Sacramento, CA

All of a sudden, it seems like I’ve hit the Halloween jackpot! With the discovery of Scream Extreme in Citrus Heights, I also stumbled across an amazing site that has links to haunted attractions all around the country! In doing so I discovered several more in the Sacramento area–which I will be posting information about over the next couple of days. Thankfully, they should all be open for business due to extended hours of operation just before Halloween.

One of them in particular caught my eye because it’s “rated R.” Most of the others were at least child friendly for brave children. However, this one specifically warns against bringing them in at all. In fact, GYRO’s 3D Fear Factory has warnings for many people, declaring that it “is an authentic simulation of many grotesque and shocking events. It is not recommended for people with heart problems, recent surgery, pregnancy,or frequent nausea. Chidlren and senior citizens are not encouraged to attend.”

In honor of Halloween, the Fear Factory has taken over 100,000 square feet of the Westfiled Downtown Plaza mall at 547 L Street. There are two separate haunted houses–Rob Zombie’s “The Devil’s Playground” and “Toxic Terror.” Both of them look suitably terrifying to make even the biggest horror fanatics tremble in terror. (Not that this should really come as a surprise to anyone since Rob Zombie is pretty much the Lord of Gruesomeness!)

The Fear Factory will be open today and tomorrow from 7:00PM to midnight, making it the perfect Halloween activity for those of us who are without children to take trick-or-treating. I think it’s wonderful that Sacramento has so many opportunities for single adults to go and have a good time–in a lot of smaller cities, people aren’t that lucky. On the same note though, admission is a little bit expensive. Tickets are $17.95 per person. However, if you purchase them from Rob Zombie’s Monster Shop at the mall, then they will give you a free T-Shirt. Remember to be safe and have fun…and don’t let the monsters get you!!!

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Throughout the entire month, I’ve been scouring the internet looking for something truly scary to do in honor of Halloween. Up until now, I haven’t been able to find anything other than the corn maze in Dixon–and let’s face it, that’s only scary if you’re bad at reading maps and have seen Children of the Corn one too many times! I was beginning to despair that haunted houses and other such things that go bump in the night were a thing of the past. Then, almost as if by magic, I stumbled across one in our own backyard, The Scream Extreme “Stitches” Haunted Attraction in Citrus Heights.

The Scream Extreme features three different scare zones. They seem to be pretty secretive about the scenes themselves–neither of their websites even hints at what their themes are. However, they do have some pretty wicked pictures up on their myspace page of some of the grisly characters you are likely to encounter. Of them all, my personal favorite is the adult interpretation of Linda Blair in The Exorcist. They’re all pretty realistic looking and some of them could be downright terrifying given the right environment.

On that note, I would advise that you not bring young and impressionable minds to Scream Extreme. They do not allow children under 13 to go without an adult, so that may be an indicator of whether or not younger children should go at all. However, remember that your judgement is still probably the best there is since you know your kids best. If you think they can handle it, then by all means take them along. I always got to go to our local haunted house back home when I was a kid and it was the best fun I had all year!

This year, they have a new location at the former Room Source building at 5961 Birdcage Centre Lane. It is open everyday through Halloween from 7:00PM to 10:00PM. Tickets are $13.00, but they do have a discounted price of $10.00 each if you purchase at least eight tickets. The best part is that if you purchase your tickets online, you don’t have to wait in the same line as everyone else. This is completely wonderful since it is a pretty popular attraction given that it’s really the only one of its kind here in the Sacramento area.

The very best part though is that 100% of the proceeds will go to aiding children with autism in our public schools. If you don’t know what autism is, I suggest you check out Marcie’s page, Discussing Autism. My high school best friend’s little brother is autistic and it is heartwrenching to see all of the aspects of his life that are made complicated by this. Even Halloween can be a challenge for his mother. However, Marcie has some great tips on how to make it manageable and still let the kids be kids. In addition, her page is riddled with a million and one reasons to make you want to help–even if it is only in something as small as the admission price to a haunted house…

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There is nothing more befitting the Halloween spirit than a horror movie. Usually, during this time of year, there are tons of them to choose from. Sadly, this year my beloved horror movies are–for the most part–strangely absent from the theater. I was beginning to fall into a deep well of despair when I saw an ad on tv last night for the latest installment in the Saw franchise.

