Sacramento’s young professionals are invited to attend United Way’s unique twist on a networking event. Sacramentans can enjoy drinks and appetizers while learning about the origin of ballet at United Way’s Emerging Leaders Fall Event on Nov. 10. Pamela Hayes Classical Ballet will present a costumed Ballet 101 demonstration at the event as well as a sneak peek at the group’s production of “The Nutcracker.” The event will take place 5:30-7 p.m. at Lounge ON20, 1050 20th Street in Sacramento. Tickets are $10 each and can be purchased at www.yourlocalunitedway.org. Proceeds will benefit United Way California Capital Region and its nonprofit partners working on high school graduation rates,

Hollywood sleaze-rapper Mickey Avalon performed for a huge crowd of die-hard fans at Ace of Spades Friday night, whipping the young crowd into a lustful frenzy with his provocative sing-along raps. Folsom rap duo Ill Effect kicked the show off with some tight rhymes and beats, sounding the best as they flowed over B.o.B's well-known hit "Airplanes," featuring Hayley Williams of Paramore. After a 30-minute delay that had everyone wondering what exactly was going on, rapper Ty$ (Ty Dolla Sign) took the stage. Unfortunately there was nothing spectacular in his short set that made up for the long wait. Highlights included some call-and-response about which side of the crowd was louder and b

Join WEAVE and TheGridLife.com on June 9th for a charity happy hour aboard the Delta King! Enjoy your favorite drink in a great atmosphere and meet some of this seasons Sacramento Mountain Lions Cheerleaders! There will be LIVE music by Hans Eberbach. This is going to be a good time for a great cause! Event Info: 1000 Front Street Sacramento, CA Thursday, June 9th 2011 6:00PM-8:30PM Hosted by: TheGridLife.com Featuring: Sacramento Mountain Lion Cheerleaders and live music by Hans Eberbach Watch the video on YouTube Share the event on Facebook In full disclosure, this article was written by a WEAVE employee in the hopes of spreading the word far and wide. We are grateful to Sacramento

Tuli Bistro owners Adam Pechal and Ulrike “Ulli” Lesk Petersen previewed the space and menu of their second restaurant, RESTAURANT THIR13EN, on Friday. The restaurant is located on the bottom floor of the Sterling Hotel at 1300 H St., where the restaurant Chanterelle was until it closed last January. All evening invited guests were provided teasers of THIR13EN’s menu, which included oyster shooters, sous vide quail wings, seared scallops, Kurabuta pork belly and seared sirloin with potato puree. Each guest was also provided a drink ticket to sample offerings from their full bar, such as wine from Berryessa Gap Vineyards, international beer taps and a number of signature cocktails. Peters

Every year on May 5, Mexico and parts of the United States celebrate Cinco de Mayo in honor of the victory won by the Mexican Army in 1862. Now it's time for Sacramento to celebrate with these restaurant specials and events around town. Here’s a round-up of Cinco de Mayo celebrations: Event: Cinco de Mayo Celebration Time: 5 - 10 p.m. Thursday. Location: Zócalo (A Taste of Mexico) on 18th Street and Capitol Avenue. Information: Zócalo (A Taste of Mexico) is throwing a street party that will include live music, performing artists The Midnight Players, and DJ Al Ruiz will be the entertainment for the night. Tequila shots and $2 tacos will also be served. Contact: 441-0303 Cost: No cover.

What do you get when you mix drink specials and poker chips? Tipsy Tokens, founded in Sacramento in 2011, is similar to the concept of Groupon, but focuses its promotions on local bars and nightclubs. What sets Tipsy Tokens apart from the other coupon sites is its social focus, co-founder Robert Cima said. “Though you’re purchasing something online, there’s a social aspect involved. There are reps on-site at the event checking people in and making sure everyone is having a good time. Also, you’re provided something physical: Tipsy Tokens. These tokens are colorful poker chips with the company logo on them used for buying drinks and playing games.” According to Cima, the project began ab

