Holiday Business

Scarecrows to haunt Old Sac

2009-09-19T14:36:23Z

Old Sacramento in the fall would be a little more lifeless without its scarecrows.

Every year for at least a decade, the scarecrows have turned up on balconies, wooden sidewalks and a spooky-looking park to enchant visitors.

But the scarecrows fell apart as they grew older. Business owners have become reluctant to adopt them for storefronts in recent years.

So six Sacramento artists -- most who live in the grid -- were recruited to breathe new life (death?) into more than two dozen scarecrows in time for Halloween. Melissa Martinez, the Old Sacramento Business Association's new leader, is playing up Halloween in the business district this year to draw more visitors and shoppers.

"This year, I want to take it to the next level," she said. "It's going to be awesome."

Visitors can make scarecrows Sept. 26 and trick-or-treat on Halloween. The eerie below-ground-level space known as Atlantis Park will be turned into Scarecrow Park, complete with spooky nocturnal scenes, dramatic lighting and the creepiest scarecrows. "Skeleton" crews will conduct train rides on the Spookomotive. Public ghost tours will take place on weekend nights. And a local paranormal investigative group will do its best to determine whether departed spirits linger in Old Sacramento.

Scarecrow restoration began two weeks ago when illustrator span style="text-decoration:line-through;">Jackie Jacquelyn Bond, clothing designer Leendah Munoz and engineer Eric Vierria pulled 26 scarecrows from a dark storage container on the edge of Old Sacramento. They and three others, including Ariana Gillespie, volunteered to redo the scarecrows on a $200 budget.

"We have some of the most notorious artists in Sacramento participating in this — people who are known by their art, but not by their faces," said Munoz, standing before scarecrows set out beneath the underbelly of I-5.

They quickly got to work disemboweling the life-size figures, whose bodies, clothes and heads were falling apart. The scarecrow miners, dance hall girls, gamblers, settlers and "corpses" with nooses around their necks were built around metal skeletons wrapped in insulation, raffia and newspaper— some that had been rotting and molding.

"As soon as we saw them, we said, 'Oh, yes. They need us. They called to us,' " Munoz said.

The artists said some of the faces, created with a mix of styles and materials, were even more chilling. They said styrofoam heads, cartoon visages and others made from faux vegetables and flowers seemed to have lost their original purpose at the tops of decrepit bodies.

"There's a few of 'em that are pretty creepy; extra 'Children of the Corn' y," Vierria said, referring to a movie.

Over the past two weeks, the artists re-formed and restuffed the bodies, using raffia on the appendages to create an authentic scarecrow look. Bond hunted through thrift stores for some replacement clothing and vacuumed the clothing that still covered scarecrow bodies. Hair was fixed and hats placed on heads.

After getting permission to be "a little edgier," the artists made plaster masks of themselves and their friends, then painted on tortured faces for frightening finishing touches.

"They just needed some love," Bond said.

For more information about Halloween in Old Sacramento, go to http://www.oldsacramento.com/events-and-activities.php.

Photos by Suzanne Hurt, a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Santa's workshop starts Saturday

2009-11-27T04:32:54Z

Santa Claus will set up shop in Midtown this year.

Beginning Saturday, Santa will read stories in his newest regional workshop, set up in a vacant retail space at 1801 L St., Suite 70. The Midtown Business Association and member businesses are sponsoring Santa's Toy Shoppe two or three times per day on weekends and certain other days until Dec. 23.

The workshop will be decorated for Christmas and sport an oversized rug where kids can sit and listen to Santa read for half an hour.

While some people say Santa is really a retired local law enforcement officer, MBA Executive Director Rob Kerth said that doesn't appear to be true.

"I think he actually is Santa," Kerth said. "The beard is real. The hearty laugh is real. The twinkle in the eye is real. Somebody's got to get him, so it ought to be Midtown."

The workshop, located next to Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates, is part of an effort by the MBA and Midtown businesses to draw potential shoppers by offering more holiday activities, Kerth said. Midtown is also home to an ice-skating rink this year and will host a night-time holiday parade, among other activities.

Building owner Sotiris Kolokotronis has donated the space for the workshop. Volunteers will help out at the events.

Santa also will pose for photos. Part of the proceeds will be donated to local charities, according to the MBA.

Admission will be $5 per child or $3 with the donation of an unwrapped toy. Adults accompanying kids get in free. To volunteer in the workshop, call 442-1500. For the workshop schedule, click here.

Photo by Kati Garner.

Midtown ice rink opens

2009-11-20T06:19:09Z

Rob Kerth has been getting plenty of Zamboni action the last few nights.

Midtown Business Association's executive director has been staying up late and going out in the early-morning dark to use the ice groomer to help create an ice-skating rink that opens at 10 a.m. Friday in Midtown.