I was so excited for three reasons. The first is that it means there is actually going to be a horror movie in theaters in time for Halloween which I really didn’t think would happen. The second is that it is a part of a franchise that has become very dear to me. I know it’ll be good because the others have been as well. Finally, the thing I’m most looking forward to is the sheer level of innovation that these films continually deliver. I consider myself to be something of a horror movie expert. I almost always know the endings long before the half way point happens because they’re so formulaic after you’ve seen as many of them as I have. The first Saw film was the first movie in a VERY LONG TIME that I didn’t anticipate the ending to. In fact, I was so shocked that I’m still kind of reeling from it after all of this time. Furthermore, it’s one of those franchises that has somehow managed to retain its sparkle and creativity through all three movies so far. And Saw IV looks to be no different…

…I’m not going to lie, that is seriously fabulous. I’ve been craving something magnificently grotesque this Halloween season, but until now not even something as seriously twisted as a ballet about the Donner Party could sate my morbid appetitie. The best part though is that it will be playing at the good theater, Century Stadium 14 on Ethan Way. There are a ton of different showings, but they’re all probably going to be very busy as well since it is so close to Halloween now so you might want to buy your tickets online.

If dealing with the crowds isn’t really your type of thing–and believe me there will be TONS of people out and about–then there is an alternative option for you too this Halloween. You can always run down to Blockbuster and pick up and oldy but goodie. Liz at Cinema Hype wrote a wonderful review that reminded me of one of my favorites–The Ninth Gate. It’s another one of those creative masterpieces that keep you guessing until the end. Plus, it has Johnny Depp in it, so really, how could you go wrong?

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This won’t be my normal type of Music on Mondays post because, sadly, there aren’t any scheduled concerts for October. However, the Sacramento Ballet is putting on A Woman’s Journey: The Tamsen Donner Story which I think is quite fitting for the Halloween season.

The show is a special brain child of the Sacramento Ballet’s Art Director for the past twenty years–Ron Cunningham. The ballet has been a work in progress for the past thirty years and Sacramento is to be treated with it’s world premiere on Thursday October 25th at 7:30PM. It tells the story of the infamous Donner family as told through the journal entries of Tamsen Donner.Their infamy stems from centuries of accusations suggesting that the family resorted to cannibalism while they were trapped in the mountains on their way to California. The sheer gruesomeness of such a deed makes it ample “entertainment” of the Halloween sort–especially when considering that the characters involved are real.

In the same token, scientists have reently begun debating the validity of these accusations. Thus, it will be extremely interesting to see which direction Cunningham takes with his ballet. My personal opinion is that the cannibalism will have to be dealt with since his inspiration was from the diary of Tamsen Donner. The allegations of cannibalism stem from letters and diaries from the party so to base a ballet and completely omit it would be absurd at best. In any case, it is efinitely worth checking out just on the chance that cannibalism will be an issue. There is little else in the world that can so readily remind us that human beings are also animals and can be just as barbaric and inhuman as any other creature. In short, it is a perfect Halloween activity for those of us who want something a little bit more frightening than pumpkin patches and corn mazes…

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The Professionals Guild is hosting a huge Halloween party for singles at the Doubletree Hotel located at 2001 Point West Way. The party is on Friday Octber 26th from 8:00PM to midnight. Complimentary light appetizers will be served from 8:00PM to 9:00PM.

They expect hundreds of local singles to show up for one of the biggest Halloween bashes in Sacramento. The dress code is either a Halloween costume or dressy cocktail attire. They even offer a discount for people who show up in a costume. Tickets are $12.00 if you are wearing a costume and $25.00 if you are not. They must be paid for in cash at the door. It looks to be a good opportunity for dancing and mingling. In any case, it is definitely one of only a hadnful of adult-oriented Halloween activities in Sacramento. Most of them are geared towards families with young children–like the world’s largest corn maze in Dixon. Be sure to take advantage of the opportunity as there won’t be many more of them this season.

If you’re as hopeless as I am at dating, then you also might want to check out some tips before you head out for your big night out on the town. Sandy at Dating Outlook always has some really wonderful ideas on her site. She also offers great advice and a chance to commiserate with other singles on all of the misery and stress that accompanies the dating scene. Have a great time and remember to play safe!

