Arden-Carmichael News - February 10, 2017

February 10, 2017 | www.valcomnews.com

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Chautauqua Playhouse Children’s Theatre presents “Hansel and Gretel”

Gym is a boon for Arden Middle School and community

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A rden-C armichael Ne w s w w w. va l c o m n e w s . c o m

E-mail stories & photos to: editor@valcomnews.com

Vol. XXVI • No. 3

Arden-Carmichael News is published on the second and fourth Fridays of the month. Newspapers are available in stands throughout the area.

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Sacramento, CA 95818 t: (916) 429-9901 f: (916) 429-9906

Publisher...................................................................David Herburger Editor............................................................................... Monica Stark Art Director.......................................................................John Ochoa Graphic Designer..................................................Annin Greenhalgh Advertising Director................................................... Jim O’Donnell Advertising Executives................ Linda Pohl, Melissa Andrews Copyright 2016 by Valley Community Newspapers Inc. All rights reserved.

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Chautauqua Playhouse Children’s Theatre presents “Hansel and Gretel” Chautauqua Playhouse Children’s Theatre will present a new musical production of “Hansel and Gretel” adapted by Warren Harrison with tunes based on the Humperdinck opera. The performances begin on Feb. 11 at the Playhouse. The show will run on Saturdays at 1 p.m. though Feb. 25. The performances are held at the Chautauqua Playhouse, 5325 Engle Road in the La Sierra Community Center in Carmichael. Admission is $8 for all seats. Advance purchase of tickets is strongly recommended.

Hansel and Gretel are sent into the forest to gather berries for supper. When they realize that their breadcrumb path has disappeared, they find they are lost in the wood.

Little do they know that Rosina Rubylips, the Candy Witch, has lured them to her candy house with special plans for them.

This is a very traditional musical telling of the fairy tale from the Brothers Grimm. Songs include “Brother, Come and Dance with Me”, “Evening Prayer”, and “The Witch’s Ride”.

The direction is by Warren Harrison, with costumes by Carolyn Gregory. The cast features Violet Hansen, Stella Pedersen, Karen Sandoval, Carolyn Gregory and Warren Harrison.

Information and tickets are available through the Chautauqua Playhouse website: www.cplayhouse.org or call the box office at 489-7529, during business hours.

Chautauqua playhouse presents “Nana’s Naughty Knickers”

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Arden-Carmichael News • February 10, 2017 • www.valcomnews.com

Chautauqua Playhouse will present the racy, naughty little comedy "Nana’s Naughty Knickers” by Katherine DiSavino at the Playhouse. The show will run on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm and Sundays at 2:00 pm through March 5 with an additional matinee at 2 pm on March 4. The performances will be held at the Chautauqua Playhouse, 5325 Engle Road in the La Sierra Community Center in Carmichael. Admission is $20 General, $18 Seniors/Students and SARTA members. Premium seating is an additional dollar.

Bridget and her Grandmother are about to become roommates. However, what Bridget saw as a unique opportunity to stay with her favorite Nana in New York for the summer quickly turns into an experience she will never forget. It seems her sweet Grandma is running an illegal boutique from her apartment, selling handmade naughty knickers to every senior citizen in the five-borough area!

The direction and set design are by Warren Harrison, with lighting design by Andrew Fiffick. Costumes are by Eileen Beaver. The cast includes Dona Akers, Laurren Cooper, Hazel

Johnson and several local actors and Chautauqua favorites.

Information and tickets are available through the Chautauqua Playhouse website: www.cplayhouse.org or call the box office at (916) 4897529, during business hours.

Valley Community Newspapers, Inc.

Where the Wild Things Are: Sacramento Philharmonic and Orchestra to narrate Max’s journey with music at local library By: Laura I. Winn

For over 50 years, Max, King of the Wild Things, has been one of the nation’s most beloved children’s characters. His imaginative adventure to a mysterious jungle has delighted generations of children, and on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 1 p.m., McKinley Library invites those generations – young and old – to escape once more to Where the Wild Things Are, this time with help from the Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera.

Julian C. Dixon, the Senior Director of Operations and Community Partnerships for the Sacramento Philharmonic and Orchestra, will narrate Max’s journey as the SP&O trio – harp, viola and flute – accompany the words and pictures with musical excerpts from Mozart, Debussy, Stravinsky, Bartok, Gounod and Ravel. After the story, children are invited to make monster masks and slime and join the band with instruments in the wild rumpus march. Costumes are encouraged.

The free event is part of Cre8tive Concerts, a Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera initiative to bring classical music to the public in eight key districts. Dixon designed the Where the Wild Things Are performance as a way to demonstrate how music is another form of storytelling.

“Music has a way of creating atmosphere and new dimensions. It can magnify the story for a kid and leave a deeper impression,” he explained.

For Dixon, it’s also an opportunity to step into the character of Max and transform into the boy he related to as a child “creating worlds” in his bedroom with his brothers and sisters on rainy days.

“I related to the art and imagination of a room coming to life,” he said. “Everybody has an inner Max.” Max and “Where the Wild Things Are” has resonated with so many people for so many years because it’s a “simple but deep story that exValley Community Newspapers, Inc.

plores the monsters in our lives,” said Rivkah K. Sass, the Sacramento Public Library’s Executive Director.

The book, written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak and first published in 1963 “is one of the most important pieces of children’s literature in the 21st century. It was the beginning of a revolution in children’s books,” explained Sass, who began her career as a children’s librarian and lists the Caldecott Medal winner as one of her favorite books.

Bringing the 338-word story to life with live music is an “exciting” way to fulfill the Sacramento Public Library’s literacy initiative, said Sass who stressed the importance of “talk, sing, read, write and play” for early education.

Play is a key component of the two-and-a-half hour event, which includes an Instrument Discovery Zone – essentially a petting zoo for music where children can try small percussion instruments and learn basic beats to play in the wild rumpus march.

“Music is not as prevalent in schools and a lot of kids do not have instruments in their home,” explained Dixon. The Instrument Discovery Zone is a “way to show children that music is safe to play and explore.”

In addition to making “fun, lasting memories,” Dixon said he hopes the event serves as a way for the community to get to know the orchestra and see that they do more than just play in a big hall. “Having a thriving philharmonic and opera allows us to be in service to the community.”

Sass said she is personally excited for the event, including seeing the monster slime for the first time, and hopes grandparents who read the story as a child will come with their children and grandchildren and show the lineage of the story’s legacy.

“The book is still as alive and vibrant as ever.”

The McKinley Library is located at 601 Alhambra Blvd in

Sacramento.

Photo by Kelly Hogaboom / www.flickr.com/photos/kellyhogaboom/10107998933 This photo was taken to promote the photographer’s costume and sewing business. You can find more of Kelly’s work at http://kelly.hogaboom.org/.