"It's a tremendous amount of work to put up one of these portable rinks," Kerth said Wednesday. "I've been there until 4 in the morning at least five out of the last 10 days."

While most business association leaders might not even know how to spell "Zamboni," Kerth not only knows how to drive one, he owns one. And he has the license to drive it.

That's because until last year, Kerth owned Ice Unlimited, the company that built the holiday rink on a half-block of 20th Street next to J Street. Kerth and his father, William John Kerth, also designed 75 ice-skating rinks all over the country and on other continents as well.

The last rink they designed was at Squaw Valley's High Camp in 1990. The family also has owned Iceland Skating Rink since 1940.

The holiday rink was built in front of the MARRS Building this year due to conflicts at St. Rose of Lima Park, where a rink has operated every holiday for 18 years. The park was renovated and a Carnival of Lights is being held there this year.

Just two days before the Midtown rink was set to open, Kerth rushed to drop off sign materials at GW Print Media while Carlos Rios of Ice Unlimited scraped leaves off the new ice.

More than a dozen people helped build the rink and lay the ice. The project began Nov. 2, when the half block was closed. Skilled construction crews first built a wooden edge smack against street curbs.

They poured in gravel — 10 truckloads of it — and leveled it. Three-quarter-inch foam insulation went on top of the gravel to protect water mains and sewer pipes from freezing. A plastic sheet was laid on top of that and up the sides of the wooden edge, Kerth said.

Then, 69 pipes connected with u-bends on one end were laid. The 123-foot pipes were connected to headers or manifolds on the other end, Rios said.

About 1,800 gallons of saltwater is circulating now through three miles of pipes. Saltwater or "brine" is used because it freezes at a much lower point than fresh water.

The saltwater flows through bigger pipes into coolers inside a big trailer. That system chills the saltwater flowing out to 10 degrees, Rios said.

The saltwater warms up a few degrees outside, but the pipes stay cool enough to freeze the fresh water crews spray on the surface, little by little and layer by layer.

The water was sprayed from one end to the other and back again, forming layers until the ice is 4.25 inches thick. Most work took place between sundown and sunup, Kerth said.

The ice must be thick enough that a skate heel can't hit a pipe, Kerth said.

At 5,000 square feet, the 123-foot by 40-foot rink will be smaller than the St. Rose rink, which was 6,500-square feet.

Sponsors' names were set in the ice on mesh signs or around the rink. Major sponsors include Elk Grove-based Bell Brothers Heating and Air Conditioning, MARRS Building owner Heller Pacific, Harv's Car Wash, CBS13/CW31, California Pizza Kitchen and Sacramento City Councilmember Steve Cohn.

The rink will operate from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. all week. The rink will close at 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve. Hours on Christmas Day will be noon to 6 p.m. Two to three hours of skating are $5 for kids, $8 for adults. Skate rentals are $2.

The street will be closed for 90 days. The rink will operate until Jan. 18. The rink can hold 200 skaters.

Locals have been talking with MBA about holding activities on a small stage at one end. Some have talked about a tropical hula hoop demo. Fire dancers want to perform next to the ice. Two traveling musicians have talked about informal sessions on Friday nights and other bands may play Saturday nights, Kerth said.

Security will watch the rink overnight.

"They're there to help people not get hurt," Kerth said. "This is not like ice in the Sierras. It is the slickest surface that can be produced."

Photos by Kati Garner. Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Skaters hit ice in Midtown

2009-11-28T06:44:12Z

A crowd is slowly growing at the holiday ice-skating rink set up in Midtown this year.

The number of people skating at the rink's temporary new location was initially small after the rink opened a week ago on a half-block of 20th Street next to J Street. Numbers began growing the closer it got to the start of the holiday season, said Rob Kerth, executive director of the Midtown Business Association.

MBA found a new location and sponsors for the rink to replace the rink usually set up at St. Rose of Lima Park at 7th and K streets, in front of Westfield Downtown Plaza. The park was renovated and a Carnival of Lights is being held there this year.

The Midtown rink is hoped to bring in $200,000 toward the $250,000 cost to run the operation. Sacramento City Councilmember Steve Cohn provided $5,000 from his discretionary funding. MBA raised $50,000 in sponsorships and ad revenue to make up the difference, Kerth said.

People can rent figure skates for $2. Those who need to sharpen their own skates can call the rink's manager to arrange sharpening with a mobile skate sharpener. They can also get their skates sharpened at Iceland Skating Rink.

All-day parking is available for a holiday rate of $5 at a two-story garage at 1161 20th St. During the day, 120 spaces are available and 200 spaces are available at night. Parking also is available for $6 at a lot at 2220 J St. The rink expects to offer $6 valet parking soon if the city approves bagging two parking meters on J Street, outside Peet's Coffee and Tea, according to the MBA.

