Want to check out some of Sacramento’s wonderful museums but have not yet had the time or budget to do so? Mark your calendars for this Saturday and head out to the 14th Annual Sacramento Museum Day. A record 28 museums are participating this year, including newcomers the Center for Contemporary Art and the Sacramento Children’s Museum. 26 participating museums are offering free admission all day (10am-5pm; last admission at 4pm), and the Sacramento Zoo and Fairytale Town are offering half-price admission in order to offset parking control and security costs. Sacramento has a wide variety of Museums featuring everything from art, science, and history to children’s exhibits, wildlife, and

As always, Sacramento steps up to the plate with holiday events of all sorts. At Sacramento365.com, we see a lot of events come through the site every day. Though there are myriad options in our Holiday Event section, we've narrowed down the list to 10 to get help you pick your Christmas Eve & Christmas Day festivities. Christmas Eve Events: Sure, the night before Christmas should be spent snuggled in bed waiting for Santa Claus, but why not get out and about during the day. Here are some options to keep you entertained around town: 1. Free Admission at Fairytale Town & Sacramento Zoo: FTT 10am-2pm; Zoo 10am-1:30pm Treat the kiddies to a day out while both Fairytale Town & the Sacramento

Photo essay by Dan Ward It’s that time of the year when the candy comes out, people become scarier and Fairytale town puts on a show. This year in Fairytale Town the magical wonders of Harry Potter arrive to showcase its magical spells and large amounts of candy for the children. The Harry Potter theme will be taking place for a total of four days. The days are October 21st, 22nd, 28th and 29th. The park event will be 5pm till 9pm on all four days. Tickets are for sale at www.fairytaletown.org. Children can enjoy various attractions and displays at this year’s event. Even the adults can come and have a good time seeing all  the  magicians of Harry Potter world perform their spells. Fai

Gather up the young 'uns and head over to Fairytale Town! There's some new pigs 'on the block!' You'll meet twelve-weeks-old piglets named Wynken', Blynken' and Nod. They are Vietnamese Potbellied Pigs. Their mom and dad live in Vacaville. These little ones are new on the "job", taking over when the older pigs retired to the private ranch of a Fairytale Town Supporter. Tuesdays through Saturdays kids can meet them close to their home on a grassy spot. They reside in the brick house, with a straw and wood house nearby (remember the Big Bad Wolf saying he'll blow your house down?) The wolf isn't there so you can peacefully enjoy the piglets. Fairytale Town staff loves them, especially

This weekend, Fairytale Town was transformed into a menagerie of creative writing and reading. Fairytale Town hosted the 11th Annual ScholarShare Children's Book Festival this past Saturday and Sunday. Arts and literacy organizations were on hand, most of them providing information to parents and interesting literacy activities for children. Mother Goose Stage was the centerpiece of the day. Authors and presenters sat in a giant and rather royal-looking throne at the center of the stage and the children crowded around. The weekend’s events included readings by eleven different authors including Olympic gold medal figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi. Trevor Wyatt was the MC and resident magici

This weekend, Fairytale Town will host the 11th Annual ScholarShare Children's Book Festival. The festival will include hands-on literacy activities for children, dramatic performances and readings and presentations by numerous authors and illustrators. The event will feature a special appearance by Olympic figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi will read her first book, "Dream Big, Little Pig!" on Saturday on the Mother Goose Stage at 3:00 p.m. The 2011 release by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky debuted at No. 2 on the New York Times Bestseller List. "Dream Big, Little Pig!" was illustrated by Tim Bowers. Fairytale Town will host the book festival this Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 24 and 25. O

A harem of attractive girls with their midriffs showing and about five men — two wearing eyeliner, one dressed as a taco and the rest disguised as Aladdin — showed up to Fairytale Town’s Moonlight Costume Ball: Arabian Nights. Fairytale Town is a park usually enjoyed by kids. It’s a place where they are able to run around, pet farm animals in paddocks and play on fairytale-themed objects like oversized cement blocks of Swiss cheese and slides shaped like shoes, but, on Saturday night, only those aged 18 and over were allowed entrance. Alcohol was served at two different tents. There were food trucks, a psychic, belly dancers and a raffle. Sacramento band Hero’s Last Mission performed,

