Each month we’ll curate events we think you should know about around the Sacramento region. Most will be virtual but occasionally we’ll feature in-person events. If you have ideas or links to things or ways we can connect, send to: renaissancecafesacramento@gmail.com.
Sacramento’s Art Deco Hidden Treasures (This is a FF of Sac event we will open to RS)
Thursday, March 25 at 7 pm PDT
Friendship Force of Sacramento is pleased to learn from a local Art Deco expert about some amazing art in Sacramento. This one hour presentation includes Art Deco buildings, murals, paintings, and sculptures. Many of the treasures are rarely seen items from Sacramento’s libraries and archive collections.
Our speaker, Bruce Marwick, is a board member of the Sacramento History Alliance and Preservation Chair of the Sacramento Art Deco Society. He graduated from Occidental College in Los Angeles with degrees in Studio Art and Art History. Bruce spent many years as a marketing and graphic design professional in Los Angeles and Sacramento. Over the last ten years, he has written many articles about early 20th Century Sacramento artists and architects, including Alfred Eichler, designer of the Tower Bridge and Carlo Taliabue, a noted Gladding McBean sculptor.
Reserve your ticket on Eventbrite.
Thursday, April 1 at 11 am PDT
Every family has favorite recipes that have been passed from generation to generation. Some are handwritten on recipe cards, and others are tucked away in old, worn cookbooks that are slowly falling apart.
Want to be sure that they are preserved for future generations? Create an illustrated recipe that evokes memories and tells a story. You can use pencils and paint, cut and paste, calligraphy or a childish scrawl. Or, if the computer is your thing – create it on your desktop.
Presenter, Joy Gee is an artist/illustrator and graphic designer. Maryellen Burns, who is also presenting, is a cook and author of Whip Up A Cookbook.
Reserve your ticket on Eventbrite.
A New Archeological Find in China
Wednesday, April 7 at 2 pm PDT
In 2005 a tomb belonging to a sixth century (Sui Dynasty) crown prince was found in Northern China. Learn about this important discovery in this talk. Sui was a very short Dynasty and very few artifacts were known before this in our time.
Chris Budwine has become very interested in Chinese History since her retirement. Because her first language is Chinese, she can research materials in Chinese language media and publications.
Reserve your ticket on Eventbrite.
When Luxury Floated Through the Skies
Wednesday, April 7 at 7 pm PDT
Travel and dining aboard Zeppelins. The earliest aerial transportation was the most glamorous. Zeppelins competed with ocean liners for comfort and far outpaced them for speed. Passengers could travel from Germany to Brazil in just four days, or to America in three. During their flight, they enjoyed unparalleled views by day, gourmet meals and music from the world’s only aluminum piano by night. This talk will transport you to the brief, but dazzling, era of the giant airships.
Richard Foss, a culinary historian who has written a book about food in space and a published science fiction author reveals all. He is a journalist, author, culinary historian, and lecturer based in Manhattan Beach, California. He has written two books, Rum: A Global History and Food In The Air and Space: The Surprising History of Food and Drink in the Skies. He also is Guest Curator at the Autry Museum of the American West for “Cooking Up a New West” an exhibition to open in May, 2022.
Reserve your ticket on Eventbrite.
Monday, April 12 at 11 am PDT
Hour stories are short fiction and non-fiction stories, or articles written quickly. They come in all kind of sizes and genres, from postcard fiction, six-word memoirs, two sentence stories, 140-character tweets to 500 or less word features or poems. Hour Stories features writing prompts and guidance on how to create short pieces that are witty, have bite, evoke emotion and can be written and shared in an hour or less. A little revision and they’ll be ready for publication or to read to family, friends or performed in front of an audiences. Come prepared to write.
Maryellen Burns is a writer, publisher and presentations coordinator of the Renaissance Society of Sacramento.
Reserve your ticket on Eventbrite.
Under the Covers – Sacramento’s Historic Bookstores
Tuesday, April 13 at 7 pm PDT
In the 1970s-80s, Sacramento was home to more than 30 independent bookstores. The memorable ones were far more than a place to find books (new, used, rare). They served as a gathering place to seek recommendations from a knowledgeable owner or employee, enjoy a visiting author or a local poet, connect with friends for a spirited discussion, or simply curl up in a chair with the bookstore cat and indulge your passion for reading. Bibliophile/bookseller Scott Burns, joined by another local bookstore owner or two, will ruminate about the iconic bookstores long gone, the rebirth of local independents, and the real possibility of a second extinction. Do not despair, some of what appears to be lost still exists, in virtual form. Instead of lamenting the past, the session will conclude with some tips on “How to Win Friends and Influence People” in the online book community outside Amazon’s borders.
Scott Burns is a book and editorial cartoonists collector/seller, attorney, parliamentarian, avid researcher, humorist, and raconteur. He has lived in Sacramento for most of his life and knows just about everything about the book world.
Reserve your ticket on Eventbrite.
Edible Art in the 20th Century
Wednesday, April 14 at 7 pm PDT
With a brief overview of edibles as the medium for art, Carolyn Tillie will delve into the expansive use of how food was not only the inspiration for the artwork of the Surrealists, Cubists, and Modernist art movements, but also how their everyday meals became part of the medium in which they worked and expressed themselves. How F.T. Marinetti spawned the Molecular Cuisine rage we know today to Salvador Dalí’s infamous obsession with lobsters.