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www.valcomnews.com • February 10, 2017 • Arden-Carmichael News

Gym is a boon for Arden Middle School and community At a recent pep rally at Arden Middle School, the entire campus of more 920 students came together to cheer each other on as both students and teachers danced, lip-synced to popular songs and competed in a variety of games. It’s one of several events throughout the year for students, parents, teachers and staff to come together and show off school pride.

Since opening in 2015, the gymnasium has provided many new opportunities for Arden Middle School and the community, including an expanded theater and arts program and youth and recreational leagues. The multi-purpose facility was funded by San Juan Unified’s bond program, which with the November passage of Measure P has a capacity of $1.1 billion to go toward the district’s $2.4 billion facilities need.

The new facility replaced Arden Middle School’s aging gymnasium, which could only accommodate 450 people compared to the new facility’s capacity of more than 1,000 people simultaneously. The new facility also includes a lighting and sound system, indoor and outdoor stage and fully equipped kitchen.

Members of the community are also able to utilize the facility for events. Some of the organizations currently using the gym include the Boy Scouts of America, the Girl Scouts of America, Arden Panther Wrestling and the California Basketball Association.

“The new gym has had such an impact on our students,” said Jeff Banks, principal of Arden Middle School. “With all of the additional space, students no longer have to be divided during lunch period or for an assembly.”

John Friedrich, a math teacher at Arden Middle School, said he has also noticed the effect the new facility has had on the student body.

“It has changed the culture of the school,” Friedrich said.

“We had a school that was very much divided into pieces … and the school gym has allowed us to come together as one.”

–sanjuan.edu

Arden-Carmichael News • February 10, 2017 • www.valcomnews.com

Valley Community Newspapers, Inc.

Sewical Sacramento: Sewing in bars and at birthday parties

By Monica Stark

editor@valcomnews.com

Photos by Stephen Crowley stephen@valcomnews.com

A no-experience required, imbibing optional sewing party, Sewical Sacramento has hit local bars and neighbors’ homes with sewing machines and friends who like to “sewcialize.”

Held in chic urban locations or privately hosted parties, Sewical Sacramento allows participants (aka “sewcialites”) to meet new people (aka “sewcialize”) in their community and complete a groovy project within two to four hours.

Sewcialites can relax and enjoy beverages of their choice during the event.

Once an event for friends, family, and a few close neighbors, Sewical Sacramento parties started catching on and ladies wanted to host parties for their best friends, so the group’s brainchild Melissa Barton began offering a free registration to the hostesses in appreciation for opening their home to their guests and Sewical Sacramento soon received rave review on Nextdoor.com, which then, in turn prompted an invitation from local breweries, like SacTown Brewery to host the group. Now, other establishment maker-spaces have asked her to hold “sewcials” at their venues.

Sewing is Melissa Barton’s self-proclaimed superpower and she’s known for making an entire dress or skirt only hours before an event.

Melissa’s sewing days harken back to when she was just 5 years old. “It was a very small, real working machine, with a needle, fly wheel, and foot pedal. But my dedication to the craft began at 10 years old. My mom taught me how to sew an apron,” she recalls.

“We purchased the materials and I got my first tutorial in fabric selection. I spent the entire weekend cutting the pattern, pinning, ironing, creating and lots of laughter. My mom might dispute that last bit though. Looking back, the overall experience was ambitious for a first project, but she obviously had confidence in my abilities and saw my potential – I’m proud of her.”

Since becoming a mom, Melissa has been active in Valley Community Newspapers, Inc.

the community. Having lived in Sacramento for almost 16 years, she has fostered close relationships with some of the nicest people on the planet. A-stay-at-home, work-athome mom, Melissa quickly discovered that it takes a village. And part of Sewical Sacramento is her giving back to the community. “The men and women in our communities are so thoughtful and resourceful and have helped me in more ways that I can express. I can’t think of a better place to invest my appreciation and love of community than Sacramento,” she says.

Melissa sources her sewing materials from her sister venture, Say You Do, which makes accessories and gifts for brides and her bridesmaids. She tries to purchase supplies semi-annually so that the freight is as eco-friendly as possible given supply needs. “Sewcial Sacramento and Say You Do is co-branded, meaning we have a cohesive style between the brands making it easier to manage two businesses while juggling the messy mommy business of what is in my child’s diaper or what did the cat catch this time,” she says.

Sewical Sacramento currently uses strait stitch sewing machines with new machines joining the team every few weeks.

“Participants need to know what it’s like to work on a quality machine and feel great about their experience. There should be no other way to sew,” she says. Because once in a while a machine has a bad day, Melissa has a back-up machine on stand-by or you can bring your own working machine.

Melissa’s dreams for Sewical Sacramento never end.

“It’s a wonder that I sleep enough to dream them at all.

It’s been so energizing and exciting to share my knowledge and skill with so many enthusiastic people,” she says.

In the very near future, there will be a calendar of upcoming public Sewcials, making it easier for participants to check her availability or book their girls night out at Sewical Sacramento.

She would love a dedicated studio in the mid-town community, with multiple sewing machines, amazing lighting, and patterns that don’t have

sizes on them because when you make it, it’s whatever size you say it is. She dreams of a childcare room so mommies who need a day-break can sewcialize and have a place for their babes to have fun too.

Melissa wants to hold virtual events for friends everywhere who maybe feel “unsewcial” or just want to wear pajama pants and drink wine.

She promises silly narration with the ability to pause and replay lessons on demand. “I am also working on a sewing guide for beginners – a fabulous book of techniques that I have cataloged in my head for the past 15 years.”

Sewical Sacramento’s calendar has many exciting private and public events coming up.

All of them are unique and special, but some of the most mentionable booked events is a private teenager co-ed birthday Sewcial, a 34 participant birthday summer extravaganza, a live televised event. Planning is underway for nightly Sewcials leading up to and on Galentine’s Day – that is a dedicated day of adoration for best friends (Feb. 13) and a Sew-Bro event the weekend before Valentine’s Day (Feb.11 and 12).

Sew-Bro promises to be the biggest, manliest, sewing party in a room filled with beer, love, thoughtfulness. As a woman, Melissa wants to know that her partner deliberated and spent time finding ways to express his appreciation on Valentine’s Day. www.valcomnews.com • February 10, 2017 • Arden-Carmichael News

Seniors Finding Romance

By Michele Townsend

It is human nature to want to find a companion. We want someone who we can laugh with, cry with, share everything with. We want someone that will be there forever and will be our partner in every aspect of life.