Here's what we know so far, Greeneheads... As he confirmed in a recent blog post, Sacramento's favorite son Jackie Greene has just joined a new band called Trigger Hippy. The group also features Audley Freed and Nick Govrik (Black Crowes), Steve Gorman (Black Crowes, Stereophonics), and singer Joan Osborne. Yes, that Joan Osborne. This definitely qualifies as a "supergroup," albeit a bit of a random one (with a really cool name). This is hardly a first for Jackie Greene, who has also lent his talents to Phil Lesh & Friends, Skinny Singers (with Tim Bluhm of the Mother Hips), and will also be linking up with Bob Weir and Chris Robinson as a trio this summer. I think we see a Grateful D

Spring is nearly a month in, and as April turns into May, the forecast promises warmer weather and plenty of outdoor activities, especially this weekend, as Easter is Sunday. There are plenty of ways to celebrate Easter, whether you’re looking for a traditional egg hunt or a nice place to eat Sunday Brunch. What: Southside Park Spring Egg Hunt When: Saturday, 11 a.m. - noon Where: Southside Park, 2107 Sixth St. Cost: Free With help from the Southside Park Neighborhood Association and St. John’s Baptist Church, Vineyard Church, the city of Sacramento will host the Southside Park Spring Egg Hunt, which will have a plethora of activities for the kids, including an egg hunt, face paintin

Over 25 museums participated in the annual Sacramento Museum Day this Saturday February 5. On the first Saturday of February for the past 13 years Sacramento has opened many museums to the public free of charge. Some places are always packed while other museums don’t experience such problems. I chose two locations to visit this year. One of them I knew would be packed (the Sacramento Zoo) and the other I wasn’t sure (Crocker Art Museum). As I was getting off Interstate 5 I knew the Sacramento Zoo was going to be packed. Traffic going west on Sutterville Road was backed all the way to the freeway. I ended up going to the zoo the back way from Freeport Blvd. It didn’t really matter traffic

Give Smart Sacramento promotes waste free experiences in place of traditional holiday gifts What was your favorite holiday gift of the past? Was it a sweater from J.Crew three years ago? Or maybe it was the CD-Man you got in ’95? I’m guessing it was something that hasn’t gone out of style or become obsolete. My favorite gift in recent memory was a family membership to Fairytale Town. I will always remember the time spent with my children and my family at Fairytale Town, because the memory will never go out of style, be shoved in the back of the closet or go in the "Goodwill" pile. This year, the City of Sacramento Department of Utilities is challenging you to replace at least one out of

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening, In the lane, snow is glistening A beautiful sight, We're happy tonight. Walking in a winter wonderland That’s how the famous Christmas song Winter Wonderland begins. Composer Felix Bernard and lyricist Richard B. Smith published the song back in 1934. The theme for this Christmas event at Fairytale Town, Winter Wonderland, seemed to follow the stanza of the song (and now I can’t get the song out of my head). Everyone seemed to be happy walking in a Winter Wonderland. This is probably a child’s favorite time of the year. Within the next few weeks many children will be looking toward sitting by the Christmas tree and opening up gifts that will bring th

Three-year-old Jenny has listened to her mom read her books and nursery rhymes since she was a baby, including favorites like The Three Little Pigs, The Little Engine that Could, and Jack and the Beanstalk. These stories and more will come to life on Saturday, Oct. 9 as Jenny joins more than 6,000 Sacramento County families at Fairytale Town for the First 5 Sacramento Annual Children’s Celebration. “First 5 Sacramento supports programs and services to help meet the diverse needs of local families,” Roger Dickinson, Chair of First 5 Sacramento and the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors. “Our Children’s Celebration brings the community together to learn about these valuable resources in

