Sacramento, CA

Happy New Year everyone! I figured that there had to be at least a couple of people who don’t have anywhere to be on New Year’s Eve this year and I thought I’d enlighten you. Anyway, the big party to close out the year will be at the Hilton. The Professionals Guild is holding their biggest singles party of the year at the hotel. Tickets are only $50.00 for members. However, unlike the Halloween party, tickets can now only be purchased over the phone at 916-786-5858. If you’re not a member, the rate is $65.00 if you purchase them by tomorow at 6:00PM. These tickets can be purchased online and picked up at the Will Call Station. Tickets are also available at the hotel front desk for the same price before the party starts. The party will go from 8:30PM to 1:00AM.

Innersoul and The Groove Thang will be playing simultaneously in different rooms. A DJ will be playing different music in a third room and the fourth ballroom at the Hilton will be transformed into a mini-Casino. All guests will receive two free drink tickets as well. In addition, there will be champagne fountains and a big balloon drop at midnight. The dres code is semi-formal. Casual dress will not be allowed and a coat and tie are preferred.

Since everyone will likely be drinking, the hotel is offering a special room rate for partygoers. Rates begin at $139 and go to $189 depending on the type of package and room you want to get. If you are reserving your room online, make sure to enter the promotional code ANY when prompted. Be safe and have a very Merry New Year’s Eve!!!

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It just isn’t Christmas until you’ve seen at least one performance of The Nutcracker Ballet. I don’t know if it’s the appeal of a dream world where fantasy can become reality or the irresistable pull of Tchaikovsky’s Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, but there is just something so devestatingly sweet about this ballet that renders it both heartbreaking for the innocence that we have lost yet soothing for the innocence that it awakens in us anew. Whatever the reason, it is one of those stories from my youth that I just can’t leave behind this time of year.

Lucky for all of us fanatics of nostalgia here in Sacramento, we don’t have to leave it behind. We get to embrace it annually without fear that it wno’t be around next year. We are forever safe in the knowledge that Ron Cunningham’s version of The Nutcracker has been playing at the Sacrmaneot Ballet for two decades and that it shall likely continue for at least two more. (After all, if ain’t broke don’t fix it!!!) Yet somehow I still almost forgot about it this year which would have REALLY broken my heart. Thankfully, there are still seven shows remaining. Two of them are today–the 12:00PM matinee performance and the evening performance which will start at 4:00PM. The next will be on Friday, December 21st at 7:00PM. Two more will follow on December 22nd–one at 2:00PM and one at 7:00PM. Then, the final two performances will be on December 23rd at 12:00PM and 4:00PM respectively. To my knowledge, there are still tickets reamining for all of these times. Seats range in price from $25.00 to $65.00 per person. All performances will be held at the Sacramento Community Center Theater which is located at 1301 L Street. Have fun and let the dancers carry you away with them to the Kingdom of the Sweets!

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The Discover California Wine Bar & Tasting Room is holding its third annual California Christmas Party on Thursday December 13th from 5:00PM to 8:00PM. It’s the perfect opportunity to show visiting relatives from out-of-state what it really means to be a Californian. There will be delectable Californian wines and food to taste and the decor will be entirely California based. They are even going to have a Californian Santa Claus who will be dressed in shorts and sunglasses carrying his favorite surf board. All attendees will receive beach balls, sunglasses, and visors to add to the summery ambience. You also get a complimentary wine glass with the Discover California logo on it. The price is only $15.00 per person–just remember that no one under 21 will be allowed to attend. However, since it is going to be in downtown Sacramento, you could just drop them off at the Westfield ice rink on your way over…

In any case, it’s sure to be one of the few activities geared entirely towards adutls for the Christmas season. That means it’s one of your only chances to escape your own belvoed little demons for a couple of hours. Furthermore, it should be entirely worth it just to see Santa and all of the idiots who will show up in summer attire freeze their butts off. Frankly, I can think of no better source of entertainment then watching someone become disabused from the sunshine image California is so often associated with. it’s sure to be worth at least a couple of laughs–as long as you’re not one of the idiots trying to be in costume that is!!!

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For me, the Christmas season is the perfect excuse to become a child again. It’s even EASY because there are always all kinds of activities to help you relive those lost days when everything was viewed with innocent wonder. In fact, it’s as easy as a trip to Old Sacramento today.

The fun will begin at Stage Nine Entertainment Store, Inc from 12:00PM to 4:00PM. Stage Nine will be celebrating the 55th Anniversary of Disney’s Peter Pan with a couple of special guests of honor. Kathryn Beaumont–the voice of both Wendy and Alice–and Margaret Kerry–the original model for Tinkerbell–will both be present ot help celebrate. Tim Rogerson will also be unveiling his newest Sacramento-themed Disney piece, Flying Over Sacramento. In the painting, the characters are depicted flying over Sacramento’s Tower Bridge instead of London’s classic bridge. Canvas editions of the painting will be available for $395.00 and lithographs will also be sold for $119.00. They may sound expensive, but I can guarantee that their value–both monetary and sentimental–will explode as everything else Disney is wont to do. In addition, they will be collecting gifts for needy children so that you can help to make it just as special for someoen else as it is for you.

If you’re not comfortable with the blatantly childish, there is also something a bit more subtle to attract your attention in Old Sacramento today–the Capital City Yacht Club’s Annual Holiday Lighted Boat Parade. All decorated boats are welcome to join in the parade regardless of whether you are a member of the Yacht Club. If you’re like me and you’d rather just watch, then you can do so from one of two points. The boats will meet up at Miller Park at 6:00PM and will then travel down the river to Old Sacramento at around 7:00PM. The best viewing areas are of course on the waterfront and on board the Delta King so you will want to find a spot early on. Anyway, I’m sure it will be just as good as Disney’s Fantasmic so you can be a kid again without admitting to it!

