Sacramento artist Karen O’Haire was inspired to paint by Claude Monet, father of the Impressionist movement. She recently returned from spending a week working in his former gardens in Giverny, France. “They let us in before and after the gardens were open for tourists,” O’Haire said. “I sketched in the morning when just me and the other artists and the garden workers were there. That was really fun.” O’Haire was one of nine American painters who, through a friendship with another artist, worked in the garden from May 26 - June 8. She produced a painting and a number of sketches each day. “It was my third time I got to do this. I feel very fortunate,” she said. “When you’re there you so

The Crocker Art Museum’s “Landscapes from the Age of Impressionism” is more than an exhibit of 38 paintings; it’s a lesson in art history. The exhibition is one of three that make up the museum’s “Summer of Impressionism,” a story about the Impressionist movement and how it evolved from France to the U.S., as told through its showcased art. There are paintings by Claude Monet, Gustave Courbet, Camille Pissaro and some of their most notable American followers. Visitors of "Landscapes from the Age of Impressionism" are greeted by Monet’s loose brushstrokes, those that form a cropped cottage overlooking the sea in “Rising Tide of Pourville, 1882.” Surrounding “Rising Tide of Pourville” are

Six o’clock Friday night found people waiting patiently in line at the Crest Theatre. They were waiting for the doors to open into Sacramento’s 10th French Film Festival. The festival started with a not-so-humble beginning in 2002 when they opened at Tower Theatre to a sold -out crowd, with a line to the pre-party around the block. They have since moved to the Crest, which seats about 940 compared to the 500 seats at Tower. The festival is the brainchild of Cécile Mouette Downs and Connie Georgiu. Downs still serves as the artistic and executive director. The festival has found support and acceptance from the community, artistic and otherwise. Among those who have embraced the festival

Sacramento and Davis residents will visit a Grand Aioli feast in the southern France style this weekend, without having to go all the way to Provence. The Davis Farm to School Connection, a nonprofit organization and project of the Davis Farmers Market Foundation, along with Slow Food Yolo will host its sixth annual Village Feast. Three hundred community members will enjoy this Grand Aioli community dinner under the sycamore trees in Central Park Saturday in Davis. Attendees can taste local and fresh ingredients from Davis Farmers Market farmers in a four-course meal catered by Buckhorn Grill. To make the event zero-waste, participants are asked to bring their own plates, silverware and

At 6 p.m. on Wednesday evening a champagne cork popped that sent more than 40 waiters and waitresses on a footrace in the inaugural Sacramento Bastille Day Waiters' Race. Each of the runners had to carry a server tray holding two glasses and a bottle of wine from the alley between Le Petit Paris and Mulvaney's B&L, around the 1800 block between L Street and Capitol Avenue, and into the courtyard behind the L Wine Lounge and Urban Kitchen. "They celebrate the fall of the Bastille in Paris by running through the streets with wine, and wouldn't that be fun to do in Sacramento?" said Patrick Mulvaney, owner of Mulvaney's B&L. Mulvaney decided to organize the race per the suggestion of Sacto

 Although cheering fans with painted faces, yellow cards or buzzing vuvuzelas were nowhere in sight Saturday night at the Hot Italian restaurant, a little piece of World Cup soccer was in Sacramento. The eatery hosted its second half of the 2010 FIFA World Cup “The Art of the Game” celebration with a fashion contest. Ten local designers randomly chose countries participating in the World Cup and were challenged to design an original piece based on them. Local judges Leigh Grogan, Sacramento Bee’s fashion editor; stylist Health Hamilton; and fashion blogger Jen Wade and votes via Facebook and Twitter decided the winner.Lindsey Bee and her outfit inspired by Spain took first place, foresha