It’s not just a partnership that we desire, though. We all long for a person who lights our internal fires. We want to feel attractive, sexy, and desired. We long for the kind of energy that makes the little hairs stand up, gives you chills, and makes your heart speed up. We want to feel the kind of excitement that takes our breath away a little bit in anticipation as we watch them walk towards us. Many people are lucky enough to find that love in their life, put in the work, and live a long and fulfilling relationship.

But what if you haven’t found that special someone? What if they are divorced or widowed? People don’t talk about seniors that are looking for love, that are lonely, that want to feel sexy.

The Age of Love, a film by Steven Loring, will premier at the Sierra 2 Center in Curtis Park on Valentine’s Day at 1 p.m.

This film is a unique look at 30 seniors, born before WWII that agrees to be a part of the first ever speed dating event for people aged 70 to 90. The registrants find themselves in an event that is picked up by media and social media, and how their anticipation grows as the event grows near. It explores how you never really outgrow those feelings of nervousness, concern of appearance, fear of rejection, and hope for romance. These people are typically passed over but decide to confront their fears, lay their hearts on the line, accept and that their bodies are old and worn, and their physical appearance has changed as they prepare for NY’s first senior speed dating.

As the 5-minute dates begin, they try to find common ground. They speak of medical ailments, senior discounts and Big Band memories.

The dates prove to lead to some comedic situations as they learn that things in the love game don’t really change just because your age does.

They find themselves anxiously awaiting their results to come in the mail and again experience the delight of being desired and the

tears of rejection. The combination of characters is what makes this film so realistic. From the bitter divorce’, to the lonely who cannot get past their loss, to the promiscuous, to the fearful abuse survivor, they find that the same challenges and hope remain.

Valley Community Newspapers was curious about how some of our local seniors would feel if they were in this situation. If they were single, or found themselves single again, would they participate in something like a speed dating event?

Many of them needed an explanation of speed dating is, and their reactions were quite surprising!

As you can imagine the answers were allover the board.

A 71-year-old woman said she would not participate because “You can’t learn about them like that, and she didn’t want to share her date.”

Yet, another 71-year-old woman responded with, “Sure! I’m adventurous!” The men were just as divided as the women. A 76-year-old Land Park resident said, “No, I can barely move now! I can only imagine if I was trying to impress the ladies.”

Meanwhile a 74-year-old South Sacramento resident said, with a big smile on his face, “Yes of course!

I would speed date, internet date or go to the bar. I don’t care, I love women.”

When we tallied up the yeses and noes at the end of the day, in both the women and the men, the noes barely beat out the yeses. It looks like romantic love isn’t really something that we grow out of, but everyone has their own idea of how to find it.

It’s in their Harts: Seniors share love stories at local senior center

By Gavin Loveless and Monica Stark editor@valcomnews.com

Valley Community Newspapers ventured to the Hart Senior Center and spoke with a few willing seniors regarding real life love stories that had major impacts on their lives. Many women refused to comment, however, mentioning briefly that their significant others returned from Vietnam negatively affected. At least one of the stories here has been edited down for space.

Mary Hamlett: “I thought I was once (in love), but it didn’t turn out very well. His name was Russell. I went to a night club, and he was there in the band. It was pop music. It was in a barn in Orange County that had been developed with housing tracks and the barn, had been converted into a night club. We went up and down the beach. I practically lived on it. I always liked to swim.” Russell and Mary weren’t together very long, “just a month or two and he had to go to Vietnam and I never heard from him again. I was pretty young. I was 21,” she said. “I know he didn’t die; he wasn’t on any of the lists.” And since then, Mary hasn’t had any interest in love.

Flo Ware: “Charlie was a cowboy up in Wheatland. Charlie loved people and he was a cowboy and that was sort of fun in itself. Also, I had a son and he loved my son. But unfortunately, Charlie died in a fiery crash. Charlie actually went to Vietnam and came back and was very creative. He was a dreamer. But he loved children. He loved me. He was blond, blue eyes. We

Mary Hamlett

Bonnie

went to high school, the last part. I mean I really love him. I love him today. When you’re young 3, 4 years is huge. I was a year younger than my whole class. He was smarter. I would write him a letter like, ‘How are you? Hope it’s good.’ I still have things that he wrote. I have a poem that his mother wrote about a meadow up around Highway 49 where his ashes were laid. We were young and he did die young, but he’s always with me.

After 20 years and I still grieve. We are all older here and here I am telling you about a high school sweetheart. This is a sort of love letter for Charlie. Charlie Jenson was his name. When I answer the phone, his picture is right there. We’re

pretty stuck.” (Unfortunately, Flo refused to have her photo taken.)

Arden-Carmichael News • February 10, 2017 • www.valcomnews.com

Bonnie: “I met him through my best girlfriend who passed away and she had a family of three and I took care of her kids when she passed away at 30 years old of a heart attack. We knew each other ever since high school. So I knew him 20 years before I got married. Had four kids and lost two and had two beloved kids. One weighed a pound at birth and the other, three pounds. We’re still together because I broke my bones nine years ago and so now I need assistance and my daughter told him, ‘You take care of Mama like we’re supposed to take care of her.’ And, he is.”

Valley Community Newspapers, Inc.

Driving in San Juan Unified Do you enjoy working with children? Are you looking for a meaningful career with family-friendly hours and full benefits? Have you considered becoming a school bus driver?

San Juan Unified is currently offering signing bonuses for licensed school bus drivers. Licensed school bus drivers hired after Oct. 20, 2016, can earn up to $2,000 in their first year of employment until routes are filled, on top of a competitive salary.

Bus drivers SIGNING BONUS Licensed school bus drivers hired after Oct. 20, 2016, can earn up to $2,000 in their first year of employment until routes are filled, on top of a competitive salary! $1,500 paid to the recruited licensed school bus driver on the completion of the first 90 days of district employment $500 paid on the recruited licensed school bus driver’s one-year employment anniversary as a district employee Bus driver JOB FAIR When: Saturday, Feb. 11 at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.

Where: Florin High School, 5301 Victory Lane in Rocklin Who: Transportation representatives from Elk Grove Unified, Rocklin Unified and San Juan Unified school districts Bus drivers receive generous salary and benefits packages, including full employee medical and dental coverage and 75 percent coverage for dependents. The San Juan Unified School District offers a free training program that candidates must complete before applying for a bus driver position.

What is the salary range for school bus drivers?

The current San Juan Unified School Bus Driver salary ranges from $15.58—$19.51 per hour with annual increases for the first few years. After that, there are periodic increases for longevity and/or cost of living.

What is a typical day like for a school bus driver?

San Juan Unified provides home-to-school transportation for special needs students along with a limited number of other students. Drivers arrive early in the morning to do a safety check on their bus before beginning their route. The morning route(s) can last from three to four hours. After delivering the students to school, some drivers are finished until their afternoon route begins.