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After a rather dry October, there are *gasp* actually a few concerts scheduled for November. Sadly, due to the weather, none of them are at Sleeptrain and concert-goers will be forced to endure the crowds at Arco Arena instead. The first one scheduled is for the live tour of So You Think You Can Dance. The top ten finalists including the winner–Sabra–will perform on Saturday Novemeber 24th at 8:00PM. Doors will open at 7:00PM with the parking lot available starting at 6:00PM. Tickets range in price from $35.00 for the upper levels to $54.50 for seating on the lower levels or the main floor, so it’s really not going to be all that expensive.

The next concert of the month will be the following day (Sunday, Novemeber 25th) when the Trans-Siberian Orchestra will be having two different performances at Arco Arena. The first will be at 3:00PM and the second at 7:30PM. Tickets begin at $35.50 for the upper level and go to $49.50 for the lower level and the main floor. Their Winter Tour is an incredible tribute to the Christmas Season which I would highly reccommend everyone to see at least once in their lifetime. They employ a special combination of rock and roll and classical music that somehow manages to create the most unique and beautiful synthesis that I’ve ever heard. If you can’t afford to go to one of the concerts, at least stop by and pick up a CD or two from your local Wal-Mart. (I would personally reccommend A Mad Russian’s Christmas!!) They’re only around $5.00 and the website has samples of their songs that you can listen too. I promise you won’t be disappointed, instead becoming just as fascinated and as enthralled with them as I am.

Arco Arena will also be hosting Van Halen on Tuesday November 27th. Tickets for the 7:30PM concert range in price from $49.50 for the upper levels to $149.50 for the main floor. I’ll be the first to admit that I would love to see Van Halen. Furthermore, I know I’m not the only corny girl out there who still adores Pretty Woman. However, I just can’t bring myself to advise anyone to pay that much to see them. I’ve been very disillusioned the past couple of years by older rock bands who just don’t sound the same anymore–*cough* The Rolling Stones at the Super Bowl *cough*–and I don’t think it’s fair for them to charge so much only to let our expectations fall flat. Perhaps I’m being too cynical, but I just don’t think it’s worth the risk for that price. Sometimes, I think it’s just better to let bygones be bygones…

The final Arco Arena concert for Novemeber will be on Friday, November 30th. 107.9 The End is putting on their annual Jingle Ball show. This year, the Sacramento lineup will include Fall Out Boy, Gym Class Heroes, Plain White T’s, and Cute is What We Aim For. Tickets range in price from $29.25 to $34.25. Granted, this is a pretty good deal and Fall Out Boy is inarguably amazing. However, I would reccommend that you save your pennies and go the second Jingle Ball instead. It’s going to be at the Stockton Arena on December 1st. They have a much better lineup (in my opinion anyway) for around the same price. Avril Lavigne, OneRepublic, Sean Kingston, and Natasha Bedingfield will be performing at that concert. The tickets are a couple dollars more and it is certainly a lot farther to drive, but it’ll still be worth the extra effort!

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Okay, so I know this is going to sound totally malicious and evil but I just couldn’t help but laugh at how far the mighty have fallen. I’m talking of course about the Sacramento Kings whose longtime sold-out record was shattered on Tuesday–officially dethroning them from a title they have been building since 1999. Until Tuesday, the Kings had a 354 home game streak of sold-out games. Not only have they fallen, they have fallen HARD. Instead of being sold-out, their opening game has the record for the lowest attended opening game in the NBA this season.

Melody Gutierrez at the Sacramento Bee wrote a really graet article about it today. She listed all kinds of reasons that sellers have been giving for the severe decline in ticket sales. All the usual suspects were there–you know, not being in the playoffs last year for the first time in ages, poor organization in the advertising department, etc, etc. However, I think it’s safe to say that we all know the REAL reason they can’t sell tickets anymore–and it has nothing to do with any of the lies they’ve been spewing.

Frankly, it’s because the fans have become disenchanted as a result of arrogance which the team has displayed over the past year or so. The entire franchise let itself get way too big headed this past year. First there was that whole issue with wanting the city to pay for a new arena when Arco Arena is perfectly fine. Everyone knew they just wanted to have a bigger arena so they could sell-out with an even higher number of tickets. After all, goodness knows 17,317 tickets per game just isn’t enough! They just wanted to make more money and have the tax payers pay to let them do so.

When you add to that the fact that they didn’t make it to the playoffs, it really just adds further insult to injurey. I know this will sound stupid, but a lot of people I know stopped going to the games this year because they took the loss as a personal offense. To them, it was almost as if the Kings had lost on purpose because they hadn’t gotten their way. It was like a way to punish their fans. Now, I know this is illogical–but then when have the masses EVER been known for their superior grasp of logic?

Personally I think this is the funniest thing ever. I think that athletes NEED reality checks and that they don’t get them nearly often enough. Frankly, I think it’s hillarious when they have their plans and pathways shattered because they seem so shocked about it. Their gigantic egos won’t allow them to accept–or even really understand–what has happened to them. Then they try to explain it away as someone else’s fault. In the end, the spectacle is just the most entertaining part of professional sports.

For me, this was almost like the proverbial icing on the cake. After all, at the end of last year, the Sacramento Monarchs just had a spectacular dethroning at the end of this past season too!!! I know that sounds mean, but it’s just nice to know they’re still human too you know? Besides, reality checks are motivational. I mean look at the Kings–they WON on Tuesday…

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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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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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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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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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