(Tais and Adam Saake hosts of S&R Third Saturday)

This month’s Third Saturday event, as usual, was very entertaining. Adam Saake and Tais once again were the hosts for the event. I said it before, and I’m saying it again, these guys should start a comedy act. Maybe next month, after September’s Third Saturday is over they can walk over to Front Street and take their act to Laughs Unlimited. This Saturday they introduced two musical acts, three fashion designers, a dance group and reminded shoppers about visiting the many vendors who had set up shop on the lower level of the Westfield Galleria downtown across from Macys.

Zak Norlyn was the first musical act of the day. Although I only caught the last couple of songs of his act I was able to enjoy his guitar playing and what I believe were original songs. Zak has been around for a while and the last place I heard of him was with the band Calling Morocco.

After a short intermission a dancing group from Elk Grove called Forward Motion came on stage for a series of dances. They hold classes in their Dance 2D Rhythm Studio located on Laguna Springs Drive in Elk Grove. Classes are open Monday to Friday and have affordable prices beginning at $6 a class. They offer 60 and 120 minute workouts at their studio. This group was very active on stage as they went from one dance routine to another. Some audience members tried to keep up as they danced in front of the stage. Dancers on stage and off stage seemed to enjoy moving to the rhythm of the music selection.

(Dancing with Forward Motion)

Another intermission followed Forward Motion’s routine. This gave me another chance to visit some of the vendor booths. I noticed some of the same vendors show up month after month and also saw some business that were there for the first time. First timers included KSB (keep skatin’ bro) Skateboard Company. They sell boards and provide lessons and are now looking to become active in the Sacramento market. Another new vendor was Mario Ramos, a very personable artist who was exhibiting his paintings and had a small table with some tie-dye shirts. Sacramento places of interest are apparent in his paintings and he also enjoys including people in those paintings. Mario has a website that he’s working on and will be updated in the next few weeks. He had a funny story regarding his website name. He noted, “You know my name is written on blackboards everywhere on this particular date?”. He went on to say that one day he was walking past a room and on the corner of his eye he thought he saw his name written on a blackboard. He stopped to look to see if he was mistaken. Sure enough on the board was Mar10 not Mario as he had suspected. He decided to use that as his website name but had to choose dot info (www.Mar10.info) since all other domain names had already been taken. He’s quite the character and has many funny stories to tell. He enjoyed the venue on Saturday and will be back next month.

(New vendors KSB Skateboard Company and artist Mario Ramos)

Fashion designs by Olla Ubay, Niki Kangas, and Phoenix Reign were exhibited and all were well received. During the first fashion show I stood by Liz Sivell who did the hair styles for Olla Ubay’s models. Liz does not have a website but does have a Facebook account for reference. Olla’s sister, Christine Harris, who did the makeup for Olla’s models, also enjoyed the show.

The Niki Kangas collection included many floral outfits. One and two-piece garments were included in the show and incorporated a couple of maternity outfits. Returning from last month’s showing was the upbeat collection of Phoenix Reign. This month’s collection seemed to be more colorful and the models had vibrant hairdos and makeup. Phoenix Reign’s collection was simple yet elegant. One piece in particular was a one piece dress that included a hoodie. The model showing off the outfit made it look very stylish and comfortable. The collection of Phoenix Reign seems to be bolder and quite chic. It’s a delight to watch her designs being paraded by experienced models.

One of the returning vendors from last month was A Touch of Color. Yvonne Warren has been bringing her jewelry and fiber designs to Third Saturdays for several months now. Her exquisite detailed work is very noticeable and you can tell that she’s had 30 plus years of experience with jewelry and handbags. Because of a conflict in plans she will miss next month’s event but will come back in October.

(Yvonne Warren owner of A Touch of Color)

Sacramento News and Review’s Adam Saake and Tais do a good job mentioning to support the vendors during the breaks. In today’s economy small vendors like the ones at this event have had a hard time and are looking of ways to get their goods and services out to the public. The owner of Mrs. Talbott’s Fresh Ideas, Eileen Hook, has set up her station for the past several months. She’s had mixed success selling her merchandise and needs to evaluate if she’ll be back next month. You can actually sit and admire her work as she creates pieces on the spot. She has a website and can also be followed via Facebook (Talbott & Co.)

(Eileen Hook owner of Mrs. Talbott’s Fresh Ideas)

The most colorful vendor station belonged to Fuzzy Dyez owned by Bill and Heather Vehorn. They have been participating in the 3rd Saturday event for a while. Not only are there many dresses, shirts and clothing but they also specialize in tapestries, some which were displayed and viewable, looking down, from the 2nd floor of the galleria. Heather was on hand and as we talked I realized that I had seen Fuzzy Dyez at a Celtic Midsummer festival back in mid June at a park in Fair Oaks. Many vendors who try to sell their goods and services travel all over Sacramento at different venues. Seasonal fairs and events is a way for many of these vendors to show off their hand-made merchandise as they travel from Folsom to Woodland, Elk Grove to Lincoln and many places in between.

(Heather Vehorn owner of Fuzzy Dyez)

Jonas Lynch, from Studio Tattoos and Art Gallery was back for the second time. He was working on a Jimmy Hendrix masterpiece throughout the Saturday event. This month he timed his artwork just right and finished his work before the show was over. This very talented artist went back and forth between working on his Hendrix work and the station where other pieces of his work, as well as tattoo books displaying work from the Roseville tattoo artists at The Studio Tattoos and Art Gallery, were displayed.

(Jimmy Hendrix and Jonas Lynch representing Studio Tattoos and Art Gallery)

The second, and last, musical act of the day featured Carly DuHain. This is the first time I’ve heard Carly and as soon as she began her first song I couldn’t help but sit and take notice. She has a wonderful raw but yet soothing voice. Most, if not all, of her songs were original compositions. Each song told a story or observations by Carly and in many cases was light hearted. I particularly enjoyed a song called Sitting Inside for a Sign. She wrote this for her mother and commented “I wrote this for my mom because she was afraid of turning 60 but there’s nothing wrong about turning 60”. The song went on to tell us about her mom wanting to do things but did not because she was Sitting Inside for a Sign (note the actual title might have been Sitting Inside Waiting for a Sign). Her music is available on cdbaby.com. I would characterize her style of music as blues/rock and she has a raspy voice reminiscent of Janis Joplin but her voice also reaches a wide range making every song as different as her stories.

August’s Third Saturday event was quite enjoyable. There are many stories waiting to be told as you visit the artists at each vendor station. Hand-made goods are plentiful and quite beautiful. The talent within is far reaching and the work produced in some cases is quite astonishing. Visit the next Third Saturday event in September and see for yourselves.

Photos:

1, 2 - Adam and Tais

3 - Zak Norlyn, 4 - Forward Motion

5 to 7 - Olla Ubay Collection

8 to 10 - Niki Kangas Collection

11 to 15 - Phoenix Reign Collection

16 - Carly duHain