Four Colorful Things To Do This Weekend in Sacramento
From a Roaring ’20s ballet bash to a Mardi Gras dance party and a pair of Second Saturday art exhibits, here are four fantastic ways to have a colorful weekend in Sacramento.
The Great Gatsby
The Sacramento Ballet presents the world premiere of co-artistic director Ron Cunningham’s adaptation of the classic F. Scott Fitzgerald novel this weekend. The one-act dance will feature period music by Boston-based jazz composer Billy Novick, who will be playing live with his Blue Syncopators band. The evening will also include another one-act ballet, Who Cares?, which is a tribute to the ’20s and ’30s by famed New York City Ballet founding choreographer George Balanchine with music by George Gershwin. And after the Sunday matinee performance, the ballet will host its Great Gatsby Prohibition Party at Memorial Auditorium, which will be transformed into a 1920s speakeasy, complete with a full bar, a hidden gambling room featuring blackjack tables and a jail for rowdy racketeers. Bail out your friends with a little pocket change that will go toward supporting the ballet, mingle and knock back an Old Fashioned or a Sidecar during cocktail hour, enjoy a full-course gourmet dinner by Classique Catering and dance the night away to the tunes of local jazz musician Peter Petty and his orchestra. Ballet: $19-$70. Friday & Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Party: $250. Sunday 4:30-9 p.m. Memorial Auditorium. 1515 J St. For more info on both events, call 808-5181 or visit sacballet.org
Mardi Gras Party with David Garibaldi
Get a jump on Fat Tuesday this Saturday at the Park Ultra Lounge’s Mardi Gras party, which features a splashy show from Sacramento performance painter David Garibaldi, who was a finalist on America’s Got Talent last year. The event will also include a live DJ and plenty of Mardi Gras masks and beads for party-goers. Doors open this Saturday at 9 p.m. and cover is $15. 802-3036. theparkdowntown.com
Second Saturday Art Picks
Two shows debuting this Saturday are definitely worth checking out. Stop by Axis Gallery to see the “Countless Tongues and Ears” exhibit by contemporary artist Justin Marsh. Featuring silk-screen prints, drawings and paintings, the works center on celebrity figures like singer Amy Winehouse, rapper Notorious B.I.G. and model Anna Nicole Smith, all of whom were made both iconic and infamous by their many successes and struggles. 1517 19th St. 443-9900. axisgallery.org
Also opening is a show by Granite Bay artist Joe Strickland at the Shimo Center for the Arts, with a Second Saturday reception from 6 to 9 p.m. Entitled “Parallel Perceptions” for the variety of possible artistic interpretations that viewers may have when observing the works, the exhibition includes a number of abstract paintings like the multicolored, heavily textured Illusions, as well as portrayals of regional scenes like the waters of the San Francisco Bay and the city’s skyline. 2117 28th St. 706-1162. shimogallery.com
