As the city pursues a potential lessee for the city’s parking inventory, there is an important question to ask: Could the city parking validation program end? If it does, is there a risk of damaging existing businesses – some of which have struggled in the downtown area for years? According to city parking services manager Howard Chan, Sacramento currently validates parking at city-owned garages for many local businesses and venues, providing an incentive to business owners: They buy the parking at a discount, and they have something to offer patrons as a courtesy. Merchants buy discounted parking tickets worth $5 of parking for 50 cents each, and the validation is good in any of nine ci

Little kids all over look forward with excited anticipation to Santa coming into town. They know he has a list that shows who’s been “naughty” and who’s been “nice.” Saturday night several hundred “naughty” people attended Trash Film Orgy’s (TFO) showing of “Don’t Open Till Christmas,” a film directed by Edmund Purdom. The film was one of several films featured at the Crest Theater’s “Santa's Cool Holiday Film Festival.” Doors opened at 10 p.m. for an 18 and older crowd that had been waiting outside the Crest Theater. Audience members dressed in costume were given a discount on admission. Once inside the Crest Theatre, a Christmas tree was decorated and included gifts that were given

Jim Brickman opened his holiday concert tour in Sacramento at the Crest Theater on Friday evening. Brickman, a Grammy nominee with several gold and platinum albums, delivered on his promise to play a lot of hits, joking, "When you have hits, you should play them in your concert." His song selections ranged from his first hit, "Rocket to the Moon," through medleys of patriotic and Disney songs, featured guest singers as well as his own voice, and culminated in a powerful romantic rendition of "My Valentine." Joining Brickman on stage during the performance were vocal guests Anne Cochran and Ben Utecht. Cochran first sang with Brickman in high school, together winning a talent competition

Sacramento performance artist, David Garibaldi, it was a sobering moment to sell out the Crest Theater on October 27, 2011. Starting out as a local graffiti artist, the now famous performance painter travels worldwide sharing his creativity and ultimately his passion. Debuting his newest show, “Garibaldi Live: A Live Music and Color Experience”, he surely did not disappoint. Lines filled the streets up well into the next block. Many onlookers were hoping to get tickets at the last minute, but the show was completely sold out. Fans of all ages poured into the theater with delight as many shared their personal favorites like his portrait of Albert Einstein and his ever touching portrait of J

The Crest Theater will soon be filled with adoring and screaming Garibaldi fans once more. On October 26, performing live at the Crest Theatre will be the Sacramento native and world famous performance artist, David Garibaldi. Garibaldi’s works are known for wowing crowds. The artist travels nationwide and overseas to showcase his talents on something as simple as an empty canvas. Music feeds into his performances and crowds go wild. Many admiring fans guess and wonder what the painting will be when he is finished, but they are always astounded and amazed. Once he has your attention, that’s it - you’re hooked. Garibaldi has created everything from the King of Pop to the King of Rock ‘n’

For the twelfth year, Access Sacramento is planning the world premiere of “A Place Called Sacramento” (PCS), a scriptwriting and short film production project for local writers and producers. PCS challenges local scriptwriters to write ten-minute scripts about the people, places, and events that make our community such a unique place to live (submission guidelines on-line at www.AccessSacramento.org). Neighbors and friends will gather at the 2011 World Premiere at the CREST Theatre on Sunday October 2, 2011 at 1:00 PM. $10 (general seating) is a fundraiser for community media. Advanced ticket purchase is recommended at Tickets.com, the Crest Box Office, or the offices of Access Sacramento

The Crest Theater hosted the 2011 Reina Fiestas Patrias. The event was presented by the Mexican Cultural Center of Northern California (MCCNC). Ten contestants vied to win the beauty and talent competition and become the Patriot Queen of Festivities for the Mexican Independence holidays. The gala event brought hundreds of supporters to the Crest Theatre to witness an evening full of music, dance, tradition, folklore and a lively beauty competition. Each year the committee puts on this event to celebrate the beauty of Mexico and to showcase its culture, art and traditions. The emcees for the evening were Angelica Marquez and Luis Enrique Garcia. Garcia started off the event by welcoming

