About three dozen guests attended the Clement Charles Events presentation of “Scotch and Sushi - The Sexy Pairing II” on Friday April 6. The event was sponsored and hosted by The Urban Hive to benefit the Sacramento Art History Consortium (SAHC). Although scotch and sushi sounds like an odd combination it ended being a great and delicious pairing. Guest enjoyed wine and scotch donated by Classic Wines of California. Music by Clemon Charles further enhanced the sensory experience of the evening. The talented musician provided soothing music for guests to enjoy. The Barbados native provided an acoustic set that included favorite cover songs such as “Can't Help Falling in Love”, “Sitting o

Opening the selection process for Sacramento’s new poet laureate is one of the highlights of the four-day Open Daily event put on by the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission. Other events include a talk on the role of public artwork in private development, a symposium on how arts organizations can raise funds and a workshop to train artists on how to teach art in schools. “This is the first time we’ve run the SMAC Open Daily as a full-blown four-day symposium,” said SMAC spokeswoman Veronica Delgado. “Our overall goal is showing how the creative sector is influencing the dynamics of the economy in Sacramento.” Events run from Wednesday through Saturday. For a full schedule, click her

Summer has come and gone but crowds at Second Saturday still remain large. Second Saturday events have grown in popularity and other communities participate in Second and Third Saturday art events. During fall several cities stop their art walks. Folsom and El Dorado Hills had their last Second Saturday of the year in September and October respectively. Popularity of similar events in smaller towns continues to grow. Attendance and art displays expand in the smaller venues but none of these can compare to the popularity of Midtown’s event. This Saturday I attended a handful of galleries and events. Since there are so many places to view and experience art I made a list of places I was i

October was officially declared as National Arts and Humanities Month by President Obama back in 2009. Artober is a month-long event starting Oct. 1 that highlights the talents and art resources in Sacramento and celebrates the meaning of the month. It will include local artists, businesses, art walks, festivals, workshops and other special events in Old Sacramento and the downtown area. Last year, Mayor Kevin Johnson announced that the For Arts’ Sake Coalition would be introducing a new action plan for the Sacramento area. A team of 20 artists and art enthusiasts worked to bring resources together such as getting organizations and businesses involved in the process of making the public a

Over a thousand runners of all ages participated in a 5K run/walk during Saturday’s Race for the Arts. After the race, runners, family and friends were able to enjoy several dozen booths offering resources and information regarding art programs in Sacramento and surrounding areas. As is usually the case at events such as this, hundreds of volunteers helped in ensuring the event was a success. Besides volunteers, many sponsors and performers entertained guests at William Land Park on the beautiful, sunny day. The Race for the Arts has a clearly outlined mission. “Race for the Arts is a nonprofit organization that raises funds and awareness for California nonprofit performing, cultural

A Grand Opening for T2 Performance Solutions was held this Friday at the Urban Hive on H and 20th Street. This Launch Celebration included music by Clemon Charles and Michael Wilson. Featured artist was Raphael Delgado. Delicious food was provided by Mulvaney’s B&L and Perry Creek Winery provided several fine wine selections. The Urban Hive began to fill up early with many guests, artists and friends providing a great social setting. Veronica Delgado, Vera Icon PR, was on hand and introduced me to her mom and brother and also to Tracy and Tim Saville Tracy Saville went up to the microphone to welcome guests, friends and students thanking them for coming to the Launch Celebration. She was

Twenty years, Twenty Families was this year’s theme at the Festival de la Familia. Sunday’s attendance at the Festival’s 20th Anniversary Celebration exceeded expectation. Families began to line up at the entrance before the gates opened. I met Veronica Delgado, Steering Committee Vice Chair of Festival de la Familia, at the entrance. She gave me an overview of the event. Veronica spent a lot of effort and energy helping to put the event together and had been at Cal Expo hours before the gates opened. Many of the Steering and Committee members have been preparing for the event for months and seemed to still be full of energy and pride as they raced around Cal Expo making sure things went

Rarely will you be solicited for a used toilet paper roll, but perhaps you’ll hand one over for the sake of art. What else are you going to do with it? The third annual Crayons to Canvas Art Drive is accepting art supplies of all varieties this month as organizers work to supply the Stanford Home for Children’s new art therapy room. Begun in 2008 by the sibling duo of Sacramento artist Raphael Delgado and publicist Veronica Delgado, the drive provides resources for an art-based therapy approach for at-risk youth. Stanford Home Development and Marketing Manager Sarah Mentze said the art therapy room, which opened in June, works as a supplementary resource to therapy programs offered by S

Every Friday evening this summer, up-and-coming local artists present their latest pieces at Mix Downtown’s The Gallery. Friday’s happy-hour event featured painter Mariana Alvarez. In 2006, Sacramento native Alvarez graduated from California State University, Chico, and moved into a white-walled apartment. “My landlord said I couldn’t paint the walls,” she said. “But I couldn’t stand the stark white.” Alvarez, who had never taken an art class before, decided to buy a few canvasses and brighten up her house with some original pieces. A few friends noticed the paintings, which encouraged her to take her art to the next level. “I started to call different nightclubs to see if I could show

Looking for delicious food and nonstop entertainment this weekend? The 19th annual Festival de la Familia will be taking place Sunday at Cal Expo. The day-long event is a celebration of family and all aspects of Latin culture, representing more than 20 cultures. There will be live music and performances throughout the day as well as many beautiful exhibits to observe. Also, there will be an open-air mercado where numerous vendors will be offering unique goods like handcrafted musical instruments to original pieces of turquoise and silver jewelry. New to this year's agenda will be two parades taking place at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. The parades will include performances by the Charro Associatio