For others, the middle of their day includes: Therapy routes Kindergarten routes Field trips Work study routes Mid-day transfers At approximately 1:30 or 2 p.m. drivers return to transport the students home.

Does San Juan Unified offer a benefits package?

San Juan Unified offers several options for their employees to choose from and can include medical, dental, vision and life.

How many hours could I expect to work?

Current bus driving positions range from six to eight hours per day.

–sanjuan.edu Valley Community Newspapers, Inc.

Local author to discuss new book on sexual abuse

By Monica Stark

VCN: Tell me about your background as an author.

WA: This is my first published book. I have written a genealogical history, but only for my son and his family. I used to write poetry, but only for live performance, never for publication. I am primarily a visual artist, but that medium is open to interpretation in ways that can totally obscure the original intent, so this time I chose to write because I want people to understand.

of an individual: one’s sense of self-worth; the ability to trust and form lasting relationships; the inward focus and loss of interest in the wider world; contemplation of suicide; how it can percolate down through the generations as secrets and lies and destroy families.

This project started as an exercise for myself, as a way to understand the anger I still felt, and how that anger sometimes came between me and those I love most in the world. Over several years, it morphed into something more. As I researched statistics, I began to understand that behind every one of those numbers are human beings, too often young children feeling pain, fear, and isolation. I decided to reach out to people in a position to help those children, to the adult survivors who still need to know that they are not alone, and even to people who “don’t want to know about things like that.”

VCN: Tell readers about your book. Can you tell readers what it’s about in a nutshell and why and how you came to want to share your story publicly? And, tell us about the process of writing this book.

WA: The book is more memoir than autobiography as it focuses on certain time periods and events in my life, all revolving around a central theme. That theme is childhood sexual abuse and how it affects the entire life

VCN: Tell us about the sexual abuse that occurred and the repercussions for the victim and were there any for the perpetrator?

WA: My stepfather was the abuser. The overt abuse began when I was eight years old and lasted about four years. In retrospect, I believe there were earlier clues, but I was too young and innocent to see them for what they were. The repercussions for me lasted a lifetime; for him

editor@valcomnews.com

Local author, Wanda Arnold, will read from and discuss her new book, The Long Silence: Finding My Voice Again After Childhood Sexual Abuse at the Avid Reader at Tower, 1600 Broadway on Saturday, Feb. 18 from 5 to 7 p.m. What follows is a Question and Answer with Valley Community Newspapers.

they were minimal. The story is in the book.

VCN: Where can people get this book?

WA: The book is currently available only through the author or at AVID READER at Tower. I have chosen to promote it locally first.

Later, it will be available at ondemandbooks.com and at amazon.com.

VCN: Anything else you’d like to add?

WA: This may not be appropriate for your community newspapers, but I thought I would include it as being indicative of the extreme emotions I felt when young. I saw this as my only way out: Have you ever deeply wanted to kill another human being?

Have you planned how it could be done, the method and the instrument; have you watched for the right opportunity? I have. I was 12 years old. (Preface; p.xi)

Call Melissa at (916) 429-9901 www.valcomnews.com

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www.valcomnews.com • February 10, 2017 • Arden-Carmichael News

Greenprint Summit 2016

By Corky Oakes

On January 26, 2017, the Sacramento Tree Foundation hosted its 6th Annual Greenprint Summit in Sacramento titled “Restoring Nature to our Neighborhoods.”

Attendees included Congressman Ami Bera, Mayor Darrell Steinberg, representatives from various State and local departments, public utilities, arborists and environmentallyconcerned community activists from cities across northern California.

The summit opened with an emphasis on diminished tree canopies in Sacramento. The rest of the summit addressed the relationship of good mental and physical health to a robust tree canopy, successful movements to “green” other California cities, ongoing and upcoming projects in the greater Sacramento area, and programs the Sacramento Tree Foundation is either assisting in or pursuing independently.

In his opening remarks, Congressman Bera said California will need to fight “for the values of the Sacramento Tree Foundation as opposed to what “we are seeing from the new administration” in Washington D.C. “We need to provide an example for the rest of the nation by planting five million trees.” For this to occur, it will require “folks back in the community.”

Mayor Steinberg said that it isn’t just about “planting a tree” as much as what it means metaphorically.“We choose what seeds to plant, what we want to see grow.” Steinberg added that because Federal funding is an unknown, the State must set aside $80 million in State funds. He also suggested integrating some of the 1500 high school juniors, currently undergoing job training in areas of their career interest, to “help build out the tree canopy.”

Cheryl Dell, President and Publisher of the Sacramento Bee, pre-

sented an interesting history of trees in Sacramento. Some factoids included Sacramento’s first name, “City of Plains”, so named because other than trees located near the river, there were only miles and miles of “grassy plains.” Dell offered a chronology from that point, 180 years ago, walking the audience through the “vision” John Sutter had in 1849 of planting trees and C.K. McClatchy being influenced by European cities such as Paris with its beautiful tree-lined boulevards. Colonel James Lloyd LaFayette Warren, a botanist originally from Massachussetts, was another contributor to the early Sacramento “green” scene. He is credited with introducing the camellia to Sacramento. As a result of these early visionaries and others, Sacramento evolved from a city of plains to the “City of Trees” as it has known today.

Kevin Jefferson of Urban Releaf and Dan Flanagan of Friends of the Urban Forest gave participants a view of what it takes for local non-profits, community groups and local governments to join forces in “greening” San Francisco and Oakland, while simultaneously addressing sidewalk repair as a result of tree root damage. Both speakers made the case for seeking common ground amongst organizations. Flanagan described the process of getting Prop E (Responsibility for Maintaining Street Trees and Surrounding Sidewalks) on the San Francisco ballet while Jefferson explained the tree canopy imbalance between the Oakland Hills and the “flats.” Speaking directly to this point, Jefferson described a successful project to plant trees at an Oakland school which he described as suffering from urban blight. “No school in America should have conditions like backing up to the 880 freeway and transformers on campus. We are all in us together.” These projects took a tremendous amount of planning,

Arden-Carmichael News • February 10, 2017 • www.valcomnews.com

meeting and cooperation. There were obstacles and setbacks along the way.

In the end the audience learned and saw the achievements as a result of sheer tenacity. More local to the Sacramento area, Steve Harriman, Department of Public Works in Rancho Cordova, spoke about getting the 2014 Measure H (designed to provide funds improving services and infrastructure) on the ballot and working to see that it passed. As a result of its passing, $100,000 was set aside to “enhance the urban forest.” The Measure H project was made possible in partnership with the Sacramento Tree Foundation. Harriman emphasized that the urban forest should be a part of a city’s infrastructure plan as it is in Rancho Cordova.

