Beautiful Time Celebrating Ancient Cultural Diversity in Sacramento!…read morehttps://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/lantern-street-festival-sacramento?select=wSSUqMiUI0sCyIE8XEcSpw&userid=3mNz5nQFTIBQm0oU5mBR0w SITREP Fremont Park in Downtown Sacramento became the site of the lovely Lantern Festival. https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/lantern-street-festival-sacramento?select=Ay_BfKSvzAy8Nd9X9w4rzw&userid=3mNz5nQFTIBQm0oU5mBR0w THE SETUP Sacramento has a large Chinese community - and has had one nearly since the founding of this city, and definitely since the founding of The Great State of California. The Spring Lantern Festival ("Lantern Festival") is a Chinese festival celebrated historically on the fifteenth day of the first month in the lunisolar Chinese calendar. It marks the final day of the traditional Chinese New Year celebrations. Fremont Park was the site for this year's festival and became a hub of activity with Decorated Lanterns, a music concert, a food truck convo, and so much more fun! https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/lantern-street-festival-sacramento?select=ud0mxk_sXgV9GGoSp91EdQ&userid=3mNz5nQFTIBQm0oU5mBR0w LIGHT TOYS! A festival such as this DOES inspire some marked "branch-offs" when it comes to pleasing the sensibilities of children: many lighted toys make their way into the festivals. Many kids brought their light-sabers contributing to the visual array of lights. There are also some creations that I swear are Harry Potter-inspired, such as the "Lighted-Wands" that come with their own lighted globe on the end of the wand. https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/lantern-street-festival-sacramento?select=a2aUOqyuUd10pTam9dVN9w&userid=3mNz5nQFTIBQm0oU5mBR0w ANCIENT HISTORY As early as the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC), the Lantern Festival has been imbued with great significance for children, who go out at night, carrying their paper lanterns, and solving riddles that adults have placed on the lanterns. In those ancient times, lanterns were plain, and often only the nobility could afford the making of large ornate lanterns. These days, lanterns feature many different embellishments with intricate designs, including being in the shape of animals or symbols. THE WEST Because of our significant Chinese communities all over the United States, including here in California, the Lantern Festival is a significant Cultural Celebration. It is noted in many other Western countries as well, especially in cities with a large Chinese community: for example, in London, the Magical Lantern Festival (the largest Lantern Festival outside of China) is held annually. THE LOWDOWN A beautiful celebration giving we Sacramentans to enjoy some more great cultural diversity with our neighbors.

This was our first time visiting the Fab 40's this year (2025). We arrived on a Saturday night…read morearound 7 p.m. and only made it to the beginning of 40th Street before running into heavy congestion. It was already packed with people and cars on the narrow street. With young kids in the car, the experience quickly became frustrating, so we decided to leave. It also took a while just to turn into a less busy street so we could exit the area. Unfortunately, we didn't get to fully experience the Fab 40's due to the traffic and crowding, so we're giving it two-stars despite the positive reviews. Next time, we'll likely try visiting during non-peak hours in hopes of better enjoying and appreciating the holiday lights.

This spot offers a delightful experience. We finally returned this year after not coming for a bit…read more You see lots of beautiful lights & original displays. On some streets, tree trunks wrapped in lights line the sidewalks. On other streets, strings cross from above. You can also admire the architecture of the neighborhood. Lots of walkers & cars visit, so be courteous & careful. You won't see too much in the way of over-the-top crazy displays of saturated decor or inflatables, but it's definitely worthwhile to enjoy a magical time here of lots of lights in one area.

This was the first year I attended the Farm to Fork Street Festival and I'm so sad I missed out on…read moreyears of fun. No worries though, this has become a must attend event for my family. The festival was Friday and Saturday for 2024 and we attended on the Friday. It's free to enter. We arrived on the earlier side, around 5pm and it wasn't too crowded and lines for food were short. We grabbed drink tickets, which were reasonably priced- $8 for beer, $12 for cocktails and I think $10 for wine (we didn't get any wine though). There was music, a silent disco, local vendors, and on Friday there was a private Grand Tasting event that costs extra and was sold out the day of the event. We ended up stopping for drinks with Midtown Spirits, grabbed some adobo bacon jerky with Baboy Boys, a chicken and rice plate with Sweet Mother 101 and a bucket of lumpia and chicharones from Lumpia Bucket. It seemed like prices were a bit more festival prices than everyday prices, but the food was good! We walked around for a while, visited some of the interactive booths/vendors and headed out after a few hours. As we were leaving the crowds were getting larger and the lines were getting longer. They had music going throughout the event, and it was fun to listen to. Next year we plan to come on Saturday and start early in the day again. We would also consider doing the Grand Tasting in the future.

