William Land Park hosted this year’s banana festival. Thousands attended the event that promoted health and community awareness. The festival celebrated everything having to do with bananas and it was a great family event. Cultures that traditionally use bananas were also celebrated. These included Central and Eastern Africa, the Caribbean, Central and South America, the Pacific Islands and other countries. Vendors sold delicious international food specializing in banana recipes. Two stages were set up to accommodate all the acts performing on August 13 and 14. One of the stages was the children’s corner and a large play area with carnival rides and games was available for children. Su

Sutter’s Landing will not be the future site for the Sacramento Zoo. That determination was made during a City Council workshop Tuesday afternoon. The workshop was called so the council members could be brought up to date on the current status of the zoo – currently located on 14 acres in Land Park – and where it will be in the next 40 years.  The workshop was called by Councilman Rob Fong following a feasibility study released last July. For now, the council has decided to keep the zoo in Land Park. “I think it’s pretty obvious that we’re not going to be looking at putting the zoo anywhere else in the short term,” Fong said, adding that the “short term” means anywhere in the next 20 y

In every fairytale the good guys always win, the bad guys always lose, and there’s always a “Happily Ever After“. Real life however, is a very different tale. Financial woes, unemployment, addictions, and lack of support hit so many Sacramento residents who then find themselves with nowhere to go. Thankfully there is a program like the Sacramento Area Emergency Housing Center that helps and supports these families in their time of crisis. Just like a real life fairy godmother. Seems only fitting that on September 10th, 2010 Sacramento Area Emergency Housing Center will be having their 18th annual After Hours: Wine Event & Live Auction fundraiser at Fairytale Town in William Land Park. Tic

The play Othello is about a black officer whose marriage to a white woman ends very tragically due to the ingenious scheming of an "honest" friend of Othello. I love the storyline of Othello. I had seen the movie Othello starring Laurence Fishbourne about 10 years ago and again about 1 month ago. I read the play, also about 1 month ago, and even read another book, "Othello - Shakespeare Made Easy" so that I would be able to better interpret the language in the play. I had even seen a very contemporary version of the play in a movie called "O" starring Mekhi Phifer and Julia Stiles. So it seemed fitting that the only thing left for me to see was a live performance of the play that I love s

The sixth annual International Kid's Festival brought together hundreds of children and parents in William Land Park Monday. The event was organized by Russian American Media, Inc. and founder and CEO Sergey Ivannikov. Audience members watch performances on the festival's main stage. According to the festival's press release, it is organized to "inspire children to make healthy choices, live in harmony with nature and celebrate a world of diverse cultures." Performers were from an array of cultural backgrounds including Russian, Asian, Latin, Indian and African American to "inspire pride and represent their cultures." "Ping Pong" Flow Crew performs. "We'd like to teach kids how to be

Stretch those legs and flex those paws for the 17th annual Sacramento SPCA Doggy Dash June 5 in William Land Park. Approximately 4,000 people and their canine companions are expected to attend, and will gather in the Village Green Area of the park. Festivities begin at 8 a.m. and will continue until 1 p.m. Participants may register with or without a dog. The SPCA hopes to raise $250,000 through Doggy Dash. "This is our largest fundraiser of the year," SPCA public relations director Lesley Kirrene said in an e-mail. "All funds raised go to help us care for the more than 12,000 homeless animals that will come to the SPCA this year alone. We have had such a terrific response to the event i

The Summer Gospel Fest Concerts are a collaboration of talented gospel music artists, poets, comedians, and dancers who will perform their talents on Saturday, June 12th at William Land Park, Village Green Area, located at Freeport Blvd. & Sutterville Rd., Sacramento. Families, youth groups and entire congregations will be attending from the Bay Area, Stockton, and throughout the Greater Sacramento area. The public is invited to come and fellowship at the event – one of three scheduled over the next three months. The Concert is FREE and begins at 11:30 am and ends at 7 pm. People of the Way Ministries, a non profit organization, will also be hosting concerts on July 3 at McClatchy Park a

Recently, the owners of Midtown businesses on J Street facing Marshall Park renamed their area The Bloc. Downtown, the owners of the businesses on 11th and H streets renamed their establishments The Retrolodge. Now a group of Curtis Park businesses will rename themselves. This Saturday, Gunther's Ice Cream, Pangaea Cafe and Capsity Offices will reintroduce the corner of 3rd and Franklin streets as "The Parks." They want to call it "The Parks" because the area is located near Curtis Park, William Land Park, Tahoe Park and Oak Park, says Ricardo Robles, co-founder of Capsity Offices. From 1 to 3 p.m., the neighborhood will celebrate the one-year anniversary of Capsity Offices and Pangaea

If you and your friends and family are in the mood for some festive fun, entertainment, shopping, historical story telling, and good food then you may want to check out the Juneteeth Festival this weekend June 20th-21st in William Land Park. For those of you not in the know, Juneteeth “Celebration of Freedom Weekend” is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. It was on June 19, 1865 some two and half years after the Emanicipation Proclamation that news broke to those Americans in Texas that the war had ended and the enslaved were now free. Since then generations upon generations of African Americans along with other ethnic communities have com

It was a moment comparable to being at the circus, watching dogs large and small waltz by in bright, bulky and outlandish costumes, some complete with suspenders or patent leather doll shoes. The woolly mammoth, the lobster, the ballerina, the Lion King, the construction worker, the geisha, the bum, and the hippie — exceptionally well-costumed dogs — assembled in line for judges to determine which one would win this year’s dog costume contest. Zury, the 2-year-old Australian cattle dog dressed as a bum, was the first-prize winner, followed by Rudy placing second for his construction worker duds, and Klusso placing third as the Lion King. According to Lesley Kirrene, Sacramento SPCA direct

Peace, love and... pets? Sacramento's SPCA will be holding a dog festival with music this Saturday raising funds for animals sheltered at the SPCA. Dog lovers and their dogs will converge in William Land Park on the corner of Sutterville Road and Freeport Boulevard for Sacramento SPCA's 16th annual Doggy Dash and Bark in the Park. "Doggy Dash" refers to events beginning at 9 a.m. for registrants who sign up for a 5K run and walk, or a 2K walk, while the "Bark in the Park" is a free event with dog contests, music and food. In addition to the dog events, there will be a kid zone where parents can pay a few bucks to have their kids play in a bounce house and use a rock-climbing wall, receiv

For five residents of a Sacramento rehab center, this Memorial Day represents a personal battle won. Of 1185 registered participants, five members of the recently formed running and walking program One Step Forward completed their first race as a team this morning at the “No Excuses” 5k run at William Land Park. The members were recruited just over two months ago from Sacramento’s Clean & Sober program, dedicated to helping disadvantaged people overcome drug and alcoholic addictions. For the past six weeks, One Step Forward trained twice a week in preparation for the race. One Step Forward was formed by local organizer Makiko Yamashita, who wanted to provide a sense of community, accomp

That's right, Landpark! William Land Park donated to the city of Sacramento over 166 acres of land in the year 1926. Today Landpark is a gorgeous park that includes, a picnic recreation area, a pond, a 9 hole golf course, jogging trails, an amphitheater, Fairytale Town, Funderland Amusement Park, and The Sacramento Zoo all set in the heart of Sacramento's downtown area. The Sacramento Zoo is a non-profit organization, something that the average Sacramentan may not know, says Lauren Kraft the public relations coordinator for the Sac Zoological Society. The Sac Zoo houses animals of endangered species with the higher purpose of caring and protecting them. They are primarily an educational a