Carolyn Tillie is a freelance writer, exhibiting artist, and curator from the Bay Area. She obtained her MFA from California State University, Long Beach in 1998, Certified Master Chef certification in 1999, and Level 2 certification from Wine Spirit Education Trust. Her books include Oysters, A Global History and A Feast for the Eyes – Edible Art from Apple to Zucchini.
Reserve your ticket on Eventbrite.
Create Succulent Garden Rock Art
Saturday, April 17 at 11 am PDT
Join this online community event to create a painted rock succulent garden. You have fun and enjoy some creative time as you make this small garden. This is a tutorial that allows you to paint with the teacher during the virtual or recorded event.
Reserve your ticket on Eventbrite.
Sacramento — City of Immigrants
Wednesday, April 21 at 7 pm PDT
Sacramento is a city of immigrants who have contributed to a constantly evolving definition of our food culture. Croatian, Italian, German, Middle Eastern, Thai, Japanese, Chinese, and other global foods and recipes play critical roles in the city’s culinary culture. The historical importance of commodities such as caviar, oysters, poultry, pears, tomatoes, and coffee as well as dishes like chop suey, banana cream pie, and rotisserie chicken all provide nuanced stories to reveal the contributions of those who fed us throughout the city’s history.
Reserve your ticket on Eventbrite.
Wednesday, April 28 at 7 pm PDT
Farmer’s Markets are thriving under Covid-19. Fourteen farmers markets are currently active in the greater Sacramento Region. Many of these markets are located in places that used to be considered food deserts. This panel, moderated by Joany Titherington and Maryellen Burns, will take you on a virtual tour of many of these markets, past and present. Our tour includes Sacramento Central Farmers Market, Oak Park Farmer’s Market, the old Public Market at 13th and J Street, Alhambra and Y and markets in Roseville, Davis, Natomas, and the foothills. If Sacramento County health guidelines permit us to convene as a group, we will schedule a tour of the Oak Park Farmer’s Market.
Joany Titherington is the manager of the Oak Park Farmer’s Market at McClatchy Park. She is also a member of Les Dames d’Escoffier, an international philanthropic organization for women in food, agriculture and the hospitality industry.
Reserve your ticket on Eventbrite.
The Place Called Junction –Early Roseville History
Thursday, April 29 at 7 pm PDT
Many people remember the Gold Rush. This transformational period of time left a profound impact on Northern California’s history. Roseville was barely part of the Gold Rush, save for a few trails that took the miners to the diggings. So how did this little town get its roots? What was the impetus for those beginning days, and who were the brave pioneers that settled the land?
Christina Richter is a local historian, author and presenter. She is the immediate past president of the Roseville Historical Society, a Placer County Historical Advisory Board member, Region 8 Vice President for the Conference of California Historical Societies, and a docent for the Placer County Museum. She is also a 2019 Sacramento Historical Society Enlightenment Award recipient.
Reserve your ticket on Eventbrite.
Food in Space in Fiction and Reality
Tuesday, May 4 at 7 pm PDT
The first science fiction stories about space travel ignored one of the most basic needs of any human pioneer – what did they eat, and how? The science fiction authors did get around to addressing this question. Their solutions were often novel, but impractical. How do their fantasies match up with reality? Are authors getting it right now?
Richard Foss, a culinary historian who has written a book about food in space and a published science fiction author reveals all. He is a journalist, author, culinary historian, and lecturer based in Manhattan Beach, California. He has written two books, Rum: A Global History and Food In The Air and Space: The Surprising History of Food and Drink in the Skies. He also is Guest Curator at the Autry Museum of the American West for “Cooking Up a New West” an exhibition to open in May, 2022.
Reserve your ticket on Eventbrite.
Thursday, May 6 at 7 pm PDT
The Renaissance Period extended from the 1400s until the 1600s, launched an unprecedented leap forward in arts and intellectualism and inspired a time of great literary advancement. The processes of writing, printing, and thinking were profoundly changed in numerous ways during this time of academic and artistic flourishing. In their presentation, Lawrence Fox and Maryellen Burns, will focus on the growth of printing and what it meant for reading, religion, and education during this period.
Lawrence Fox is the immediate past president of the Sacramento Book Collectors Club. He has created a series of “broadsheets or keepsakes” for the group and has attended many classes at the Center for the Book in San Francisco.
Maryellen Burns has beenin the printing/publishing business for over 40 years, most recently as the creator of Morning Coffee Press, a company that produces one of a kind artists books as well as traditional publications.
Reserve your ticket on Eventbrite.
Dining on the Rails with Marilyn Sommerdorf
Tuesday, May 18 at 7 pm PDT
During the golden age of American train travel, the dining car was the heart of train life; a place for passengers to relax and enjoy a meal in the company of newfound friends. Train chefs prepared food from scratch. Dining cars were set with fine china, crystal and silver. A bud vase with a single rose graced the table. Earlier train travel, however, wasn’t so posh. Join railroad historian Marilyn Sommerdorf, as she shares the nuts and bolts of Dining on the Rails.
Marilyn Sommerdorf has written extensively about railroads and railroading and is the go-to person for anyone doing research or developing an exhibit. She was a curator of the California State Railroad Museum helping to design many of the exhibits including the dining cars.
Renaissance Café 