While last-minute shoppers set out to get that final gift on Christmas Eve the Sacramento Zoo filled with visitors who took advantage of free admission as the Zoo held its annual PJ Party. Opening the Zoo on Christmas Eve has been a tradition for more than 12 years and while wearing pajamas is not required to attend, admission is free during the three hour event. Tonja Swank, the Zoo's public relations coordinator, said the Zoo typically draws 500 to 600 visitors on a regular Saturday but on days like Christmas Eve or Free Museum Day when admission is free the number jumps into the thousands.     

Judging by the blossoming trees in Capitol Park and the skyrocketing pollen count in the air, spring has sprung in Sacramento. And with this change in weather comes the ultimate springtime holiday: Easter. In honor of the occasion, The Sacramento Press hit the streets to ask travelers at the Amtrak station: How do you like to spend Easter? Bernadette Stafford, 25, a social worker from downtown Sacramento, had a unique take on how she spends Easter. “I go to my parents’ house, and we harvest stuff from our garden as a way of giving thanks to Mother Earth,” she said. “It’s totally granola hippie stuff,” she added with a laugh. Stafford said she has never actually celebrated Easter itself

It’s that time of year again, yes, time to cook a giant bird in the oven. There is a sense of tradition and nostalgia every year, the smell of a home cooked meal and relatives and friends alike come storming through the front door. Thanksgiving is a time of reunions and family tradition. Bring on the wild turkeys, the mashed potatoes, the gravy, the cranberry sauce and biscuits for a massive dinner party. Though most families sit down around a dinner table and pass around plates filled with food, I, on the other hand, never got to experience that tradition until recently. My family never really celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday. Someone takes home a frozen slaughtered turkey and throw

Put on your lederhosen, whet your appetite and ready your beer belly for the 43rd annual Oktoberfest hosted by the Sacramento Turn Verein this weekend. With brew imported from Munich, traditional folk music and dancing troupes, costumes, food and much more, the celebration of the 200th anniversary of Oktoberfest will not disappoint fans of a good party. Previous years have gathered as many as 1,250 people in a single evening. “Attendance has been growing each year. This year we expect even more,” said Turn Verein Secretary Heinz Ludke. Proceeds from this fundraising event will benefit the various Turn Verein programs, including the Soccer Club, the Turner Harmonie, and the German-Americ

  According to Jewish tradition, the highest form of tzedakah, or charity, is to donate to a community fund, or kupah. Whether your donation is in the form of community service hours, survival materials or a monetary donation, it all helps to strengthen and build our community at large.   The Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region, and their overseas beneficiaries, work with a broad set of national and international institutes that span the world to provide relief, rescue, and reconstruction. The federation system is dedicated to inspiring community members to secure the financial and human resources necessary to achieve the mission of caring for those in need, without discrimination

Although there are several automobile shows throughout the year in Sacramento, the art of the car cruising display has been lost in the City of Trees for decades. This Saturday, The California Automobile Museum and hundreds of car owners will be teaming up to present the debut of CAMBER (California Automobile Museum's Big Event on the Road), bringing back the old tradition of parading the merchandise along city streets to Downtown Sacramento. "As far as we know, there has not been a cruise in Sacramento since back in the 50s when it was really popular," said Karen McClaflin, executive director of the California Auto Museum. "They'd cruise down J Street and K, going in a loop. So the idea