This is our second year in a row going to this festival and it's one of the better ones in town -…read moreand best of all it's free! You can reserve parking ahead of time online too for a cheaper rate so we got a spot in a parking garage right up front for only $8. There are tons of food and drink vendors, as well as shopping and local goods! They have live music all day with brief breaks in between. There are some chairs and tables set up around the event but you're better off just bringing a picnic blanket and setting up on one of the many grassy areas. I appreciate that they do the event for two days so you have the opportunity to make it to one or both days. We like going in the afternoon because the tall buildings will block out the sun by then so the weather is much cooler!

The annual Sacramento Greek Festival is a fundraiser for the Greek Orthodox Church I attend every…read moreyear. The admission for the rest of the festival is $5 (ages 13 & up, and will be running until Sunday, October 5th til 8:00pm. There are scheduled activities and performances, and a large variety of Greek food cooked fresh at the festival. Too much of a variety to list, but a photo of the menu is on my post. The food, regardless of what you try is delicious, and so authentic. Parking is a little challenging and would take a little driving around to find a space.

Been to the Sacramento Greek Festival two years in a row now, and enjoyed both years…read more I've come out with the family & friends and enjoyed the food, drinks, desserts, and entertainment that the Greek Fesitval has had to offer. Gyros Souviaki skewers Calamari Baklava Lokma (fried donut ball) Bougatsa Kataifi Greek Sodas Wine Fresh Olive oil And more... The Sacramento Greek Festival has so much to offer, that if you haven't already, you should definitely check it out when it comes around again next year.

I always love seeing SactoMofo near our house every Tuesday, especially in the summertime! My…read morefamily loves pulling up to their events and picnicking outside -- it's such a fun way to try new foods and hang out with the community. The lineup was stacked today with Gameday Grill, California Street Tacos, Cowboy Creamery, and Casa Pinoy. Can't wait for next week!

All the trucks I wanted were there!! Yay…read more Great park way better than last year. Open space for families to enjoy! Lots of new trucks and some of regular ones as well!! Plus fun activities for the kiddos. Went pretty early so not many lines on any truck! Thank god!! Thanks SactoMofo! Only thing that sucked was the weather but that's not your guys problem lol people stuck it out slight drizzle anyways

We have attended the Buddhist church Japanese food & cultural bazaar so so many many times. This…read moreyear 2025 it was expected to be 100 degrees. Thank goodness the band we came for started playing at 11 AM. Even then it was toasty already that we decided to leave early like before 1 PM. A suggestion is they need misters to combat the heat! We were at another different kind of festival where there were fan misters! My wife loved it! We ran into old friends. This year we didn't bother getting food bc the lines were crazy busy but my wife is on a special diet so she can't eat much of the food anyway. Many people around us bought food & the sizes looked smaller. We were even tempted to buy Gunther's freezes! Now that was super smart to have for sale, very refreshing! The teriyaki beef sammy was huge I heard this year. Inside the church gym they sold sushi & udon. Outside the food was for sale & the lines forked for days. So you must be patient. This year like the last year it was only a 1 day event. I think since Covid it has changed considerably bc before it used to be a 2 days event. I'm sure we will try again if we aren't gone traveling & the weather is cooler! I know fat chance that happens! It's like the live band Eastwind always brings the HEAT!!! There has been an occasional time that it was cool that day. That's very rare though. Maybe next year! Heehee. Watch my wife book a trip! We shall see...