During the summit, the Sacramento Tree Foundation presented their own programs such as NeighborWoods, Sacramento Shade Tree Program, and Greenprint. All serve as examples of bringing together “local government, businesses and community groups to organize local tree planting and care programs and to educate the public about the air quality and other health benefits of a healthy urban forest.”

Of unique interest was a presentation made by Dr. Desirée Backman, Chief Prevention Officer, California Department of Health Care Services. In her “Green Prescription Study” Backman made the case for the relationship between the tree canopy and health behaviors and outcomes. The study shows the positive effects on neighborhoods having canopies.

As any Sacramento resident can attest, not all Sacramento neighborhoods enjoy trees or the canopies they provide. There is a reason for this according to Katie Valenzuela Garcia of Valenzuela Consulting. Garcia showed a connection of past racially restricted covenants

and the lack of trees. She said “ Trees are a sign of social injustice” meaning that neighborhoods lacking trees are usually inhabited by lower income residents. She hopes that moving forward there will be “focus on infrastructure improvements to achieve better tree canopy and better health.”

Throughout the summit, several presenters spoke about specific projects in Sacramento and neighboring vicinities. The projects are “Bear River Trail Habitat” (Zarah Wyly of Sacramento Tree Foundation in partnership with Yuba County Planting 5,000 native trees. 2 miles of trails at Plumas Lake); “Preserve Arcade Creek” (Tim Vendlinski is dedicated to restoring the Oak savanna); Mackay Park Re-oaking (Fatima Malik, District 2 Parks and Recreation); Morrison Creek “We See Trees” (Nailah Pope-Garden, Avondale/Glen Elder Neighborhood Assoc. President); “ Try Trees” (Eileen Pena, Principal Samuel Kennedy Elementary School) and the “Elmhurst Plan (Vicky Blocker, Elmhurst Neighborhood Association). All of these projects involve outreach to the community, be it local government, neighborhood associations or non-profits. There are ample opportunities to volunteer.

In the words of Margaret Mead, quoted during the summit, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” The 2016 Greenprint Summit was an excellent example of how those thoughts are being put into action.

Note: The Sacramento Tree Foundation is an excellent place to get information about ongoing community projects. If you are interested in volunteering, there are many opportunities.

There will be a training class February 16th for “Citizen Scientists.” These folks monitor Elm trees in a continuing effort to guard against Dutch Elm disease. Visit http://www.sactree.com/ volunteer or call (916) 924-8733.

Valley Community Newspapers, Inc.

Photo by Kent Lacin

The Sacramento Dharma Center

Finding home Local Buddhist groups come together under one roof

By Monica Stark

editor@valcomnews.com

They say home is where the heart is.

As cliche as that sounds, the saying rings true for the groups that can now call the Sacramento Dharma Center home.

With a mission “to create a sanctuary for meditation and Buddha’s teachings, welcoming everyone who seeks to end suffering and live in harmony,” the nonprofit organization’s board of directors envision the new location at 3111 Wissemann Drive as “an inclusive and accessible community resource available to all people who wish to encounter Buddha’s teachings, enjoy the benefits of meditation practice, practice with a Sangha, and participate in a Buddhist tradition.”

On Sunday, Jan. 29, the nonprofit held its grand opening, in which the entire community was invited including honored teachers, neighbors and supporters and others who helped realize the Center’s vision.

Once the location of two credit unions, the renovated Buddhist haven for Western practitioners, the Sacramento Dharma Center, boasts space for six small offices, a library, kitchen, meditation room, break room, four bathrooms, a small meeting room, two vaults and 1.7 acres of yard space where ideas for gardens, walking paths, a labyrinth and a memorial garden (for those who have passed away) may soon be a reality.

Looking outside the windows of the meditation room on a recent rainy MonValley Community Newspapers, Inc.

day afternoon, Julia Mullen, SDC vice president, said, “I imagine all of that.”

Helping to organize the many volunteers there, Julia posed the question: What would you imagine being here? A simple question, all answers need consensus for anything to materialize at the SDC, so when it came to the big picture of possibly finding a space to house the three local groups or Sanghas – the Sacramento Buddhist Meditation Group, Sacramento Insight Meditation and Valley Streams Zen Sangha – Zen practice leader and ordained priest Jim Hare eight years ago asked the three groups what they thought about having a permanent home that would house all the groups. No more moving around; they could offer more programs and support each other.

Julia and Linda Dekker, office manager and board member, spoke with the Arden-Carmichael News regarding the big changes at the Center.

For the first year, Jim simply met with people and asked about their interest in it, and then in April of 2010, a steering committee was formed, which laid the groundwork of what the Dharma Center would be. Out of that spawned the Board of Directors of the Sacramento Dharma Center. For six years, the organization fundraised, looked at properties, and, as Julia adds, “(We) figured out how we’re going to live together because even though we’re all Buddhist practitioners, there (are) differences and so how do we take our differences and make them our

strengths. It is a challenge and hopefully it will be an ongoing challenge because the three groups they want to maintain their personalities, their cultures.”

From humble beginnings, groups have met at various yoga studios, have leased space in Land Park at the Congregation B’nai Israel, the Buddhist Church of Sacramento and other locations near downtown.

Specifically, the Sacramento Buddhist Meditation Group started 26 years ago in a living room of people who were interested in Buddhism as a means of practice with dealing with everything that was going on when the United States was invading Iraq. “SBMG was in response to all that turmoil. And trying to find some serenity and peacefulness around it,” Julia said. “Well, SBMG moved several times. The last place we were at was Congregation B’nai Israel on Riverside. We rented the big social hall to us. They were a wonderful host.”

SBMG hosts teachers from all different traditions to come and talk each week, so for first timers or the more curious, that group is a good place to start to learn about local traditions. A number of the visiting teachers hail from the Bay Area and are shocked at the energy inside the walls of the SDC. “(They) enjoy being here,” Linda said.

While many of the members hail from downtown and its nearest neighborhoods, real estate agent Kari Bryski convinced the Sanghas to look outside of the area. “We thought we wanted to be in Curtis Park, Land Park, East Sac, midtown, close to where everybody had been before and she said you would not get what you want.

You can’t afford what you want. What you want does not exist in that part of the city with this kind of property. As soon as we opened up, we found this place a month later,” Linda said.

Because the Dharma Center Board of Directors consists of representatives of each of those organizations, Julia went back to the groups and asked whether they could go looking further out from the central city. “The boards had to discuss this because one of the things they thought was we’re going to lose membership if we go too far out from the central city. Once the Sanghas gave us permission to go looking further this appeared,” Julia said.

Convenient to the Watt/Manlove stop on the Gold Line of the light rail and between 10-15 minutes from downtown (without traffic), the Wassermann location seems to work out, as membership continues to grow. “We had to take down the walls of the little office (inside the meditation room) because the Sunday group needed the space,” Julia said.

