Ante Up!
Bring your best poker face to rotary club celebrity tournament
By Jessica Laskey
March 2019
If you’re all in for a night of poker to benefit the community, bring your sharpest card shark skills to the All In for Arden-Arcade Celebrity Poker Tournament on Saturday, March 16, at 4:30 p.m. at Mercedes-Benz of Rocklin.
The ninth annual event raises money for charities supported by the Rotary Club of Arden-Arcade, which has been around since 1955. This year’s beneficiaries are The First Tee of Greater Sacramento and Sacramento Children’s Home.
“We thought a poker tournament would make a good fundraiser because it’s a little bit different,” says Tom Goode, club president and chair of the tournament. “Usually clubs host golf tournaments or crab feeds, so we decided to try something that might appeal to different people.”
The “celebrity” aspect often includes 10 to 15 well-known locals—this year, players can expect to rub elbows with former Kings player Bobby Jackson, broadcaster Jason Ross and comedian Lance Woods, among others.
Beginners are welcome, but you must be 21 or older to participate. The entry fee of $150 includes a barbeque dinner by Rollin Smoke. Just want to watch? Tickets are $25 for spectators—you can watch March Madness on TVs strategically placed throughout the venue and participate in other fun
activities when you’re not cheering on the players. “It’s always a really great time,” Goode says. “Last year, we raised over $100,000 and our goal is to do a little bit better each year.”
So ante up and get playing! For more information or to register for the tournament, visit ardenarcaderotary.org.
MEET JULIA MORGAN
Renowned architect Julia Morgan will be the topic of discussion Monday, March 11, at 10 a.m. during a Julia Morgan: Architectural Pioneer-Renaissance Society Mini-Seminar at Arden-Dimick Library.
As the first female architect licensed in California, Bay Area native Morgan designed more than 700 buildings, including Hearst Castle and the Julia Morgan House in the Elmhurst neighborhood—quite the feat in a male-dominated profession.
The seminar will explore her personal and professional life in a discussion you won’t want to miss. For more information, visit saclibrary.org.
FREE SPAY/NEUTER
The Rancho Cordova-based animal welfare organization Whisker Warriors has received a $10,000 grant from Sacramento County’s Transient Occupancy Tax program to provide vouchers for free spay, neuter and vaccination services for cats and dogs to underserved Sacramento County residents.
“Affordable spay and neuter programs are the cornerstone of any effort to curb California’s tragic pet overpopulation problem,” says Tera Kolvenbach, executive director of Whisker Warriors. “Our goal is to address the problem on a local level by providing assistance to those who don’t have the financial means to spay or neuter their pets and obtain their needed vaccinations.”
Eligible residents can request vouchers via email at rcwhiskerwarriors@gmail.com, online at rcwhiskerwarriors.com or by phone at (916) 747-7534.
Vouchers can be used at the Sacramento SPCA at 6201 Florin Perkins Road or the Community Spay Neuter Clinic at the Sacramento County Bradshaw Animal Shelter at 3839 Bradshaw Road.
WILDLIFE CARE PHOTO CONTEST
Hearty congratulations are in order for local photographer Dave Labhard who won the 4th Annual Wildlife Care Association Fall 2018 Photo Contest.
The contest takes place each year from October through December to document and celebrate the many kinds of birds in our region that WCA cares for as part of its nonprofit mission to rescue, recover and release injured, orphaned and displaced birds and small animals.
Labhard’s winning photo features a red-breasted sapsucker launching into flight—a rare sight for birdwatchers—which he captured on a nature walk along the American River.
For more information on WCA, call (916) 965-WILD or visit wildlifecareassociation.com.
BABY BASKET DRIVE
During its fifth annual Baby Basket Drive in December, the Arden-Arcade-based Sacramento Life Center raised more than $10,000, which will buy approximately 200 baskets for new moms throughout 2019.
The baskets, which cost $50 each, contain items such as formula, diapers, newborn clothes and pacifiers, and are provided at no cost to each Sacramento Life Center patient to help her start the parenthood journey.
The facility needs more than 500 baskets each year, so the annual Baby Basket Drive is crucial. Donations will be accepted throughout 2019 and can be made online at saclife.org.