Downtown businesses are getting in on the underground social media campaign #HereWePurple. They’re supporting the Sacramento Kings while the NBA is in town through displays, specials, deals, freebies and more. The social media campaign #HereWePurple has encouraged Sacramento to show support for the Kings by “painting the town purple” today while the NBA is in town meeting with local business leaders. The facebook event encourages residents to wear purple, sport a Kings jersey, put sign in your windows and cars, put up flags, wear your purple jewelry or whatever you've got all day long. “We've been watching the campaign on Twitter and wanted to get our downtown businesses to encourage Sac

Day 2 of the second annual Sacramento Electronic Music Festival continued at the Townhouse Lounge on Friday, featuring performances by Little Foxes, Boss Magic, Melee Beats and FAVORS, among others. The three-night festival showcases local and international electronic-centric artists, and the SEMF vision is "to continue to foster a supportive music community while attracting world-class talent to Sacramento, not just at the annual festival, but throughout the year." Friday night Roger Carpio and Shaun Slaughter were among the DJs who held court nonstop on the first floor with a wide range of music (New Order, The xx, Crystal Castles) and kept the sexy people of Townhouse sweaty all night

Would a group called Stew and the Negro Problem be at home playing a venue like the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts in Davis? Absolutely. The intimate, lounge-like 250-person Vanderhoef Studio Theatre was the perfect setting for musician Stew and his provocatively-titled band, The Negro Problem, on Tuesday evening. The name is meant to challenge perceptions be in-your-face and humorous, which also describes the band’s music quite accurately. Announcing that his band was probably mad at him because he had no setlist, Stew guided the seated older crowd on a musical journey that was insightful, comical and just plain sounded great. The lyrically driven songs were the stars, with ea

Costume Crawl III The Costume Crawl is Back!!! Get your All-Hallows-Eve Pre-Party on Tuesday, October 26th, 2010. Come enjoy a FREE menu of Monster Munchies and Ghoulish Grubs, as well as discounted Spooky Spirits. Wear or bring your costume to work/school or change in our private dressing room at our first GrubCrawl venue...this is the (not so dry run) chance for you to see how good you look as a sexy (or scary) firefighter/pirate/character from GLEE (or Dispicable Me!?) You'll have a spook-tacular time with the freakiest fun crowd on the planet, as we haunt for the hottest place to party…all for great price per person! We'll start our Monster March at VIVE Cocina Mexicana & Ultra Loun

Maceration. Diamond filtration. Aperitifs. Vodka so good it rolls off your tongue in waves after it hits the nose and makes its way down to accompany the blinis and crème fraiche Sterling caviar sampled prior. After a couple of "tastes" of Belvedere, The Jewel of Russia and Dan Aykroyd's unique Crystal Head Vodka, it becomes apparent that this event and location were meant for each other. Lounge on 20 is no club, and there is no ordinary vodka on the menu for the evening. This anti-club is as sophisticated and sexy as the grownup hors d'oeuvres and libations circling around the intimately woven crowd. Best of all, there is room to breath. And if the generous interior isn't enough, there'

Can there be anything better on a mid-October Friday night than some smooth, mellow jazz music conveniently placed in a stylishly intimate club? If you're underage – probably. But for those applicable, the show will be about the genius of jazz. Collaborating with orchestras including The Sacramento Philharmonic, selling out concerts and Jazz festivals across America and Europe, The Brubeck Brothers Quartet, featuring Daniel and Chris Brubeck, will be filling up the evening with plenty of reasons to ditch out on Netflix and that cheap bottle of wine. These versatile musicians, accompanied by guitarist Mike Demicco and pianist Chuck Lamb, have been received nationally for their contagious

Pedestrian traffic may have appeared somewhat peculiar in Midtown on Saturday. Merry crowds of golfers, and a pirate or two, took to the streets in droves for the first annual Albie Puttin’ Pub and Putt Crawl presented by Go-Girl Energy Drink. Tickets were $25 for walk-ups and $20 for those who preregistered. All proceeds from the event went straight to Albie Aware Inc., a foundation dedicated to supporting women struggling with breast cancer. Executive Director Cindy Love, was a close friend to Albie Carson. The foundation was formed after Carson died of breast cancer in 2002. “We started the foundation because she was not given the proper testing after she was diagnosed, and we would

