Stunning dance skills were exhibited by 15 belly dance performances on Sunday night. Dancers in gorgeous and very colorful outfits took the stage and delighted a full house at the Fair Oaks Community Clubhouse. The Sacramento Raks! Belly Dance Gala Show returned to the Clubhouse for a delightful evening of alluring dance performances. Live, authentic Middle Eastern music was provided by Flowers of the Nile. Middle Eastern cuisine was also available for guests to purchase during the show. Dancers Ayre Briar and J.R. performed an inaugural performance as Shupa Da. The music of Pink Floyd’s “Goodbye Blue Sky” accompanied their first dance. The Shupa Da dancers wore similar outfits and a pur

The Woodlake Hotel, located on 500 Leisure Lane in Sacramento, hosted this weekend’s Winter 2012 SacAnime convention. Formerly known as the Radisson Hotel, the Woodlake Hotel opened its doors to over 5,000 visitors who came to see several of their favorite voice actors and celebrity panels, enjoy Café Hoshi, play games, and attend how-to workshops, music video contests, and live concerts. Most important of all was the time spent enjoying each other’s company. The event began on Friday morning and had many well organized activities for the thousands of fans that attended. The multi-talented Vic Mignogna was the first guest to participate in a question-and-answer (Q&A) session with polite

Hollywood rapper Mickey Avalon headlined a New Year's Eve show at Ace of Spades on Saturday. Supporting Avalon on the bill were 2ME, Richard the Rockstar, and producer Big Chocolate. Photos by Steven Chea.

A couple hundred people wanting to get an early start on 2012 partying headed down to Ace of Spades on Friday, where Oakland musician and frequent Sacramento visitor, Wallpaper., headlined an eclectic bill. Starting the show was Chaotic Fusion, a drummer and DJ duo. DJ Oasis spun radio hits – "Teach Me How To Dougie," "Ghosts 'n' Stuff," "Last Resort" – while Radio 94.7 on-air personality Casey Lewis drummed along to the beat. Performing next was Oakland-by-way-of-Panama Latin rap duo Los Rakas. Rhyming in Spanish over dancehall and hip-hop beats, the up and coming young pair were well-received by the slowly growing crowd. Headliner Wallpaper. took the stage next, with the men of the gr

Sacramento art galleries hosted small crowds of visitors during the last Second Saturday of the year. Many visitors took advantage of the smaller crowds to do Christmas shopping. Galleries and other businesses sold art, crafts, gift certificates and other items to Christmas shoppers. Festivities in Sacramento began earlier in the day with the annual Santa Parade. Thousands of children, along with their parents, lined the parade route. The parade started at the corner of 9th and I Streets and an anticipated crowd of over 25 thousand watched. The annual parade began at 10 a.m. and participants included marching bands, cheer squads, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, several floats, car clubs,

The Sacramento Youth Symphony and Academy of Music enchanted an audience of approximately 350 guests at the Tsakopoulos Library Galleria. The free holiday concert was hosted by the Central Library on Sunday afternoon. The Sacramento Public Library invited the public to celebrate music performed by the 85-member ensemble. Musicians played to a full house which has been common for many of the events held at the Central Library. Sacramento Youth Symphony and Academy of Music’s Artistic Director, Michael Neumann, presented the Academic Orchestra and the concert also featured the Saltarello Flute Ensemble and the Clarion Clarinet Ensemble. Neumann addressed the audience by welcoming and t

There are many holiday traditions that we all have and share. A tradition held by many around the world is listening to, participating in or performing “The Nutcracker.” Friday night the Sacramento Ballet hosted “Inside the Director’s Studio, Through the Dancer's Eye: The Nutcracker,” where dancers talked about “The Nutcracker” and shared their personal points of view. Artistic director Ron Cunningham welcomed guests to the event, saying the dancers would talk about their experiences and how they prepare for shows. Cunningham also called the audience’s attention to a Sacramento Ballet calendar featuring the photography of resident photographer Keith Sutter. Cunningham noted that the cal

107.9 The End's Jingle Ball 2011 went down at Power Balance Pavilion on Thursday night. The concert featured performances by JoJo, Breathe Carolina, Cobra Starship, Gym Class Heroes, and Selena Gomez. Photos by Steven Chea

If you don't know Dirt Nasty (aka ex-MTV VJ Simon Rex), take a look at some of his song titles and you'll know what you're getting into: "Suck My D***," "Baby D***" and "F*** Me I'm Famous." It was all about the lowest common denominator at Ace of Spades on Saturday, as Nasty rapped for a crowd that was about half full. In addition to genitalia and sex, he also covered themes like cocaine use ("1980") and bestiality ("Animal Lover"). But that’s his shtick, so you were either there for the juvenile party raps or maybe to catch a glimpse of the actor who was in “Scary Movie 4” and an episode of “MTV Cribs.” "He's hot! I don't even know his music. I came for him!" said Melissa Renee, 19.

With the cover art pattern used on their seminal debut LP, "Highly Refined Pirates," as their backdrop, and a light show on acid, Seattle's Minus the Bear thrilled a packed house at Ace of Spades on Monday night. The band is wrapping up their 10 Year Anniversary Tour, celebrating a decade of music and performing “Pirates,” released in 2002, in its entirety. The popular math-rockers put on a tremendous performance for a very jazzed audience. Featuring guitarist Dave Knudson's signature complex finger-tapping guitar work - used on every song on “Pirates,” the band combined powerhouse indie band swagger with down-to-earth Northwestern charm. Songs like "Absinthe Party at the Fly Honey Wa