Gold Rush Days hit Old Sacramento

Sacramento’s Old West heritage is on display in all of its gun-slinging glory for this 13th annual free event. Over 200 tons of dirt now blanket 28 acres of Old Sacramento’s streets, with hundreds of costumed characters like cowboys, miners, soldiers and bandits reenacting everything from wild gunfights and Civil War artillery exercises to women’s rights parades and Pony Express relays.

Want to see some living history? Meander through the Embarcadero Tent City, a makeshift mining encampment set up between Front and I streets, which has all of the Gold Rush essentials like a blacksmith, undertaker, justice of the peace and, of course, a saloon offering tipples for townsfolk.

The weekend also includes a packed lineup of live music and dance performances on three separate stages, featuring hoofers like the Thunderfoot Cloggers and Red Circle Dancers, and toe-tapping tunes from the likes of Irish folk singer Chris Waltz, the twangy Bobby West Duo and the Cash Tribute Band. Other activities include pony and wagon rides, gold panning, train rides along the Sacramento Southern Railroad, river cruises aboard the Empress Hornblower, and hands-on crafts like handkerchief doll-making, embroidery and cross-stitching.

Fri., 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat & Sun., 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Mon., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 808-7777. sacramentogoldrushdays.com