“One of the most overwhelming feelings is learning that you’re pregnant and fearing you won’t have the resources to care for your vulnerable baby,” says Marie Leatherby, Sacramento Life Center executive director. “Sometimes something as simple as a gift of diapers and newborn clothes can give expecting mothers the confidence that they have a support system to help raise their child.”
The nonprofit’s mission is to offer compassion, support, resources and free medical care to women and couples facing an unplanned or unsupported pregnancy. The Sacramento Life Center’s licensed Sac Valley Pregnancy Clinic includes a primary-care clinic and two mobile medical clinics that provide services for free.
40 YEARS OF LOCAL ART
The only art gallery in the heart of Old Sacramento is celebrating 40 years of providing local art to the Sacramento region.
Formed in 1978, the Artists’ Collaborative Gallery was created to foster a “rich, inspired environment and a loyal, devoted community of artisans from the region that needed a place to display and sell their art, but more than anything to be part of the artistic community,” gallery president Marlene Hoffman says.
With 34 members, the Artists’ Collaborative Gallery hosts artists from Fairfield and Auburn to Grass Valley, Placerville, Yuba City and Galt. The members operate the gallery, as well as sell their artwork, which includes 15 different mediums such as fine art, ceramics, glass, gourds, jewelry, metal, photography, textiles, wire sculpture, wood and fiber.
“We’ve had members that have been at the gallery for more than 28 years,” watercolorist Marcie Bombola says. “Most of our members are retired professionals who were passionate about an art form, gave it up to have a career and now have returned to express their creativity.”
As part of its 40th anniversary celebration, the gallery is holding a series of Meet the Artist receptions on the second Saturday of each month during 2019. Learn more at artcollab.com.
NEW WINE-TASTING ROOM ON K STREET
Get ready to dance for joy—a new wine-tasting room has opened in the 700 block of K Street next door to the Golden 1 Center.
Bailarin Cellars is a collective of Sonoma County vintners, including Suacci Family Vineyard, Manchester Ridge Vineyard, Black Knight Vineyard and Rockpile Vineyard, brought together by executive director Chris Ryan. Bailarin Cellars has already won recognition for its fleet of wines, including gold medals at the California State Fair and San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.
The new tasting room in the historic Hardin building was completed in December with custom details provided by local artists. You’ll find Bailarin’s full lineup of Sonoma County wines, as well as an Insight Coffee Roasters espresso bar and small bites. For more information, visit bailarincellars.com.
MEATLESS MONDAYS AND BOGLE WINE
While you’re in the area, check out Meatless Mondays at Golden 1 Center. During each Monday event, the arena will offer one new meatless entrée option at The Flavor Lab food cart located on the plaza level. These new creations will join the meatless options already offered at the Burger Patch cart.
The meatless menu items build on the arena’s industry-leading food and beverage program, which pledges to source 90 percent of ingredients from within 150 miles of the arena.
In that same vein, the Kings have announced that it is partnering with Bogle Vineyards for a specially crafted Proud Roots 2016 vintage wine, which is available exclusively throughout Golden 1 Center and Bogle’s tasting room in Clarksburg.
“Both the Kings and Bogle are committed to being leaders in green practices and serving as examples of how businesses can serve as models of sustainability,” says Sacramento Kings chief operating officer Matina Kolokotronis. “Proud Roots is the perfect embodiment of our partnership and dedication to our region.”
FARM-TO-FORK AT RAILROAD MUSEUM
The California State Railroad Museum has opened an all-new exhibit titled Farm-to-Fork: A Public History, created by graduate students from the Capital Campus Public History Program at Sacramento State University.
The exhibit explores the critical role that the railroad played in transporting the Central Valley’s agricultural bounty to the rest of the country—creating the foundation for the farm-to-fork movement. Visitors learn about the production and delivery of goods, the deep history of the people behind the food and how railroads played an integral role in that history.
Farm-to Fork: A Public History, which will remain on display permanently, is included in the museum admission: $12 for adults; $6 for ages 6 to 17; free for ages 5 and under. For more information, call (916) 323-9280 or visit californiarailroad.museum.
Jessica Laskey can be reached at jessrlaskey@gmail.com. Submissions are due six weeks prior to the publication month.
