Fall 2006 events

It’s never too late to start planning your social calendar. Below you’ll find our top picks for activities coming up this fall. Don’t forget to pick up SN&R every Thursday for weekly listings of concerts, movies, gallery shows and special events.

August 11 through September 4

California State Fair
Voted “best annual event” by SN&R readers the past three years. Join one million other people to indulge in deep-fried Twinkies, Merlino’s orange freezes and kettle corn, plus all the midway games, concerts and Ferris wheel go-rounds you can muster. Cal Expo, 1600 Exposition Boulevard, (916) 263-3000, www.bigfun.com.

September 3

Rainbow Festival Street Faire
Sacramento’s premier event for the gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender community encompasses a three-block section of Midtown. Partake in music, comedy, food, dancing and general debauchery. For those older than 21, the festival rages all weekend long in surrounding bars. 20th and K Streets, (916) 331-3795, www.rainbowfestival.com.

September 9

Second Saturday Artwalk
Even art neophytes come out for Second Saturday, when galleries stay open late, dish up free food and even offer live music. Check out the map of galleries in SN&R the Thursday before, or just head to J Street in Midtown and see where the flow of the crowd takes you. Various locations, www.sacramento-second-saturday.org.

September 16

12th Annual California Brewers Festival
Assuming you’re over 21, you can suck down samples of cold barley soup from more than 50 breweries, dance to live music, gorge on local food, and enjoy Sacramento’s splendid late-summer weather. Last year our favorite brew was from Great Sex Brewing, but the name had nothing to do with it, we swear. Discovery Park, Garden Highway and Discovery Park Drive, (916) 368-BREW, www.calbrewfest.org.

September 17

A Call for Unity
SN&R established A Call for Unity in 2002 to celebrate the richness and diversity of Sacramento’s interfaith community. That means you can hear performances of Buddhist, Christian and Muslim music and spoken word, all from one stage. 3:30pm at the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, UC Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, (866) 754-ARTS, www.newsreview.com/unity.

October 12

Second Saturday Artwalk,
Various locations, www.sacramento-second-saturday.org

October 21 and 22

Folsom Renaissance Fair
Hear ye, hear ye! Don your breeches, cloaks, bodices and snoods for a 500-year journey back in time. Witness jousting, juggling and Celtic dancing, and gorge on English pasties, funnel cakes and other 20th-century delights. Folsom City Lions Park, 403 Stafford Street, Folsom, (916) 355-7285.

October 27-29

Ninth Annual Sacramento Arts Festival
Peruse a vast selection of pottery, photography, drawings, clothing, wood sculptures, glass works, jewelry and paintings. Plus, watch as artists demonstrate their talents. Sacramento Convention Center, 1400 J Street, (916) 808-5291.

October

Skateboard Art Music and Youth Fest
Last year’s inaugural SAMY was so successful that the Skylab Youth Production Studio is doing it again. Come celebrate the skateboard culture with professional demonstrations, live music, DJ entertainment and food. Skylab is an arts and technology program for formerly homeless youths. Location TBD, (916) 283-5798, www.cottagehousing.org.

November 4

Downtown Holiday Ice Rink Opening
It’s not Rockefeller Center, but it’s a lot more convenient. The open-air rink attracts about 15,000 skaters every holiday season. Open through early January. St. Rose of Lima Park, 7th and K Streets, (916) 442-8575.

November 11

Second Saturday Artwalk
Various locations, www.sacramento-second-saturday.org

December 3

California International Marathon
Among the nation’s top five marathons and one of the world’s best small marathons according to Runner’s World Magazine. Start at Folsom Dam and end at the historic California State Capitol building downtown. A four-person relay challenge and 2.62-mile “fun run/fitness walk” make the event accessible to the less fit among us. (916) 983-4622, www.runcim.org

December 9

Second Saturday Artwalk
Various locations, www.sacramento-second-saturday.org

December 10

SAC-CON, Sacramento’s Comic, Toy and Anime Show
Peruse comics, anime DVDs, action figures and other pop-culture merchandise, enter an amateur art contest, win door prizes and free movie posters, and dress up as your favorite anime character, all with walking distance of the Sacramento State campus. Scottish Rite Center, 6151 H St., (916) 607-1849.