Imagine being a child in a world with endless possibilities for creativity. Welcome to Art Beast, an art studio for children located at 2226 K St. Children of all ages are encouraged to act, paint, color, play and dream inside the sacred walls of Art Beast. Parents and adults feel like the visitors in this magical world. The Art Beast contains three floors and a basement perfect for letting your child's creativity run wild. "Everything is here in this building," grandma Rose Orlandi said as she watched her two grandchildren ages 4 and 2. "Clay. Sand. Paint. They have it all and I don't have to worry about getting it on my carpet. Where else can I play too?" Different floors are dedicate

As the rain came in with the cold front, News 10, Swansons Cleaners and The Salvation Army were on hand to deliver coats to those without. Wednesday marked the 19th annual Coats for Kids, and this year's drive raised over 33,000 coats that were handed out all over the region. Eight distribution centers were scattered from Stockton to Lodi, Fairfield to Roseville and Cal Expo. 15,000 coats were handed out at the Cal Expo distribution center alone. "This is our largest center by far," Sacramento County Salvation Army Coordinator David Bentley said. "By comparison, the Roseville center will only hand out approximately 1,500 coats." Long lines wrapped around makeshift rows at Cal Expo buil

Looking into the eyes of 12-year old Camela, one would never know that she was an “AIDS orphan” from Uganda. Her eyes and her stories mirror not the tragedies of the past, but the promise and hope of the future, and the happiness and sense of community provided by the Matsiko Children’s Choir, currently touring California. On Dec. 19, the choir performed at a sold-out show at the West Sacramento-based Center for Spiritual Awareness. Matsiko, which means “hope” in Swahili, provides just that to the 29 at-risk children in the choir. The children, dressed in bold yellows, oranges and reds, delivered a performance full of infectious energy, continually engaging their audience with hugs, hands

A Christmas tree of lights brightens the front entrance to Sacramento's Shriners Hospital for Children during the holidays. Shriners Hospitals for Children is an international health care system providing high quality pediatric specialty care to thousands of kids each year. All care is provided with no financial obligation to the patient or their family. Their mission is made possible solely through the generosity of donors. There are many ways to give from direct gifts to planned gifts. All gifts, big or small, make a difference. For more information, please visit: shrinershospitals.org SacPress Photo | Kati Garner

One of the best kept secrets of the South Sacramento area is a small, private school tucked away in the Lanai Shopping Center on Freeport Boulevard, neighboring the Sacramento Executive Airport, where it has existed in rented space for 21 years. Over the years, most of the shopping center tenants have moved away. Meanwhile, countless hours of parent, teacher and student work have gone into transforming a run-down property into a school with colorful classrooms and playgrounds. It has an understated entrance, but Camellia Waldorf School is an oasis for children. The kindergarten yard is home to Mr. Mountain, a big pile of dirt, and Ms. Sandy, a big pile of sand. There are climbing struct

The Neighborhood Services Department invites you and your children to join us this Friday from 10am to 3pm for a fun and safe Halloween trick or treat celebration at New City Hall (915 I Street). Ghosts, goblins, and characters of Halloween will roam the passages of City Hall giving away sweets and treats. We look forward to seeing you.

The Sacramento City School District held a board meeting on 10-15-09 at Kennedy high school in which many issues that the school district is facing for the year were discussed in a public forum. The big issue at the board meeting revolved around the hours being to cut to instructional aides who work with special needs children. The aide’s hours are being cut from 6 hours to 5 hours. Some parents were extremely upset about the cuts. One parent Rebekah Norris whose daughter has been going to school for almost 14 years expressed her frustration over the cuts. Ms. Norris said “the budget cuts have put her special needs daughter safety at risk.”Her concerns were of such things as bathroom duti

Being a mother means that you have a ton of things to juggle on an everyday basis. However, being a mother does not mean that you have to suffer or feel overwhelmed about your daily activities. One activity that many moms might view as a chore is cooking. Women across the country are constantly looking for ways to provide nutritious meals for their families while making sure that they do not spend too much time in the kitchen. “Cooking All Together” is an online show designed to motivate families to get in the kitchen and cook with their children. Our hosts are a 31year old working mother (Ciara) and her 7 year old daughter (whose nick name is Nani). "Cooking All Together" provides its vie

Come join us in celebrating 22 years of the Hoes Down Harvest Celebration in the Capay Valley (Yolo County).  This celebration will promote agricultural arts and sustainable rural living through two fun-filled days of workshops and events.  Located within two hours of San Francisco and Sacramento’s busy metropolitan areas, the rural Capay Valley region is home to many small farms that supply Northern California’s families, restaurants, and neighborhood grocery stores with fresh organic produce.  The Celebration will offer the public a special chance to enjoy rural life and deepen their understanding and connection to the local food system. On Saturday, October 3rd, the Harvest Festival at

SACRAMENTO – In a new twist to the benefit walk, area residents who support the health of our region’s children will walk Arden Fair Mall on Saturday, Oct. 17, as part of Together for Kids’ fund-raising campaign called Walk Across America. A full 100 percent of the funds raised during the local walk will go directly to the specialty care services at the Children’s Center at Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento, where many of the children throughout the region and beyond receive their care from birth to 18 years old for conditions ranging from low birth weight, cancer and brain tumors to diabetes and congenital heart defects. The goal of the Sacramento walk is to help bring better health care

