This past weekend marked the 20th anniversary of the Sacramento International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (SIGLFF) at the Crest Theatre. The festival ran selected film series each evening from Thursday to Saturday. Founder Alan Cole started the project in 1992 as a student-run film festival that received support from Sacramento State University, Gay and Lesbian Alliance students with grant funding from Associated Students Inc. , which is a official governing body which operates the sponsorship of programs and services to CSUS students. A bevy of sponsors and volunteers support the board of directors, programming and gala committees to prepare and organize the annual festival that takes p

The Sacramento International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival kicked off Thursday evening, celebrating its 20th anniversary of great indie LGBT films and their filmmakers at the Crest Theatre. The festival is a non-profit organization, dedicated to showing independent LGBT films in [in or from?] Northern California. The festival continues through Saturday, with each evening concentrating on different subjects. Thursday evening focuses on male relationships, Friday on female relationships, and Saturday showcases a series of short films. Each year brings opportunities to show more films, give more money to nonprofit LGBT organizations and provide grants to filmmakers. Each evening, films begin

The Art Service Group celebrated the 40th annual Art & Antiques Show & Sale, which benefits Sacramento's beautifully renovated Crocker Art Museum. Over 50 regional and national arts and antique dealers participated in the event Friday through Sunday in the historic Scottish Rite Center, which is known for its dedication to education, fellowship and charity. Dealers and volunteers from Sacramento County to Shingle Springs and Klamath Falls, Ore., join together to bond over their love of art and antiques and donate their time and efforts to participate in the three-day event. The $7 admission fee and proceeds from the silent auction will support the Crocker Art Museum. The silent auction w

We've all heard it before, “I need to get out of Sacramento."   The above statement has been muttered out of the mouths of people born and raised here or forced here beyond their will as a child by the likes of their parents or family, just waiting for the day they turned 18 to flock to wherever the cool kids are. You have probably also heard the generic, "There is nothing to do here," or, " If I want a real career, I need to move to San Francisco or Los Angeles, where it's happening."   Maybe so, or maybe, these people haven't given our state capital a fair look at a microscopic level with a new pair of eyes.     You know what, no microscope needed, just open your eyes.   Sacramen

It's been 50 years since the Beach Boys formed and have been " getting around" with their all-American hits about love, summertime, the beach, surfing, endless youth and cars. Many fans flocked to Thunder Valley Casino and Resort Friday evening to attend the sold-out Beach Boys show, part of Thunder Valley's Summer Concert Series. Nothing but nostalgia filled the air as the crowd rocked their Hawaiian shirts and leis, hit beach balls in the air and lined up at the beer garden to get their fix before the band hit the stage. The arena was surrounded by old classic cars and limos with words painted in the windows such as "Beach Boys Forever." These were the type of rides fans drove to see t

Joan Jett, one of our reigning queens of rock ’n’ roll and one of only two women on Rolling Stone’s list of 100 greatest guitar players of all time, rocked a full house at Thunder Valley Casino Saturday night. Jett, accompanied by her band The Blackhearts, proved that she still has the energy and free-spirited wild-child persona she adopted during her early days as a guitarist in her first band, The Runaways. Jett donned her signature black shaggy hair, dark eye makeup, a black tank top and Converse as she paraded around the stage, clapping her hands and encouraging the crowd to throw their hands up and sing along. Joining her on stage was lead guitarist Dougie Needles, drummer Tommy Pr

Rain? What rain? A tidal wave wouldn't have stopped people from showing up to the 27th annual Sacramento Pride parade and party last Saturday at the Capitol Mall. The area was bookended by the gorgeous Tower Bridge at one end and the State Capital at the other end, a great backdrop for the Pride celebration. Sacramento's 2011 Pride parade and party lasted from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 4, 2011. Both 3rd and 7th streets were reserved for the festivities which included vendor booths, a live entertainment stage, an area for a diverse selection of food and a dance tent. This year’s entertainment schedule included acts such as Miss Coco Peru, Raquela, Tom Goss, Luciana, Jovi Radtke a

Sunday afternoon was the worldwide debut of Disney's Fine Art Pixar Collection. Families from all over the Sacramento region flocked to the California State Railroad Museum to get an up close look at original artwork inspired by the first 11 films created by Pixar Animation Studios. The artists were there on hand to happily chat and sign posters for adoring Disney fans.  The films used for the artwork included: “Toy Story,” “A Bug’s Life,” “Toy Story 2,” “Finding Nemo,” “The Incredibles,” “Cars,” “Ratatouille,” “Wall-E,” “Up,” “Toy Story 3” and “Monster’s, Inc.” Growing up, we all remember falling in love with classics such as “Sleeping Beauty,” “Bambi,” “Pinocchio” and “Lady and the Tra

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

Saturday marked UC Davis' annual Picnic Day, a free, family-friendly community event, celebrating the achievements UC Davis has in areas of research, teaching, service and campus life. This year’s Picnic Day was themed " Rewind" in hopes of reviving the spirit of the first Picnic Day in 1909. All day crowds of students celebrate their Aggie pride with groups of alumni, family, faculty and staff, children and pets. Events begin at 7:30 a.m. with the pancake breakfast and parade. Festivities last throughout the day and into the night, ending after the last marching band performs at the Battle of the Bands event at Spafford Lake in the Arboretum. Picnic Day is one of the largest student-run