Chalk It Up chalk art festival at Fremont Park, 16th & P Street, Sacramento, CA 95814, this Labor Day weekend, September 4, 5, & 6, 2010, from 10:00AM to 6:00PM.  The festival will bring hundreds of sidewalk chalk artists and dozens of live music acts together. 

Chalk It UP is a non-profit organization dedicated to funding children’s art education in the Sacramento region.  Longtime Chalk It Up! artist, Andy Huff, was commissioned to create the artwork for this year’s landmark 20th anniversary celebration. The 2010 poster was designed by Starr Ambrasia.

The Center for Contemporary Art, Sacramento presents its 2010 Capital Artists Studio Tour on the weekend of September 11th and 12th, 2010. This annual event features close to 100 working Sacramento artists, giving visitors first-hand knowledge about the Sacramento art scene.

Studio Tours:

Saturday and Sunday, September 11 and 12, 2010, Noon-4pm Within 4 miles of CCAS 1519 19th Street, Sacramento, CA, 95811 Second Saturday Reception at CCAS (Open to the Public) Saturday, September 11, 2010, 6-9pm

WHERE: Within 4 miles of the Center for Contemporary Art, Sacramento 19th Street between O and P Streets, Sacramento, CA 95811

The Center for Contemporary Art, Sacramento, founded in 1989, is a nonprofit 501(c) (3) organization/museum that is dedicated to the advancement and appreciation of new and experimental art by international, national, and regional artists; “Showing you the art of our times.” 1519 19th Street, Sacramento, CA 95811-5202. Phone: 916.498.9811. www.ccasac.org Open Thurs-Sun Noon-5PM

Capitol Artists Studio Tour (CAST)

• Self-guided tour of most of Sacramento’s working artist studios located within 4 miles of the Center for Contemporary Art, Sacramento (CCAS). Admission is Free.

• Sacramento area artists open their studios to the public, who can meet the artists, learn about their creative process, and see and purchase their work.

• The participating artists work in a variety of mediums, including: Gary Dinnen – Sculpture Gale Hart – Painting and Sculpture, Functional Art Laurie Winthers – Landscape Painting, Jiayi Young – Multimedia Youngsuk Suh – Photography Brenda Louie – Painting Andrew Patterson-Tutschka – Realist Painter, Landscape

• CCAS is home base for the event and features an exhibit of work by artists participating in the Tour. Free maps of the Tour are available. Also CCAS will have the new SACRAMENTO Gallery Guide available for purchase. This is a comprehensive listing of artists and galleries in Sacramento, which can be used year around. The guide will also feature specialty maps for the tour.

• CCAS hosts a reception for the public on Second Saturday.

INFO: E-mail: ccasac@ccasac.org   Web: www.ccasac.org

Phone: 916.498.9811

Sponsored in part by a grant from the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission.

This sold-out nationally televised match-up of the Folsom Bulldogs and the Grant Union Pacers starts the high school football season with a bang.   The game will air live tonight on ESPN2 at 7:00PM, August 27, 2010, making it Sacramento’s first ever nationally televised high school sporting event.  You can check out highschoolsports.net for info about all your favorite high school teams.

2010 Suzuki Grand Vitara Limited

Power: 3.2-liter, V6, 230 horsepower

Mileage estimate: 17-23 mpg                                  

Price: $27,000

Standard features include: four-wheel drive; automatic headlights; automatic climate control; keyless entry; steering-wheel-mounted audio controls; four-speaker stereo, single-CD/MP3 player; removable Garmin navigation unit; stability, traction control; antilock disc brakes; tire pressure monitor; rear defogger

By Jeffrey Weidel

Although it definitely warrants some attention, the 2010 Suzuki Grand Vitara suffers from two factors: A crowded field of strong competition in the compact sport utility class is a major hindrance, plus the number of Suzuki dealerships is limited. Good luck even finding one in close proximity.

Let’s face it, when people hear the name Suzuki they aren’t thinking cars, their thoughts immediate go toward motorcycles. Suzuki has a great name in the motorcycle world. In the car world? Not so much.

The unfortunate thing with Suzuki vehicles is they are much improved. Yet because of the aforementioned reasons, very few people realize the Japanese automaker has made a nice turnaround in recent years.

The Grand Vitara is a great example. Starting with the redesign of the 2009 model, the Grand Vitara can absolutely hang with many of the offerings in the subcompact category. It’s priced several thousand dollars less than the popular Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4 and the Ford Escape. It nearly matches all three in gas mileage and exceeds all three with a seven-year, 100,000 miles powertrain warranty. The Vitara also has a very attractive list of standard features.

On the negative side, the segment’s three heavyweights all have better interior storage compartments and possess more refined engines. The Vitara’s acceleration is lacking a bit when comparing all four manufacturer’s 4-cylinder entry level SUV. The Vitara’s 2.4-liter, inline-4 with 166 horsepower draws the short stick.