This year was my first time coming to the Japanese & Cultural bazaar. I've always wanted to check…read moreit out, but my schedule has never allowed me to. I met up with friends and ran into friends I haven't seen in a while so this was a nice meet up. I arrived early as my friend has a table and we checked out the different food offerings and split up because the lines were going to be long so each person took on another order and got in line and bought the food to make the process faster. There was so much food to choose from I was so excited! We got Yakisoba noodles, Udon noodles, teriyaki grilled chicken, rice, and my favorite!! The beef sandwich it was huge! And Spicy tuna sushi rolls. They had desserts of all kinds for sell, but I didn't get any it looked amazing thought. It was a lot of people and long lines everywhere. I had a great time enjoying food with friends and just mingling. I will definitely come back next year it is well worth it and the food is fantastic! They also had a band performing ol'skool music. If you haven't been you have to check it out. You will not be disappointed.

After missing a few years of the Sacramento Arts Festival because of the pandemic, Joe K and I were…read moreexcited again to visit this once a year event! It only happens for three days in November. This time I felt like our lives were starting to have a semblance of routine and normalcy. We chose a Saturday to attend. Masks of course, were required and we were even asked to show our Covid-19 vaccine cards. I looked forward to seeing several of my favorite artists, but alas, they were not present this year, except for one. I did splurge on a lovely glass blown sea creature design by Shawn Tsai. But many wonderful artists did participate this year, making it an enjoyable day. We still made a point of visiting the regulars, seeing some new ones, and missing the ones that were not there this year.  But at least we had a full and enjoyable day making special purchases and conversing with some of the friendly people. It's nice to have more culture in our area and this show is one that makes you more aware of the beauty that people can create and inspire! The yearly tradition resumes!

It is time again to dust off the murse and head to the Sacramento Arts Festival for a great day of…read morelooking at art while listening to some mellow music. Hopefully I will find some great Christmas presents for the family at the same time. After a stop for banana nut pancakes and Belgium beer we finally made our way into the convention center while a band played some smooth jazz in the background. The first thing I noticed was that the venders had their noses stuck to their cell phones, i-pads, and Kendalls. No one seemed to be paying attention to their potential customers. Is this what our world has come to? I wanted to yell at them; "put down your phones, the real world is out here". This baffling behavior continued until I finally came across a tie salesman from Berkeley by the name of Mitchel Rubin. You might think there is not much interesting about ties, but that would be because your eyes have not crossed paths with these whimsical artistic masterpieces. Mitchel not only had regular neckties but had pre tied bow ties and bow ties that you had to tie yourself for the bow tie purest and if that was not enough to get you all excited he had whimsical artistic suspender masterpieces as well. This guy was talented! He even had matching sets. Of course my girl friend had to check out all of the handcrafted jewelry and we both enjoyed the various pottery and hand blown goods. Then my girl friend found a comfortable pair of sandal that she could not pass up and I found a couple of hand thrown coffee mugs with frogs and dragonflies to buy my sister for Christmas. We stopped for a couple of frozen mochas (this has become an annual tradition) before continuing on. It was not long before my girl friend came across a ceramic masterpiece she had to get for a family member and I came across a hand blown glass Christmas ornament that looked kind of like a sparkling avocado (I buy my daughter some kind of handcrafted ornament every year). That is when I realized that I had not bought my annual Todd Borg suspense novel yet so we went in search of the Novelist from Tahoe. After purchasing the latest "Owen McKenna Mystery Thriller" and having Todd Borg personally sign it, we had just about conquered the show when my girl friend decided that we needed to get a present for a very special friend of hers so we spent at least another hour looking for the perfect present that would most clearly express our love for this friend. It was truly another successful year at the Sacramento Arts Festival.

