter.net
Sac Open Studios
Sept. 7–17 In the TikTok era, it’s truer than ever that all the world’s a stage, as the Bard said. But for two weekends in September, it’s also one big art gallery. Organized by the Verge Center for the Arts, the 18th annual Sac Open Studios is a mega festival that brings together dozens of workshops and demos, specialty shows, and the main event—during which some 260 local artists throw open their studio doors to the public for self-guided tours. Split between studios west of I-80/ Hwy 99 the first weekend, and those to the east the next, art lovers can meet local creatives where they live and work, like Brenda Louie (who created the glass mosaic and stainless steel ring sculpture at McKinley Village Art Walk) and Lin Fei-Fei (whose skulls mural graces the front façade of midtown music venue Holy Diver). Attendees can also stop in at various locations to try their hand at printmaking, clay sculpting and Chinese rice paper watercoloring. This year, to make the scene even more accessible (for both artists and budding collectors), Verge is introducing new spaces to the event, such as the CLTRE Club on 16th and N streets, which will showcase works by up-and-coming artists. sacopenstudios.com
The Gorman Museum’s new entryway sculpture was designed by its director, artist Hulleah Tsinhnahjinnie. (Photo by Rob Turner)
The Gorman museum aT uC Davis marks iTs GolDen anniversary wiTh a beauTiful, muCh biGGer new home To showCase iTs vasT ColleCTion of ConTemporary naTive ameriCan arT. welCome in.
b y h illary l ouise Johnson
p or T rai T s by Josh w ool
illusTraTion by noah lee
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A wavy white metal scrim of a
sculpture shades the entrance to the Gorman Museum of Native American Art’s new home. Perched on tall white steel posts, the graceful form undulates and curves overhead like a ribbon, gift wrapping the low, pagoda-like mid-century building and dappling the ground below with triangular shadows that echo archetypal patterns found throughout indigenous cultures, from Oceania to the Arctic.
“The triangle is very important,” says the work’s creator, artist Hulleah Tsinhnahjinnie (pronounced Sin-na-jinny), who is also the museum’s director. “You can find the triangle pattern in California basketry, in designs in Hawaii, in the feathered cloaks in New Zealand, so it speaks internationally. Everybody will take away what they want from it.”
Tsinhnahjinnie, 69, is calling from the road in June— she’s just been to the Museum of Modern Art in New York to finalize the sale of three of her own works. The museum had previously been gifted a print of Vanna Brown, Azteca Style , a collage depicting a Native Vanna White decked out in ceremonial regalia, gazing out from inside an oldfashioned black-and-white TV, as part of a larger bequest.
“They wanted to see more works in that series, and so they acquired three more,” she says.
Tsinhnahjinnie—who identifies as “two-spirit,” a Native American term for one who embodies both male and female spirits—is also a full-time faculty member in the Native American Studies department. (UC Davis is one of only four schools in the country to offer a Ph.D. program in that subject. The others are the University of Arizona, the University of Alaska and the University of New Mexico.) She became museum director in 2004 and began what she calls the process of “manifesting” the reborn museum. “We came from a really small, humble space,” she says. “I like to say it’s the little museum that did.”
Her partner in manifestation is executive director Veronica Passalacqua, 55, who also arrived in 2004, via stints at Christie’s auction house and the Barbican Centre, a performing arts center in London. Together they quietly grew the Gorman Museum’s collection from 286 works to more than 2,000 today, mostly through donations and gifts from artists. Along the way, they attracted a handful of grants as well as university investment for the expansion. The painter Annie
Gorman Museum director Hulleah Tsinhnahjinnie, whose photography resides in the collections of the Smithsonian and New York’s MoMA, teaches a full course load in the UC Davis Native American Studies department, including a class titled Visual Sovereignty.
Ross—an indigenous studies professor at Simon Fraser University in Canada and a Maya Tribe member—was a Ph.D. student in Native American studies at UC Davis in the early 2000s, and remembers it as a time of great synergy, when departments at the school were feeding off of one another for growth and inspiration.
“There were stellar people at UC Davis when I was there,” says Ross. “I had a studio in the art department. Gary Snyder was teaching poetry. I also had some interface with the Applied Sciences department because I was writing about the nuclear industry on indigenous homelands for my dissertation. And then Veronica came in to run the Gorman and it took off under her leadership. It blossomed and fluoresced.”
Passalacqua, an energetic Italian American in shimmery silver jewelry, meets me on a spring morning to tour the new space, where lights have still to be hung.
The fact that cultural lore imbues the museum’s elegant entrance sculpture is only fitting for this institution—one that has deftly combined a knack for innovation with a passion for preservation since its founding in 1973. Beneath it, the museum’s entrance—on a corner facing the UC Davis Arboretum’s native plants section—is transparent. Layers of glass frame a space that will eventually become its gift shop, leading into the galleries, which surround a soaring atrium.
For years, the museum’s gallery occupied 1,200 square feet inside the Native American Studies department building deep within the campus. Great for students, but hard for the general public to access. Now it’s taken over the 4,000-square-foot space in the former faculty club building, which has become a part of a growing strip of public-facing cultural amenities along the southern edge of campus, recently designated as the Gateway District, which includes the Arboretum, the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, and the Manetti Shrem Museum.
This September, the museum will celebrate both its grand opening in a freshly renovated building and its 50th anniversary, with a show of Contemporary California Native Art as well as selections from the permanent collection.
But the real beginning of the Gorman Museum is a few years older than that, albeit unofficially, as Passalacqua tells the story. “Carl [Gorman] was only here for a few years, but he started amassing stuff so that he could teach his studio art classes, but he was also starting to teach a little bit of art history by using objects and bringing things in,” she says. “He started filling up two Quonset huts with things that inspired him.” Campus lore holds that students pinned a sign above the door that read “Gorman Museum.” When Gorman retired in 1973, the University made it official, establishing an art institution in honor of this charismatic founding faculty member whose lasting impact on the campus belies his relatively brief tenure.
The museum’s namesake himself has an origin story you might want to make a batch of popcorn for. Having grown up on the Navajo reservation in Chinle, Arizona, Carl Nelson (C.N.) Gorman was recruited by the Marine Corps in April 1942 to become one of 29 original “code talkers.” The closeknit group of native Navajo speakers crafted an impossible-tobreak code that was deployed during World War II, and today
Executive director Veronica Passalacqua at the Gorman Museum on July 21 in front of a restored six-panel 1975 mural by the Artist Hopid collective depicting the Hopi ceremonial calendar
they are widely credited with helping win the battle of Iwo Jima.
Although socially marginalized, Navajo soldiers didn’t experience the same kind of overt racism Black troops did, according to Gorman’s youngest daughter, Zonnie Gorman, 60, who told me the story, calling from New Mexico where she’s finishing up her dissertation on the history of the code talkers. “It’s what I call an ignorant prejudice,” she says. “Indian men were stereotyped; they tended to be hyper-masculinized. This has a long history in the military where they were seen as almost superhuman— that they could see in the dark; shoot 5,000 yards and hit bull’s-eyes. They were just given these superhuman qualities. They were never referred to by their names; they were just called ‘Chief.’ ”
Gorman’s wartime experiences inspired his resolve to become an artist and work to change that perception. He used the G.I. Bill to get an advanced degree in art and commercial art at what is now the Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles. In the 1950s, he worked for Douglas Aircraft as a technical illus-
trator, and began painting. “He studied European artists and styles of painting,” Zonnie says. “But then he took that and made it something uniquely his own, using Navajo and Native topics and his culture.” He dabbled in mosaics, ceramics and jewelry design, and in the 1960s, he moved back to the Navajo reservation, becoming the director of the Navajo Cultural Center in 1966. “He was an artist at heart but kept getting drawn into other things,” Zonnie adds.
