Fruitful Endeavor
A local mother-and-daughter team encourages leaps of faith (and take one of their own) with their lemony-fresh debut book
Chef Jeremiah Tower
He’s been called the “father of American cuisine” by Martha Stewart and he’s credited with starting the farm-to-fork movement in the 1970s as a chef at Berkeley’s Chez Panisse, where he gained wide acclaim for his use of regional ingredients, including those from Sacramento. Over 40 years later, it’s a full-crop-circle moment for Jeremiah Tower, as he comes to the capital city in September to oversee the Tower Bridge Dinner, which will cap the monthlong Farm-to-Fork Celebration. The food pioneer steps out of the kitchen to talk about the accidental birth of the modern locavore trend, his longtime friendship with local grocer Darrell Corti, and what it feels like to be back in the culinary spotlight.
Raising the Barre
Amid a contentious transition, Sacramento Ballet alumna Amy Seiwert returns to the company as its new artistic director. Building on what her former mentors created over the course of nearly 30 years, she begins the delicate dance between respecting the troupe’s long-held traditions and pushing it in a decidedly bolder, more modern direction.
The Whole Earth Cataloguer
UC Davis professor Harris Lewin is about to launch one of the most audacious scientific ventures in human history—to map the DNA of every living thing on Earth. The 10-year, $5 billion quest could result in a tsunami of medical cures, solutions for global hunger, and the creation of a new “Silicon Valley of agricultural science and biotechnology” right here in our backyard. Oh, and it might save the planet too.
Hollywood Set Decorator Julie Ochipinti
Whether it’s Wayne Manor in "Batman Begins" or Nikola Tesla’s lab in "The Prestige," set decorator Julie Ochipinti brings scenes to life one Victorian chandelier or top hat at a time. Currently the imaginative prop queen behind HBO’s popular series "Westworld," the Fair Oaks native talks about the challenge of navigating the show’s historical and futuristic settings, getting the design bug at Sacramento thrift stores and how her Oscar nomination turned her into an overnight sensation.
Animated Figure
Death takes a holiday in the Día de los Muertos-centric film Coco, which made its Netflix debut on May 29. Having spent over four years bringing the Pixar animated feature to life, its co-director/writer Adrian Molina talks about taking a holiday of his own, saying proper thank yous at the Oscars and making “awful” movies while growing up in Grass Valley.
All Americans
On Feb. 22, just over 1,000 immigrants from 81 different countries gathered at Memorial Auditorium to take the oath of allegiance to become our country's newest citizens. It was, ironically, the same day that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services agency removed the description of the U.S. as "a nation of immigrants" from its mission statement. We spoke with 15 of the proud new Americans who were sworn in about this milestone moment in their lives and what it meant to them. "I was born today—reborn, actually," said Tunisian native Gaith Ben Younes after the ceremony. "It's something I've been dreaming of for a long time."
The Curious Case of William T. Vollmann
He jumps freight trains for fun. The FBI thought he might be the Unabomber. He won the National Book Award the same year as Joan Didion. And some people think he’s a lock to win the Nobel Prize for literature. Acclaimed author William T. Vollmann gives us a peek inside his Sacramento studio (and his head) on the eve of releasing his new books on climate change and the end of the world as we know it. Yes, Bill, we’ll take that scotch right about now, thank you.
Picture This
Roberta McClellan knew that the River City would provide the picture-perfect backdrop for a month-long visual feast. “Sacramento is incredibly photogenic, especially in the spring—think of our trees, landscapes and street scenes. We wanted to create this fully rounded…
Author Melissa Dahl
What inspired Cringeworthy? This feeling of self-consciousness in everything I say or do has always driven me crazy. So I was initially trying to figure out, “How can I protect myself from…
The New B Hive
B Street Theatre—led by co-founder Buck Busfield—has finally moved from its humble warehouse space outside East Sacramento to splashy new digs in the heart of midtown. Enter, stage left: The Sofia.
A Slice of Life
At 97 years of age, he is unequivocally one of the world’s greatest living artists. But back in 1959, Wayne Thiebaud was still trying to find his way as a young college professor at UC Davis. As a new exhibition explores the decade that defined his signature style, the prolific painter and passionate teacher reflects on his not-so-still life.
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