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According to Guinness World Records, the world’s largest corn maze is now located at Cool Patch Pumpkins in Dixon, CA!!! The farm is run by the Cooley brothers who started their pumpkin patch in 2000. The corn maze itself has grown progessively every year, now spanning across more than 40 acres. The brothers refer to it as “a kind of test…[where] you have to have enough patience and problem-solving skills to make it through…enough resolve to solve the puzzle and get out.”

The Sacramento Bee eloquently referred to the maze as ” an emerald green world of 7-foot cornstalks and damp clay walkways, where visitors can see only to the next turn, and disembodied voices float through the air.” The owner himself admits to reluctance to enter the center of the maze where the twisting pathways are the darkest and most confusing! As if this weren’t enough to make you suitably terrified, they even allow people to enter the maze at night for an extra bit of eeriness. The combination makes it the perfect activity to get the whole family into the Halloween spirit.

There are also a plethora of other family activities aside from the gargantuan corn maze. To begin with, there is a small one acre corn maze for the little kids to enjoy. They have a $3.00 hay ride as well as Big Tricycles and Pedal Karts to ride around the pumpkin farm. They are also hosting a Scarecrow Contest. There are already some pretty terrifying–and amazing–pictures up of some of the entrants on their website. And, of course, the highlight of the day is picking out the perfect speciman from the pumpkin patch to trasform into your Halloween Jack-O-Lantern. You might want to pick up an extra pumpkin to do a little baking. Jackie at Kids Dish has an amazing recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies up that I am already addicted to. They are relatively healthy and still manage to be absolutely delicious!

When you set out to obtain your perfect baking pumpkin, make sure that you enter the pumpkin patch at either 8550 Currey Road or 8700 Sievers Road both of which can be accessed from I-80, about 30 minutes west of Sacramento. The farm is open every day until October 31st from 9:00AM to 9:00PM. Be sure to bring your own falshlight if you will be entering the maze in the evening and plan on spending anywhere from one hour to three hours inside the maze depending on how good your navigational skills are. Also, you may want to keep in mind that the weather here is still likely to be wet during the early part of the week. However, the weather is set (fingers-crossed anyway!) to warm up a bit when the sun comes out this weekend so I’d recommend that you plan to embark on your adventure Saturday-ish. Have a wonderful time and be on the lookout for other fabulously frightening things to do this Halloween season!

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There aren’t really very many concerts scheduled for the remainder of October. The biggest one is probably going to be the Sacramento stop of the Revolve Tour at Arco Arena. The Revolve Tour is a weekend long event for teenaged girls who are in 6th-12th grade. It is a Christian conference sponsored by Women of Faith. The conference features music, drama, and life-stories geared towards helping girls to establish or further develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Some of the big names who will be there include Natalie Grant, Ayiesha Woods, and Laura Wilkinson. The conference begins on Friday October 19th at 7:00PM and will continue through Saturday October 20th at 9:00AM. Individual tickets cost $69.00 though they do offer a $10.00 discount for groups of ten or more. You can register by calling 877-9-REVOLVE or by visiting their website. Group registration needs to be made at 800-778-5856 x214 or by email at rraju@revolvetour.com. If you mention the code ARCO, they will give you $10.00 off per person.

You might also want to check in at your local church to see if they have any spare tickets from people who have cancelled. I know that my parents’ church usually offers these at a last minute discounted rate. I’m fairly sure that other churches do the same as tickets are non-refundable. In any case, I would definitely recommend sending your daughters if you can afford it. My mom and I always go to Women of Faith together and it is just such a wonderful experience that I know you won’t regret it!

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Weather.com is forecasting another wet week for us here in Sacramento, with a high chance of showers through Wednesday. I’m admittedly the last person in the world who would complain about this–I adore the rain and wish it would rain every day. However, I know that the weather will produce all kinds of mischief in children who are bored and have nothing better to do. (It’ll do the same for some adults out there too for that matter!) Thus, I’ve put together a few ideas for fun things that you can do with your children to keep you from driving each other absolutely insane.