The same stereotyping he encountered in the military followed him into the arts. “The fact that he kept getting boxed into this idea of what an Indian should paint was very much something that he experienced and pushed back against,” says Zonnie.
By the time he was tapped to join the faculty at Davis (Zonnie would be a grade-schooler throughout that tenure), her father had developed the sensibility that would inform the eventual museum’s mission of challenging cultural stereotyping. “He wanted his students to be free to be who they were, and being Native American was definitely fore-
most. But it wasn’t about being an ‘Indian artist,’ ” Zonnie explains. “It was more about being an artist and having the freedom to celebrate all of those cultural aspects. That was my father’s philosophy, and it was fundamental to the founding of the museum.”
When Gorman joined the UC Davis faculty in 1969, he was one of four to co-found the Native American Studies Program, organized under the College of Agriculture and Environment, making it the first such program in California. His adult son, R.C. (Rudolph Carl) Gorman, a renowned artist in his own right, had just the year before borrowed money from his parents to open the first Native-owned art gallery, so the Gorman name was already prominent in the arts. In fact, Zonnie remembers her father stopping at roadside antique shops to gather “museum” items on road trips to visit her older brother in Taos. The Gormans were the original manifesters.
As Passalacqua continues the tour through the new museum space, there are tantalizing hints at what the inaugural show—scheduled to open with two days of events on Sept. 22 and 23—will feature, including works on a grand scale. Leaning against one wall, and still partially wrapped in plastic, is a big, vibrantly hued classical painting by Judith Lowry—a Nevada City artist and member of the Maidu and Pit River tribes whose work also hangs in the Smithsonian. With all the regal pomp and circumstance of a portrait by Kehinde Wiley (the Black artist best known for painting the official presidential portrait of Barack Obama), this painting depicts a Native American man seated on a throne gazing out past a supplicating white woman who kneels at his feet, presenting him with the Stars and Stripes.
The inaugural show will also highlight a handful of late California artists—ones who Tsinhnahjinnie thinks deserve a wider audience. “Frank LaPena, Harry Fonseca, Brian Tripp,” she
The museum’s namesake Carl Nelson Gorman, a former World War II Navajo code talker, helped found the Native American Studies program at UC Davis.
Nevada City artist Judith Lowry was exposed to Renaissance painters Giotto, Botticelli and Fra Angelico at age 6, when her military family was stationed in Europe. Those early influences can be seen in her Medicine Man painting shown at right.
says. “They were very dear to the communities that surround them. So, the general public may not have an idea of why some of these artists are treasured.” After this show, they will.
For example, the Sacramento-born Maidu artist Harry Fonseca’s prints depict Coyote the trickster in drag (shown at left) or as a biker dude, in a joyfully primitive style. Sacramento State professor and longtime director of the Native American Studies department Frank LaPena—who the Autry Museum of the American West, located in Los Angeles’s Griffith Park, said “defined a generation of Native artists”—depicts ceremonial deer dancers as painterly, dreamscape-inhabiting mythical beings. And former Humboldt State University professor Brian Tripp’s work includes precise, jazzy drawings that are a riff on basketwork motifs.
As we continue the tour, I see three display cases that are already full of baskets and pottery—some from Gorman’s original collection, some more recently acquired. They are there to provide historical and cultural context to the contemporary artwork. “I wanted to have dense, visible storage,” Passalacqua says, so that students, artists and museumgoers could see the lineage of creative ideas, from the traditional to the avant-garde.
The open, browsable racks of paintings and objects contain a trove from the permanent collection, some which will be on view during the opening exhibition and some that won’t. An imposing, pastel-hued pot by R.C. Gorman—its modern shapes and colors echoing the other historical specimens. A vibrant, semi-abstract herd of horses engulfed in a cloud of dust by C.N. Gorman, reminiscent of rock art and cave paintings. Colorful abstractions by George Longfish, the museum’s longtime original director, and prints from the 1970s by Inuit artist Kenojuak Ashevak so graphical and groovy they look like they could have hung at the original Nut Tree in Vacaville.
Passalacqua says the word has gone out to artists about the Gorman’s grander scale, and they’re all vying to program its soaring atrium. Napa artist Lewis deSoto has pitched a giant blow-up figure sculpture akin to a recent self portrait of himself as a “Skookum doll”—a fake Native-themed souvenir doll popular in the early 20th century. “He wants to do this giant, 12-foot-tall blow-up,” Passalacqua says, laughing and throwing up her hands in an “I give up” gesture.
Delaware Nation sculptor and photographer Holly Wilson told me on a phone call from her studio in Oklahoma that her 2018 solo show at the Gorman was nothing short of career-making. The cover of the catalog from her show is an image of a wall-sized grid of tiny figures titled Under Our Skin, each a bust of a woman’s head and shoulders, and sculpted from different colored crayons. It’s an essay on difference and sameness, with a child’s innocent perspective evoked by the materials and color palette.
“I fall into a void because I don’t fit into the old guard mindset of what is Native. I think there’s still the old guard who want what you would think is traditional art—even though that’s not really true because Native art always evolved,” Wilson says. “A Native art group would go, ‘Oh, your work looks way more contemporary, a contemporary curator should deal
with you.’ And someone contemporary would go, ‘No, you belong in the Native or indigenous camp.’ That has been my biggest struggle. But the Gorman doesn’t do that.”
The exhibit catalog has served her as a calling card and gotten her more opportunities than she would have landed without it. “The show that I created for them has become one that I’ve shown in New Mexico, California and Florida. It also went to Pennsylvania,” she says. “It’s traveled all over the place.” More solo shows mean more exposure, and more private sales.
Tsinhnahjinnie also points out that viewers benefit too, when artists show their work in person. “When you see a piece by Holly Wilson in 3D, in front of you, it moves you,” she says.
But the group shows are where the Gorman’s mission comes into its own. One that opened in late 2019 was called Indigenous Futurisms, a play on Afrofuturism coined by Grace Dillion, editor of Walking the Clouds: An Anthology of Indigenous Science Fiction. “This show was basically sci-fi, comic books and gaming,” Passalacqua says. Visitors could play Nativedesigned video or board games, like Honwedom, the Maidu Game of Life, which teaches players about life in the precontact Sierras, or lounge in the gallery reading comic books like Super Indian (“Once a rez boy! Now a hero!”) by Arigon Starr of the Kickapoo Tribe.
“And I had Star Wars playing on the TV in Navajo—because it was issued in Navajo—so that was the sound in the gallery,” Passalacqua says, adding that the show’s first fans were the Star Wars super fans the university sent over from the computer lab to program everything. “They wanted to hear it in Navajo because they knew every word in English,” she says.
“The sci-fi element I brought to the table with the visual art,” says Passalacqua. “I like to surprise people. Those kind of shows expose new people to the idea that Native American art isn’t just rugs and baskets.”