Additionally having the groups under one roof can help leaders direct newcomers to a group that may be a good fit. As Julia explains, “Now that we are all under one place, if we think someone is dipping their toes in the water and they say, ‘Oh, Zen doesn’t speak to me,’ they can come Thursday night and go to Sacramento Insight Meditation.”

On Inauguration Day, the Sacramento Dharma Center hosted a meditation titled, “For the Benefit of All Beings”. A nonpartisan Buddhist-inspired morning of meditation and prayer, the event, held Jan. 20 from 9 a.m. to noon called for people to sit together to “support community, to support those outside community, to be in touch with the here and now and to water the seeds of interconnection.” People were welcome to sit for a few minutes, an hour or the entire time but were able to be part of a collective effort for peace. The center looks forward to an Interdependence Fourth of July Celebration at their new location.

www.valcomnews.com • February 10, 2017 • Arden-Carmichael News

Essay:

If I walked a mile in your shoes

by James Peyton

Have you ever watched a horror movie, where the detectives walk in on a man standing over a body with a dripping knife? Wouldn’t you think he did it? Earlier in the movie, the man discovers his friend dead on the floor. Shocked, he picks up the knife and tries to figure out what is going on.

Then, someone opens the door and he finds himself interrogated and arrested for murder.

We know he didn’t do it, but does anyone believe him? No. After all, he wouldn’t have been picked up or be in court if he was innocent, would he?

If you’ve ever been misunderstood, this article is for you.

Maybe you are a Muslim and people are afraid of you, or treat you like a terrorist on a daily basis. Maybe you are Sikh, and people think you are Muslim.

Maybe your entire family won’t talk to you anymore because you married a man instead of a woman. Perhaps you are pretty and people feel you can’t be intelligent. Maybe you are black and dress hip-hop, and are constantly getting pulled over by the Police. People would rather write you off than take a chance on you.

Perhaps people pick on you because you have glasses and talk about Minecraft instead of the NBA and the NFL. Maybe you’re a reformed ex-con who loses a job every time an

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Arden-Carmichael News • February 10, 2017 • www.valcomnews.com

employer finds out about your past. Perhaps you’ve been burnt or are in a wheelchair, and people don’t treat you like an equal, rather more like a child. Perhaps people won’t look you in the eye. It could be the case that you are very old and people talk about you right in front of you, without ever talking TO you. Maybe people have taught their children to hate you. It’s possible that you are short, and people won’t take you seriously. They pick you last when they pick a team for a basketball game. Perhaps your parents pressure you to be perfect, rather than to be a person.

Or it could be that ladies call you a stalker when you try to talk to them, but when a tall, handsome guy comes along and says the same thing you just said, .. they treat him like a normal guy. Or you’re one of those guys that glances over at a girl, and finds she had a dirty look waiting for you before you even looked. Maybe you’ve got a thick accent and people don’t understand what you’re trying to say. You could be a youth getting bullied at school, right under a “bully-free zone” sign in the cafeteria.

Maybe you have OCD, or compulsions to repeat behaviors, color co-ordinate things obsessively, or re-write pages of notes redundantly because they look messy. Maybe you are forgotten in a care home, and your parents never come to visit you. Maybe you have a woman living with you, that checks into your phone every time you come home from work. Maybe you have a room-mate that threatens you, doesn’t pay rent, and eats up your food. Maybe you are the neglected child in the family, and all the atten-

tion goes to your brother and sister. Maybe you know when you go to work, your wife’s in a parking lot with another man.

Maybe your kids were taken away from you for an illegitimate reason. You got a beard and people think you’re a drug dealer, right? It doesn’t matter if you’ve never smoked or drank, or dealt... your whole life.

Maybe rich people have snubbed you because you are poor. Maybe you don’t have a perfect Facebook life.

Maybe you realize that your friends or co-workers will never change the way they see you as long as you live. Even though you’ve tried so hard to show them, so hard to prove that you are different than their labels.

People grow, mature and sometimes even change for the better. But to your labelers, you will ALWAYS be stuck in the past, as they saw you back then. Even if you move on past the negativity, you may be surprised that for them, it’s always still there whenever they see you. If you look a certain way, you ARE a certain way in some people’s viewpoint.

This kind of close-mindedness runs rampant in our society. The forces of conformity are often unspoken and unwritten, yet still powerful.

I remember a young man who tattooed “Don’t Forget To Love Yourself ” on his chest.

Maybe you’ve done that, maybe you don’t feel you deserve to be loved. Maybe you wear black clothes a lot, maybe you’re a cutter. Perhaps the only one you really care about hates you, and left you for dead. In the words of Eddie Griffin, “Whatever happened to a girl falling in love with a n&*@# with a bus pass?

Maybe people say you don’t smile enough, and they don’t

know that someone recently died in your family. Maybe people get on you for being grumpy or negative, and they don’t know that SEVERAL people recently died in your family. Maybe you were abused as a child or as an adult. Maybe your mom chased you around the house with butcher knives as a teenager.

We have to try and forgive those we feel have wronged us, let it go, and move on. One person told me that they could never forgive their mother for what she did to them. I can understand that. Perhaps your life is worse than most of the things mentioned in this article, there’s always something worse. But where we can, at least, we have to try. We have to strive for caring, compassion, and kindness.

From childhood to adulthood, I attended an African-American church. I remember the song we sang,“This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.” Many of us are misunderstood. We had negative experiences in life. Perhaps we think negatively as a result, perhaps we ARE negative. None of us are perfect, we all make mistakes. In order to overcome obstacles, and make things better, we have to have that light in us.

But it’s not enough just to have it, we must cultivate it. We have to practice growing it, just like you have to practice to get better at handwriting, basketball, communicating with people, being effective at your job, or building a fence. Maybe you feel like nobody loves you. Maybe you feel like you’re just not worth it to anybody. Well, even if I don’t give you a dollar, and I won’t give you a ride, I love you! You are worth it. You are human.

Like Rocky Balboa said, “Hey little Marie! Let there be light! Let there be LIGHT!” Valley Community Newspapers, Inc.

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www.valcomnews.com • February 10, 2017 • Arden-Carmichael News

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Valley Community Newspapers, Inc.

A Day in the Life of a Palestinian Immigrant

By Stacy Grow

A stay-at-home mother of three children, Sacramento area resident Nasreen F.’s life is currently filled with caring for her children and home.

Born and raised near Jerusalem in a tight-knit community in Palestine, Nasreen exudes warmth and joy as she remembers her life back home. “Everyone knew everyone else. You might think of us as a third world country, but we had so much fun!” Every day, her family typically received 7-9 visitors at their home, a constant stream of camaraderie.

