Sunday, the giant Midtown block party known as the Rainbow Festival, came to its celebratory end. The three-day event held to raise money and awareness for local lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI) charities in Sacramento as well as celebrate community pride has raised over 500,000 since its inception according to the 2009 website. Vendors lined 20th and K Streets, offering everything from jewelry to T-shirts to rainbow-hued paraphernalia. Local LGBTQI institutions such as the Lavender Library and Sacramento's Gay Man's Chorus hosted booths, handing out fliers and pamphlets with information on events, clubs and volunteer opportunities. Sacramento State's Qu

On the corner of J and 2nd Streets, a man with a sheriff's star and gun holster slung around his waist cupped his hands and loudly announced, "Citizens of Sacramento! The mayor of Sacramento has an announcement!" If you were expecting Kevin Johnson to address the growing crowd of bystanders, you were sure to be disappointed. Saturday's Gold Rush Days hosted plenty of important Sacramentans, circa 1850. The free four-day event took over Old Sacramento with 200 tons of dirt and about 200 reenactors in 1850s-style garb. Attendees milled around the Embarcadero Tent City, a field of canvas tents that featured 1850 institutions such as a blacksmith, lace-maker, tinsmith, dentist, Mormon batta

Sunday, approximately 75 hungry guests took over Grange Restaurant for Slow Food Sacramento's Celebration of Summer event. The luncheon was organized around a fruit whose flavors reach a peak in the summer season: the tomato. Event organizer and member of Slow Food Sacramento chapter member Jim Mills told the group that "a tomato is not always a tomato," and that the fruit should really only be enjoyed fresh during its season, which ranges from about June 15 through the end of October. Grange Restaurant's head chef Michael Tuohy reinforced that tomatoes are best consumed during those four and a half months. "You'll see tomatoes in the stores in January," Tuohy said, "and it's like 'Why

Last Saturday, the SacAnime Convention kicked off with the highest number of attendees in its five-year existence. Anime, the pop culture term for animation that is distinctly Japanese, was celebrated by fans from all over northern California at the Radisson Hotel. Security official Peter Kraus said that in his four years working the convention, he has never seen a crowd this large. "Last year we were at the Scottish Rite Center, and it moved to this location, which is significantly bigger. It's pretty incredible, the way it's grown each year," Kraus said. "I just asked the folks up front what the official number was. They said they are low-balling it at three and a half to four thousand

This Saturday, come celebrate a Sacramento institution's 50th anniversary with Fairytale Town's Crystal Rockin' Royal 50th Anniversary Bash. The park's annual fundraising celebration got a vintage makeover to celebrate its 50 year landmark, said Fairytale Town's Theatre Arts Educator and Community Relations Coordinator John Lee. "Traditionally it has been called A Midsummer Night's Dream. Crystal has been sponsoring it for several years and has always supplied all-you-can-eat ice cream," Lee said. "What we have done this year, because it was our 50th anniversary and we opened in 1959, is make it '50s-themed." According to Fairytale Town's website, the park was dedicated as a gift to the

GREAT photos, as usual.

10,000!!? That's awesome. Nice background, weird to think of it at Jesuit when it sounds/looks like a big deal affair.

Awesome awesome awesome. The turnout kind of bumms me out, especially when compared to last years. Did Capitol do anything different, advertisement-wise?

Thanks Casey! Tuohy is awesome, and has a history of involvment with the Slow Food movement. Sidenote: click on his highligted name in the fourth paragraph for the chef's blog.

As someone not very well-versed in anime, it was fascinating to see so many different sides. Anthony hit the nail on the head with the stranger's heaven comment; when you are surrounded by like 3,000 people in costume laughing, dancing and having an inordinate amount of fun, it really intrigues you. I totally did some research on anime after Saturday. I was kind of jealous when I couldn't recognize characters. I think the sword was made out of wood. It was massive, "Cloud" had to rest it on his shoulder to carry it, and when the hilt was on the ground it was taller than him. The costume weaponry was incredibly detailed. www.cosplay.com is an interesting site about anime costumes.