Sac-Con

You know you wanna. This coming Sunday, March 2, Sac-Con returns in all its wonderfully nerdy glory. As Sacramento's Toy, Comic and Anime Show, you can expect plenty of comic books, gaming areas, artists and much more. There will also be art and costume contests, panels, workshops, collectible card game tournaments and a charity raffle.

Guests this year include Kevin Eastman (artist and creator of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Sergio Aragones (Creator of Groo, MAD magazine artist), Scott Shaw (Annoying Orange), James O’Barr (The Crow) and many more.

Sac-Con starts at 10am and runs until 5pm at the Scottish Rite Center. General admission is $8, or you can pay $10 for Early Bird admission (at 9am). For more information, visit www.sac-con.com.

Original Sacramento Home & Garden Show

Spring is just around the corner, which means it's time to start thinking about all the ways you can improve your home indoors and out. This coming weekend, find the businesses and products that will help you make those improvements at the Original Sacramento Home & Garden Show, held at Cal Expo.

The show is now in its 33rd year, and is expected to be better than ever. This weekend you'll find garden furnishings, patio covers and sunrooms, heating and air conditioning, landscaping, solar, building contractors, roofing, painting, gutters, home security, windows, doors, siding and much much more. And experts in design, remodeling, landscaping, finance and energy savings will also be hand to offer their advice at the "Look, Listen & Learn" stage.

Admission is $7 ($6 with a can of food for the Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services), and children 12 and under are free. For more information, call (916) 924-9934 or visit sachomeandgardenshow.net/spring.

McKinley Park Food Truck Mania!

One of the great benefits of attending the East Sac Chamber of Commerce meetings is finding out about upcoming events before they hit the public marketing.

This year McKinley Park will be the host location for Food Truck Mania every 2nd Friday from March through October!

They will have music, a beer/wine garden and great eats from a wide variety of food trucks including: Swabbies, Bacon Mania, Game Day Grill, Drewski's, Krush Burger, Dave's Dawgs, Crusin Crustacean, Happy Cow, Simply Southern, Chando's, Davepops and others.

The trucks will be out from 5:00 to 8:00 on these dates: March 14th, April 11th, May 9th, June 13th, July 11th, August 8th, September 12th and October 10th!

I've already got it in my calendar. Good food and good beer at my favorite park. All I need is some nice weather and my lady and it will be a great evening out...

East Sac J Street Bike Lane Meeting

While I was at the last East Sac Chamber of Commerce meeting, they mentioned that there is a conversation to extend the bike lanes on J Street.

There is the possibility of extending the bike lane from 42nd Street to 56th Street and removing some of the on street parking in this area to accomplish this.

If you would like to be part of the discussion you can attend the meeting from 6:30 to 8:30pm on Wednesday February 26th at 5241 J Street.

Fun at McKinley Library

Looking for something to do this Saturday? Then come on by the McKinley Library for one or both of their public events. The first, at 1pm, is when the SFSquared book discussion group will meet. Any and all sci-fi and/or fantasy book lovers are welcome to attend.

And at 2:30, magician Forrest Barnes will show off his skills and offer a history lesson at the same time. He will share stories about how African-American inventors improved our lives, and will demonstrate magic and illusions to illustrate those inventions.

Intrigued? For more information, call (916) 264-2920.

64th Annual O'Reilly Sacramento Autorama

Sure, flowers, jewelry and dinner out are great. But hey, that's SO been done. Looking for something different to do with your Valentine this year (or a trade deal of ballet one night and hot rods the next)? Then look no further than the 64^th Annual O’Reilly Sacramento Autorama, going from February 14-16 at Cal Expo.

This year's theme is "Need for Speed." Consider your needs met, as more than 500 hot rods, muscle cars, custom cars, motorcycles and specialty cars from all over the western U.S. will be hand. There will be live music and awards for the best vehicles. An auction for artwork by the best pinstripers in the nation will be held at the Autorama Panel Jam, with all proceeds to be donated to the UC Davis Children's Hospital.

General admission is $20, children 1-12 $10. ($2 off coupons are available at O'Reilly Auto Parts stores.) For more information, call (916) 763-7469 or visit www.rodshows.com/sa.

East Sac Chamber Lunch and State of District Report

This Wednesday, February 12, the public is invited to attend the East Sacramento Chamber of Commerce’s February lunch meeting at the Clunie Community Center. At this meeting, City Councilmember Steve Cohn will be presenting his State of District 3 report, including his future goals for East Sac and River Park.

I am a member of the East Sac Chamber of Commerce and make it to many of the meetings and it is always worth going. This meeting should be extra special given all the conversations that Steve Cohn is involved in about the future of East Sac (i.e. McKinley Village). I look forward to hearing what he has to say...

The lunch is from 12pm to 1:30pm, and is $15 per person. To make reservations, or just learn more about the chamber, call (916) 452-8011 or email eastsacchamber@aol.com.

Valentine's Craft Class

As long as they come from the heart, the best Valentine's gifts don't necessarily have to cost a lot. This Tuesday, February 11, at 5pm, come by McKinley Library to learn how to make creative and thoughtful Valentine's gifts using simple and affordable household items and other materials.

For more information, call (916) 264-2920.

Sacramento Weavers & Spinners Guild Open House

This coming weekend, come on by the Shepard Garden and Arts Center to check out all the warm and cuddly goodies available at the Sacramento Weavers' and Spinners' Guild's annual open house. Perfect time to get a warm blanket to snuggle under in this wonderfully wet weather. 

In addition to there being pieces for sale, this event is a great opportunity to learn more about the crafts of weaving and spinning. See demonstrations, check out equipment and materials, and even try your hand at spinning or weaving (with the guidance of a Guild member, of course).

The open house will run from 10am to 4pm both days, and admission is free. For more information, visit www.sacweavespin.org.