Out & About February 2024
Find out what is happening in Sacramento during the month of February!
Allons au cinéma!
A crime drama. A comedy featuring an animated inner voice. A romantic comedy about an undocumented nanny in Paris. A drama that explores the Bataclan concert hall terrorist massacre of 2015.
These are just a few plotlines from movies that will be featured at this year’s French Film Festival in June at the Tower Theatre. Now in its 22nd year, the event is the perfect way for Francophiles, cinephiles and anyone looking for a good time to enjoy new films from France.
Book Smart
As a kid, I spent hours at Beers Books. I made a beeline for animal books. Mom perused the art section. Dad skimmed remainders on a sidewalk sale cart.
I recently found a Beers Books bookmark while going through some boxes. Instantly, I floated back to those book-filled days.
My experience is not unique. Beers Books has been a beacon for book lovers for nearly 90 years.
Early days are murky, but the shop began around 1936 when Nellie Beer worked as a clerk for L.H. Mytinger Books at 1125 Eighth St. At some point the shop became Beers Books. A legacy was born.
Kitty Whisperer
Barbara Dow is in her happy place, a chair in the cattery at the Sacramento SPCA, playing with two 8-year-old stray cats who are being socialized.
“Rowdy has eye problems, but he knows my voice,” Dow says. “He’s not up for adoption right now, but they did take him to UC Davis to see what they can do for him. The other one, Rachel, is shy, but she loves me and lets me rub her tummy.”
Dow has volunteered at SSPCA since 2018 and is lead mentor at the cattery. She trains other volunteers to work with the shelter’s felines, among the 6,000 stray or surrendered animals the nonprofit receives each year.
Romantic Intentions
Julie Soto didn’t intend to become a published author. But, like the plots of the romance novels she writes, it seemed destined to work out.
“In romance, you’re kind of guaranteed a happy ending,” Soto says. “If you already know how a book will end, you have to make it fun along the way.”
Soto approaches her creative endeavors with a sense of fun. The Sacramento native began in musical theater. She performed in youth and community productions before moving to New York after graduation from Sacramento State.