             400 friends & I attended the best party Fairytale Town has ever seen and the generosity of the Sacramenten's was truly evident. Benefitting the Sacramento Area Emergency Housing Center, the wining, dinning and dancing added to the highlight of the event, the live auction. Every paddle raised went towards helping the homeless issue in Sacramento. David Sobon of David Sobon Auctions entertained and engaged the crowd into a bidding frenzy. It was fun to watch and got me raising my paddle too.                The participating restaurants were fabulous, a mix of comfort food and elegant dishes. The wine was enjoyable and satisfying with all the local favorites in the house. A perf

Join us Saturday, October 2, from 5:00pm until 10:00pm for the return of Rocktoberfest - Sacramento's best Octoberfest party! We'll be rockin' Fairytale Town with Northern California's newest party band - Hit List (http://www.hitlistlive.com) and Sacramento's very own DJ Rigatony (http://www.myspace.com/djrigatony)! Activities, food, and of course beer. (Food and drink tickets sold separately.) As with all Active 20/30 events, all proceeds go to support local Sacramento area children's charities. Tickets are on sale for now, $15 advance/$20 at the door. http://bit.ly/cGA4BT The Active 20/30 of Sacramento was founded in 1922. Although 20-30 has both men’s and women’s chapters, our chapt

In every fairytale the good guys always win, the bad guys always lose, and there’s always a “Happily Ever After“. Real life however, is a very different tale. Financial woes, unemployment, addictions, and lack of support hit so many Sacramento residents who then find themselves with nowhere to go. Thankfully there is a program like the Sacramento Area Emergency Housing Center that helps and supports these families in their time of crisis. Just like a real life fairy godmother. Seems only fitting that on September 10th, 2010 Sacramento Area Emergency Housing Center will be having their 18th annual After Hours: Wine Event & Live Auction fundraiser at Fairytale Town in William Land Park. Tic

It was a party at Fairytale Town Saturday night as families attended the annual fundraiser hosted by Crystal Ice Cream Dream. The park was transformed for Fairytale Town’s birthday celebration, aiming at recreating "How the West Was Fun." At the entrance, the Wells Fargo Stage Coach was used as a prop for many photo ops. Guests arrived dressed for the Wild, Wild West theme in cowboy boots, eager and anxious for the all-you-can-eat ice cream social and western-themed activities. Families ducked under the Humpty Dumpty gate and began their western adventure by passing over the moat to King Arthur’s Castle for the root beer float party. Kids took in the park's attractions, playing sheri

Performances, Visual Art Shows, and Funshops were featured at VERY SPECIAL ARTS DAY on Saturday at Fairytale Land.It was Hosted by VSA California at Fairytale Town. Very Special Arts Day brought together children of all abilities-those with disabilities and those without-to interact  through, create, and enjoy the Arts.   The highlight was performances by ACT ON!-a children's Theatre Camp (project of VSA arts and Fairytale Town). Visual arts creations by Very Special Arts students in the Sacramento VSA I Can Do THAT! program were on display. A scene from Mall Mayhem (above and below), playing robbers are (left to right) Abby Paiva, Zach Roberts and Paco Garcia. Security Guards in Mall

  Fairytale Town opened its gates on Thursday for a special After Hours event, the Once Upon a Night: Moonlight Costume Ball, just for adults. The event was open to adults 18 years of age and older and featured live music, a DJ, dancing, two themed bars, food and beverage, a henna artist, and more.   Fairytale Town continues to promote the imagination, creativity and education of children as their core mission.  However, its After Hours programming will help develop an avenue to reach new audiences, and raise funds to support the park's programs for children and families.  "So many Sacramentans remember coming to Fairytale Town as children, and hold fond memories of the park.  We want to

 Fairytale Town hosted Sacramentan performer Jackie Greene at a fundraiser in their park Friday, the first in a series of such concerts this summer. The prominent folk rocker sold out the show and entertained the crowd with his original tunes as well as covers of the Grateful Dead. Greene is touring with bassist Phil Lesh of the Dead. “I love Jackie!” Valerie Sheppard, 52, said. “He has turned me back onto music. Original, just a person that is self-taught, writes music, just awesome.” The concert benefited Fairytale Town, including its weeklong camps and free-admission days for children with disabilities. Most of the summer concerts are geared toward children and families, but some, s