Sacramentans are in for a treat when comedian Paula Poundstone comes to the Crest Theater Sept. 30. Armed with nothing but a stool, a microphone and a can of Diet Pepsi, Poundstone draws on her own life in her stand-up show and nothing is off the table: her kids, her cats, her demanding job, her frustration at getting older and a full bag of neuroses. She’s just like many of us – except for a lightning-fast wit and an amazing ability to improvise anything into hilarity. Poundstone is a national supporter of library Friends groups and a portion of the proceeds from ticket, book and CD sales at the show will support the Friends of the Sacramento Library. She is known for being a refreshi

Taking full advantage of its intimate environment and superb acoustics, Sacramento's Crest Theater is hosting CMA Country Music Legend John Michael Montgomery for a live benefit concert next Tuesday, August 16, 2011 – with 100% of all proceeds benefiting Shriners Hospitals for Children—Northern California. Make a nice summer evening out of the event. The concert begins at 7:30 PM, providing a wonderful window for enjoying dinner nearby before the show. Since the days when "Life's A Dance" turned him from an unknown artist into a national star, John Michael's rich baritone has carried many mega hits, which include "I Swear", "Life is a Dance" and “Letters from Home". John Michael Montgom

A mob of the living dead invaded downtown Sacramento Saturday night. The annual Zombie Walk started at Sub-Q and ended at the Crest Theatre, where the zombies mingled with K Street’s club- and restaurant-goers in between munching brains. The 2011 Trash Film Orgy season kicked off its six-week run of sleazy, gory, trashy movies with “Return of the Living Dead,” a tale of punk rockers, zombies and punk rock zombies. As zombies and Trash fans entered the Crest’s lobby, they were greeted by a variety of interesting characters and sights to see. Guests could browse movie posters, horror and sci-fi DVDs and zombie comics. There were also games in the spirit of the zombie flick, such as “Pin th

WHAT is it? V-Day Sacramento 2011 refers to the 2011 Sacramento community production of The Vagina Monologues that will be held in April 2011. It is a project of Northern California Association for Women Take Back the Night based in Sacramento (Sacramento WTBN). In addition to bringing the local and international plight of women and girls to the forefront, the goals of V-Day Sacramento 2011 are to raise money to benefit local anti-violence organizations and to channel awareness into action. In 2011, the proceeds from the V-Day Sacramento 2011 production of “The Vagina Monologues” will benefit WEAVE, Sacramento Women Take Back the Night, and My Sister’s House. Learn more about V-Day, V-

On Saturday April 9th, at the Crest Theatre in Sacramento, Fox40 and BloodSource hosted a fundraiser to benefit UC Davis Children's Hospital, (specifically the expansion of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit) and the Foundation for America's Blood Centers (FABC). This first time fundraiser included Paul Robins (Fox40) as the Master of Ceremonies, local comedian Jack Gallagher as the featured act and Dave Coulier as the headliner. Dave is probably best known for his role as Joey in the 1980's sitcom 'Full House' and for hosting America's Funniest People. However, you have probably heard one of his many voices in cartoons and movies. The fundraiser brought together many local Sacramentans th

Given the recent frosty weather conditions, downtown Sacramento’s Crest Theater was the perfect venue for Dark Star Orchestra’s re-creation of the Grateful Dead’s concert held at the Cal Expo Amphitheatre back on June 9, 1984. Last night’s performance was attended by a mostly older crowd and many of the attendees were lighting up before the concert even starting.  In fact, just before the band began to play I was alarmed by the sight of a bunch of smoke wafting through the air. I grabbed a security guy to let him know the theater was on fire, but he said it was Ganja Man. I wondered to myself if this Ganja Man had a super hero complex running around with a name like that. After a few minu

Johnny Cash is Coming to Town!          Clean & Sober, a local organization committed to offering a path to recovery for homeless men and women suffering from drug and alcohol addiction, is hosting a benefit concert at the Crest Theatre on Thursday, November 11th, Veterans Day. Scheduled to perform are a fantastic Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline tribute band, The Rhythm Riders. We hope that you will decide to have a great night out, and help this worthy cause. Tickets available at the Crest Box Office or at tickets.com. 1.800 225 2277.

