Things to do in Sacramento

When Cake wasn't even mentioned in the press release, it was clear something was up.

Mayor Kevin Johnson had announced Friday that Sacramento rock band Cake would be headlining a rally for the Kings - previously scheduled for Wednesday - at downtown's Cesar Chavez Park. The event would celebrate the Kings' staying in Sacramento and the team's pending sale to new owners.

However, when the Kings put out a press release about a date change for the rally (from Wednesday to Thursday), Cake was a notable omission among big-name attendees, with the release only stating that there would be "a live musical performance."

Our friends at ranSACked have seemingly put the pieces together, suggesting that Johnson may have gotten ahead of himself with Friday's announcement, citing Cake's writing on its Facebook page that the band never agreed to play the gig. From ranSACked:

On their Facebook wall, a CAKE fan asked about the upcoming (Sacramento Kings) gig on a thread discussing public education. CAKE responded with the following: "We're not playing that rally. Mayor announced it without even checking with us!"

And then early-afternoon Monday, Ben Sosenko, press secretary for Johnson, released this statement:

"The members of Cake are absolutely thrilled by this historic win for Sacramento. In the excitement of last week's victory, Cake's participation was announced prior to fully finalizing their availability due to a staff miscommunication. While unable to participate in this week's rally, Cake looks forward to commemorating this special moment with the people of Sacramento in the near future."

So while they won't be at Cesar Chavez, Cake will be playing Sacramento soon, with three sold-out shows scheduled for May 31-June 2 at Folsom Lake College's Three Stages.

Thursday's "Long Live The Kings Rally" - which includes appearances by the Kings new majority owners, Kings players, dancers and mascot - will be held from 5-9 p.m. Thursday. The event is free. Attendees are encouraged to show up wearing Kings gear and to tweet up the event using the hashtag #LLTKRally.

In Sacramento, mid-century modern is a hot seller. Tickets are going fast for Saturday's second Sacramento Mid-Century Modern Tour, featuring seven homes and dozens of points of interest.

"We'll have some limited tickets available the day of the tour on a first come, first served basis," said Gretchen Steinberg, one of the tour organizers.

Tickets on the day of the tour will be priced at $40 for the general public, $30 for SacMod members, Steinberg said.

The tour is limited to 1,000 tickets, Steinberg noted. SacMod's inaugural tour in 2011 sold out.

Registration starts at 9:30 a.m. at the tour's hub, Sacramento Executive Airport, 6151 Freeport Blvd., Sacramento. People can sign up through 2:30 p.m. - but tickets likely will not last that long.

Also at the airport, a car show featuring vintage 1950s and 1960s vehicles starts at 9 a.m. Saturday. At that same site, several displays highlighting Sacramento's mid-century modern architecture and history will be open during the tour. Admission to the car show and exhibits are free.

The tour runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. For more details, click on .

Budding actors and film-production hopefuls on May 22 will get a real shot at joining a production. Access Sacramento's 14th "A Place Called Sacramento" filmmaking program will pair screenwriters with actors and crew members to make 10-minute films that will be shown in October on the big screen of the Crest Theatre.

The 10 screenwriter/producers chosen to make PCS films this year will be introduced at a 6 p.m. "Cast and Crew Call" at Access Sacramento's headquarters at 4623 T St.

The scripts are not necessarily about Sacramento, but each will make reference to the city in some way.

The "Place Called Sacramento" program thus far has yielded 129 completed films. For information, see the Access Sacramento site .

Grab your Bic lighter and ready the time machine.

The second season of Sunrise Marketplace's "Sunrise at Night Concert Series" has been announced and it features marquee names of decades past including Christopher Cross (Aug. 24) as well as Bach & Turner and Blue Oyster Cult (Sept. 7).

The series, held in the 2,500-capacity Sunrise Marketplace pavilion, kicks off Aug. 10 and runs through September. Most shows start at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $29.50 to $110.50 and can be purchased at www.shopSMP.com. Parking is free.

Here's the announced lineup, with more acts to be added:

Aug. 10: Dave Koz & Friends "Summer Horns Tour" featuring Mindi Abair, Gerald Albright and Richard Elliot (tickets on sale May 24)

Aug. 24: "Sail Rock Tour" featuring Christopher Cross, Orleans, Gary Wright, Firefall, John Ford Coley, Robbie Dupree, Player (tickets on sale now)

Sept. 7: Bachman & Turner with Blue Öyster Cult (tickets on sale now)

An all-star jam featuring some of Sacramento's best known musicians and beyond is brewing for the Sacramento Music Festival on Memorial Day Weekend. Following a set by the Ophir Prison Marching Kazoo Band & Temperance Society on May 25 at Old Sacramento's Firehouse Lot, musicians will gather and play in honor of Skip's Music's 40th anniversary.

For those not in the musical know, Skip's Music is a veritable Sacramento institution founded by Skip Maggiora. If you play electric guitar or drums in this town, chances are you've been to Skip's to ogle at their gear or at least buy a new set of strings.

The line-up of musicians that will honor Skip's looks fairly epic. Performances will come from members of:

The Sacramento Theatre Company has added a final performance at 7 p.m. on Sunday to "A Little Princess" its world-premiere musical based on Frances Hodgson Burnett's novel. Michael Laun directs the production with music by Eric Rockwell, lyrics by Margaret Rose and book by William J. Brooke. Performances continue on the STC Main Stage, 1419 H St., Sacramento at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, 12:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sundays, and the final 7 p.m. show May 19. Tickets are $15 - $38. For information call (916) 443-6722 or go to www.sactheatre.org.

