Land Park Garden Tour - Elements

Things have been a whirlwind around here! I am in hunter gatherer mode as I have been pulling things together for the garden I am staging for Land Park Garden Tour this Saturday (tomorrow!).  

The garden I am working on is highlighting the upcoming exhibit at the Crocker Art Museum, Transcending Vision: American Impressionism, 1870-1940 which opens at the Crocker May 14. It is soon to be followed by Landscapes from the Age of Impressionism which opens June 11. This second exhibit includes works by Gustave Courbet and Claude Monet, as well as American impressionists, John Singer Sargent and Frederick Childe Hassam.

Working with the home owners garden as well as the Impressionist art theme, I pulled together fabrics that looked "painterly" and hand crafted in navies and turquoise blues. I added a bit of green as well. Artists easels, straw hats and blue skies are what is in store this Saturday! I will be taking lots of pictures which I will post soon!

The Land Park neighborhood of Sacramento is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city. It is home to William Land Park, which includes the Sacramento Zoo, the Land Park Golf Course, two children's parks where my kids spent many a weekend growing up: Fairytale Town and Funderland. William Land Park is also home to the Sacramento Shakespeare Festival , a small fishing lake, ballparks and acres of tree shaded park area. The park is surrounded by stately homes which were built in the early 1900's ranging in style from Tudor to Monterey, Bungalow, Colonial with even a few Streamline Modern thrown in. The streets are lined with huge Sycamore trees making it one of the most beautiful areas in the city.

Proceeds from the Land Park Garden Tour benefit the School Arts Program at Holy Spirit School in Land Park as well as the Mustard Seed School arts education program.

For more information about the Land Park Garden Tour and Afternoon Tea be sure to check

 HERE!

I hope to see you there!

10,000 People

Last Saturday, after visiting all of the homes that were on the Curtis Park Home Tour (More on that next up!!) we were a tad hungry and decided to take the light rail to Midtown Sacramento and get a bite to eat at the Sacto MoFo . What is THAT you might ask. Well, let me  tell you! Sacto Mofo stands for Sacramento Mobile Food....ahem...not what you might have been thinking. Sacramento has an ordinance restricting the amount of time that a mobile food truck can stay in one area. They can only park for 30 minutes at a time, which means they can feed perhaps 6 customers at a shot before they have to move on. Even with Facebook and Twitter updates on their locations....it is a ridiculous arrangement for a purveyor to have to get up and move just when people realize they are  ready for business.

 Many other large cities have a thriving gourmet mobile food business atmosphere, and Sacto MoFo has organized to get Sacramento "mobilized" to get the ordinance changed. They planned an event at Midtown Freemont Park where mobile trucks parked all around the perimeter. They were expecting a nice day with people strolling by snacking on all of the yummy offerings....from Indian Curry to French Baguettes and Brie, to Tacos and Mini Burgers. 

......... What they got was a crowd of 10,000 supporters all willing to stand in lines as long as two to three hours for lunch.

 It is apparent that the dining public was sending a message.....we are people on the go, but we still want great food and lots of variety! We would like to see lots of bright, colorful trucks with gourmet offerings parked all over in Sacramento!

 Mobile Food trucks made the trek to Sacramento from the Bay Area in support of the ordinance change. There are many who would argue that mobile food trucks offer aspiring restaurateurs a venue to show their stuff without the costly overhead of a brick and mortar location. Smart thinking in the present economy, yes?

 On the flip side, local restaurateurs who have invested in such things argue that their business might be hurt. A valid argument perhaps. However, many brick and mortar owners are jumping on the "band wagon" and buying their own mobile food trucks to join the party. For example, Whole Foods was in attendance.

 I say, let the public decide, and let the sweet potato"chips" fall where they may! What do you think?

Here are some of the trucks in attendance: 

This truck had so many customers they had to close up early....they ran out of food!

The lines snaked back and forth through the park....and waits were long. But everyone seemed determined to get a meal.

For more information about Sacto MoFo, check out their website HERE!

Get your Food on!

Hitting the Dive Bar and Pizza Joint on a Saturday Night



The Crest Theater, K Street Sacramento



A couple of weeks ago, we went to see Javier Bardem in Biutiful at the classic Crest Theater on K Street in Sacramento with one of our very good friends. (Check out the upcoming line-up on the marquee!) Biutiful was beautiful, but also tragic...no matter how hard Javier tries to change the inevitable.

After this poignant film, we needed a little lightening up. As luck would have it, K Street has been experiencing a revival.

"The powers that be" in Sacramento have been working hard to encourage new businesses along K Street, one of the prominent downtown streets in the city. The plans are to make it a premier entertainment district for downtown Sacramento. I was lucky to be involved with this process when I designed a restaurant called Cosmopolitan Cafe, which I wrote about HERE and HERE a few years ago. On the same block, right across from the Crest, a couple of new places have opened that we had to check out. San Francisco nightclub operator, George Karpaty decided Sacramento was an excellent bet for two new ventures. The first one we checked out was the Dive Bar:

It is not what you might expect from a regular dive bar. This one features a 40 foot long, 7,500 gallon salt water fish tank above the bar. There are lots of fish....but it also is home to Sacramento's mermaid and merman population. Sacramento is known, after all, to have one of the most diverse populations in the country.....ahem.

