NorCal AIDS Cycle (NCAC), an annual four-day, 330-mile cycling fundraiser, ended its 2012 ride on Sunday, May 20, with a moving Closing Ceremony at the State Capitol in Sacramento. As of Sunday, the ride had raised a record $304,000 for 10 Sacramento and Northern California HIV/AIDS service organizations, up from nearly $250,000 raised in 2011. Some 110 cyclists rode over Sacramento’s landmark Tower Bridge and onto the Capitol grounds at noon on Sunday, with cheering friends, family and the 65 volunteer crew members lining both sides of the sidewalk to the Capitol West Steps. Some of the NCAC cyclists and crew are HIV positive themselves, others are not. “You can’t tell by looking at us

On Thursday, May 3, Sacramento’s popular Drag Queen Bingo fundraiser is expected to top the $50,000 mark for funds raised to support local non-profit organizations. Thursday’s event will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. at Hamburger Patties, 1630 J St., Sacramento, benefiting the Sacramento Gay & Lesbian Softball League. Since the first number was called on Aug. 12, 2009, which benefited Sacramento charity WEAVE, Drag Queen Bingo has raised $49,153.63 for local charities and non-profits. Each event benefits a different local non-profit organization. In its nearly three-year history, the event has raised money for 45 different charities, including the Sacramento Gay & Lesbian Center, the Sacrament

NorCal AIDS Cycle, which raised a record-setting quarter-million dollars for local HIV/AIDS service agencies in 2011, has more than doubled in number of cyclists and crew members leading into the May 2012 ride. The Sacramento-based four-day, 330-mile HIV/AIDS fundraising ride registered a record number of cyclists and volunteer crew members—85 cyclists and 61 volunteer crew members—in a one-day Dec. 1 World AIDS Day campaign. With another three cyclists signing up since Dec. 1, the 2012 ride, which will be held May 17-20, now has a total of 212 participants registered. In comparison, only 72 cyclists and crew had registered for the 2011 ride as of Dec. 15, 2010. In a Facebook-organized d

NorCal AIDS Cycle, the Sacramento-based four-day, 330-mile HIV/AIDS cycling fundraiser, will mark the 23rd annual World AIDS Day by waiving the $75 registration fee for cyclists or crew volunteers who sign up on December 1. To qualify for the free registration, simply visit norcalaidscycle.org on Dec. 1, click on Register Now, and enter code CURE. Ride organizers hope the opportunity to register free will inspire cyclists and volunteer crew members to sign up, get a jump on training and help the event exceed last year’s record-breaking success. The 2012 NorCal AIDS Cycle will be held May 17-20. With nearly 100 cyclists, NorCal AIDS Cycle (NCAC) had its most successful year in 2011, rais

A photograph by Sacramento attorney Jane A. Ryan, entitled “Negative Fringe Element,” has been accepted in the Sacramento Fine Arts Center show, “Visions,” which runs from now through November 19. The center (http://www.sacfinearts.org) is located at 5330-B Gibbons Drive in Carmichael. A Second Saturday Artists Reception is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 12, with an awards presentation at 6:30 p.m. Ryan's paintings and other artwork also has been displayed in other local arts shows, most recently in the Art Bra Show held in August at the 40 Acres Gallery in Oak Park. Ryan is an attorney in private practice, with a focus on prenuptial agreements and cohabitation agr

The Sacramento Rainbow Chamber of Commerce will celebrate the 10th anniversary of its founding and present the first Rainbow Chamber Business Leader of the Year Award on Tuesday, Sept. 20, at the Radisson Hotel Sacramento. The award will be presented to an individual who has shown outstanding leadership both in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and in the greater Sacramento business community. Also honored at the event will be six 2011 Rainbow Chamber Foundation scholarship recipients. Assemblymember Roger Dickinson will swear in the Chamber’s newly elected board of directors. Serving as Masters of Ceremony will be radio and television personalities Don Geronimo a

The NorCal AIDS Cycle had a record-setting year in 2011, raising more money for area non-profit organizations than any HIV/AIDS fundraising organization in recent Sacramento history. The event is among the most successful Sacramento charity fundraisers in history based on total dollars raised. The organization will distribute a total of $190,000 to area HIV/AIDS service organizations, returning 70 percent of total funds raised to beneficiary organizations at a check presentation ceremony at 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 8, at Hot Italian, 1627 16th Street, Sacramento. A record 96 cyclists, along with 30 volunteer crew members—who also raised money—participated in the four-day, 330-mile cycling fun

Clients, staff and volunteers of WEAVE (Women Escaping A Violent Environment), the primary provider of crisis intervention services for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in Sacramento County, will have an opportunity to sing along with Dorothy, Glinda the Good Witch and all their Oz friends Sunday, August 22, at Sacramento’s Crest Theatre, 1013 K St. in Sacramento. Outword Magazine and Crest Theatre, co-producers of “The Wizard of Oz Sing-Along at the Crest,” are providing complimentary tickets to WEAVE for the family-friendly festivities. The event will begin at 1 p.m. Sunday with Karaoke in the Lobby, followed at 2 p.m. by an Oz Character Costume Contest and screening of

You'll know you're not in Kansas when Outword Magazine and the Crest Theatre present "Sing Along with 'The Wizard of Oz'" on Sunday, August 22. The historic Sacramento theatre, located at 1013 K Street, will be transformed into Oz, complete with Yellow Brick Road,Tornado Trivia and Emerald City backdrop, with Glinda the Good Witch presiding over all. The family-friendly festivities will begin at 1 p.m. with Karaoke in the Lobby. At 2 p.m. participants of all ages will compete for cash and gift prizes and ruby-slipper trophies in the Oz character Costume Contest, followed by a sing-along screening of the 1939 MGM classic film. "The Wizard of Oz" is a musical film directed by Victor Flemin

