A pillow fight in Fremont Park on Sunday is no April Fool’s prank, but the second year of an all-ages event that is part of a worldwide trend. According to the event’s Facebook page, last year’s pillow fight drew about 250 people. “I am hoping to attempt to break the world record for the largest pillow fight,” event organizer Mike Flanagan said on the Facebook post, adding that the world record was 3,706 people in November, 2008. The free, all-ages fight begins at 4 p.m. in Fremont Park, which is bounded by 15th, 16th, P and Q streets. Pajamas are welcome, but not required. A few rules are in effect to ensure the safety of all involved and keep it a family-friendly event, such as only

In case you didn't already know: it's a great weekend to be in Sacramento. In addition to the arrival of the North American Handmade Bicycle Show (NAHBS) at the Convention Center, it's also the finale weekend of Sacramento Beer Week. Both were epitomized at Thursday's Art Bike Kick Off Party at Hot Italian. Hot Italian was serving their Beer Week special--a Moretti in a glass you get to keep--and Sierra Nevada was on site giving out samples of their beers. Three Art Bikes were on display (have you seen the other nine around town?): a Trike (that you were encouraged to climb on for a photo opp), a Shark Bike, and a St. Patty's Day Bike. The crowd was asked to submit their vote for their fa

  This year’s Chalk It Up! event appeared to have outgrown its venue at Fremont Park. Thousands of visitors came to enjoy the three day annual event. As usual, the event was held during the Labor Day weekend. Talented and creative artists of all ages participated using just chalk and the sidewalk around Fremont Park to create some magnificent pieces of art. Music has always been a centerpiece of the event and once again Jerry Perry Presents put together a great lineup. Close to three dozen local musicians and bands participated to create another memorable Chalk It Up. Children’s activities, a beer garden, food and numerous vendors shared the grounds at Fremont Park. Chalk It Up! help

This Labor Day weekend, people may be encouraged to walk on the grass for once as the walkways through and around Fremont Park will be transformed into a giant canvas of local art as Sacramento welcomes its 21st Annual Chalk-It-Up! art festival. Nearly 200 artists, sponsored by local businesses, will spend three days on their hands and knees creating temporary chalk masterpieces that will remain for exhibition throughout the month of September. Chalk-It-Up is a nonprofit organization that raises money every year through the festival to sponsor ongoing grants programs and scholarships for youth art programs throughout the Sacramento region. “It benefits art programs in schools that, in o

Fresh of an exquisite performance at Launch 2011 Exquisite Corps performed at Thursday’s Hot Lunch Concert Series. Exquisite Corps braved the heat and played a wonderful set. I arrived later than I intended but arrived in time to listen to one song before they took a break. The blistering heat did not seem to have much of an effect on concert goers as Exquisite Corps was able to draw a good size crowd. The audience sat wherever there was shade and enjoyed a great show. I’ve been a fan of Exquisite Corps from the first time I heard them. The orchestral strings first drew me to them when I first saw them play last year. The cello and violins makes their sound a bit more distinctive than

About 300 original, custom and vintage bicycle frames and wheels of different sizes could be seen displayed around Fremont Park Sunday afternoon for the Sacramento Cyclefest Bicycle Show 2011. There were 12 categories for judging and 125 bicycles were entered for the chance to win a handmade steel trophy. Glistening in the sun, the bright orange, yellow and green banana seat bicycles – with some dating back to the ‘60s originally from New York and others a bit older like a 1935 Colson named Hard Luck were part of the show. Latin boogaloo music played in the background as bike lovers socialized and checked out the vendors. “There wasn't anything else (like this) in Sacramento, so we decid

Everything was pink, sparkly, floral and cute at the Etsy Party & Craft Supply Swap on Friday in Fremont Park. The event was part of a “global craft party” orchestrated by the e-commerce site Etsy, and hosted by Amy Cluck of IndieSacramento. All handmade enthusiasts were invited to attend. Tables covered with vintage floral sheets and topped with handmade goodies were drenched in contrasting golden specks of light and early evening shade, adding even more charm to the already charmingly intimate gathering. There was a “MacBook photobooth” with handmade props to wear while taking silly photographs, plenty of free swag like Etsy buttons, heart stud earrings from Sweet-N-Salty (Amy Cluck’

The Bicycle Film Festival kicked off last night at the beautifully renovated and expanded Crocker Art Museum, which drew in crowds from all walks of life to celebrate their bond and love of bicycles. The Crocker usually hosts “Art Mix” every second Thursday of the month to celebrate culture with cocktails with live art demonstrations, short films, tours and talks. This particular Thursday, the Crocker teamed up with Hot Italian, which is heavily involved with the promotion and support of the BFF, to host the launch party for the film festival.This is Sacramento’s second time hosting the festival in its 11-year history. The party entailed a no-host bar and barbecue, bike art, a bicycle fi