Works from that show now reside in the permanent collection, like K’ómoks Tribe member Andy Everson’s Resistance, a stunning portrait of a stormtrooper-like masked figure adorned in Pacific Northwest totemic designs that’s both imposing and whimsical, serious and fun. Or Chemehuevi Tribe member Cara Romero’s Arla Lucia, a photographic portrait melding Wonder Woman regalia with Native American ceremonial dress to create a cross-cultural super heroine—a work that will hang in the grand opening show.
If one believes even a little in the concept of spirit, then it’s easy to imagine Carl Gorman’s inhabiting and inspiring this cohort of artists who have finally taken that very same set of “super Indian” stereotypes that first inspired him to take up a paintbrush, and worked them into something poetic, meaningful and potent. It’s quite a legacy—from code talker to barrier breaker.
Annie Ross, that Davis alum so shaped by her experiences, both as a student and later an exhibitor, sums up the Gorman Museum’s meaning and mission best. “They just open arms to all the diverse artists, philosophies, methods, materials and new ways of expressing contemporary and ancient indigenous ideas for a larger audience. It’s on the soul level, the journey level,” she says, a smile in her voice. “It’s an impossible dream.” S
PROUD
At UC Davis Health we believe fresh, seasonal and good food not only brings people together, but also leads to a healthier you.
As one of Sacramento’s largest farm-to-fork production kitchens, our top-shelf culinary team have made it their mission to offer foods that are whole, minimally processed, and mostly grown and raised within 250 miles whenever possible.
And that commitment has led us to be recognized as national leaders in environmental sustainability, including being named one of the country’s Top 25 hospitals by Practice Greenhealth and the nation’s first hospital designated as a Smart Catch Leader by the James Beard Foundation.
2023
FARMERS’ MARKET GUIDE
Fill your basket with farm-fresh finds, local eats and handcrafted goodies at these 13 farmers’ markets around the region. Here is our curated guide for your next bountiful trip.
Denio’s Farmers Market & Swap Meet
Grab your walking shoes and a fresh-made corndog (a Denio’s specialty for over 60 years), because it’s time to hit the market. Grown from its humble 1947 street-corner origins, the Denio’s of today—now run by the titular family’s third generation—is a year-round 70-acre cornucopia of the tasty, fresh and intriguing, complete with more than 500 booths and a football field-sized produce area. Every weekend, seek out special finds like dragon and star fruit from decades-long Denio’s-mainstays The Jacob’s Brothers, follow the alluring waft of morsels like barbequed chicken from Bendito Antojo, or settle in for live performances at the Market Plaza stage. Friday through Sunday, year-round. Hours vary. Vineyard Rd. Roseville. 916-782-2704. deniosmarket.com
Downtown Farmers’ Market at Capitol Mall
If you work in downtown Sacramento, take a break from the office and your brownbag lunch to visit one of a dozen food trucks and tents—such as Gyro2Go, The Fry Boys and Boba & Bites. Grab a canned cold brew from Burnside Coffee and a deliciously flaky and flavorful ham and cheese croissant from Faria Bakery for a convenient and satisfying mid-morning snack. Cross to the north side of Capitol Mall to peruse local growers’ offerings and stock up on oranges, peaches, fruits and nuts from J&J Ramos Farms, summertime cherries from Gotelli Farms, and seasonal vegetables and flowers from Moua Farm. Wednesdays through Sept. 27. 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Capitol Mall. 916-442-8575. godowntownsac.com
Davis Farmers Market
The Davis Farmers Market has been lauded as one of the best in the country, and boasts fresh produce like grapes from Capay Canyon Ranch and figs from Winters-based Free Spirit Farms at its Saturday market. For the evening crowd, the Picnic in the Park takes place on Wednesday nights, and includes farmfresh eats along with a beer and wine garden featuring drinks from Davis breweries and wine from Clarksburgbased winery Heringer Estates. There’s also live music through mid-September, and kid-centric activities including a balloon artist, outdoor games and face painting. Saturdays year-round. 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesdays, 4-8 p.m. through midSept. and 3-6 p.m. through mid-May. Davis Central Park. 301 C St. Davis. 530-756-1695. davisfarmersmarket.org
Photo courtesy of Denio’s Farmers Market and Swap Meet
Sandwiches?
SO DO WE!
Life’s just better when you’re biting into one of these scrumptious concoctions. And we’ve got plenty of options for any preference! From our house-made classics to custom-curated masterpieces, our expert sandwich makers will craft you a crave-worthy work of art. Stop by your local Nugget Markets' sandwich counter today!
El Dorado Hills Town Center Farmers’ Market
Peruse the stands of around 50 local produce, craft and snack purveyors at the El Dorado Hills Town Center, such as regional stalwarts Coalwell’s Red Shack, which offers a variety of fruits from freestone peaches to Morettini pears. Stop by Thao Farms, a vendor of 33 years, for a selection of vegetables. If your stomach can’t wait for you to get home and cook up your market goods, try a taste of the house-made dishes from Gold River-based The Pasta Queen— offering a variety of fresh pastas—or grab a bite and brew from one of the nearby eateries like Selland’s Market-Cafe and Aji Japanese Bistro. Sundays through Oct. 29. 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Town Center Blvd. at Latrobe Rd. El Dorado Hills. 530-622-1900. eldoradofarmersmarket.com
Fountains at Roseville Farmers’ Market
Bring the kiddos to this Tuesday market at Fountains at Roseville (outside of Peet’s Coffee and Whole Foods), where youngsters can catch a free ride on a miniature locomotive (when weather and crowds permit) and play in the plaza’s water fountains. Drop by Dutch Girl Provisions for a delectable sweet treat from the Rocklin-based baker. Grab a cut from Sanford Beef to cook later, or get a bite from purveyors like Han Yu for Taiwanese food or Mi Fiesta for Mexican. Stock up on heirloom tomatoes from Pilz Produce and fresh-picked fruits from Twin Peaks Orchards, with seasonal selections like peaches in the summer and persimmons in the fall. Tuesdays yearround. 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Galleria Blvd. and East Roseville Pkwy. Roseville. placergrown.org info@placerfarmersmarket.com
The Market at Grass Valley
Go for healthy groceries, stay for indulgent snacks. Stop by the Xiong Family Farms stand for a variety of vegetables, from beets and carrots to eggplant and tomatoes, and grab some seasonal watermelon and a bouquet of flowers from Robertson Family Farm. After you’re stocked up, grab a hot meal from Italian Brothers Pizza, a New York-style hot dog or a sweet treat from Nevada City-based Gold Rush Cookie Company. Make it an extra special evening with a stop by Cork 49, which offers wines from around the world, beer and charcuterie boards and hosts live music every Thursday. Thursdays through Oct. 26. 4-7 p.m. Mill St. between Neal and Bank streets. Grass Valley. 530-272-8315. downtowngrassvalley.com
Photo courtesy of the Midtown Association
Historic Folsom Farmers Market