Sacramentans in the mood for specially made cocktails need to look no further than Midtown this week. The annual Midtown Cocktail Week kicks off on Monday with seven nights filled to the brim with cocktail culture. Co-founder Joe Anthony Savala began the event in 2008 with Erick Castro after attending San Francisco’s Cocktail Week. “We really love the whole Midtown vibe and how it’s growing, so [we thought,] let’s put something together here,” Savala said. After some planning in conjunction with local restaurants and bars in Midtown and some help from San Francisco’s best bars, MCW was born. In 2009, the Midtown Business Association joined in. MCW is more than just enjoying beverages,

 Dear "Cheaters", There is no easy way to say this, so I'm just gonna spit it out:  I've been seeing someone else.  I want you to know that I'll always have love for you.  When I was new to town, you took me in, and I'll never forget that.  We'll always have Oregon basketball; who knows, maybe we can ring in the new arena together next fall. You need to understand that it's not you, it's me.  Please, don't cry.  Stop it.  You're a still wonderful bar, I've just found someone I'm more compatible with.   It's been going on a few weeks now. I wanted to watch the Giants game and grab a beer, but it was raining, and I didn't want to go all the way down Folsom to do it. I'd noticed this plac

  The newest best kept secret in Sacramento cocktails and cuisine is House Kitchen & Bar.  Located at 555 Capitol Mall, slightly inset on the corner of 5th and Capitol, the pleasantly open environment exists where 55 Degrees once was.  55 Degrees was owned by Ali Mackani, the owner of Midtown Sacramento's Lounge ON20. House opened earlier this month and transformed the once urban kitchen into a city dweller's culinary masterpiece.  The service is top-notch, the staff is friendly and articulate, and the management redefines professionalism.  In fact, the only thing that overshadows the food and service inside is the fantastic bar service.  Jennifer Dunmore, an area native and stylist at Im

I was out and about the day before Christmas Eve and as usual looking for something to eat when I came across Sweetwater Restaurant and Bar. The restaurant stands on a decent piece of midtown real estate with a good amount of foot traffic through the neighborhood. Upon walking in you are immediately facing the bar. Since there is no podium or hostess we sat ourselves and our server Jo Beth promptly came by with menus. One of the first things I noticed was the extremely bright lights which took so much away from what would have otherwise been a very welcoming room. I’ve been in emergency rooms more dimly lit. The crowd was quiet and average at the bar most likely due to the fact it was s

I was looking for a place to enjoy Monday night football and a decent Happy Hour and stumbled upon La Casa Restaurante. Usually a good Happy Hour for me consists of great drink specials but I was really hungry and decided I wanted to get my grub on. La Casa offers Happy Hour all day on game days which is absolutely unheard of. Glasses of wine range from $3 - $4, well cocktails are $3, domestic draft beers are $2 and all others are $3. House Margaritas are $3 as well. Appetizers are half price and differ in price between $3 and $6. This place is somewhat unassuming and honestly I have driven by it many times since it does not face the street. The family owned business has only been in tow

I visited one of my favorite brew pubs on Thursday evening with my wife and son. Brew It Up which is located on the corner of 14th and H Street in downtown Sacramento. While wine is my first love, I am an absolute freak for hops. If you are not familiar with Brew It Up, let me bring you up to speed. Owner Michael Costello opened the original location in Davis 13 years ago. The first spot was more of a place for locals to do some home brewing. Along the way Mr. Costello decided to go the route of a full service restaurant and move the operation to Sacramento. This establishment is truly one of a kind in the area as it covers all of the bases. You can come in for a beer, glass of wine or a

The DIY Network will feature one of Sacramento's very own on the Wednesday, December 3rd episode of House Crashers.  Eli Bob, a bartender and native Sacramentan is the owner of a loft at the 4th Avenue Lofts development in Oak Park which was recently the focus of a "crash".  Eli's loft was inundated with droves of contractors, production crew, friends and host Josh Temple back in October for three days during the remodel.  The upcoming episode entitled, "Rock N Roll Loft Lounge" the shows website describes the crash as follows: A single young bartender transforms his plain loft into a place to mix up drinks, fun and edgy style. With a stone covered wall, mounted stainless fireplace, diamo