Sacramento County Art, Culture & Media Digest

Ground has been broken for a monument at Capitol Park, to replace the toppled Junipero Serra statue. The monument, designed by Sacramento sculptor Ronnie Frostad, will be installed by next spring.

Just about anyone who has seen Dennis Renault’s political cartoons might have considered him brash, bold, maybe even brave. But he was also charming, thoughtful, funny, and handsome, said Marty Renault, his Salinas High School sweetheart and wife who, on Oct. 19, lost her husband to what she considers a “freak accident.” He was 86.

A special event to pay tribute to the life and legacy of the famous Sacramento-born author will be held at the Golden 1 Center on Nov. 10.

Over the next two weeks, tens of thousands will descend on Discovery Park for two big music events. The festivals are part of a concerted effort to boost tourism, to the tune of $1.5 million approved this year by the Sacramento City Council to support festivals and events.

Sacramento comedian Marcus Parker spent the past decade working the Northern California circuit. Now he’s making a big debut. Better known as Mars Parker, his comedy special titled “I’m a Grown Ass Man” premieres Sept. 22 on Amazon: Prime Video.

The WX Mural Museum, a project to install murals on 28 of the concrete columns that support the W and X streets section of the Capital City Freeway, is set to begin in the late spring of 2023.

As the saying goes, politics makes strange bedfellows, and Citrus Heights resident Bill Rowland hopes his play of the same title will give audiences some laughter and maybe even bring some folks together.

A band central to local community life for more than 40 years will stage a final performance in Carmichael Park as part of the summer concert series.

Whisky auctioneer proves how badly bourbon collectors want to bring home labels from Sacramento’s Corti Brothers grocery store.

Jayvyn Thwaites, a 6th grader at David Lubin Elementary School, contributed to a Grammy Award-winning album by Indian musician Falguni Shah, better known as Falu.

In 2021 Mayor Steinberg and the City Council presented Sacramento Juneteenth, Inc.(SJI) with a resolution acknowledging the 17 years of producing the festival to celebrate the freeing of those enslaved in the United States of America.

Local children’s book author JaNay Brown-Wood, who’s “Imani’s Moon” was released by Penguin Random House is releasing a jaw-dropping 10 books in 2022.

Fourk Kitchen, which serves a prix-fix, four-course menu that changes monthly, has announced the opening of its newest location at 1177 Riley St.

After a two year hiatus, the Elk Grove Arts Commission honored the city’s artists and volunteers in grand fashion at the “Iris Awards” held at The Center at District 56 in Elk Grove.

Asian Pacific CultureFest will feature live performances as well as foods and crafts from 80 AAPI-owned small businesses. The event takes place on Saturday, May 7 in Elk Grove.

Following Clean Up the Lake’s year-long scuba clean-up of Lake Tahoe, the Tahoe Fund is commissioning artists (with support from Tahoe Blue Vodka) to create a sculpture using some of the recovered items. “Surfaced” will be featured at the new Tahoe South Events Center.

Lake Tahoe will be highlighted in its own board game, Monopoly Lake Tahoe. Visiting the area was the iconic Mr. Monopoly, there to highlight the new game and encourage the public to submit ideas for what should be featured on the board.

The Elk Grove Western Festival, a 65-year-old springtime tradition, has been canceled again. Festival Board President Ken Johnston said the board decided to nix this year’s festival and instead focus on the 2023 event.

Danny Wimmer Presents, the production company responsible for Aftershock, is bringing a new country music festival to Sacramento in October. In partnership with Visit Sacramento, the two-day GoldenSky Country Music Festival will be held at Discovery Park.

An actress from Elk Grove is starring in a new movie that debuts March 19. Monique Sypkens stars in “Sins in the Suburbs,” a Lifetime movie.

For the first time in three years, the California State Fair will return. This Sacramento tradition of food and carnival rides is now four months away.

Surreal Estates was the name that a group of Sacramento creatives picked for a city block where they successfully built a tiny housing community for themselves years ago.

A mix of iconic heavy metal and hard rock bands will headline Aftershock 2022. The festival, which is expected to draw a combined audience of more than 150,000, is will take place Oct. 6-9 in Discovery Park.

As of June 2021, Sacramento County has 12 circulating newspapers, including dailies and weeklies. Only one paper is Black-owned and operated: the Sacramento Observer. “There was still a need for our stories to be told,” publisher Larry Lee says in a story by ABC10.

Sacramento has long sought another mid-sized concert venue that would draw acts not quite big enough to fill Golden 1 Center. There’s suddenly a lot of interest in building one.

After more than 35 years on the Sacramento theater scene, B Street Theatre’s Buck Busfield is exiting stage left. Buck, who first joined his brother Timothy Busfield in 1986 to help launch a local touring children’s theater, recently announced his retirement.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, many plans were halted, including an approximately $40 million art park and adjacent parking garage by Crocker Art Museum. Nearly two years later, the project has new life.

Shonna McDaniels has run the Sojourner Truth African Heritage Museum since 2005, working with various artists to cover its walls with paintings that depict historically significant Black Americans.

California artist Wayne Thiebaud, internationally known for his paintings of ordinary objects and iconic California landscapes, has died. The painter died at his home in Sacramento at the age of 101.

Joan Didion, known for her bold essays and cutting commentary, has passed away. She was at the forefront of revolutionizing California journalism.

With not much of a warning, popular midtown hard rock club Holy Diver announced on social media that it has permanently closed.

A Seat at the Table, a new bookstore in Elk Grove, has opened on Laguna Springs Drive. Its focus is celebrating culture, identity and engagement.