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With 80 to 100 sellers opening shop each week, there’s something tasty for everyone. Beat the summer heat at this foothills market with strawberries and raspberries from Rodriguez Farms, and pick up some organic veggies for the week. If you want to drink your fruit, sip a handcrafted smoothie (or opt for one of the thicker bowls) from Fruit Frenzie, with flavors like mango, dragon fruit and strawberry-banana. Grab a meaty morsel from local favorite Hensleigh Healthy Beef, whose grass-fed cows graze a parcel near Elder Creek and Bradshaw Road, or Alaskan flash-frozen fish from Roseville-based FreshWay Fish. And if you’re hungry for lunch, grab a fresh pie from Robert’s Pizza Oven. Saturdays year-round. 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Historic Folsom Plaza. 915 Sutter St. Folsom. 916-484-7000. historicfolsom.org
Midtown
Farmers Market
This Saturday market staple stays hopping all year with around 200 purveyors—from farmstands by Golden Acorn Farm, Jacob’s Farm and flower growers Contreras Farm to booths of bites from dozens of vendors like the VolksWaffle. Shop vintage clothes, handmade jewelry, kitchen items and much more in the boutique sections of the market. Local musical acts perform each week in Market Square (20th and K Streets), and each second Saturday features more musicians in a different part of the market. Take the youngsters to visit the Market Square for kids’ activities like Jenga, cornhole and sidewalk chalk every week. Saturdays year-round. 8 a.m.-1 p.m. March through Oct. and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Nov. through Feb. 20th St. between J and Capitol, and K St. between 19th and 21st streets. 916-442-1500. exploremidtown.org
Oak Park Farmers Market
After a sabbatical in 2022, the popular Oak Park Farmers Market is bouncing back with help from a $500,000 grant. Roughly 2,000 people flocked to the market’s reopening in June, shopping for favorites like RHJ Organics’ mouth-watering strawberries. Visitors can pick up fruits and veggies from Six O’Clock Farm, or a loaf of locally made organic sourdough from Andy.Bakes.Bread., one of the market’s newest vendors. Catch
cooking demonstrations by local chefs each second Saturday of the month—a return of some of the market’s popular educational programming. Saturdays through mid-Nov. 9 a.m.-1 p.m. McClatchy Park. 3500 5th Ave. 916-704-2843. opbd.org
Old Town Auburn Farmers’ Market
Soak up the sun or an occasional set from local musicians as you fill your bag with organic produce like greens and melons from Natural Trading Company, or a diverse range of veggies from Oakside Farms, based in Loomis. Look for Bella Familia Wood Fired Pizza and its mobile kitchen trailer slinging fresh pizzas based on family recipes that often incorporate market-sourced ingredients. Saturdays year-round. 8 a.m.-12 p.m. Old Town Courthouse. 150 Auburn Folsom Rd. Auburn. placergrown.org info@placerfarmersmarket.com
Sacramento Central Farmers’ Market
While shopping under Highway 50, which served as the canvas for one of Sacramento’s largest murals, Bright Underbelly , you just might spot local top chefs like Randall Selland, who frequents this year-round market. With roughly 75 growers, ranchers and producers, you can get the bulk of your shopping done for the week at this bustling market, which recently returned to downtown Sacramento after temporarily relocating to Arden Fair mall in 2021. The area’s oldest farmers’ market has been a mecca for Sacramento foodies since 1980. Sundays year-round. 8 a.m.-12 p.m. Between 6th and 8th streets and X and W streets. 916-688-0100. marketlocations.com
Sunrise Farmers’ Market
Hop off the Gold Line at Sunrise Station on a Saturday morning to reach the only regional farmers’ market directly accessible by light rail. Traverse the roughly 25 vendors doling out local products like Bariani Olive Oil’s balsamic vinegar (which is crafted with cabernet and zinfandel grapes from Yolo County) and olive oils, or Winters Fruit Tree’s roasted nuts in varieties ranging from cheddar jalapeño almonds to chili lime pistachios, and specialty spreads like salted crunchy almond butter and cocoa nut butter. Saturdays year-round. 8 a.m.-12
Visit this market for your weekly produce supply and you may leave with something extra. Pick up a rustic herbed loaf or satisfy your sweet tooth with a cookie from local bakery Eat Em’s Eats. Stop by the El Rey Chile Company booth for their popular fireroasted Hatch New Mexico green chile, and
shop their line of salsas and seasonings. With one market purchase from any vendor, you’re entered into the weekly raffle for a basket of farmers’ market goods. Give your brain a snack at the Woodland Public Library, where kids can settle into story time every Saturday morning. Let your tots load up on nutritious foods at the kids’ market— a free, biweekly event that shows little ones how to “shop” for fruits and veggies. Saturdays through Sept. 26, roughly. 9 a.m.-12 p.m. Woodland Public Library. 250 First St. Woodland. 530-666-2626. thewoodlandfarmersmarket.org
RESTAURANTS
FOOD & WINE
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Eat well. Live well.
Ramen Revival
Shoki devotees, rejoice: Two years after closing their last beloved noodle nook, husband-wife owners Yasushi and Kathy Ueyama relaunch with a smaller menu but bigger flavors. Can we get a ramen amen?
By Carla Meyer
Chef Yasushi Ueyama first introduced his soothing, complex craft soups to Sacramento in 2007, back when most mentions of “ramen” still were preceded by “top,” and David Chang of Momofuku fame was barely known outside New York.
Since then, fans have gladly followed Ueyama and his wife and business partner, Kathy, through various incarnations of their Shoki Ramen brand. Seven years after opening the original eatery on 24th Street in Curtis Park, they closed it and reopened less than half a mile away on 21st Street in 2016. Meanwhile, they had also expanded onto R Street.
But a 2018 fire shuttered the 21st Street space, and in 2021, the Ueyamas said goodbye to their remaining R Street location. Shoki loyalists—of which there are justifiably many—then were left with no outlet for
Shoki’s “the works” tan tan men with onsen tamago and Village Bakery bread for dipping
their cravings for Yasushi’s umami-laden broths and signature slightly al dente noodles.
But happily this past April, the Ueyamas reopened their (rebuilt and renovated) 21st Street location as Shoki’s Ramen, Gyoza & Koji. Like all their ventures, it carries the name of an Edo-period deity from Yasushi’s native Japan. But the more casual possessive reflects the new restaurant’s homier emphasis.
Shoki’s—which will be the Ueyamas’ “last restaurant,” Kathy says—aims for a “come into our kitchen” vibe. A strictly mom-and-pop operation, it features a limited menu and seating, but even bigger flavors than previous Shoki iterations offered.
Items from the Ueyamas’ home, including a Snoopy figurine, stuffed Woodstock toy and a vintage Porsche model car (Yasushi is an auto enthusiast), adorn Shoki’s ordering counter and the shelves behind it. Gone are the brick and wood holdovers from the space’s previous occupant, Trails Restaurant, that the Ueyamas retained when they first opened on 21st in 2016 (although the iconic neon “Trails Charcoal Broiler” sign remains outside).
The building’s new look is airier and more modern, its seafoam-green-centric palette running from the exterior into a dining room that seats just 10. (The patio contains three picnic tables, and on the 100-plus-degree July evening when I and many other stalwarts chose to eat soup, Kathy opened an auxiliary kitchen space with a few additional tables.)
The new concept includes an online-only reservation system and no-walk-in policy on the select nights the ramen shop is open. (The schedule changes weekly. At press time, Shoki’s was temporarily closed due to maintenance issues, and was
expected to reopen by the end of August.) The Ueyamas aim to control the flow of patrons, given that the restaurant is staffed almost entirely by the two of them—their son Ietetsu, who helps with Shoki’s booking, website and social media, took orders at the counter when I visited, but since has gone off to college.