Dave Eggers spoke about his book, “Zeitoun,” at the Crest Theatre Wednesday in the feature event of the sixth-annual One Book Sacramento: Connecting Our Communities. In her opening remarks, Sacramento Public Library Director Rivkah Sass mentioned the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina (Aug. 29) and the flood threat to the Sacramento region as reasons the library selected “Zeitoun.” Eggers took the stage in hiking boots and a pinstripe jacket. He was joined by interviewer Joseph Palermo, associate professor of American history at Sacramento State. Palermo has written two books on Robert F. Kennedy and blogs at The Huffington Post. “Zeitoun” narrates the story of Abdulrahman Zeitoun,

The Next American Dream Is Sacramento Ready?   We used to get dressed up to go “downtown.” It was an occasion. It was the place to be. It was the energy of every growing city. But times changed.   Suburbia was born. And we deserted downtown.   It’s time to rebuild our urban cores. Does Sacramento have the will to rebuild?   Please join us at the Crest Theatre for a screening of The Next American Dream, a documentary film about a downtown coming back to life.   Thursday, Aug. 26, 2010 Social Hour – 5 to 6 p.m. Screening – 6 to 7:00 p.m. After-Party – Social Nightclub (10th & K)   Please click on the link below to confirm your attendance! http://thenextamericandream.

Last week’s Trash Film Orgy was canceled due to the activation of the Crest Theatre’s fire sprinkler system, but the festival returned with a rockabilly bang Saturday night at the premiere of “Cry-Baby,” a spoof of the teenage rebel flick set in the 1950s. It might seem odd for a musical movie starring super-celebrity Johnny Depp to be featured at TFO, but since the film is directed by John Waters, the king of trash film, the movie wasn’t out of place at all. People who are familiar with Waters’ work would vouch for “Cry-Baby” as a trash classic – they would only need reference the character Hatchet Face to make their point. Saturday’s festivities began the same as usual – the line wound

The 10th annual Trash Film Orgy opened Saturday night with 300 zombie fans coming out to see “Evil Dead 2” – the premiere night for the film festival celebrating gore-filled, sleazy, cult classic movies.   Saturday’s screening of Sam Raimi’s low-budget hit “Evil Dead 2” coincided with Sacramento’s downtown Zombie Walk, so there was no shortage of “dead” or evil characters dressed up as zombies in order to get into the spirit.   “I think it’s really a fun crowd, and I can tell there’s a lot of zombies left over from the Zombie Walk, which is really exciting,” said Trash Film Orgy representative Amy. “Evil Dead 2 is really a trash classic, and we have a really fun crowd tonight.”   Not on

Extraordinary. Contemplative. Soul-stirring. Awe-inspiring. The Japanese film “Departures” brought these words to mind at opening night of the Japanese Film Festival. The three-day festival began Friday at 8 p.m at the Crest Theater with showing the solo feature film "Departures" followed by double features, “K-20: Legend Of The Mask” and “Throne Of Blood” on Saturday, and “White On Rice” and “Memories Of Matsuko” on Sunday. The festival started out with the shocking film “Departures” Friday night. That’s right, I didn’t say “The Departed,” as in the Martin Scorsese movie. With a title like “Departures” and perhaps without reading a synopsis, audiences would have been clueless as to what

Ralphie May had a message to deliver Thursday at the Crest Theater for those who are haters, lovers, racists, gay or homophobes. Embrace it. Own it. After an entertaining 20-minute warm-up by Tennessee comedian Billy Wayne Davis, May strode onstage to Jerry Lee Lewis' "Great Balls of Fire." That was the beginning of a two-hour stream of consciousness that could have offended just about anyone. No problem; May owned it. He peppered his show with references to Sacramento, from the expected Schwarzenegger imitation, "Welcome to Kal E Fonya," to talking about getting "stoned as a biblical whore" in Capitol Park and having a squirrel come up and ask for a hit. "The K Street bums all look li