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A Capitol Mardi Gras

I don’t want to give anything away, but Wes Samms’ outfit for the City of Trees Parade Feb. 18 is amazing. I got a sneak peek of the sequined suit jacket he had custom-made in Thailand. It’s spectacular.

The word “spectacular” comes up a lot during our conversation. It describes the tradition of Mardi Gras as a “showcase of culture, music and art.” It covers Sacramento’s diverse talent pool. It includes Burning Man, which plays a part in this month’s festivities.

Most important, it describes the City of Trees Parade.

“Mardi Gras is such a fantastic event,” says Samms, a veteran of 13 New Orleans Mardi Gras. “The perception that outsiders have is completely wrong. It’s not debaucherous, it’s actually quite family-focused.

The Great Outdoors

Next time you visit Earl J. Koobs Nature Area in Carmichael near La Sierra Community Center, look for groundskeeper Linda Rose Jones.

She’ll be playing in the mud.

“I love going into the area looking for millipedes,” Jones says. “I love following little kids and watching their discovery. That’s what lifts my heart.”

Hello, Neighbor!

You’ve probably driven by it countless times, a Spanish-style building shaded by trees along J Street between 52nd and 53rd streets. You’ve even stopped there at the traffic light on Rodeo Way.

An ornately painted sign identifies the building as A.W. McClaskey Adult Center. It was once El Dorado Elementary School. Today it houses various classes, several focused on adults with developmental disabilities.

When seismic regulations were ordered in the 1970s, the site was deemed too expensive to retrofit for kids but perfect for adults. In 1978, the building was repurposed as the A. Warren McClaskey Adult Center, named for a former Sacramento City Unified adult education director.

“Before legislation desecrated adult education, we used to have 10 apportionment areas,” says Susan Lytle Gilmore, principal at McClaskey since 1992.

Helping The Helpers

An anniversary is often a special occasion, but for Philanthropy Inspired by the Needs of our Community Sacramento this year’s 10th anniversary signifies a decade of helping those who help others.

“It’s been quite a 10 years—I get quite emotional when I talk about it,” says Margot Hunt, founder and president of the local chapter. “The first year, we didn’t know what we were doing. We just knew our mission was to be a nonprofit that supports other nonprofits.

“We threw our first fundraiser for Angels for Hearts, an organization that assists families of pediatric heart patients, at the Croatian Center. We raised $17,000. From that point on, we grew and grew and grew and now we’re raising a quarter of a million dollars or more per year for the Sacramento Children’s Home.”

Center Of Everything

What’s the most important thing Anne DeStefano wants people to know about Sacramento Fine Arts Center in Carmichael?

“That we exist!” says DeStefano, a fiber artist and jewelry maker who joined the center 10 years ago. “I don’t know if people realize that the center is there and that we have significant gallery space. Each month, we have a different show on exhibit. It’s quite a range of variety.”

Sacramento Fine Arts Center was founded in 1986 by several local, independent art clubs that came together to share their love of art and pool resources for shows and classes. The center now boasts roughly 300 members from different disciplines—painters, sculptors, fiber artists and more. They share responsibilities, run the giftshop and teach classes.

Bring On The Heat

Did you know we have a local fire museum?

I didn’t until I spoke with Larry Schluer, board member and volunteer docent manager of the Sacramento Regional Fire
Museum in West Sacramento, which recently reopened after closing for the pandemic.

“It’s been tough,” admits Schluer, a retired firefighter. His family has put out blazes since 1865 when his great-grandfather emigrated from Germany and helped found Woodland’s first fire company.

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