Ever since the 1950’s, the video telephones has been flaunted as an inevitability. And yet 50 years later, at a time when cell phones and the internet are considered essential services by most, video telephone phones remain a mere possibility to all but 0.7% of all households in the U.S. That number may change dramatically if the teachers and tutors at the Neuro-Linguistic Learning Center in El Dorado Hills, California have their way. The NLC has unveiled a new In-Home Tutoring Program that offers free video telephones to families with children who are struggling in school. The in-home tutoring program is aimed at kindergarten though high school children struggling with chronic learning

Hey parents, wondering how to keep your little beasts - er, I mean children - busy for the rest of the summer? Let your free-range kids explore Artbeast, a newly opened art studio for the little ones in midtown Sac. It's full of art exploration rooms and loads of classes. Kids can really dig into the arts. An ArtBeast monthly membership offers unlimited time in the open studio and arts exploration rooms, and one or two weekly arts classes.   Let 'em get their feet muddy.   And their hands, too!   They'll love it. Really!   They can sing and mess around playing somebody else. Dramatic play spaces change monthly so children can explore the creation of story li

Grab your poles, bring your kids and come on out for some good ol' fun, family fishing at Granite Regional Park. I am proud to say thanks to myself, a few other volunteers, and several sponsors, the Annual Gone Fishin’ Derby – an event held at Granite Regional Park for the past five years – will continue its sixth derby this year despite the bad economy and the Director’s medical conditions. The event will take place on Saturday, August 1 from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the Granite Point area of Granite Regional Park and is open to the public. Refreshments will be provided at no cost, along with loaner fishing poles from the Department of Fish and Game for those needing it. Children’s priz

On Tuesday evening, hundreds of workers with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) congregated at the steps of the Capitol to voice their frustrations with how the state legislature is handling the budget. Yvonne Walker, President of the SEIU, opened the rally with a fiery speech about how state workers “are on the tipping point,” with the continued proposals to cut state workers’ pay and adding a third furlough day. Walker described the two-day furlough already in place for state workers as “the equivalent of one month’s pay.” She explained an additional day of unpaid leave would increase the financial burden on state workers, causing some to lose their homes. Workers were w

A swarm of children took over the Capitol Tuesday to defend education in the face of massive budget cuts.  Ranging in age from eight years old to 18 years old, students from all over California sought to answer the question, "What is the purpose of public schools?" The Children's Rally, coordinated by Sandra Tsing Loh, an author and member of the Burning Moms organization, is a congregation of young students as participatory citizens in the political dialogue of their state legislature. The Burning Moms originated as a group of parents, fathers included, who had frustrations about the education system in California. “I'm a Proposition 13 baby, and my children continue to be affected by

The SCUSD Board of Education voted 5 – 1, with 1 abstention, to drastically reduce summer school programs for the next two years - effective immediately. The decision eliminates all programs for elementary and middle school students, and reduces summer school for high school students. In addition, special education programs will be reduced and adult school programs will either be reduced or converted to a fee based system. The decision will also impact almost 300 district employees, some of whom planned to report to work as early as today. In her opening statements, Interim Superintendent Susan Miller stressed that the budget for this and next fiscal year was balanced as of May 14th, but

SACSCUBA Dive for Earth Day continued at HURRICANE BAY LAKE TAHOE.  We will be making a Splash   Lake Tahoe, CA– This 21st day, 2009 June, SACSCUBA and community volunteers will join in the action for Project AWARE Foundation’s global Dive for Earth Day events continuation. More than 300 collective events will take place in over 100 countries around the world and SACSCUBA will make a local splash for this conservation celebration. Join SACSCUBA hikers, bikers, walkers, divers and snorkel volunteers to keep Lake Tahoe clean. Let’s start the summer off right! We will be meeting at 9am. Please stop by Sacramento Scuba World, Sacramento or Fisheye Scuba, Folsom. Each year, divers and water

This summer let the Crocker Art Museum’s world-class art collection be your source for exploration, instruction and inspiration. The Crocker presents more than 20 educational opportunities this summer for children, teens and adults interested in expanding and exercising their artistic awareness and abilities. All classes are taught by highly skilled teaching artists and are designed to encourage students to unleash their imaginations while receiving formal lessons in color, line, texture and a variety of media. Summer Art Classes for children range from two-day workshops to week-long sessions, and this year marks the first series of Summer Art Classes for Adults. The Crocker’s Teen Action

The City of Rancho Cordova and the board of the new Sacramento Children’s Museum have announced that a site in Rancho Cordova has been selected to be the home of the region’s newest family-oriented attraction. The Sacramento Children’s Museum (SCM), a hands-on, interactive center will be located at 2701 Prospect Park Drive in Rancho Cordova, next to City Hall. The Museum is scheduled to open in January 2010. “We are pleased and proud to be a partner in this outstanding endeavor that will be a destination attraction, not only for our City but for the entire Sacramento region,” said Rancho Cordova Mayor Dan Skoglund after the SCM board gave a presentation at the April 20th City Council meet

There were so many events going on this week in Sacramento that I had to break them up into two articles (and still there are so many more!). This is a diverse compilation of things to do under $20 this week. From lectures, concerts & festivals, to health classes and job fairs, you are bound to find something you'll like! Keep an eye out for my next article in which I will feature all of the fundraisers and benefits this week...  Monday 4.20 Lecture: Andrew Sean Greer - Free When: 1pm Where: CSUS- Union Ballroom (Free parking on Lot 10) Why: Andrew Sean Greer is the bestselling author of The Story of a Marriage, a lyrical novel about love and longing, and the political, sexual, and raci