Fremont Park in Midtown is now home to two colorful and richly detailed sculptures, which were recently installed as part of Sacramento’s Art in Public Places program.  Created by local artist Stephanie Taylor, the sculptures chronicle the explorations of John C. Fremont and the flow of time and events between the 19th century and today. Shaped like giant vessels and embellished with intricate ceramic elements, the sculptures have been in the works since 2007 and were finished last summer. However, technicalities regarding placement delayed installation until this spring.  The location of the vessels became a topic of intrigue and Fremont Park Neighborhood Association, CADA and the city

Just days after the successful SactoMoFo mobile food festival, City Councilman Rob Fong asked that an ordinance limiting mobile food vendors’ parking times within the city be reviewed with an eye for changing it. “What I’d like to ask everyone is to see if we would be willing to take a second look at the mobile food vendor ordinance that is currently on the books. I suspect that Law and Legislation is the place ... to see... if there’s a way for us to kind of accommodate what I think is a very positive and cool movement that is really going through a lot of other cities and has really positive benefits,” he said at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. The ordinance he referred to has been on

Oil your chains, pump up your tires and get geared up for Sacramento Bike Month. May is bike month in Sacramento, and there are many bike-related activities and events going on in the region whether you’re an advanced bicyclist or a recreational rider. May is a good month for biking, and it’s the perfect time to campaign for bike awareness, according to Sacramento Area Council of Governments co-chair Sonja Atkins. “I think it’s about getting people out there for their health, for air quality, to save money and for safety,” Atkins said. “There’s so many pieces to this puzzle, and it’s such a great mode of transportation that I see is important in many realms.” The campaign, in its sixth

Fremont and Roosevelt Parks Farmers Markets had good crowds and good food on hand for opening day. Here's some snapshots:   For more info, go HERE.

Loose-in-the-street green waste pickup may become more expensive for residents, according to comments made by City Council members Tuesday night. During a discussion of green waste at Tuesday’s council meeting, the council asked city staff to prepare detailed plans for raising the rates on loose-in-the-street pickup and reducing the level of pickup service from weekly to biweekly. Council members did not make any final decisions on the issue. Gerald Celestine, a founding member of Friends of Fremont Park, said Wednesday that he thinks loose-in-the-street pickup works better than container pickup for Central City residents. “We have more trees,” he said. “We have much more green waste.”

Local foodies are hoping to overturn a city ordinance not by petitioning, but by eating – gathering mobile food vendors in Fremont Park for a food festival called SactoMoFo. The April 30 event in Fremont Park will have 21 food vendors – including 15 gourmet food trucks – and run from noon - 6 p.m., said Catherine Enfield, one of the event’s organizers and writer of the Munchie Musings food blog. Other organizers include Joshua Lurie-Terrell of YumTacos.com, Paul Somerhausen of the Sacramento Epicureans and Costa Apostolos of the Friends of Fremont Park. “I’m looking forward to good food,” Enfield said. “I personally was in charge of getting the Bay Area trucks, and I selected the best –

Four Sacramento council members will discuss ideas for growing the number of community gardens in the city on Tuesday afternoon. City Council members Jay Schenirer, Sandy Sheedy, Darrell Fong and Steve Cohn sit on the Law and Legislation Committee, which analyzes ideas for local ordinances. The committee will examine ways to regulate community gardens and increase their presence. Councilman Rob Fong spurred the committee’s discussion, according to a city staff report. The city should do everything it can to encourage community gardening and to explore urban farming, Fong said Monday. “I just think we need to utilize our spaces well,” Fong said. Committee members will evaluate a propose

A favorite sleepover activity is coming to Fremont Park Saturday as Sacramento takes a whack at joining the seventh annual International Pillow Fight Day. “It’s most famous and well-known in the Bay Area, where it started,” said Mike Flanagan, owner of local music label Bad Current Records. He decided to bring the event to Sacramento about two months ago. Numerous countries are involved, including Australia, France, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Italy, Romania and Slovakia. “What I like about it is anybody can join in,” he said. “As long as you can hold a pillow and laugh, you can have a good time.” Flanagan said he thinks the event has a sort of “flash mob” mentality, with a group of li

In an attempt to improve the world by lowering the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and get governments to pay attention to climate change, Sacramento will join more than 6,600 eco-positive events in more than 180 countries are part of the Global Work Party. “There was a U.N. conference on climate change last year on Oct. 10 when they did nothing,” Laurie Litman of the Friends of Riverbend Park explained. “This is our message to the U.N. that the people of the world want change.” According to the website, 350.org, the Global Work Party was created by a team of “international organizers, author Bill McKibben and young climate leaders.” McKibben has been a prominent speaker for c

A popular Natomas restaurant will soon be calling Midtown home as the owners look to expand their business. Mati’s Indian Express, 3880 Truxel Rd., will close its current location Sept. 30 and move to the Fremont building at 16th and P streets before reopening Nov. 1 as Mati’s. The new, 2,200-square-foot location will double the restaurant’s size. “We want to expand,” said Ranjani Prasad, the establishment’s owner and main cook. “Most of our customers are from Midtown, and we want to be more centrally located.” It will be the first move in the restaurant’s five-year history. Prasad is from the Indian community in Fiji, and she said she learned to cook at a young age from her mother, wh