Once, her family’s apartment complex was on lockdown for several weeks due to the Israeli occupation. Neighbors pulled chairs into a shared courtyard; cards and other games were played; food, favors, and necessary supplies were exchanged freely between households. This strong sense of community and interconnectedness are the things she now misses most.

Her life changed forever when she was 23. She had her Business Degree and was working at a bank at the time. An acquaintance from the neighborhood grocery store set her up with a Palestinian man who had settled in America, but returned to his homeland to look for a bride. After their first encounter in front of Nasreen’s parents and 4 siblings, the couple got to know each other through a supervised courtship. She soon decided that “he was a good man,” and 4 months later, they were married.

When she joined him in America, she didn’t know much English and how to drive a car. She was greeted with a large, empty house and no friends or direct relatives. For several years, she toggled back and forth between Palestine and Sacramento, uncertain where she wanted to permanently settle.

Eventually, she learned English and how to drive, and decided that she wanted to raise her family in America. She cites the opportunity for upwards career mobility here and the difficulty and dangers of living under occupation. Back in Palestine, life

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was constantly disrupted by locked checkpoints and violence.

Now, she keeps in touch with her family every day with Facetime and WhatsApp. She stays in touch with her culture by preparing the Palestinian foods she loves, such as maqlobh, a layered dish of cauliflower, eggplant, meat, and rice.

Still, being a Muslim mother in America carries a degree of fear. She brings her 5-year-old son to the Masjid Annur Islamic Center in Sacramento for Sunday school every week, but chooses to walk

around and wait 4 hours rather than leave him here unattended. Her worries are twofold: that a “crazy white man” will attack the mosque, or that a “crazy Muslim extremist” might do the same. Indeed, just six months ago, a Muslim man was killed in front this mosque after attending Friday night prayer services.

If there was one thing she would tell Americans about Muslims, she says it would be this: “We are all humans in the same community, which we need to build together and not destroy. What hurts one hurts all.”

www.valcomnews.com • February 10, 2017 • Arden-Carmichael News

13

CELEBRATING CHINESE NEW YEAR

GUNG HAY FAT CHOY

by LeIGh StePhenS

Those born in the Year of the Rooster: you are truthful, loyal and people trust you because you stand up for what is right, and you can keep secrets. You don’t care much for wealth, but you seem to have enough.

Passion for the Chinese culture shows in every corner of Elizabeth Wong’s home. To celebrate the Chinese New Year, she demonstrates the symbols that bring to life cus-

1

toms and traditions that she thinks are slipping away.

She describes her home as a mini-museum.

Her front door is adorned with red banners, her entry hallway is lined with displays of the 12 zodiac animals; the red monkey (2016) and the fire rooster that is the 2017 animal of the year sit together in friendship. In her entry hallway Elizabeth has hung posters of the rooster design over the Chinese drum as well as one of the U.S. post-

Arden-Carmichael News • February 10, 2017 • www.valcomnews.com

age stamp, celebrating the year of the rooster. Two lions sit guarding the room.

A precious antique showcase houses family treasures from Wong’s Chinese ancestral home. One a beautiful bowl that her grandfather made and the ancient lock from the family home dwell in the case with other irreplaceable odds and ends.

She says the key word is “respect” for the culture that she fears is fading with each generation.

Elizabeth Wong is a bundle of energy as she explains her motivation for reminding the Chinese-Americans that their inherited culture is just as important as the country in which they live today. She says, Everyone can at least learn their Chinese names, symbols and numbers.”

This interesting woman was born in San Francisco in the Chinatown Hospital. She says, “I live with a foot in each world.”

She worked for many years as a single mother, dental hygienist and nurse practitioner to support her two children who are now grown.

Her daughter Jasmine is a dancer who trained with the San Francisco Ballet, and son Benjamin is a pharmacist.

Elizabeth says she went to public schools in Vallejo and went on for additional training through Sacramento City College, U.C. Davis, and the University of the Pacific, earning her credentials in dental hygiene.

Elizabeth in retirement now says she considers herself a Chinese community historian to honor the Chinese heritage. When asked why this is so important she says, “China is the number two powerhouse in the world and so intertwined with the United States. There is global interest in all ‘things Chinese’ now

because of China’s influence on ours and other countries.

Additionally we need to nurture our customs and bridge the learning gap for the next generation.”

The Chinese New Year is just one day, says Wong. The “new” Chinese celebrate it for about a month and call it “Spring Festival.” It is a time of good foods-feasting and family togetherness. The greeting, Gung Hay Fat Choy, means “good fortune and great happiness.” Tradition says the new year is a time to clean house, buy new clothes and make a fresh start on endeavors. This rids the life of old spirits and makes way for a new year.

Cleaning sweeps away ill fortune and clears the way for incoming good luck. All senses are celebrated with lion and dragon dances, fireworks, and lucky money red envelopes given and received.

The Year of the Rooster is the tenth animal in the zodiac cycle and always comes after the Monkey year and before the Dog year. The next rooster year will come around again in 2029.

Each year is associated not only with an animal sign, but also with five elements: gold (metal), wood, water, fire, or earth. These element-sign combinations reoccur every 60 years. 2017 brings in the Fire Rooster year. Both the zodiac sign and element are believed to affect one’s personality and destiny.

Those born in 2017 are supposed to be trustworthy and with a strong sense of timekeeping and responsibility at work. The auspicious colors are royal purple, blue tones and burgundy. Lucky crystals are amethyst, which affects dreams and psychic awareness and topaz for inspiration. The year’s flower is the chrysanthemum.

Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese philosophical system used to bring harmony into the surrounding environment. It is supposed to encourage mystical energies that encourage protection and a sense of peace for that environment.

These principles were used in ancient time and modern for decorating and architecture before beginning any project. Westerners today find interior decorators embracing feng shui when they

decorate homes, offices, and public spaces. For example, it is unlucky to have a stairway opening right at the front door because money will flow right out the door!

Elizabeth Wong has many achievements within her lifetime. She is the founder of the Asian Cultural Exchange and has facilitated numerous public events and travel talks that honor the Chinese Culture. She was involved with “Asia Day” at the California State Fair in 2008, contacting local Asian newscasters who hosted the day and publicized the Olympics being held that year in Beijing.

Through the years, she has helped create small new years’ parties at schools, homes and public places such as the one in Old Sacramento in the 1980’s, which drew a crowd of 15,000 people. She has led programs at the Sacramento Zoo, Crocker Art Museum, the Buddhist Church and the Camellia Parade among others.

Additionally, Wong has volunteered for many years in schools such asCarolyn Wentzel Elementary and Kennedy High School where her children attended. At Wentzel she led a Chinese summer camp for kids where she taught the elements of the Chinese language and other cultural activities such as folk dances and games. At Kennedy in 1993-94, she started the Japanese language and the Mandarin Chinese language programs because none existed there at the time.