Tonight 15 local restaurants were battling it out for the prestigious title of Sacramento Burger…read moreBattle 2015! This event was held at Cesar Chavez Plaza in down town Sacramento. Proceeds from this event are donated to the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America. "LET THE BURGER BATTLE BEGIN"!!! This epic event is a "Burger Lovers Paradise!" Can you imagine tasting 15 of Sacramento finest burgers! Our competitors were (Blue Prynt, Low Brau, Devere's , Dojo, Dad's, Iron Grill, Bacon & Butter, Mighty Tavern, Dawson's, New Sloughhouse Inn, Krush Burger, Capital Garage, Pangaea Brie Cafe, Culinerdy Cruzer, Broderick). Each and every competitor brought something different to the table, so it was important to try all 15 before entering your vote for your favorite burger! I have to congratulate every competitor here tonight . All the burgers were culinary masterpieces. They looked like pictures from a magazine! Personally my 3 favorites were Broderick, Pangaea Brie Cafe, and New Sloughhouse Inn. There were at least a dozen local wine and beer breweries here tonight.(Revolution Wines, Andis Wines, Golden Coast Wine, Lagunitas Brewing Co., Yolo Brewing Co, Sierra Nevada, New Glory Craft Brewery, Rubicon Brewing Co, ect...........plus Barsotti Natural Juices, Silk Road Soda, plus many more! Make sure you leave a little room for dessert! (Cookies & Milk) offered 6 different samples of delicious cookies ! " Chocolate Chip, Snickerdoodle, Sugar Cookies, Chocolate Crinkel, Peanut Butter, plus one more flavor. (Pushkin's Bakery) sampled their "Mud Pie Cookie) and the best for last (Bakers Donuts) with all of their delicious donuts. To go with the donuts, Peet's Coffee offered free coffee drinks from their mobile unit . Live entertainment was provided by (Four Guys From Reno). This event was all you can eat and drink! And for ADULTS ONLY!! It is highly recommended to purchase the "VIP" tickets because you are allowed to enter an hour before the general public and also are given a free parking ticket for the parking structure right across the street! Tonight was a night to remember! All the competitors fought hard for the title of Sacramento Burger Battle 2015. For all you burger "LOVERS" out there, this is a must event to experience ! Great Food! Wine, Beer, Dessert, Live entertainment. So mark your calendar for next year epic battle for Sacramento Burger Battle 2016!

Great event to support the CCFA. There were so many burgers to try I couldn't get to all of the…read morebooths. Fortunately the lines weren't too long so the wait was very short and the event was not overly crowded. We took an Uber to the event so parking wasn't an issue but there is a parking structure next to the park. My favorites were Krush Burger and de Vere's Irish Pub. They had a caprese burger - very unique! In addition to the burgers, beer, cider, and wine they had desserts. Delicious donuts from Bakers Donuts and awesome cookies from Cookies and Milk. Can't wait for next year's event!

This was a fun do it once experience with the little ones! The event was well organized. The staff…read morewere very friendly, cheerful, and pleasant! They were volunteers, so big thank you for offering their time and service to the success of this community event! Festive decorations, live entertainment and of course Santa contributed much to this fun-filled experience! Warm "hot chocolate" drink and cookies were served on the train ride. Each rider received a little souvenir silver bell. It was overall an enjoyable experience for us!

Great time for the family that has young ones!! Teenagers are not into it, lol. The ride is nice…read moreslow and comfortable. It was warm even with pajamas on.

I braved the heat and went to the last concert in the park of the season. It was well worth it for…read morethe music, food, fun, and people watching. The bands drew a mostly older crowd, but there was a mix of younger people too. There were a number of food trucks offering pizzas, burgers, Indian food, and treats. Some local radio stations, internet providers, scooter rental, and put put golf businesses also had booths at the event. They were giving away coupons, contest entries, and schwag to promote their businesses. It was all good. The drinks started at $5.00 for a water, 8.00 for a Michelob Ultra, $12.00 for a premium beer, and ended at $14.00 for a cocktail. Not exactly budget friendly, but I've seen prices that are worse. Big shout out to Bonney Heating and Air for their cooling tent with the misters. That was a game changer!

Concert in the Park is an amazing FREE music festival that takes place every Friday from May…read morethrough July from 5-9pm. This is a huge highlight of Sacramento and California in general. Each year it seems they get better and better headliner acts. This year they even had some last minute surprise performers such as Papa Roach and Sage the Gemini. They have a mix of music themes and just last year (2023) they made a night dedicated to EDM (electronic dance music). The music performances are definitely the highlight, but on top of that they have food vendors, clothing, accessories, silent disco, local artists and other local business booths. For alcoholic beverages- they use a token system where you buy tokens (preset amounts) at the cashier booth, then you can exchange the tokens at the bar for drinks. This year they had a VIP area where you could purchase a wristband for $15 and you get access to an exclusive 21+ section with a private bar and some seating and stand up tables (and they even served margaritas there unlike the regular bar) plus if you get there and purchase a wristband before 7pm you get a free drink token for any drink on the menu. Totally worth it. I am a huge fan of this event and recommend it to all. It's a lot of fun and again it's free entry. I have discovered some new bands this way as well and have enjoyed it.