Happy Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, as it’s usually known! While today is the official day, celebrations started ahead of time this past weekend. On Saturday, Old Sacramento came alive with the Old Sacramento Mardi Gras event, organized by the Old Sacramento Business Association. Participating locations provided various amenities to ticket holders—including free cover, food & drink specials, and live music (with the occasional strand of beads thrown in). It was great fun to see the streets of Old Sacramento alive and bustling, and attendees getting into the mood with elaborate masks, beads, and Mardi Gras colors. After bopping around from spot to spot for a bit—stopping in at Delta King, Ri

I have fun venturing out amongst crowds of people I don't know. It's a fun-behind-the-lens-interaction experience. For the third year of Mardi Gras in Sac I was once again on a mission. It did tske patience finding a parking spot in Old Sac - lots of folks were out looking for fun. Some were costumed up.  My camera started clicking around 8pm in Old Sac: YESTERDAYS NEWS BAND kept folks dancing.   Headed east to the Sutter District and found things were starting to get interesting from 10pm on: I was treated especially nice by the young man, far left in photo above, at the entrance to Centro. More Mardi Gras fans kept on a' coming.

Not only does this weekend hold the majority of Sacramento's Mardi Gras events (Mardi Gras is officially Tuesday, February 21 this year), it is also a three-day-er for many, given Monday's Presidents' Day Holiday. If your weekend's not already action-packed, or if you're looking to add a little bit more to your plate, here are a few viable options. If you're the type to get up and dance, head to The Park Ultra Lounge for their Mardi Gras Weekend Celebration, featuring two nights of decorations, masks, and beads galore. Friday night features DJ Scene and Saturday celebrates the 150th Anniversary of Bacardi Rum. If you prefer to hop around from spot to spot, there are two great pub crawls

A rock band steps onto a portable stage set up in the old Sacramento News and Review parking lot at 20th and J streets. They tune up and begin to play. This promotion marked beginning of the end of the traditional Second Saturday. Second Saturday was no longer going to be an art walk and about visiting art galleries. Second Saturday was going to be about bringing large numbers of young people to Midtown to stay after the event and continue partying and drinking in the Midtown bars and nightclubs. City officials and the Midtown Business Association (MBA) immediately tried to distance the Midtown Second Saturday Art Walk event and themselves from the unfortunate and preventable death of Vi

The first annual Mardi Gras Grub & Pub Crawl in Old Sacramento pulled folks in for some eats, drink and street entertainment tonight. Participating restaurants and bars offered food and drink specials to celebrate Mardi Gras in Sacramento's historic business district. There was an official speakeasy tour through Sacramento’s below-ground watering holes. Sacramento was "one of the wettest cities in the nation" during the Prohibition era. Here's some scenes from Mardi Gras: Selma Borjes and her SambaLon percussionists livened things up with a mini-parade, winding through some eateries. Folks were enjoying themselves. These  gals were headed into Laughs Unlimited. Some good ole tap

It's once again time to break out your masks and beads. Mardi Gras is here, and Sacramento is full of different events to dance, eat and drink the night away in true Mardi Gras fashion. The Mix Downtown, at 1531 L St., is throwing a Mardi Gras party Wednesday, Feb. 17. The party will take place on the patio of Mix, above de Vere's Irish Pub. Drink specials include $6 Hurricanes and go from 9-11 p.m. The party doesn't stop until 2 a.m., and Mix is providing free beads. Old Sacramento is also having a Mardi Gras extravaganza. The Mardi Gras Pub 'n' Grub Crawl will be held throughout the streets of Old Sacramento Saturday, Feb. 20, starting at 4 p.m. The self-guided crawl will feature food

Tuesday, Feb. 24 is Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday), and tradition demands that it's once again time to dust off the costumes, enjoy some Cajun food, and drink like a fish. This year though, instead of searching around for the best places, why not join up with a tour to guide you to the happenings? Grub Crawl USA, a local promoter of social dining events, is holding it's first annual Grub Crawl at 5 p.m. beginning at Sofia Restaurant on 11th and H Street, where a special Cajun menu will include Louisiana-style gumbo and shrimp po'boys. There, participants will prepare for the night by by donning masks and getting their faces painted by local Sacramento artists. Parking will be free in the Sherat