The Sactown Weekend Update for Oct. 24-26
The Great Gatsby (Friday through Sunday)
Sacramento Ballet opens its 60th anniversary season with the return of co-artistic director Ron Cunningham’s glitzy adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel The Great Gatsby, which debuted in 2012. This fall’s presentation includes jazzy live music performed by Billy Novick’s Blue Syncopators and segments of new choreography. $19-$70. Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at 2 p.m. Community Center Theater. 1301 L St. 808-5181. sacballet.org
Safe and Super Halloween (Friday through Sunday)
This year, Fairytale Town’s annual Halloween affair will be themed after Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson & the Olympians. Throughout the evenings, little ones can explore fantastical settings like Polyphemus’ lair and Medusa’s garden, as well as visit trick-or-treating stations and watch puppet shows (tickets are an additional $2). $12 ($10 in advance; free for ages 1 and under). 5-9 p.m. Fairytale Town. 3901 Lank Park Dr. 808-7462. fairytaletown.org
Akram Khan Company (Friday)
This British dance company—led by artistic director Akram Khan, who famously choreographed part of the London 2012 Summer Olympics’ opening ceremony—returns to the Mondavi Center this fall. The troupe will perform Khan’s new piece iTMOi, a dark, intense composition intended to channel the mindset of Russian composer Igor Stravinsky at the time that he wrote his legendary Rite of Spring in 1913. This will be the work’s U.S. premiere and its sole West Coast performance this season. Tickets start at $27. 8 p.m. Mondavi Center’s Jackson Hall. Mrak Hall Dr. and Old Davis Rd. Davis. 530-754-2787. mondaviarts.org
Lee Ann Womack (Friday)
This fall, country songstress Lee Ann Womack—whose storied career includes countless accolades, from a Grammy to a trove of Academy of Country Music and Country Music Association awards, and huge songs like the smash “I Hope You Dance”—makes her Grass Valley debut on the heels of the September release of The Way I’m Livin’, an album that marks her return to recording after an almost seven-year hiatus. $65. 8 p.m. The Center for the Arts. 314 West Main St. Grass Valley. 530-274-8384. thecenterforthearts.org
Trash Film Orgy Halloween: Beetlejuice (Friday)
After 14 years, Sacramento’s classic cult-movie series Trash Film Orgy will host its final festive event at the Crest Theater with a screening of Tim Burton’s 1988 hit Beetlejuice. Starring Michael Keaton as “the ghost with the most”—who turns the afterlives of newly dead couple Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis upside down—the comedy will be preceded by vintage Trash Film Orgy shorts, a series of contests, a video “confession booth,” music from DeeJay Junior, and an avalanche of Halloween candy. Guests who dress up in their best Halloween attire will receive a discount on admission. $10. 9 p.m. Crest Theatre. 1013 K St. 442-5189. tickets.com
Night of 1,000 Pumpkins (Friday)
Historic Folsom plays ghost host to hundreds of youngsters as they meander through the district’s jack-o’-lantern-lined streets, trick-or-treating at the shops along the way. Other activities include a costume parade and screening of It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Free. 6-10 p.m. Sutter Street. Folsom. 985-7452. historicfolsom.org
California Capital Book Festival (Saturday and Sunday)
This festival will be one for the books, with hundreds of authors on hand in four themed zones: “Culinary Delights,” where cookbook authors will discuss their works and top chefs from around the region will chat about Sacramento’s farm-to-fork heritage; “All Things Pets,” where pet health and wellness authors will gather; “Kid’s Alley,” where youngsters can take photos with storybook characters and check out comic books; and “Field Of Sports,” which will feature presentations from local historians about Sacramento’s sports legacy. Free. Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sacramento Convention Center. 1400 J St. 307-1713. ccbookfestival.com
Midtown Halloween Festival and Pooch Parade (Saturday)
Both families and Fido can take part in midtown’s annual Halloween festivities—two-legged attendees can go trick-or-treating and costumed canines can walk in a Halloween parade and play in the neighborhood’s popular pop-up dog park. Free. 3-6 p.m. Marshall Park. 915 27th St. exploremidtown.org
Sacramento Choral Society (Saturday)
The Sacramento Choral Society begins its new season with one of its annual “Stained Glass” concerts, during which the choir performs in historic churches and cathedrals. This fall, the venue will be the magnificently renovated sanctuary of Fremont Presbyterian Church, where the choir will present a program that centers on the works of German Baroque composer George Frideric Handel, such as his Dettingen Te Deum, a stirring canticle written to celebrate Britain’s 1743 victory over the French in a major battle amid the War of the Austrian Succession. The evening will conclude with a reception with the performers. $25-$35. 8 p.m. Fremont Presbyterian Church. 5770 Carlson Dr. 536-9065. sacramentochoral.com
The Folsom Symphony (Saturday)
The Folsom Symphony is back in October with the second concert of its 11th season. Entitled “Majesty,” the evening’s program will feature grand, powerful works such as the overture to Gioachino Rossini’s opera The Barber of Seville; Italian composer Ottorino Respighi’s The Pines of Rome, a moving early 20th-century tribute to the city; and Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73 by Beethoven, which is often called the “Emperor” concerto for its grandeur and will feature solo pianist Frank Wiens. $25-$55. 7:30 p.m. Harris Center for the Arts. 10 College Pkwy. Folsom. 608-6888. harriscenter.net
