The following is the Oct. 30 edition of Cultural Capital, an arts and entertainment newsletter written by Abridged contributor Chris Macias. Want it sent directly to your inbox? Sign up here.
Boo!
Cultural Capital is coming through this Halloween with events that are like full-sized candy bars for that goody bag. We’ve got spooky and kooky movies, local bands rocking out in costume and festivities for Día de los Muertos, the Mexican Day of the Dead. And you can wash it all down with some of the best wine in the region.
Cue the theme to “The Amityville Horror”, light that jack-o’-lantern and let’s get to it.
Scream and shimmy along to ‘Monster from Bikini Beach’
The details:
- Colonial Theatre, 3522 Stockton Blvd., Sacramento
- 8 p.m. Oct. 31
- $22.99
Longtime Sacramentans recognize the Trash Film Orgy (TFO) crew as a key player in local cult cinema, especially with a midnight movie film festival that ran at the Crest Theatre from 2001-2014. They’ve also created their own films, including 2008’s “Monster from Bikini Beach.” In proper zombie fashion, the movie has come back to life with a Halloween screening at the Colonial Theatre.
The movie screams Sacramento, with such set locations as Dorothea Puente’s infamous F Street boarding house, the Crest Theatre and downtown’s former Greyhound bus station. The surf-rockin’ soundtrack comes from the likes of Sacramento’s Hypnotic IV and the Pyronauts from Auburn.
Feel the chills, thrills and Roger Corman-styled campiness as a “primordial brute (is) driven to prey on go-go dancers” and the mystery unfolds. Note that Saturday’s screening is shown in “Go-Go Vision” that includes a live stage show and audience participation.
“This is the first time it will be on the big screen in Sacramento in at least 15 years, so it’s very exciting,” said Christy Savage of TFO Productions, in an email. “It’s practically a love letter to 2007 Sacramento.”
Freak out to a classic horror film in a funeral home
The details:
- Harry A. Nauman & Son, 4041 Freeport Blvd., Sacramento
- 7 p.m. Oct. 31
- Free
Not sure Halloween movie screenings get creepier than “Rosemary’s Baby” at the Harry A. Nauman & Son funeral home. Yikes! This is part of a scary movie series from No Revival Theater, which has hosted such creature features as “Suspiria” and the 1932 classic “Vampyr” in this funeral home setting. We got a tip about all this and it’s not clear who’s behind this crew, but that just adds to the fun and mystery of it all. Here’s hoping a screening of “Phantasm” is next.
Grab a costume and rock out to band tributes
The details:
- The Press Club, 1119 21st St, Sacramento
- 7 p.m. Oct. 31
- $15 advance, $20 at the door
Hey, ho, let’s go … to The Press Club on Halloween and see Chrome Ghost pay homage to the Ramones! You can bet the crowd will be decked out with plenty of music-related costumes as Rainbow City Park pays tribute to Paramore and MRS summons the spirit of Nirvana. (Would love to see the singer wearing a hospital gown a la Kurt Cobain from Nirvana’s legendary 1992 Reading Festival performance). A “super secret” band is also set to assume the identity of Arctic Monkeys. Apply that Ace Frehley makeup and head on down.
Honor the ancestors during Día de los Muertos
The details:
- TANA, 1224 Lemen Ave., Woodland
- 4 p.m. Nov. 1
- Free
The Sacramento region will host numerous Día de los Muertos events, full of community altars (ofrendas), foods and music that welcome the deceased back to the living world on Saturday and Sunday. Along with “El Panteón de Sacramento” at the Latino Center of Art & Culture, one of the most vibrant and hands-on celebrations of Día de los Muertos can be found Saturday at Woodland’s Taller Arte del Nuevo Amanecer (TANA). It’s a hub of Chicano and Latino art with a full program of printmaking activities and crafts with live music, dance and food that’s a true community celebration.
Celebrate and create with a sugar skull workshop
The details:
- Sacramento Children’s Museum, 2701 Prospect Park Drive, Rancho Cordova
- 5:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. Nov. 1
- $15 per skull, plus $3 admission to Sacramento Children’s Museum
No ofrenda is complete without some sugar skulls in the mix with marigolds, cherished photos of deceased friends and family, and treats to entice their spirits. Both kids and adults are invited to learn the art of making sugar skulls on Saturday at the Sacramento Children’s Museum. The event is part of the museum’s Día de Los Muertos community night, which includes tastings of traditional pan de muerto, face painting and live music. Register for the sugar skull workshop at the museum on the day of event.
Wind down with choice local wine
The details:
- Canon, 1719 34th St., Sacramento
- Noon Nov. 2
- $60 plus tax
Because after this Halloween madness, some wine will definitely hit the spot. You’ll find vibrant expressions of Amador zinfandel and other Sierra Foothills varietals on Sunday at Canon for Perchfest. Winemaker Adam Saake will be on hand to pour samples of the 2024 vintage from his Perch Wine Co. along with live music from LabRats and party rocking tunes from DJ Rock Bottom. With kudos from the likes of Darrell Corti and venerable wine writer Mike Dunne, Saake is positioned as an heir apparent to celebrated Sacramento winemakers like Craig Haarmeyer. T-shirt silk-screening from Heart of Vern and up-close raptor appreciation from West Coast Falconry will be in the mix while you sip.
Before I go,
In a moment of Cultural Capital serendipity, I saw that Saake was an actor in “Monster From Bikini Beach.” Just shows how few degrees of separation there usually are in Sacto, especially in our creative community, and a cool way to bookend this week’s newsletter.
Good luck with the Halloween candy sugar crash and keep those tips coming at christo916@gmail.com.
Chris Macias is a regular contributor, writing Cultural Capital for Abridged.