Arts & Festivals picks

Sunny hipster vibes

THIS is Midtown monthly block party

Midtown’s most aesthetically-pleasing block party series is back for its fifth season. From 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. every second Saturday through September, THIS Midtown descends onto 20th Street with a stage, beer and sunny vibes. The soundtrack is usually a mix of local and national electronic artists and indie bands—a ripe combo for observing hipsters in their natural habitat. Most important, there’s no cover.

20th Street between J and K streets, www.facebook.com/thismidtown. J.B.

Cool and cultured

Sacramento film festival roundup

Sitting inside an air-conditioned theater sounds extra-appealing in the summer months, and film festivals allow you do so basically all day under the guise of “getting cultured.” Seriously, though, Sacramento is lucky to have two extremely well-run and long-running fests—the Sacramento French Film Festival and Sacramento Japanese Film Festival—that feature foreign films we would normally never get to see on the big screen. The French festival takes place June 16-25 and the Japanese festival July 14-16, both at the Crest Theatre.

1013 K Street, www.sacramentofrenchfilmfestival.org, www.sacjapanesefilmfestival.net. J.B.

Banish boredom

Best Summer Ever blog

The months that stretch between the Memorial Day and Labor Day holidays can be awesome, but sometimes, too, they can loom with an oppressive heat and a hint of the kind of existential dread that long days and seasonal boredom can bring. Get inspired to do something—anything—with a quick scroll through the Best Summer Ever blog. Written and photographed by Sacramento artist Amanda Cook, the blog reveals the region’s recreational riches. Think road trips, barbecues and pool parties, found art and all things weird. The blog’s been in hibernation as of late, but Cook plans a relaunch June 21—which is, not coincidentally, also the first day of summer. Boredom, you never stood a chance.

https://bestsummereverblog.com. R.L.

A weekend affair

Sacramento County Fair

Ease the state fair jitters by visiting the Sacramento County Fair over Memorial Day weekend. The event may be on a smaller scale than the annual state expo, but you can still take advantage of 30 carnival rides, deep-fried sweets and savory fare, adorable petting zoos, monster truck races and tractor pulls scheduled throughout each day. Live music performances from tribute bands revive the hits of Led Zeppelin, Duran Duran, Billy Idol and more.

10 a.m.-10 p.m. Thursday, May 25, through Sunday, May 28, and 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday, May 29; $6; Cal Expo, 1600 Exposition Boulevard; (916) 263-2975; www.sacfair.com. S.R.

Live the magic

PanGaia Festival 2017

PanGaia Festival brings all the flavors of a renaissance fair together with a magical twist. Arts, crafts, bookbinding demonstrations, witchy themed vendors, tarot readings, crystals and colorful characters in costume will all be on hand. This pagan-centric event at the Fair Oaks VFW grounds is the perfect way to celebrate the summer solstice while giving to an environmental cause—after bills are paid, proceeds go to benefit the Wildlife Care Association. Moreover, this free admission festival is family friendly—with the exception of the PanGaia After Dark portion of the event, when Midtown Moxies Burlesque Troupe will take over the VFW hall for a more adult-themed performance.

10 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday, June 10, and 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Sunday, June 11; VFW Post Center Township Post 6158, 8990 Kruitof Way in Fair Oaks; www.pangaiafestival.com. M.K.

Sweet relief

Turn the Page: The First Ten Years of Hi-Fructose

Hi-Fructose magazine features art that, like the food product it’s named after, is sickly sweet. The contemporary art quarterly showcases emerging and established modern artists who bend the lines of fine art and lowbrow and everything in between. For the summer, the Crocker Art Museum is presenting Turn the Page: The First Ten Years of Hi-Fructose, an exhibition of 51 works featured in the magazine’s pages over its first decade in print. This showing is made possible by National Endowment for the Arts funding, which is endangered like polar bears, and both are threatened by the current presidential administration, which is just horribly sick, not sweet.

Sunday, June 11, through Sunday, September 17; $5-$10; Crocker Art Museum, 216 O Street; www.crockerart.org. S.

Quench your thirst for funny

ClusterFest

While most head to Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival to see their favorite bands, the fest also draws a devoted following for its comedy tent. Now, its organizers are launching a new event built around that thirst for funny: ClusterFest. Taking place at the Civic Center Plaza and Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, ClusterFest will pair some of the biggest names in comedy with musicians and chefs for what is sure to become a new favorite tradition. Among the headliners: Jerry Seinfeld, Kevin Hart, Sarah Silverman and the makers of Broad City. Yeah, it’s gonna be lit. Single-day ticket options are available or go for broke with a three-day VIP pass.

June 2-4, $99.50-$599.50, 99 Grove Street in San Francisco, www.clusterfest.com. J.B.

A true nerd renaissance

Mother Lode Highland Games

Tartans, kilts, claymores, bagpipes, oh my! Amador County’s Mother Lode Highland Games are a safe bet for the renaissance fair nerd and the history enthusiast alike. With general admission starting at $15 for adults, this gathering of Scottish clans and celebration of all things Celtic will feature whisky tasting, craft vendors, piping and drumming routines, and a living history section that will bring a highland clan village to life. The event will also include traditional Scottish and Irish dancing, an abundance of delicious food and traditional heavy athletics Scottish sporting competitions. If you didn’t make the Sacramento Scottish Games Festival in April, or you just want to shake out your tartan again, this is a don’t-miss event. Various ticket options are available, including two-day VIP packages.

Saturday, June 10, and Sunday, June 11; $15-$90; Amador County Fairgrounds, 18621 Sherwood Street in Plymouth; www.themotherlodegames.com. M.K.

Write with the prose

SummerWords Creative Writing Festival

Summer is a fine time to tap into your inner Joan Didion and attend the SummerWords Creative Writing Festival. Hosted by the American River College creative writing faculty in late May, this event attracts award-winning and emerging authors to lead a series of workshops, panel discussions and readings. Scribes, poets and budding novelists will hear from professionals like author and The New York Times journalist Jennifer Percy, and Anthony Swofford, author of the memoir Jarhead, a work later adapted for film. With 28 presenters and dozens of workshops designed to push a writer’s creative boundaries, SummerWords is an open book.

Thursday, May 25, through Sunday, May 28; $95; 4700 College Oak Drive; (916) 484-8101; www.summer words.org. S.R.

Get nasty

Nasty Women Sacramento

Back in January, concerned (and likely astonished) citizens came together in Queens, New York, for Nasty Women, an art exhibition and fundraiser that raised $42,000 for Planned Parenthood. Following that lead, this June Verge Center for the Arts presents Nasty Women Sacramento, with art by cisgender and trans women and nonbinary people, which will raise funds for Wellspring Women’s Center and My Sister’s House. Because nasty women are what make the world go round.

11 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturday, June 17, and Sunday, June 18; Verge Center for the Arts, 625 S Street; www.vergeart.com/attend/nasty-women-sacramento. S.