They are still playing with the service model, Kathy says. They might someday go fully takeout. And still in the works are more formalized “dinner with Kathy and Yasushi” nights, along with Japanese street food pop-ups. Yasushi also has yearned to do a Japanese-style breakfast, Kathy says.
What is certain, however, is that the space’s roomy kitchen will be a workshop for culinary experiments Yasushi envisioned for years, but lacked time to execute.
“We were actually going to call it quits. Yasushi is in his 60s and I’m getting up there too,” Kathy says during a joint interview with Yasushi at Shoki’s. “But throughout the pandemic, he was thinking about all the places [where he worked] in Japan, and his restaurants and all the culinary stuff he used to do.” (Kathy—who grew up in Sacramento and teaches Japanese at Pleasant Grove High School—translates for her husband, a Japanese native who owned eateries in his homeland prior to launching Shoki Ramen.)
“I wanted to go back to the roots of the Japanese culture, which is koji fermentation. From koji, you can make sake, miso and shoyu [soy sauce],” Yasushi says. Koji—cooked rice or soybeans inoculated with a fermentation culture—forms the basis of the shoyu and ponzu sauces Yasushi makes on-site, and a to-go “koji drink” that the Ueyamas say holds probiotic properties. Tasting of yogurt and kimchi, yet less pungent than either, the drink also makes a great marinade, Kathy adds.
Owners Kathy and Yasushi Ueyama added homey touches to the dining room like Snoopy and Woodstock keepsakes.
Yasushi studied nutrition at Koshien University in Japan and has long catered to dietary restrictions in his Sacramento restaurants. Kathy believes the Ueyamas were the first restaurant in town to make a vegetarian stock for ramen, which they
offered from the start 16 years ago, along with the more traditional dashi base, which contains fish flakes.
Always MSG free, Shoki drew a loyal following in part because of the unusual freshness of its ramen dishes. You can
taste the layers of flavors in the broth, how Yasushi has cooked elements separately to perfection to complement each other. In the classic version, ever-present hints of the sea provided by the kombu (kelp seaweed) and katsuo fish offset the umami heft of the mushroom and meatier components. While relatively subtle, the seaweed element, unobscured by preservatives, has always been more evident in Yasushi’s ramen than in other ramens around town. This is part of why the Shoki tan tan men has long been my go-to bowl at the first chill of autumn. Soothing in its wholesomeness, its evocation of shoreline also offers a momentary getaway.
Yet as Shoki’s popularity grew and the business expanded, “we had employees, and there were all these things to consider,” Kathy says. Mindful of costs, Yasushi could not always use the level of ingredients he preferred. Now that it’s basically just the two of them and they can allocate most of the budget to the food, “everything in this res-
Shoki’s 21st Street location recently relaunched after a fire forced its closure in 2018.
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taurant is what he thinks is really good.”
This includes the Mary’s heirloom chickens that Yasushi plunks down whole into a pot as part of his multiday broth preparation. Shoki’s pork originates from Chico’s Rancho Llano
Seco, and its beef from Marin County’s Stemple Creek Ranch. Eggs come from Yolo County’s Riverdog Farm, and vegetables—like a steamed-to-simpleperfection Nantes carrot served with the cabbage side dish on my visit—are
sourced from Riverdog or the Sunday Sacramento farmers’ market.
Unlike at the previous Shoki Ramen restaurants, Yasushi now hand-selects every vegetable and hand-cuts all his meats. “From the beginning, I am able to touch everything,” he says. In keeping with the fermentation emphasis at the new restaurant, he sous-vides or otherwise slow-cooks most meats. “By doing soft cooking, the gentleness comes out in your food,” he explains.
Gentle in preparation, powerful in flavor. The first bite of Shoki’s chashu pork immediately transported me back to the R Street Shoki, where the chashu side dish was a must-order. Yet this version is somehow also infinitely superior.
Made from pork loin, salted and left to rest for 24 hours before going through the sous-vide process, the chashu is remarkably tender and juicy. Even after being immersed in the broth of Shoki’s “the works” tan tan men, I could still taste every granule of salt and speck of pepper clinging to the pork slice’s edges
Smaller is better for the Ueyamas: Their cozy eatery seats 10 inside.
many minutes into its addition to the bowl. Plus, this version is gluten free where the previous one was made with regular soy sauce.
Also surprisingly hearty was the mushroom-forward, house-made and
pan-fried vegetarian gyoza, lightened by a kicky rejoinder of expertly shredded green onion.
The least expected element of my meal, though, was the slice of sourdough bread from Davis’ Village Bak-
ery that accompanied the tan tan men. The possibilities for incorporating the bread, which had been seasoned with garlic sauce, were many-fold. You could make an ad-hoc open sandwich using the delicate onsen tamago (soft-cooked egg) that is bathed in slightly sweet dashi and also served with the ramen.
Or you could simply dip the bread in the broth in the manner that Yasushi has observed Americans doing with other soups over the years. The chef included the bread with the tan tan men because he loves Village Bakery, but also to draw more attention to the warm liquid. Whereas the ramen craze in the U.S. often focuses on the noodles, Yasushi really wants diners to savor his soup. “He puts a lot of time and energy into it, and it is very healthy,” Kathy says.
Grateful to once again have access to this magical broth, we’re more than happy to dive in and drink up. S
Shoki’s Ramen, Gyoza & Koji. 2530 21st St. 916-454-2411. shokis.net
BROADWAY SACRAMENTO
UC DAVIS MEDICAL CENTER
Proud to serve our region as Sacramento’s #1 hospital. As Sacramento’s #1 hospital, we’re honored to offer our region a unique combination of patientcentered care and world-class expertise. And we’re proud U.S. News & World Report ranked us among the nation’s best for 2023-24 in eight adult medical specialties, including cancer care; cardiology, heart & vascular surgery; diabetes & endocrinology; ENT; geriatrics; neurology & neurosurgery; obstetrics & gynecology; and pulmonology & lung surgery. From life-saving treatments to breakthrough discoveries, you’ll always have an expert team behind you. health.ucdavis.edu
The 2023-24 Broadway On Tour season returns to SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center and includes Hadestown (Sept. 1924), winner of the 2019 Tony Award for Best Musical; the return of the world’s most popular musical, Les Misérables (Oct. 24-29); the story of the life and times of The Temptations, Ain’t Too Proud (Nov. 7-12); a favorite holiday treat, Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical (Dec. 27-31); the global sensation, Six (Jan. 31-Feb. 11); and finally, one of the best-loved musicals of all time, Annie (Apr. 16-21). Tickets at broadwaysacramento.com
“One Day More” from Les Misérables. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade
The pan-fried vegetarian gyoza filled with ingredients like mushroom and cabbage
DIne
HERE
A highly subjective, rotating list of Sacramento-area restaurants. And yep, we’ve eaten at every single one. (We’re a little full.)
