Author: TownNews Staff - Amanda Keim-Morrison

Out & About in Fall 2026

It’s Davis native Hasan Minhaj versus former Daily Show  colleague Ronny Chieng at Thunder Valley, acrobatics and life-size puppetry take the stage in Water for Elephants  at Broadway Sacramento, Doja Cat lights up the Golden 1 Center, and more. Here are 15 events across the region to check out this fall.
Sean Timm,

Matching the Moment

According to a study recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine, fewer American adults smoke cigarettes than ever before—now only 9.9%. But in the 1960s, nearly half of us smoked. So perhaps it’s not surprising that businesses everywhere used to heavily invest in their matchbooks—hiring artists, designers and writers to craft memorable ephemera that today tell the story of our region in ways that few other mediums can. These pocket canvases (many of which have been stripped bare of their flammables and pressed flat by avid collectors) shine a “light,” if you will, on the ambitions, energy and vibrancy of an era long gone. Allow us to illuminate.
Rob Turner,

Q&A with Baseball Champion Dusty Baker

Dusty Baker is only a year away from almost certainly becoming a first-ballot Hall of Famer in a sport that wasn’t even his favorite growing up. And that is an irony that just about perfectly suits Baker’s sprawling, at times messy, and thoroughly enlightening life journey. “I love baseball because baseball is everything,” the 77-year-old Baker writes in his new memoir, Crossroads. “It brings out everything in us, at one time or another, and it can teach us just about anything, if we pay attention long enough.” A four-sport star at Del Campo High who now calls Granite Bay home, Baker opens up about playing and living through an openly racist era, what his mentor Hank Aaron taught him, and why Sacramento, at its heart, is a baseball town.
Mark Kreidler,

Learn Something New!

Ever wanted to know how to make pottery? You can learn at the hands of Sacramento artisans who create divine dishware for Michelin-recognized restaurateurs. Ever harbored fantasies of becoming a rock star guitarist? Then meet a bona fide rock star who will teach you how to strum with style. Whether you’re introverted or extroverted, indoorsy or outdoorsy, or simply looking to excite your senses with the wonder of the new, we have dozens of classes that will expand your extracurricular horizons. It’s time to get your hands dirty (in a good way).
Sean Timm,

A Mist Opportunity

In cities around the globe—especially hot ones like ours—an increasing number of public art pieces are incorporating misters to battle scorching summers. Why not here?
Rob Turner,

A Storybook Beginning

Talk about coming in hot. Devyn Defoe may have just published her debut novel, but already she’s attracting the attention of everyone from Publishers Weekly  to Pulitzer Prize nominees. The Sacramento-born author of Burnside  talks about finding inspiration in local literary greats Joan Didion and William T. Vollmann, returning to her hometown after her Lady Bird  moment, and how keeping her day job at Beers Books helps stoke her creative fire.
Hillary Louise Johnson,

20 Fun Ways to Be a Tourist In Your Own Town

Have you ever wanted to cruise down the Sacramento River? Roam the halls of the California State Capitol? Discover where gold was discovered in the Golden State? Sometimes it can be hard to see the forest for the trees, even here in the City of Trees. Now’s your chance. We checked out 20 local tours worth touring. So skip the luggage. It’s time to… Be a tourist in your own town.
Sean Timm,

Davis Farmers Market Cookbook

The Davis Farmers Market turns 50 this summer and marks the milestone anniversary with a new cookbook by its co-founder and a James Beard Award-winning author. Boasting almost 100 recipes using seasonal homegrown ingredients, Market Memories helps bring the farm to your kitchen table all year long.
Hillary Louise Johnson,

The Darkly Whimsical World of Suzanne Adan

Over six decades after first showing her work, the Crocker Art Museum is launching a major career retrospective of Sacramento artist Suzanne Adan in June. Touching on themes from mortality and sex to humor and truth (or the lack thereof), the multimedia artist’s pieces have been collected by the likes of art doyenne Marcy Friedman and Tower Records founder Russ Solomon. Oh, and if you’ve ever flown Southwest out of SMF over the last 15 years, she has touched your soles (and perhaps even your soul) with her bird-themed floor mosaic positioned at the entrance to the airport’s people mover. Now at 80, it appears that Suzanne Adan is flying high as well.
Hillary Louise Johnson,

The 2026 Sacramento Summer Reading Guide

Stephen King once wrote, “Books are a uniquely portable magic.” So whether you're venturing to a faraway beach vacation this summer or simply looking to escape to your favorite reading nook, we've conjured up a list of 10 magical new books—all published by homegrown authors in 2026—that will inspire, thrill and transport you.
Hillary Louise Johnson,

Fire and Nice

The team behind East Sacramento’s Allora brings the heat with the launch of their new downtown live-fire restaurant. With its open flames and cross-cultural cuisine, Aiona serves up everything from souvlaki skewers to grilled branzino to smoky gnocchi.
Lark Park, Photos by Anna Wick,

Out & About in Summer 2026

Comedian Nate Bargatze shows what it means to be the greatest average American at Thunder Valley, B Street Theatre takes flight with Around the World in 80 Days,  Sacramento Pride brings the party to Capitol Mall, the Japanese Food & Cultural Bazaar cooks up some summer fun, and more.
Sean Timm,