Right now, I have 11 different hot sauces and a full pound of fresh jalapeño peppers in my fridge. It’s about par for the course. I incorporate chili peppers into almost every meal I prepare. For me, a really great meal is often a battle of attrition, from which I walk away sweating, with saliva flooding my mouth, tears welling in my eyes and endorphins coursing through my veins.            To paraphrase the great George Costanza, I would drape myself in chili peppers were it socially acceptable.            Sunday was the inaugural Roseville HOT pepper festival & chili cook-off. It is a rare event that can pull me away from the morning games on NFL Sunday Ticket, but a hot peppe

The reconstruction process on Sutter Street has curtailed entertainment and local vendor activity during Folsom’s Thursday Night Marketplace. Cooler weather on Thursday still did not bring out the crowds as in previous weeks. Next week will be the last Thursday Night Marketplace for the year and it will be the last opportunity for both entertainers and vendors to grab the attention of the smaller crowds. The Claddagh Irish Dancers, made up of young girls and women, entertained the audience for about ½ hour. Once they started their dance you could see the amount of time they put into practicing their craft. They all moved in unison and stood by motionless as certain members took the spotli

 Visitors had a rollicking good time Sunday at the second annual Sacramento Swing Time. The event at the California Auto Museum featured swing music from nine bands, and offered something for every musical taste, said Fun Monkey Entertainment’s Shonda Honkanen, event co-founder. “We have a whole roster of wonderful music from blues, to jazz, western swing and rockabilly music,” she said. “There’s a lot to listen to and a lot to dance to.” Entertainment also came in the form of unusual vendors, including Heavenly Gate Tattoos doing on-site inking and a booth selling rockabilly clothing. The fun continued outside with free swing dance lessons, a hula dancing performance and a car show fea

A plethora of sparkling cars bejeweled J Street in downtown Sacramento as a cruising tradition returned. Scores of classic and snazzy modern cars cruised J street Saturday afternoon, from Midtown to the Sac State University parking lot. The sight was veritable eye candy for any car enthusiast. The event started in the early afternoon with staging of the cars for show on 18th through 20th streets on either side of J for spectators to meander and appreciate. The event drew a constituency of folks to the midtown area who normally would not be there on a Saturday afternoon. It became a natural festival setting as attendees shopped and gleaned from side walk sales, giving local businesses a

The California Auto Museum (formerly the Towe Auto Museum) couldn't have chosen a better time to unveil their Carved Elegance: Woodies, Wheels, and Waves auto exhibit. With summer well underway, it's the perfect time to check out the exhibit which features a collection of wooden automobiles, also called "Woodies," reminiscent of California summer days spent surfing and lounging on the beach. Today Woodies are prized pieces in car collections and are famous for the exquisite craftsmanship on the wooden panels of the cars. The cars were the ideal mode of transportation for surfers who could tow their boards on top of the them. The surf culture-themed exhibit opens Thursday, July 2 and the