The first is simply to get them out of the house so they can’t destroy it Cat in the Hat style. My personal reccommendation would be to cart them off to Fairfield to tour the Jellybelly Factory. It would make an excellent selection for three reasons. The first is that it is a walking tour through a factory–what better way could there be to tire out your kids and let them vent all of their pent up energy? The second is that admission is free so that everyone can have fun without straining the bank accounts too much. The best part though is that it is in Fairfield and not too close to the city itself. It’s about 45 minutes away which makes it close enough to drive and yet far enough away that it probably won’t be too busy or crowded–especially during the weekdays!

If you don’t want to leave the house, then you could always find something creative and time consuming to keep their little minds busy. My personal choice would be scrapbooking. Kids of all ages love arts and crafts projects–especially ones that involve pictures of themselves. They may not get tired out from it, but since it is so time-consuming this is not likely to matter very much. Plus, Teresa McClary has some really wonderful ideas up here at (Scr)apropos so you won’t have to go searching too far for page layout ideas. Her site also has a variety of digital how-to videos that–as I know from personal experience–will help prevent a ton of stress and guarantee that everyone has more fun in the long run…

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If you’re looking for something to do this weekend, I’d recommend that you check out the Sacramento State homecoming game on Saturday. The Hornets will battle it out against Montana beginning with the kickoff at 2:05PM. However, the parties and tailgates will be starting much earlier than that at 10:00AM.

In addition to the big game, it is also Herky’s 60th birthday so there are all sorts of things going on to commemorate the special occasion. The hornet’s birthday will be celebrated from 10:00AM-2:00PM at the pre-game homecoming festival in the Alumni Center. There will be a parade and also a piñata for the kids. His birthday is also being celebrated on myspace and on youtube. Myspace has up baby pictures, drawings, and other goofy fun things like that. Youtube is having a contest where you can make a video wishing Herky a happy 60th and upload it for a chance to win an ipod. All you have to do is join their youtube group. Submission are due by Friday at 12:00PM which doesn’t leave much time to churn out something really fabulous. However, they will also be handing out Java City giftcards to random entries. So, even if your video sucks, you might still get something out of it. Furthermore, when I went there tonight, there were opnly four entries so far so the odds are pretty decent.

There is even going to be a tailgate contest for Herky’s birthday. You just have to decorate your tailgate area in Herky’s honor with bonus points for lots of green and gold. To enter, be sure to stop by the Alumni Association booth (on the southwest edge of parking lot eight) to register your tailgate between 10:00AM and 12:00PM. Judging will take place at 12:30PM to determine who will take home the $200.00 prize.

Tickets for the game will be as follows:
$8.00 for General Admission
$12.00 for Reserved Seating
$15.00 for Reserved Premium Seating

The school is located at 6000 J Street just off of Highway 50. Stop by to show your support and have a good time doing it.

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The 2007 Sacramento International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival is set to run this weekend from Thursday October 11th to Saturday October 13th. The majority of the films on the schedule are repeats from former years. However, there are also six new titles being released at the festival this year.

The first of these, Eddie, will be shown on Thursday night at 7:30PM. The 8-minute Quentin Kruger film offers a glimpse into the life of ten-year-old Eddie who struggles to deal with the early onset of her menstrual cycle and the ramifications it has on her desire to just be one of the guys. Another new film will also appear in Thursday night’s lineup. Andrea Blundell’s 3-minute film Four Feet features a psychic’s intervention in the love life of the main character, Veronica.

There will only be one new film on Friday, October 12th. However it is significantly longer–at 90 minutes–which more than makes up for the lack of other new films. In Jonah Markowitz’ Shelter, portrays a journey of self-discovery and the awakening of sexual awareness for Zach, a recent high school graduate. Critics are already calling it the start of a wonderful career for newcomer Trevor Wright. In addition, the film also features stellar performances by Tina Holmes of Six Feet Under and Brad Rowe of Billy’s Hollywood Screen Kiss. In addition to the cast, critics also are saying that it has an amazing emo sountrack and beautiful sets that make it “a sensory treat.”