With an iconic new location--Sacramento's scenic Capitol Mall, expanded marketing efforts and a growing roster of prestigious corporate sponsors and exhibitors, the 26-year-old Sacramento Pride Festival is expected to break attendance records on Saturday. The June 19 Festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., attracting an estimated 10,000 visitors and bringing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of economic benefit to Sacramento’s downtown area. Festival admission is $10. After a number of years at South Side Park, the Festival will move to Capitol Mall in 2010, where a street-festival layout sandwiched between the Tower Bridge and the State Capitol dome is expected to add novelty

Let’s face it—a sawbuck just doesn’t go very far these days. But thanks to generous corporate sponsorships and a year's worth of robust volunteer effort to build the event, Sacramento Pride is shaping up to be the best value of the region's summer festival season! Sacramento Pride Festival, Saturday, June 19, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., will be held at Sacramento’s scenic Capitol Mall for the first time this year. To go along with its exciting new location, Pride's volunteer organizers are bringing in new attractions, star-power entertainment, and excellent swag--all for the price of a $10 admission ticket. Here is a list of the top 10 added values for guests attending Sacramento Pride: 1) $50

This is not your daddy’s Sacramento Pride! Sacramento Pride is making big changes in 2010, all aimed at transforming the annual regional celebration of LGBT culture and accomplishments into an event worthy of its new tagline, California’s Capital Pride. The list of changes begins with the day-long Pride Festival’s move this year to Sacramento’s Capitol Mall. The Festival will be held Saturday, June 19, from 10 am to 5 pm. Sandwiched between the State Capitol dome on the east and the golden spans of the Tower Bridge on the west, the Festival’s move to the scenic city gateway is intended to raise visibility and emphasize the important role of the LGBT community in Sacramento and statewide.

G&R Body & Paint of Sacramento recently became the first collision repair shop in the state of California to receive the Coordinating Committee For Automotive Repair’s (CCAR) new “GreenLink Shop” designation. In order to receive the GreenLink Shop designation, G&R Body & Paint was required to meet standards in environmental, health and safety practices in four categories: business operations, employee training, safety compliance and environmental management. “We are excited to welcome G&R Body & Paint to the GreenLink Shop program,” said Rod Enlow, CCAR Vice President of Industry Relations, in CCAR’s news release announcing G&R’s GreenLink recognition. “Today’s retail customer is knowledg

The Sacramento Pride Festival, an annual event that brings thousands of attendees from throughout California, will be held for the first time on Capitol Mall in 2010, Bill Otton, interim director of the Sacramento Gay & Lesbian Center, announced this week. The Pride Festival and Parade will be held Saturday, June 19. Established in 1984, the day-long lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) pride festival has been held at Sacramento’s Southside Park for the past several years. Otton said the move to the Capitol Mall site will generate renewed excitement for an event that dates back to the early years of the gay civil rights movement in Sacramento and help bring attention to the role

Chamber donates additional $500 to national gay youth suicide prevention organization The Rainbow Chamber of Commerce of Sacramento, a networking and advocacy organization for lesbian, bisexual, bisexual and transgender and LGBT-friendly businesses, has pledged a $10,000 contribution to the Sacramento Gay & Lesbian Center. The donation will be made in quarterly installments, with an initial $2,500 installment to be paid immediately. Established in 1986, the non-profit Sacramento Gay & Lesbian Center provides programs and services for at-risk lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth, mental health services and support groups for LGBT youth and adults, a free weekly legal clinic

Sacramento business owner and entrepreneur David Picton has been named to the board of directors of the Albie Carson Breast Cancer Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to breast cancer education, outreach and screening in the Greater Sacramento region. Picton, owner of Sacramento-based companies G&R Body & Paint and Earth Guard Pest Management Services, said it was a personal connection that inspired him to become involved with the foundation. “My dear friend for 10 years lost his wife to breast cancer in 2002 and established the Foundation in her memory,” Picton said. “I’m honored to have the opportunity to serve as a board member and make a contribution to this wonderful org

Professional benefit auctioneer David Sobon raised more than $102,000 for charitable causes in a recent three-day weekend of back-to-back live auctions—defying recent economy-driven declines in charitable contributions that have decimated many Sacrament-area non-profits. Sobon, a partner in Maximum Benefits Auctions, presided at a live auction Friday, Oct. 16, that raised more than $25,000 for Faces of Tomorrow, a Yolo County organization that funds facial surgery for Ecuadoran children with cleft palate. A second live auction Saturday, Oct. 17, raised more than $23,000 for the Woodland Sunrise Rotary’s project to provide cooking stoves for impoverished families in Guatemala; and a third

The Sacramento Rainbow Chamber of Commerce will hold its 3rd Annual Installation Dinner on Tuesday, Sept. 22, at the Radisson Hotel Sacramento. Guy Farris, co-host of News 10’s popular TV magazine program, Sacramento & Co., will serve as Master of Ceremonies. The evening will begin with cocktails at 5:30 p.m., followed by dinner and live auction with auctioneer David Sobon of Maximum Benefit Auctions at 6:30 p.m. Auction offerings will include fine wine and dining packages, exotic travel and other luxury items. All proceeds from the dinner and auction will benefit the Rainbow Chamber Foundation, a non-profit organization supporting programs for at-risk youth and other causes. The evenin