The rink will operate from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. The rink will close at 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve and Christmas, and open at noon on Christmas day.

Two to three hours of skating costs $5 for kids and $8 for adults. To get skates sharpened or for more information, call the rink at 752-4644.

Photo by Suzanne Hurt, a staff writer for The Sacramento Press.

Businesses divided over Midtown ice rink

2009-09-18T03:23:28Z

Sacramento's holiday ice-skating rink is coming to Midtown this year, thanks to the Midtown Business Association.

Members of its board voted Wednesday night to keep the palm-tree-studded capital's winter skating rink tradition alive by having an outdoor rink installed on the street of one the hottest blocks in town — 20th Street from J Street to the alley, between the Marrs Building's new businesses at 1050 20th St. and the Sacramento News & Review (SN&R) across the street.

"The ice rink is going ahead," said Rob Kerth, executive director of the Midtown Business Association (MBA) .

The vote — nine in favor and eight opposed — illustrated that business owners are not in agreement on the rink's merits.

Kerth proposed that the rink temporarily replace a seasonal rink that's been in operation for 18 years at Christmastime at St. Rose of Lima Park at 7th and K Sstreets. That rink, which was his father's idea, won't be built this year because of park and streetscape renovations. A Carnival of Lights will be held at the park instead.

Kerth acknowledged that the MBA and its members are is taking a risk by hosting the rink from Nov. 20 to Jan. 18. It will cost about $250,000.

He and a majority of board members say the rink will advertise Midtown's small businesses. The rink will attract people for holiday fun and provide an opportunity for businesses to encourage visitors to shop locally, Kerth said.

"The holidays are flooded with advertising, and it's very difficult to remind people of what you're offering," he said. "Any national chain in the Sacramento market is going to spend more on advertising than our entire ice rink budget. That's just not something that individual businesses can compete against."

The owners of Newsbeat, which moved to the Marrs Building about 18 months ago, have a "mixed" reaction to the rink, which will take up half a block, from J Street to the alley.

Terence Lott, who owns Newsbeat with his wife, Janis, said they expect crowds on the front deck would impact their business the most out of all the building's tenants because customers can access the newsstand from the front door only. The other businesses also have side entrances. The couple also worries about parking, which won't be available in front and may be a problem in the area for two months.

Yet they are "intrigued" at the possibility of being in the center of a "great community and civic function," Lott said.

"It's tantalizing, in the sense that it would bring people around," he said. "We don't anticipate that it would be disastrous — but there's an element of wait and see."

Other Midtown merchants are opposed to the rink and other events planned by the MBA.

Corey DeRoo said none of the events this year have increased the profits at French Cuff Consignment, which she owns at 2419 1/2 J St. with her mother, Darcy McNie.

"As we've understood it, the goal has been to bring folks to Midtown so they stay and shop and dine and play but instead people come to these events and many go home afterwards," she said in an e-mail.

DeRoo said she and other members of the MBA would prefer the association's money be spent on activities they believe would accomplish those goals, such as a marketing campaign to brand Midtown as a great destination and a beautification effort that would increase cleaning services and add trash cans, benches and flag markers.

"Unfortunately, with the passing of this terribly expensive and highly unpredictable ice skating rink, the money to accomplish any of these goals are gone," DeRoo wrote.

Sacramento City Councilmember Steve Cohn held a meeting with the city's decision makers, who agreed to close half a block of 20th Street and the sidewalk in front of SN&R, Kerth said.

There's still a possibility the 40-by-120 foot ice rink would be built at 18th and L streets if an adequate electrical supply isn't available in an electrical vault in the alley behind SN&R. Construction is expected to start begin Nov. 1.

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Retailers hope for best this holiday

2009-12-10T04:28:29Z

Sacramento retailers are still feeling the bitter sting of the recession this holiday season.

Local merchants selling everything from kids' snowshoes to William Shatner's first album are mostly reporting decreased sales — although some say 2009 holiday sales haven't been as dire as predicted.

"I think the holiday season will be a disappointment to most merchants," said Ed Castro, who owns Ed's Threads at 1125 21st St. "I'm not shooting for the moon, so I'm not going to be disappointed."

With the country's economy in its third year of recession, retailers operating downtown and throughout the central city are struggling the same as retailers elsewhere.

Industry-wide, holiday retail sales are forecast to decrease by one percent to $437 billion, according to the National Retail Federation. While that's an improvement over last year's 3.4-percent decrease in holiday sales during the months of November and December, that number lags behind a 10-year average of 3.39 percent holiday growth.

Many local merchants say they'd be happy just to make the same amount of profit as last year. After all, customers are feeling the sting too, business owners said.

"We're hearing from people now that sales are better than they expected, but as good as they want? Probably not," said Michael Ault, executive director of the Downtown Sacramento Partnership. "I think we're really seeing people just holding their own."