Downtown Sacramento
CAFETERIA 15L
The Wong family’s hip comfort-food restaurant isn’t like the cafeterias you remember from grade school. There’s gracious table service and tasty, homey fare, like tater tots spiked with truffle oil or mac and cheese with Parmesan, Gruyère and sharp white cheddar. Other winners include lunchtime sandwiches, soulwarming soups, fruity mocktails (like a refreshing Basil Berry Fizz), and a brunch menu that offers a variety of decadent waffle dishes (such as the oversized chicken and waffles platter) and brioche French toast with berries and cream. The newly remodeled eatery features a California beach chic vibe with white tiles and an expansive covered patio. 1116 15TH ST. 916-4921960 $ $ * # $ %
FRANK
FAT’S
The best part of bringing newcomers here is the surprise factor. Opened in 1939, Frank Fat’s is a household name in Sacramento, but, even after 84 years, there’s still an air of mystery, and perhaps a bit of intimidation, for the uninitiated. Alone on its block, the
restaurant exudes a private-club aura on the outside. But once inside, first-timers instantly feel at home, thanks to the friendly, old-school service (and comfy booths in the back). It’s also a longtime haunt for many of the Capitol’s power brokers, including former Gov. Jerry Brown. As soon as you try the deservedly celebrated honey walnut prawns, the insanely good salt and pepper calamari or the New York steak, you’ll quickly realize there’s actually a reason this is the longest-running fine-dining restaurant in the city. And don’t forget a slice of the famed banana cream pie. 806 L ST. 916-442-7092
$ $ $ * #
HOUSE KITCHEN & BAR
From the purveyor of the popular Ink Eats & Drinks, Chris Nestor’s second dining venture brings an inviting, homey flair to Capitol Mall, serving up modern comfort food in high style, from a shaved prime-rib French dip to braised beef short ribs with roasted garlic mashed potatoes to tiny, delicious sweet-corn tamales topped with bright green salsa that can’t be missed. The décor is smart and sophisticated (boasting a fanciful 30-footlong sculpture of a giant whisk created by a local artist), but the atmosphere is casual and fun. 555 CAPITOL MALL. 916-498-9924
$ $ $ * # %
The restaurants in our listings are determined solely by the editorial staff, and will vary from issue to issue. The decision to include or exclude any restaurant is not influenced by advertising.
JUJU KITCHEN & COCKTAILS
Chef David English and his wife, Kelly, streamlined the best parts of their former midtown restaurant, The Press Bistro, into this airy, chic downtown spot. Focused on seasonally driven small plates and craft drinks, Juju Kitchen & Cocktails offers tweaked versions of Press favorites like tender, sliced calamari and crackly, creamy arancini, along with wild cards based on what’s at the farmers’ market that week. With help from his bar team, English applies his flavor-layering expertise to cocktails like the Last Dance with Mary Rose—a mix of citrus flower aperitif, pomegranate liqueur, lemon, simple syrup, soda water and rosemary—and mocktails like the Halfway to Tahoe, made with pomegranate juice, Honeycrisp apple juice, thyme, ginger syrup and tonic water. Stay a little or a long while: English’s singular snacks can make for a quick yet satisfying nosh or easily stack into a mix-and-match feast. 1501 L ST. $ #
TEQUILA MUSEO MAYAHUEL
This Mexican establishment calls itself a museum— and owner Ernesto Delgado considers the food and drinks the “exhibits” every bit as much as the artwork. All showcase the culture of Mexico, from its wealth of distinctive regional cuisines to the namesake liquors that you can taste in a tequila flight. Delgado is a native of Michoacán, and the food in part memorializes his mother’s cooking, like the carne de puerco en salsa verde (a pork dish); other items, like the mole poblano or the smooth, rich-green cream of poblano chile soup, spotlight traditional Mexican techniques and ingredients. 1200 K ST. 916-441-7200 $ $ * # $ %
THE 7TH STREET STANDARD
Through sheet-music-inspired arches and shiny brass finishes that recall jazz horns, the design of the signature
restaurant at the Hyatt Centric Downtown Sacramento riffs off the location’s storied music history. (The site used to be the home of the Clayton Club, where greats like Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday performed.) These days, it’s the unique culinary stylings of chef Ravin Patel (a veteran of the Selland family’s restaurant group) that draw the smartly dressed crowds. He skillfully infuses a mostly American menu—standards include cozy chicken and dumplings, and hearty grilled Angus rib eye—with dishes tingling of flavors from his Indian heritage. For instance, tandoori chicken lollipops serve as delicious gateways to adventurous fare like poblano and onion pakora with cilantro yogurt, leading to a harmonious East-meets-best meal. 1122 7TH ST. 916-898-1100 $ $ $ ! * # $ % ^
Midtown Sacramento
BURGER PATCH
Virtuous vegans and carnal carnivores alike are going bonkers for Burger Patch’s planet-conscious, plantbased take on fast food. The eatery has been wildly popular since husband-wife owners Phil and Danea Horn opened up shop May 2019, with patrons queueing up to order a vegan Beyond Meat burger with cheddar “cheese,” tomato, grilled onions and house-made Patch Sauce served up on a vegan bun, or a chick’n sandwich with tangy ranch dressing and a smoked seitan strip pulling the bacon—or rather, facon—duty. Round out the meal with addictive herb-tossed fries and don’t skip the Earth Quake Shake, which comes in vanilla and/or chocolate—or check the midtown restaurant’s Instagram page to get the inside scoop on the latest bit of off-menu decadence to try. There’s no better place to eat like a saint but still taste the sin. 2301 K ST. 916-750-4200
$ $ ! * # %
FROG & SLIM
While this jazz-themed restaurant was inspired by the bygone supper clubs of the Midwest, it’s both nostalgic and international. Some dishes from executive chef Christian Viau, a Canadian native, are unapologetically Americana, like the deviled eggs (which are served for both brunch and dinner), but others like the chicken confit slow-cooked in duck fat reflect Viau’s French training. An Old Fashioned, the godfather of classic cocktails and the bar’s specialty (Maker’s Mark bourbon and orangecherry bitters), seems sentimentally aligned with Frog & Slim’s hearty menu, but a cucumber basil gimlet works too. Paintings of jazz instrumentalists and a wall-mounted, back-illuminated sheet-metal frog give the restaurant a swanky, low-lit vibe. If you’re running late for dinner, don’t worry—the dining room and its two patios are open until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and they’ll leave the electric blue frog on for you. 1420 16TH ST. 916-5883764 $ $ $ # $ %
MULVANEY’S BUILDING & LOAN
A staple in Sacramento’s fine dining scene, Mulvaney’s is situated in a glorious old firehouse space, and is lovingly tended to by owners Patrick and Bobbin Mulvaney. The setting is both elegant and romantic, a revival of old-world charm coupled with a fresh local menu based on offerings from area farmers, including eggs from Vega Farms and produce from Full Belly, Bella Vida and Fiery Ginger farms. For something sweet, look for luscious creations such as the cult-favorite Valrhona chocolate ding dong. 1215 19TH ST. 916-441-6022 $ $ $ # %
THE PORCH RESTAURANT AND BAR
