Everyone knows what a toilet is used for, but in Fair Oaks, racing them is one of the most anticipated events of the year. During the 63rd annual Fair Oaks Fiesta on Saturday over one hundred people of all ages and backgrounds came out to Fair Oaks village to enjoy the race. This year's race included six toilet racers with three-person teams. The rules require one driver, who must sit on the toilet at all times, and two pushers. Two teams represented the Fair Oaks Park and Recreational District, calling themselves the Parks District and Rocky the Rooster. The other four teams were privately owned and called themselves The Royal Flush, Hot Rod Toilet and Porcelain Princess. Contestants c

Early Sunday morning, over 4,000 runners from around the world participated in the California International Marathon, a 26.2-mile race from Folsom to downtown Sacramento. As the runners scaled the greater Sacramento area into the afternoon, hundreds of supporters lined the route carrying signs of support and yelling words of encouragement. Meadow Bailey, a 34-year-old homemaker from Rancho Cordova, was one of the many who came out to show their support. She said that although this was her first time coming, she had an enjoyable experience. “Everybody is cheering, and there’s a great sense of unity,” she said. Starting near Folsom Lake, participants headed east down Oak Avenue. Passing t

After an attempt at a hostile take-over by a large pet food chain, the owner Millie of Trends-n-Treats (a local, woman-owned and operated pet supply boutique) took on a don't-give-up, give-back attitude. Now celebrating six months in their beautiful new location in the Promenade Shopping Center, they have joined forces with Sacramento's largest adoption organization, the SPCA, now offering monthly adoptions with the SPCA mobile adoption trailer. "Trends-N-Treats is better than ever...they continue to add value to the community in which they serves" exclaims Llewellyn, resident of Fair Oaks, CA & client of Trends-n-Treats. "We're all very excited to see animals go to great homes. We have gr

Trends-N-Treats of Fair Oaks; woman-owned and family-operated, pet supply spa boutique clings to hope while a box-pet-store laughs all the way to the bank. Imagine being a small business owner, established in your town and overnight you learn a large corporation is moving in your business model next door – doing exactly what you do, but in true box-store fashion (impersonal, not very well informed, not helpful, don’t care, etc). The landlord says, “Too bad you’re stuck through your lease term”. The term is years down the road. What can you do? If you are a small business owner: make sure your lease has a lease the “exclusivity” provision that prevents your competition from moving in next

Long before Mikuni Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar existed, co-owner Taro Arai was an 11-year-old paperboy with big dreams. He saved $6,000 over five years to move his family from Japan to the United States. Arai wrote and published his first book, “Abundance: Finding the American Dream in a Japanese Kitchen,” in hopes that he will inspire other Japanese youths. The book is set to be released Wednesday and combines his family’s history with recipes for some of Mikuni's customers’ favorite dishes. “It’s not just a recipe book,” Arai said. “It has my life story in it.” The book’s 12 chapters tell different stages of Arai’s life and include recipes named to coincide with their themes.

Everyone can be Italian this weekend at the Italian Cultural Society of Sacramento’s Festa Italiana. The 25th annual Italian festival has much more to offer than the stereotypical spaghetti and meatballs. Once held at the Cal Expo, the fair is now at the Croatian-American Cultural Center at 3730 Auburn Blvd. This year’s Festa Italiana is set up to represent authentic festivals in towns across Italy. It started as a small picnic in the park by the society’s Gioventú young people group, the festival has grown to an average 6,000 visitors per year. Bill Cerruti, executive director of the Italian Cultural Society, said the Italian-American community of Sacramento wanted something to celebra

SACRAMENTO – More than 10,000 members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and their friends will descend on parks throughout the Sacramento region Saturday, May 8, to perform necessary work from clean-up and general maintenance to painting, planting trees and even construction jobs. Under the banner of Mormon Helping Hands, an international program of the Church that has provided manpower in distressed communities and organized relief efforts after natural disasters, the volunteers have chosen parks in their own communities to perform work in state, regional and city parks that have been hit hard by the recent downturn in the economy. The Sacramento effort is part of a stat

Peace. Love. Swap. is a one of a kind independent coalition that organizes ongoing kid's swaps. The swaps are for local eco-minded parents to get together and recycle (exchange) their kid’s stuff (ages 0-14 and maternity). After the swaps, I donate the leftovers to local charities and needy families. How it works: You bring items to swap (clothing, toys, sports equipment, etc.) plus $5 per family. While the volunteers set up, the kids can play in our family friendly venues and parents can look around at our vendor tables. Once set up is complete, families can come in and take as much or as little as they need.   I'd like to invite you to view more information, read our mission statement,

                                                   Fowl Tales at Fair Oaks 23rd Renaissance Tudor Fayre                                                                                       Swing that Parrot Bob Bartley and Gypsy,above, have been working together for 35 years. Gypsy and two other parrots and a dog were a humorous act.The fayre was like stepping back in time to the days of yore. There were games, battles, feasts, playgrounds, the Royal Court, food and ale. The volunteer reenactors spoke in embellished English accents, roamed around the festival, got into sword fights, tugs of war, competed in archery contests, played music, put in the guillotine, tied to a stake and ch

A confirmed case of the potentially fatal swine flu has appeared in  Fair Oaks, according to the Sacramento Bee. It's the first confirmed case in Northern California, along with two other probable cases of swine flu.  With Southern California, Mexico, and several other countries experiencing swine flu, it was only a matter of time before the virus hit Sacramento County. Federal organizations are researching the new virus and releasing information with the number of confirmed cases in the U.S. now at 40. While the suspected death toll of swine flu has reached 173 in Mexico in a manner of days, despite suspected global spreading of the virus it is the only country where symptoms have been