Wong’s life-long work in dental health has led her to donate her time and energy to helping immigrant families at community health clinics in the Bay Area and in Northern California.

She said she thanks former President Obama for the Affordable Care Act that has provided insurance to so many people.

Elizabeth Xiu Wong is a dynamic force in our community that reminds us that everyone should embrace their family culture brought with them when their families immigrated to the United States.

Culture and ancestry bring a proud sense of self that carries through the development of character and responsibility in children. We owe this enrichment to our children and grandchildren.

Valley Community Newspapers, Inc.

WHAT’S SATURDAY, FEB. 11 SAC STATE JAZZ FEST: Enjoy a day full of New Orleans jazz when Sac State hosts the Traditional Jazz Youth Band Festival, 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Sat., Feb. 11, in Capistrano Hall, 6000 J St. The non-competitive fest features a day-long series of clinics, jam sessions, and performances by musicians from middle school through college. It concludes with the Clinicians Concert featuring trumpeter Jon-Erik Kellso at 7 p.m. Day-long tickets are $12 at the door. Contact: (916) 278-5155.

SAC STATE YOONIE HAN CONCERT: Yoonie Han will perform the complete “Goyescas” of Enrique Granados as part of Sacramento State’s Piano Series, 7:30 p.m. in the Capistrano Concert Hall on campus, 6000 J St. Han has won top prizes in distinguished international competitions. In 2009 she received the Gawon Music Award as the “most brilliant pianist aged 17 to 31.” Tickets are $20 general admission, and $15 for seniors and students, available at (916) 278-4323 or www.csus.edu/hornettickets. Contact (916) 278-5191.

VALENTINE’S DAY EFFIE YEAW NATURE CENTER ANIMAL ADOPTIONS AVAILABLE AS GIFTS FOR VALENTINE’S DAY: Make Great Valentine’s Day Gifts!: Adopt one of our animal ambassadors on behalf of someone you love! Your donation helps pay for food, care and vet visits for that animal. The gift recipient will receive an adoption certificate,

HAPPENING, a photo and history of the animal, and more—depending on the level of adoption. Adoptions start at $25. Learn more at the Visitor Center or online: http:// sacnaturecenter.net/visitthecenter/ourresidentanimals.htm

THURSDAY FEB. 22 FEBRUARY GUEST CHEF DINNER - SADDLE ROCK: Grab a sitter for this perfect date night event! From 6-8:30pm, chef, Chris Jarosz, is happy to be back hosting the Guest Chef Dinner in 2017! Come for amazing food and a good time.

Tickets range from $50-$700. 14 Business Park Way #149 95828.

FEB. 22 and 23; FEB. 24 and 25 SACRAMENTO/BLACK ART OF DANCE 25TH ANNIVERSARY DANCE CONCERT: Sacramento/Black Art of Dance (S/BAD) celebrates its 25th anniversary with a special concert, it’s last under the directorship of Linda Goodrich. Performances are at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 22 and 23; 8 p.m. Feb. 24 and 25; and 2 p.m. Feb. 25 and 26, University Theatre on campus, 6000 J St. S/BAD explores the Black Concert dance form originated by Katherine Dunham. AfroCuban music and dance group Ebo Okokan is the special guest. Tickets are $5$12, available at 278-4323 or www.csus. edu/hornettickets

ONGOING RECOVERY FROM GRIEF WORKSHOP: All widowed persons can participate in the recovery from grief program

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sponsored by the Widowed Persons’ Association of California, Sacramento, Chapter, No. 1. There is no charge or donation required. The only criteria is that you must be widowed or the surviving member of a registered domestic partnership in the State of California. The next Recovery from Grief Workshop be Feb. 4 continuing till Feb. 25 from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. The meetings take place at 2628 El Camino Ave., Ste. D-18. Enter through the breezeway. Call the office at 972-9722 between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to reserve a seat. If there is no answer at the office, leave your name, phone number and reference the workshop and someone will return your call. The Widowed Persons Association also sponsors Sunday Support Sessions which are held every Sunday at the office from 3 to 5 p.m., entering from the back parking lot at 2:30 p.m.11

LIBRARY EVENTS ARDEN-DIMICK LIBRARY TALES OF BR’ER RABBIT – Watch the traditional African American tales of Br’e r Rabbit brought to life with humor, large table-top puppets, a live banjo and singing! Br’e r Rabbit may be small, but he has his wits. That doesn’t keep him out of trouble, but does tend to get him out of it, once he gets into it. When he comes up against the likes of Br’e r Fox and Br’e r Bear, it turns out they are no match for the clever rabbit. All ages welcome. Thursday, Feb. 16 from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Arden-Dimick Library, 891 Watt Ave., Sacramento.

ANIME CLUB FOR TEENS – Join us for Anime, manga, gaming and crafts for teens in grades 6-12. Friday, Feb. 17 from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Arden-Dimick Library, 891 Watt Ave., Sacramento.

MOVIE MADNESS: The Secret Life of Pets – It’s family movie night at the library! This month we’re showing The Secret Life of Pets. Free film, free popcorn! All ages welcome. Wednesday, Feb. 22 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Arden-Dimick Library, 891 Watt Ave., Sacramento.

TEEN ADVISORY GROUP (TAB) MEETING – Want to have a say in what the Arden-Dimick Library does for teens? Want to earn volunteer credit for school? Then hang out with us, eat some snacks, and help us plan programs and events! TAB looks AMAZING on college/scholarship applications! Open to teens in grades 6-12.

Friday, Feb. 24 from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Arden-Dimick Library, 891 Watt Ave., Sacramento.

HANSEL AND GRETEL - A NEW MUSICAL ADAPTATION: From Feb. 11-25 at 1 p.m., The Chautauqua Playhouse (5325 Engle Road, Suite 110, Carmichael) presents a new musical production of “Hansel and Gretel” adapted by Warren Harrison with tunes based on the Humperdinck opera. The performances begin on February 11 at the Playhouse. The show will run on Saturdays at 1 p.m. though Feb. 25. Admission is $8 for all seats. Advance purchase of tickets is strongly recommended. Tickets are available at www.cplayhouse.org

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Tickets online at www.cplayhouse.org or by calling the Chautauqua box office at 916.489.7529

A Racy, Naughty Little Comedy!

February 3 - March 5 Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm Sundays at 2:00 pm through March 5 with an additional matinee at 2 pm on March 4

Admission is $20 General, $18 Seniors/Students and SARTA members. Premium seating is an additional dollar.

Valley Community Newspapers, Inc.

www.valcomnews.com • February 10, 2017 • Arden-Carmichael News

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