If the Porch were a spirit, it would no doubt be Southern Comfort. Inspired by a cuisine known as Lowcountry Southern—a slightly upscale style that features seafood and has strong streaks of New Orleans and Cajun cooking—its menu offers up comfort food with a California twist. Start with the corn bread with house-made honey butter, or the fried green tomatoes with Memphis dressing, applewood bacon and feta cheese. Can’t-miss entrées include the juicy buttermilk fried chicken and a luscious po’boy sandwich. The restaurant’s big, dark wood bar also sings out “Southern” and is home to a long list of whiskeys, plus cocktails that include the Porch Peach Tea
with bourbon, peach liqueur, sweetened black iced tea and lemon. 1815 K ST. 916-444-2423
Old Sacramento
$ $ $ * # $ %
THE FIREHOUSE
Dating back to 1960, this Old Sacramento institution is housed in a circa 1853 fire station and features one of the best patios in town. The ambience is decidedly Old World decadence, with 19th-century paintings of Yosemite and Rubenesque nudes and candelabras galore. But the food and wine are the real draw. The elevated menu includes a double-cut brined pork chop with house-made Gravenstein apple butter, maple demi glaze and pan jus. The wine cellar boasts an extraordinary collection of over 16,000 bottles of vino. 1112 2ND ST. 916-4424772 $ $ $ # % ^
East Sacramento
CANON
This East Sacramento venture from restaurateur Clay Nutting and Michelin-star chef Brad Cecchi (formerly of Solbar in Calistoga) is effortlessly hip, from the cool, classic color palette—light wood tables, gray herringbone floor and a deep teal wall—to the minimalist mod accents like retro dining chairs and custom, mushroom-shaped light fixtures. Dining at Canon means choosing one of two culinary journeys. You can traverse a traditional path with a large-portioned protein—like a Calabrian-style grilled whole chicken—and à la carte sides. Or you can subscribe to the restaurant’s sharing-is-caring ethos by bringing some of your foodie buddies to partake in a smorgasbord of substantive smaller plates, which recently included roasted summer squash with candied walnuts and pickled raisins, served with a spicy muhammara dip. Eschewing the bigger meal also allows more room for Canon’s indulgent desserts, which have included a Tennessee peach pudding and chocolate almond pavé. 1719 34TH ST. 916-469-2433 $ $ $ # %
KRU
At chef-owner Billy Ngo’s contemporary Japanese hot spot, the space—designed by Whitney Johnson (Shady Lady, Hook & Ladder and others)—is as dramatic and glamorous as the plating (the sashimi mix bowl is a sculptural masterpiece). The nigiri here is not to be drenched in soy or wasabi but savored individually, while small plates and entrées are inventive, like the tea-smoked and grilled duck skewers with plum wine katsu sauce and a sprinkle of sansho salt. Kru also gets creative with its cocktails like the gin-and-vermouth-based Open Sesame infused with cucumber-yuzu shrub, lemon and sesame. 3135 FOLSOM BLVD. 916-551-1559
$ $ $ # %
Oak Park
LA VENADITA
With its logo featuring an antlered Frida Kahlo presiding over a pink-walled dining room, you know the hip quotient is high at La Venadita, David Schnetz’s stylish Oak Park taqueria, which he opened in 2016 with his brother Tom (who also started several popular restaurants in the East Bay, including Berkeley’s Tacubaya). Order burritos and tacos at the counter—try the crispy-shelled carnitas— and take advantage of the full bar by snagging a Mezcal Old Fashioned or a refreshing michelada with Modelo Especial, spicy tomato juice, lime and a chile salt rim. The weekend brunch lineup includes creative entrées like a chile verde con huevos and the rich, saucy chilaquiles, or choose to brunch anytime with the egg-filled breakfast burritos served all day. 3501 3RD AVE. 916-400-4676
$ * # $ %
Tahoe Park
BACON & BUTTER
When chef Billy Zoellin moved his breakfast emporium
from midtown to Tahoe Park in 2014, he landed a bigger spot—a former Chinese restaurant, now completely renovated into a cool space resembling a spare version of an old-time diner—with room to stretch out. Bacon & Butter 2.0 was an instant hit with locals from the neighborhood and beyond, boasting many more seats than the original location, and serving beer, wine and cocktails, which it didn’t in its previous space. While the restaurant’s breakfast staples definitely feature a lot of its namesake bacon and butter—think biscuits with bacon gravy, fried sage and more bacon on top, or the fluffy pancakes that we consider the best in town, or a monstrous grilled cheese Benedict on tender brioche—there’s a lot more to the modern diner, including the B&B Burger, with a house-ground beef and bacon patty, shallot rings and smoked aioli on the everchanging “lunchish” menu. It’s no surprise then—at least on weekends—Bacon & Butter often attracts lines out the door. Trust us, it’s worth the wait. 5913 BROADWAY. 916-346-4445 $ $ ! * $ %
Arden-Arcade
BENNETT’S AMERICAN COOKING
Drawing inspiration from the crossroads of cultures in the U.S., the menu at this two-year-old Arden-Arcade restaurant—an upscale sequel to Bennett’s Kitchen in Roseville—reflects a melting pot of culinary customs, from chicken enchiladas to banh mi to lasagna Bolognese. But it’s the great American steakhouse tradition that gives this buzzy eatery its beefy gastronomical foundation. For a quintessential experience, grab a seat at the dramatic centerpiece bar—a holdover from the old Bandera restaurant, which formerly occupied the space—that anchors the moody, low-lit dining room (for an alfresco experience, there’s also a small outdoor patio). Order the New York strip, which arrives on a wooden board, slices glistening from a knob of melting herb butter. A variety of veggieforward sides like Caesar salad or roasted asparagus may help atone for the meaty main, but we recommend going full-tilt carpe diem with bacon mac and cheese and a “pound of fries.” Since you’ll probably need more than one Southern-inspired Afternoon Delight (cucumber-mint vodka, peach schnapps, lime) to tackle the meal, just tell the bartender to keep ’em coming. 2232 FAIR OAKS BLVD. 916-515-9680 $ $ $ * # $ % ^
ESTELLE BAKERY & PÂTISSERIE
Find a taste of the City of Light in the City of Trees at this airy French bakery and pâtisserie, where the glass cases are filled with tempting treats like golden croissants, colorful macarons and delicate tarts. Owner Esther Son opened this location in January 2018, serving pastries like the exquisite macaron rosé with rose-infused pastry cream, lychee compote and fresh raspberries. And calling all downtown Estelle enthusiasts: A smaller cafe at DoCo offers much the same lineup of pastries and lunch options, including the signature caprese sandwich on a fresh-baked baguette and the savory ham and caramelized onion quiche. 2530 ARDEN WAY. 916-551-1500
$ $ ! * $ %
Carmichael
MATTEO’S PIZZA & BISTRO
Owned by Matt and Yvette Woolston, longtime proprietors of the erstwhile Supper Club catering company, Matteo’s serves up sophisticated yet family-friendly fare. As its name suggests, the restaurant boasts both an extensive pizza menu—try the signature Matteo, with Italian sausage, pepperoni, chorizo and bacon—and a bistro lineup, with items like the arugula, beet and goat cheese salad. The low-key setting—which includes a spacious patio with a gurgling fountain—means everybody from toddlers to high schoolers to grown-ups on a date will feel comfortable here. 5132 ARDEN WAY. 916-779-0727
$ $ * # %
MESA MERCADO
Mushrooms. Walnuts. Mashed potatoes. Can this really be Mexican food? Welcome to Mesa Mercado, which