The final three new films will be shown on Saturday. Two of them are also short films–Michelle Sperber’s It Was a Saturday and Carolina Roca-Smith’s Members Only. It Was a Saturday is the love story of two dance students. The film’s music is likely to be the spotlight. Some of it was composed by BettyAnn Conner although the film also features music from Rachel Cantu, Tracy Bonham, Lisa Hall, and Cascada. Members Only tells the proverbial story about the new kid in town who can’t get a date. It’s a bit over used, but the director’s website looks fresh and young and hopefully that same joie de vivre will translate over into her film.

The film that is being considered the highlight of the festival though is Amara Stefani’s 10-minute film Being Lisa. This seems a bit bizarre to me since there wasn’t really anything online about either her or her film. Maybe it’s because it stretches the limits a bit further than traditional gay and lesbian films? After all, the main character is transgender and I’ve only heard of one or two other movies which feature transgender characters. Anyway, it’d be worth checking out just because the critics seem to think it’s so worthwhile. It will be shown during the Saturday matinee which begins at 2:00PM.

The festival is going to be held at The Crest Theater which is located at 1013 K Street. Tickets can be purchased at the box office or at tickets.com. Admission for one film is $9.00. You can also purchase a pass for all of them for $30.00. In addition, there will be an opening night reception at Chops Restaurant. The reception costs $25.00 and includes appetizers and one drink. Tickets for the reception can only be obtained by contacting festival officials directly. If you need directions, contact the theater directly at 916-44-CREST or visit their website.

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A woman was waiting for the bus Monday morning on the corner of San Juan and Truxel Road when she was approached by a teenager with an infant. The girl reportedly asked the woman if she could hold the child while she prepared a bottle for him. When the woman agreed and took the baby, the teenager took off running. Police took the child to UC Davis Medical Center and he is supposedly in good health. They are currently looking for the mother. The Sacramento Bee describes her as “white, 5-foot-3, with a small build and strawberry blonde hair.” Eye witnesses say she looks to be about 16 years old. Anyone with information pertaining to her whereabouts or identity is urged to come forward to the police at 916-443-HELP. Charges may be brought against her, but at the moment they are only looking to talk to her.

It’s terrible that this type of thing is still happening in California. After all, the state legally allows mothers to drop unwanted children off at any hospital within three days of the child’s birth with no questions asked. We obviously need to further educate our youth on teen pregnancy and the options that are available to them since–hopefully–this girl didn’t know that this option was available to her…

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I was talking to my mom on the phone the other day and she was telling me about how my little brothers had joined a bowling league. It occurred to me then that I had never even seen a bowling alley in Sacramento so I decided to do some research. I found one, Country Club Lanes and Lazer X, which was even listed on Yahoo Travel’s list of the top things to do in Sacramento. Their website also boasts that they have been voted the “Best Bowling Alley” by Sacramento Magazine for four years running.

Their webpage makes it look like a fun place to take kids of all ages as well. They offer 48 lanes–all of which are equipped with automatic bumper bowling–so they are capable of hosting a very large number of visitors. They also have thirteen plasma TV’s strewn about the alley so that everyone has something to do when it isn’t their turn to bowl. The catch is that you will want to go with a big group of people and not just by yourself because they charge per lane and not per person or per game. Prices all include one hour and one lane and range in price from $27.00 to $42.00 depending on the day and time that you go. However, they also offer a variety of discount packages for birthday parties and coporate events if you are going to have a really large party. In fact, their banquet rooms can host agroup of up to 500 people! Their Sky Room includes two dance foors, a stage, a full service bar, and access to a prep kitchen for those events that are a bit more formal. They say that they do wedding receptions there as well–but I frankly think that sounds a bit odd.

In addition to bowling they offer several other means of entertainment–prize and video arcades, a bar/ lounge, and Lazer X. Prices for Lazer tag range from $6.00 to $8.00 although, again, discounts are avialable for large groups. They can accomodate up to 26 people at a time and you get to play for one hour. They even do “team-building” exercises at Lazer X which sounds infinitely better than the regular run-of-the-mill staff meetings we have at work. It sounds like an interesting change of pace if nothing else–especially if you’re looking for a way to increase cooperation without boring your employees to tears.

Anyway, I reccommend that everyone go and check it out sometime during the week when the rates aren’t as high. It’s located at 2600 Watt Avenue on the corner of Watt and El Camino. You can call 916-483-5105 or visit their site for directions. Have a great Monday!

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