However, the 3.2-liter, V6 Grand Vitara with 230 horsepower had a nice blend of power and efficiency, getting 17-23 mpg. Of course, the sticker price of $27,000 is nowhere near the Grand Vitara base price of $19,099 for the 4-cylinder with manual transmission.

Like many compact SUVs, this one is meant for double duty. With a standard Garmin navigational system mounted on the dashboard (it’s rather small), and solid around town capability, the Grand Vitara is quite suitable as a commuter vehicle that also could do some mild off-road exploration thanks to its four-wheel drive capability.

The Vitara interior can seat five passengers in comfortable fashion and features a very roomy cargo section that expands when the rear seats fold down without the burden of removing the headrests. Suzuki does get points deducted for an annoying side-hinged cargo door that can make loading more of an effort than it should be.

In commuter mode, the Vitara does a nice job of getting kids to school and navigating the streets during busy prime time work hours. It’s not as successful in pulling off long distance trips and gets a little noisy when traveling the freeway at high speeds. But it does provide a safe mode of travel on challenging roadways and leaves the driver in a confident state.

Weidel on Wheels is a regular weekly feature in Gold Country Motoring.

The final Screen on the Green for 2010 is Saturday, August 28^th at Glenn Hall Park, 5415 Sandburg Dr, Sacramento, CA.  The movie, Walt Disney’s “Aladdin”, starts at sundown and admission is FREE.

This stunning animation spectacle from Walt Disney Studios features songs by the Academy Award-winning songwriting team of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken and is directed by Ron Clements and John Musker.  Robin Williams provides the voice of the Genie, who resides in the powerful lamp and grants young Aladdin three wishes.  The film from 1992 is rated G and has a running time of 90 minutes.

Thank you to our Screen on the Green sponsors:  Big Spoon Yogurt, Inside Publications, Mercy General Hospital, Midtown Business Association, Photosource and Surewest.

Aladdin Movie Trivia:

1.  What is Aladdin caught stealing in his first scene of the movie?

2.  What is the name of the Cave where Aladdin finds the magic lamp?

3.  What is Jafar’s parrot’s name?

4.  Name one of the Genie’s rules about wishes.

5.  When Genie transforms Aladdin into a prince, he also transforms Aladdin’s monkey into what animal?

6.  What is Aladdin’s final wish?

Trivia Answers:  1.Bread  2.Cave of Wonders  3.Iago  4.No wishing for more wishes, no bringing back dead, no love wishes  5.Elephant  6.Freeing Genie

That frightful time of year is almost here, (Halloween, in case you need me to spell it out).  I know haunted houses seem like they just happen but those ghouls don’t just wander in off the street.  If you think you could scare the pants off Freddy Krueger you have to prove it.  So if you’re feeling you could be the next Count Dracula or maybe just a little Twilight Saga in your future, you can show your stuff at the Callson Manor Casting Auditions on September 4, 2010, from 4:00PM to 8:00PM.  Just show up at the Roseville Fairgrounds, 800 All American City Blvd., Roseville, CA (Parking Lot C…look for the trailers and fenced off area) and show them a haunting performance to earn your spot in the Callson Manor Haunted House.  

The Sacramento NAACP Branch Annual Rhythm & Blues Festival at Cal Expo, 1600 Exposition Boulevard, Sacramento, CA, is Saturday, September 4, 2010.  The theme this year is Standing Up For Justice.

You can enjoy the soulful R&B group the Zapp band, Grammy gospel singer Lady Tramaine Hawkins, Johnny Guitar Knox, Marshall Wilkerson, the Blues Society, V101, artists from the Home Grown Soul Show, the Sac Metro Community Chior, the Soul Line Dancers and much more!

Tickets are only $10, $20, $30. For ticket info and to check out corporate sponsorship and vendor opportunities visit their website at www.sacnaacp.org

Gold Rush Days on September 3-September 6, 2010, are presented by Sacramento Convention & Visitors Bureau at Old Sacramento State Historic Park, 111 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814.  This is a FREE event!  For more information go to www.sacramentogoldrushdays.com or call (916) 808-7777.

Sacramento’s heritage celebration is scheduled for Labor Day Weekend.  More than 200 tons of dirt will be dumped on the streets of Old Sacramento as the annual festival “turns back the clock,” transforming Sacramento’s historic district into a scene straight out of the 1850s.  Costumed re-enactors, Wild West gun fights, musicians playing period instruments, and many aspects of life during the Gold Rush will be highlighted during the four-day event.

Wizard of Oz sing along and costume contest is at the Crest Theatre, 1013 K Street, Sacramento, CA 95814, Sunday, August 22, 2010.  The doors open at 1:00PM for the costume contest and the show starts at 2:00PM.  General Admission is $10/Advance or $12/Day of show Seniors & Students are $8/Advance or $10/Day of Show. Tickets on sale now at Tickets.com, Crest Box Office, or by calling 1-800-225-2277.

12^th Annual Sacramento Race for the Arts is Saturday, August 28, 2010.  Click on this link to learn how you can support your favorite organization or school program.