Susan Larson, who's operated a gift store called Mixed Bag in Midtown for 29 years, said she's "cautiously optimistic" after sales have been a little ahead this holiday. The store, located at 2405 K St., stocked with items Larson described as hard to find online, won't show a profit and go into the black until mid-December, she said.

"I don't expect it to be like it was two or three years ago. But still, I'm looking for the slide to stop," she said. "I'm happy if we show a little progress or just are even."

The hottest item in her store has been a "feel-good, silly item" called a ROFFLE, a plush beast that rolls on the floor laughing. All 24 sold the first day they were in the store.

"What that tells me is people are depressed and they're looking for something that makes them feel good," she said.

While November sales were down four percent for Fleet Feet at 2311 J St., the entire year has brought at least a seven percent increase in sales, said Pat Sweeney, who owns the store and national franchise with wife Jan Sweeney.

Trailmix.net, which started as a local outdoor blog and then online store, had its best online sales ever on Cyber Monday, just after Thanksgiving — which owners Mike and Sara Barlow say was because they opened a brick-and-mortar store selling kids' outdoor gear and educational toys focused on nature just six months ago in Old Sacramento.

The store is stocked with things like wooden toboggons, kids' snowshoes and backpacks, Yosemite scavenger hunt maps and astronomical charts. In-store sales over Thanksgiving weekend and Cyber Monday were the best so far, even better than Gold Rush Days, Mike Barlow said. Still, sales are not going as well as they'd like.

"People have been conservative and we can't blame them for that," he said.

Some business owners declined to discuss sales figures. While a few retailers have had bright spots, others are experiencing sizeable decreases.

"What you read about the economy being down 30 to 40 percent is accurate," said Dal Basi, a manager at R5 Records & Video, which Tower Records founder Russ Solomon opened in his former Tower Records store at 16th Street and Broadway. "Sales are not spectacular, and from talking to other people around town, everybody else is in the same boat."

Macy's, Inc., which operates the flagship store in Westfield Downtown Plaza, reported a 6.3 percent decrease in total sales for November, down from $2.324 billion to $2.177 billion. The company expects December sales to be stronger at more than 850 Macy's and Bloomingdale's department stores.

On the other end of the retail spectrum, sales at American Popcorn Company's popcorn wagon in Downtown Plaza are down 10 percent from last year, which was already down 15 percent from the year before, said owner Darlene Myers, who began the business with her late husband 25 years ago.

November and December are normally her two best months, but right now, with all the vacant stores in the plaza and K Street Mall, she said she's just trying to hang on to her business. Myers said she's optimistic sales will still pick up.

"Sometimes that last week right beore Christmas, people say, 'What the heck,' " she said. "Everybody caves in and says, 'We're having Christmas no matter what.' "

People buy more cheese popcorn, buttered popcorn and especially carmel corn during the cold winter months, she added.

"It smells like Christmas," Myers said. "If I have the bodies in the mall, I can sell them. All I need is the foot traffic."

To attract more customers in this tough market, retailers are offering sales, discounts and promotional items. They're also spending more time and money on product displays and lighting, Ault said.

"It's causing retailers to be more creative to get people in the door," he said.

Trent Harger, who opened Artworks 21 in Midtown in 2000, recently put up a huge, heart-shaped arched doorway over a gate to draw people to his store, which sells Mexican folk art, his original photos, books and other colorful, eclectic goods at 1812 J St. People have been getting their photos taken under it. Harger believes they may be posing for Christmas cards.

Fleet Feet drew people on Black Friday with a rare sale on electronics, books and sunglasses — items the store doesn't usually put on sale. Mixed Bag is giving away stuffed Christmas bears and snowmen with purchases at a certain amount.

Trailmix.Net is offering guest lecturers and activities for kids. Children and their parents can sit down in the store's workshop and paint reindeer ornaments or make picture frames using twigs and other natural items, Barlow said.

The store is also offering prizes to anyone — kids or adults — who completes a free Old Sacramento scavenger hunt. Most of the prizes are plastic dinosaurs and wooden chips good for a sarsaparilla at River City Saloon. But a ski lift ticket to Sugar Bowl is also buried inside the treasure chest with the other prizes.

At Ed's Threads, Castro draws people in by providing "very personalized" service when people come to shop at the only store in Sacramento dedicated to men's vintage clothing. While business has been a little down from last year, it's been consistent over the long haul, Castro said.

"I can't really complain when people all around me are failing," he said.

A self-described "clothes horse," Castro spends time working with men who come to buy for themselves and women or men who come to buy gifts — which are sweaters and jackets during the holidays. That service has drawn customers through word-of-mouth for 29 years.

"It's a labor of love," he said. "You don't do this for the money. You do it because you enjoy what you're doing."

Photos by Suzanne Hurt, a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.