Here's a little peek at the Dive Bar's beautiful mermaids with the in house DJ:

Mermaids in their natural habitat at the Dive Bar.
Photo via the Dive Bar Website

Mermaids swimming at the Dive Bar.
Photo via The Dive Bar Website

And here is the the bar crowd the night we were there:

The place was jammed with those imbibing cocktails all heads turned toward the mermaid in residence. We were no exception. Time for one quick cocktail before heading next door to check out the second of Karpaty's ventures, Pizza Rock. I had heard a bit about the interiors at this newest of "pizza joints", but words do not do it justice.

Pizza Rock has to be experienced first hand to really feel the "impact". A Sistine Chapel-esque mural graces the ceiling where angelic beings float about hanging onto electric guitars, while a Peterbilt truck crashes through the brick wall right over the patrons. (I am not sure I would want that table!) 

Pizza Rock partner, Tony Gemignani, is the first American ever to win first place for his Neapolitan Pizza in The World Pizza Cup competition in Naples, Italy. The pizza is "divine", the atmosphere "electric", and we can't wait to take the girls back with us next time!

As the evening was winding down, we realized we had one more place to see. Time was too short, so  we made a plan to come back. We will  be checking out District 30, a high end modern bar and dance club next door to Pizza Rock next time we head over to K Street. Here's a peek:

Photo via District 30 website

Photo via District 30 website

Mr. Karpaty, you've been a busy man!

Photo via District 30 website

Crocker Museum's New Gwathmey Siegel Addition

          

The Original Crocker Art Museum

Last Sunday, my mom and I, along with thousands of other art enthusiasts, decided we had to be a part of the opening day of the Crocker Art Museum's new addition. We have always known the Crocker in it's beautifully historic Victorian incarnation, having been donated to the City of Sacramento and the California Museum Association by Margaret Crocker in 1885.

Original Crocker Art Museum Entrance

  On 10.10.10, the new and very modern addition designed by Gwathmey Siegel and Associates was officially opened to the public. And what an opening! As we approached the building (I had been following progress for months prior to seeing it finished) there was a definite air of celebration. Parked on the street and in the park in front of the museum was a huge collection of cars on display. Not just any cars. These were from the Art Cars Fest 2010.These are cars decorated by artists who use them in their daily lives. I will have more on them later!

The Marriage of Original Craocker and the new Expansion by Gwathmey Siegel

The new building is very modern and creates a beautiful counterpoint to the Victorian tradition. For much more information about the design and process, click HERE.

New Expansion by Gwathmey Siegal

As soon as we entered, we were sold. The spaces soared, as did our spirits. I cannot tell you how we felt. A feeling of civic pride, sure, but also a feeling of excitement and anticipation that we were going to be able to have access to this fantastic new facility.

New Entry look out to the Original Crocker

We noticed how many volunteers were on hand to answer questions and direct traffic flow. Everyone was knowledgeable, helpful and enthusiastic to be a part of something grand. Their enthusiasm is quite catching. Both my mom and I are planning to become much more involved with the museum.

Kamehameha by Deborah Butterfield, with a very helpful docent

So let me show you around a little... This is the main entry level. Already we are seeing monumental art....

Pacific Ocean, by Jennifer Bartlett, "84

 And the space is awesome (to quote a teenager that happened to be standing near us). I discovered that the cafe in the Museum is under the direction of one of my favorite Sacramento restaurateurs, Patrick Mulvaney, owner of Mulvaney's Building and Loan. More info about the cafe HERE. I will be back.....often.



Crocker Art Museum Hall and Cafe Seating



We were advised to head up to the third floor, the main exhibit halls, before they became too crowded...so up we went....

....and in the stair well discovered this ethereal computer animated projection entitled Rapunzel by Jennifer Steinkamp



Rapunzel#10 by Jennifer Steinkam



Rapunzel just got us in the mood for more. The third floor is where the main exhibition galleries are located. We were lucky to see a couple of the galleries full of art that has been promised to the museum by generous donors. I was not able to take pictures here, but there was plenty more to see in the may other gallery spaces....



Cold and Cloudy Today, Tonight and Tomorrow Sam Richardson

This is an example of the spaces allotted to contemporary art....The skylights you see are the sawtooth design on the building exterior. They are reminiscent of the old factories in the Sacramento area....



New Gallery Space

 I have included just some of the pieces that stopped me in my tracks. There is so much to see that we are going to be coming back throughout the year.

Portrait of My Father by Stephen J. Kaltenback

Untitled (Disasters of War 10) by Gettfried Helnwein

Large spaces for large art

Birth of Cain by Troy Dalton

There are also new gallery spaces dedicated to historical California art...

New California Art Gallery Space

 They were buzzing with happy art enthusiasts....

More Gallery Space

California Gallery, Yosemite

This photo is where the new is married to the old. It was not intentional in my photo, but the white walls of the new wing looks almost heavenly as it leads a patron into the gracious tradition of the original building.....

Entering the Original Crocker

Not only did the Crocker treat us to an uplifting new addition to the Sacramento Cultural scene with the museum opening, they also reminded us there is a wealth of culture in the arts that are just as important. The Grand Opening had dancers from Mexico..... 

   

And India.....

And there was inspiring music...

Sacramento Youth Symphony

 I wish that I could have stayed longer, but other commitments were calling....and we promised ourselves we would be back often.

On the way out, I stopped into the Museum gift shop and saw a couple of things to add to my Holiday wish list....

The Crocker Art Museum Collection, Unveiled

The Vase Unveiled, The Sidney Swidler Collection of the Contemporary Vessel (This is one of the exhibits we did not have time to see...we are making it back to the Museum next week!)

I hope you had a memorable 10.10.10!