opened in 2016 in Carmichael’s Milagro Centre. Owner Ernesto Delgado’s market-to-table concept restaurant celebrates Mexico’s historic cuisine with dishes that showcase authentic fare seldom seen north of the border, such as the chile en nogada, a roasted poblano chile stuffed with raisin-studded ground beef and pork, and blanketed with walnut crema and raspberry sauce, which serves as a colorful homage to the Mexican flag; a chicken mole negro redolent of sultry, roasty nuttiness, bright acidity and mild heat; and a pozole rojo, a pork and hominy soup with red chiles. Toast Mexico with the house margarita, finished with chile on the rim, or the Pepino Picante, a margarita with muddled cucumber and mezcal. A sign above the open kitchen reads: “A religious food experience.” Amen. 6241 FAIR OAKS BLVD. 916-2834081 $ $ * # %
Elk Grove
BOULEVARD BISTRO
Boulevard Bistro serves classic French cuisine in a modest Craftsman in Old Town Elk Grove. Wilton native Bret Bohlmann, a California Culinary Academy veteran, demonstrates plenty of local pride by using produce grown in this region and curating a wine list that showcases vintages from the Central Valley, in addition to selections from around the world. The menu changes seasonally and tends toward old-school fine dining—think filet mignon, lamb shank and bone marrow. The housemade bread is also a standout on its own. 8941 ELK GROVE BLVD. 916-685-2220 $ $ $ # %
Folsom
KAREN’S BAKERY & CAFÉ
Named after founder Karen Holmes, this cafe has be-
come a happy crossroad for Folsom and its historic district, thanks to its imaginative yet comforting eats, bright, cheerful room with windows for walls and expansive patio. But it’s the food that drew everyone in the first place. Breakfasts, for instance, are inventive and satisfying, like the puff pastry tart with Gruyère, bacon and a sunny-side-up egg, and the baked goods—think addictive chocolate chip cookies and vegan apple walnut muffins—can heal the soul. Portions are big, but not too big, and just about everything Karen’s offers manages to be both familiar and ingenious, not to mention tasty. 705 GOLD LAKE DR. 916-985-2665 $ $ ! * %
Granite Bay
HAWKS
Hawks, named for Molly Hawks (who owns the restaurant with fellow chef and husband Michael Fagnoni), combines French and Italian techniques with the bounty of local produce. The Granite Bay eatery’s philosophy is based on simple preparation that showcases the true flavors of food. Nearly all of the items are made in-house—from breads to pastas to charcuterie meats. Brace yourself for everything from slow-roasted short ribs to a potato gnocchi with heirloom cherry tomatoes, white corn and basil cream. Some 600 wines are available, along with a few beers on tap—including a rotating “Hawks Brau”—and the contemporary rustic feel and fine dining touches make both casual and dressed-up patrons feel at home. 5530 DOUGLAS BLVD. 916-791-6200
$ $ $ # %
Roseville
NIXTACO
In September 2021, this modern Mexican main-stay in
Roseville transcended its cult cred when the esteemed Michelin Guide bestowed chef-owner Patricio Wise’s taco joint—where a subway-tiled bar backsplash and string Edison lights add personality to the otherwise utilitarian space—with a coveted Bib Gourmand designation. Of course, it was just preaching to the regional choir. From the unmistakably carnivorous Roadkill (shredded pork belly topped with sauteed serrano chili) or a hearty vegetarian favorite, the Avocado Explosion (fried avo slices with pickled onions and peanut-chipotle aioli), the Northern Mexico-inspired gourmet tacos always begin with a palm-size house-made blue corn tortilla and receive a final flourish from the diner, who spoons any combination of the four table salsas (try roasted habanero for heating; fresh salsa verde for cooling) into the fold, pre-chomp. Unless, that is, the taco is naturally saucy, like the limited-edition quesabirria, which not only arrives soused in finger-licking beef drippings, but also comes with a side of the succulent jus. 1805 CIRBY WAY.
$ * # %
Davis
CREPEVILLE
Starting in Davis in 2002, then expanding to midtown Sacramento, Crepeville brings an impressive lineup and a comfortable neighborhood feel to both locations. From delectable crepe dishes to fresh sandwiches, salads and seafood pastas, the chalkboard wall menu lays out your options. Feel like a breakfast crepe in the afternoon? Pas de problème! Or perhaps a dessert crepe at breakfast? Our favorite: the apple caramel crepe, with thinly sliced apples in a warm caramel sauce, powdered sugar on top and whipped cream on the side. If you really want to go authentic, try one with Nutella (you can get it solo, or with additions like bananas or peanut butter). 330 3RD ST. 530-750-2400 $ $ ! * $ %
WHY HERE? NOT
People-Powered Art
From Iowa City to Boston and beyond, interactive art installations are drawing crowds to experience art firsthand. Sacramento should get in on the action too. By
Rob Turner
The Idea
As cities have struggled to bring people back downtown in a world where many folks are still working from home due to the pandemic, some are turning to experiential art.
In 2021, the Iowa City Downtown District signed up to be one of dozens of cities (which included everywhere from Montreal to Fort Worth) to host a touring public art installation called Loop, in which people could climb into one of 12 circular structures and pull on a metal bar that spins still images until they turn into virtual animated shorts, similar to the old zoetrope machines.
A student at the University of Iowa named Laura Farahzad Mayer told The Daily Iowan at the time that while she didn’t live in or often visit downtown, she made the trip expressly for the installation. “It was refreshing to walk around downtown and to see a lot of people,” she told the paper. “And exploring the art was really interesting.”
The following year, the district brought in an installation titled Mi Casa, Your
Casa 2.0—mini house-shaped swing sets that proved even more popular. Both installations lasted approximately one month each.
A similar annual tradition has taken off in other cities, including Boston, where its waterfront district called Seaport has also featured the Loop installation, as well as another that was composed of illuminated seesaws (both managed by the Canadian event company Creos).
Because of the number of people no longer working full-time in downtown Sacramento—like in central business districts everywhere—the Downtown Sacramento Partnership and the city are working to bring visitors back. Using interactive art installations—perhaps in Old Sacramento or at DOCO or on our moribund Capitol Mall—could have a powerful civic impact.
The Players
Downtown Sacramento Partnership, DOCO and the Old Sacramento Waterfront district are obvious potential
organizers of these efforts, as well as the Sacramento Office of Arts and Culture.
The Bottom Line
Betsy Potter, executive director of the Iowa City Downtown District, says the cost of the aforementioned installations ranged from $50,000 to $70,000 each. The group tracked the overall visitors to the district, and they’ve seen a marked increase, even surpassing pre-Covid numbers. “Both [installations] were very successful,” she says. “It’s a costly thing to invest in, but it brings so much goodwill and positivity into the community.”
“[This year] we’ve seen a decrease in foot traffic, and a decrease in positive reporting about downtown,” she adds, referring to the organization’s decision not to host an installation this past summer due to funding. “We know that if you’re coming down to do this one thing, you’re probably also going to get lunch or coffee or visit the library or whatever else. We know it’s a domino effect, and that’s why we’ll be looking at doing more of these in the future.” S
Great ideas from around the world that we’d love to see here.
Two people engage with the Loop art installation in Montreal. The 13 giant zoetropes were designed by Olivier Girouard, Jonathan Villeneuve and Ottoblix of the Montreal-based firm Ekumen.
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