And you thought the SactoMoFo mobile food festival had some cool eats.

In addition to the four days of bands here at Napa's BottleRock festival, the cuisine to feed the masses ranks as a star of the show.

And yes, we can actually use the term cuisine here.

True to its reputation as a land of fine wine and Michelin-starred restaurants, Napa's BottleRock is featuring a next-level experience for festival foods.

We're talking oysters on the half shell and grilled cheese on brioche. Moromoto's food booth includes Korean hot dogs, sushi and a pretty amazing Yuzu Red Bull Push-Up Pop as a frozen treat.

More than 40 food vendors in all are participating, including such Napa notables as Kitchen Door, Oenotri, Fish Story and La Toque.

Of course, these fine festival eats don't come cheap. First you have to convert cash into $5 food "chips," which are then redeemed at the vendors. That Korean hot dog from Morimoto costs two chips. A banh mi from Kitchen Door costs three chips. You don't have to do the math to figure those chips go fast.

Lines for food were all more or less manageable, and BottleRock ran fairly smooth on Friday, and capped with a rockin' set by The Black Keys. Despite all the wine and beer being consumed, the crowd self regulated and didn't harsh too many mellows.

We're hearing some gripes about the shuttle service running to the festival, but parking issues don't seem to be as apocalyptic as predicted by locals. Some downtown businesses are actually reporting slower than predicted sales.

Today's run, which includes sets by Jane's Addiction and Kings of Leon, will probably be the true test of BottleRock's infrastructure. Stay tuned for more dispatches from this land of food, wine and music.

-- Chris Macias

Photo: Yuzu Red Bull Push-Up Pop, ribs and other eats from Morimoto

We've just made our way inside Napa's BottleRock Festival and all's going fairly smoothly. It's a warm albeit slightly breezy day near the Napa River, and a fair amount of dust is being kicked up near the Citi Stage.

Traffic was backed up the length of Highway 12 off I-80 and through Jameson Canyon. Parking looks a little chaotic near the concert site, and one resident is offering $50 to park in their driveway.

But once inside, the vibe is fairly mellow. A lot of folks are kicking back in their finest lawn chairs and catching some rays before Alabama Shakes takes the stage.

Lines for food and drink are also fairly manageable, the longest of which is to get IDs checked for the wristband that'll allow you to buy alcohol. There's certainly plenty to imbibe in with BottleRock, as such Napa wineries as Freemark Abbey and Rombauer are pouring their wares.

We're still getting the lay of the land and settling in, so we'll post more soon.

-- Chris Macias

Sacramento author Marci Nault will host the launch of her novel "The Lake House" as part of "A Night of the Arts." The event will be 7 to 10 p.m. Friday May 10 at the Sacramento Art Complex/Gallery 2010, 2210 K St., Sacramento; (916) 476-5500, www.gallery2110.com.

Enjoy wines and bites, and performances by Pam Metzger (Stories on Stage), comedy, music and a reading-book signing by Nault.

"The Lake House" is set in Massachusetts. Fifty years earlier, teenage friends made a pact to remain in their lakeside town, but one of them left for Hollywood. Now she's returned to Nagog to find healing; instead, she discovers resentment - and an unlikely friend.

Jackie Greene will play what has become his annual benefit concert at Fairytale Town on Aug. 24. It will be his fifth such yearly performance.

Tickets will go on sale June 1. They will start at $25 in June and increase by $5 per month.

Proceeds from the 8 p.m. concert will support Fairytale Town's education programs and park improvements.

Greene, a Sacramento native singer-songwriter with seven albums, is touring with the Black Crowes.

Author and organizational expert Deniece Schofield, known as "America's most organized woman," visits the Sacramento area this week to teach her secrets to organizational success.

During her workshops, Schofield will focus on "finding more space without throwing everything away," she said. Designed for homemakers and families, her no-nonense methods concentrate on time- and space-saving shortcuts to bring order out of everyday chaos.

Admission is $25; no reservations necessary. The sessions will be held at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. Thursday at Orchid Suites, 130 N. Sunrise Ave., Roseville; and 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. Friday at the Holiday Inn, 11269 Point East Drive, Rancho Cordova. For more details, click on www.denieceschofield.com or call (800) 835-8463.

A slate of live action shorts and documentaries will be screened during the 13th annual UC Davis Film Festival, May 22-23.

The films to be screened are the work of UC Davis undergrad and graduate students, and include the following films:
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-- "7 Kilometer" by Jacob Greenlund. The film is a blend of fiction and documentary, wherein a nice guy attempts to win a rap battle to impress a girl. A second film by the same director, "The Candidates' Debate," uses found footage to explore the spectacle and performance elements of presidential debates.

B Street Theatre has announced that it will present three new plays in 2013-2014 that have enjoyed successful runs in New York on Broadway and Off-Broadway: David Ives' "Venus in Fur," Jon Robin Baitz's "Other Desert Cities" and Lisa D'Amour's "Detroit." All three are award-winning and will be regional premieres (the theater has yet to put dates on the shows). Here are their descriptions of the plays: