By Alix Barnard, Special Contributor
“Sacramento is the Midwest of California” broods teenager Lady Bird in eponymous 2018 movie, longing for the distant wonders of the East Coast.
Sure, Sacramento might not bring to mind the same glamorous images than San Francisco or Los Angeles. However, in the past 10 years, the capital city of California has established itself as one of the highlights of the foodie and culture scene in its own right and is well-worth the visit.
Unique Things To Do In Sacramento
With its long history, renowned museums and beautiful scenery, the city of trees has plenty to offer. Here are our favorite, unique things to do in Sacramento, California.
Catch A Show
Sac is home to a vibrant theater scene which dates way back to its Gold Rush heydays. The Eagle Theater was the first permanent playhouse established in California in 1849. The current version is a replica built in 1974 which now retraces the history of Old Sacramento.
The Crest Theater is an Art Deco jewel which originally opened in 1912 and now shows indie movies foreign and domestic as well as art exhibitions.
The B Street Theater’s mission is to “promote education and literacy, social interaction, and cultural enrichment by engaging children and adults in the highest quality theatre arts and playwriting”, showing both classic productions and first time debuts.
The Tower Theater is a small art house movie theater and one of Sacramento’s landmarks. The Guild Theater, which first opened as a vaudeville in 1915, kept his beautiful Moorish façade and is now used as an all-purpose theater.
Read More: Live Theater Events in Sacramento
Pick A Drink, Any Drink
Sacramento takes its drinks very seriously. You will find a multitude of micro-breweries, including the super friendly New Helvetia Brewery who offers board games and a sunny biergarten in addition to very good beer, or the very popular Track 7 which hosts food trucks every day.
If beer is not your thing you can try the only winery in town, Revolution Wines, an urban winery offering wine tasting and a mouthwatering seasonally-rotating menu.
You can also try local hard cider at Two Rivers Cidery, which offers a tasting room as well as live music a couple of times a month and food trucks most weekends.
Read More: Sacramento's Best New Bars
Explore The Vibrant Art Scene
Whether you are into classic or modern art, you will find plenty to do in Sacramento. The Wide Open Walls festival has contributed to promote street art tremendously in the area, with over 600 beautiful murals spread through the city.
Head to Downtown or Midtown for the highest concentration, particularly on Bank St between 5th St and J St, and on R St between 12th and 14th Street. The annual Chalk It Up festival which takes place on Memorial Day weekend is also the occasion to admire artists up close.
For more quirky fine art, check out the White Buffalo Gallery, which doubles up as a tattoo parlor or the Warehouse Artist Lofts, a vibrant artist community which includes public spaces where residents can expose the fruit of their labor.
Finally, get off the beaten path to discover the Dragon Home, a private home located in a residential neighborhood, entirely decorated with ornate tile work by a former art teacher who passed away in 2003. Just be respectful of the owners’ privacy.
Read More: Top Art Galleries in Sacramento
Grab A Bite In The “Farm-to-Fork” City
Since 2012, Sacramento has dubbed itself “the Farm-to-Fork capital of America.” The main event is the Farm-to-Fork festival, but this initiative goes on all year long. Most restaurants heavily promote locally sourced produces and drinks.
You can also attend smaller festivals celebrating local products, like the BerryFest in May, the Pear Fair in July, or the Mandarin festival in November.
Sacramento also hosts several farmers market a week, with the most anticipated one being the Sacramento Central Farmers Market which runs on Sunday mornings year-long between 8th and W Street.
You should also check out Soil Born Farms, an urban farm which offers a wide array of activities and events involving the community, from afterschool teen programs to herbology classes. They also offer a CSA and a curriculum which aims to train urban farmers to grow their own food.
Read More: The Essential Sacramento Restaurants
Enjoy A Slice of Americana
Sacramento does Americana well. For some good all-American fun with a retro flavor, head to the California State Fair. The West Wind Sacramento Drive-In theater is open year-round so you can catch the latest releases under the stars.
Finally, for the best desserts in town (they have been voted best of Sacramento for desserts since 1986!) in a cool 1950s-inspired setting, head to Rick’s Dessert Diner.
With hundreds of desserts available, they are sure to satisfy anyone’s sweet tooth.
Read More: 25 Best Things To Do In Sacramento
Attend A Cultural Festival
Sacramento is one of the most diverse cities in America and is known to embrace and celebrate its unique culture. Little Saigon has been a designated neighborhood since 2010 on Stockton boulevard. The Elk Grove Multicultural Festival celebrate diversity through art, food and dance.
The city is also home to a large number of festivals in honor or its habitants cultural background: there is the Jewish Food Faire, the Polish festival, the Greek festival, the Armenian food festival, the Aloha festival, the Brazilian day… amongst many others. According to a research for the TIME by the Civil Right Project at Harvard University, Sacramento is the most integrated city in America.
Read More: 7 Fun International Festivals To Attend In And Around Sacramento
Shop For 90s Vintage
If you have a passion for vintage shopping, you will feel right at home in Sacramento. For some new-to-you vinyls and killer modern design from the 1940s to the 1970s, head to Kicksville Vinyl and Vintage located at the WAL. Old Gold offers clothes from the 1950s to the 1990s, as well as dome handmade accessories and home décor.
Racks Vintage boutique is a small but packed piece of heaven for vintage clothes lovers. YSJ Vintage offers both modern small designer good and vintage clothes for women from the 1940s to the 1990s.
Finally, if you have a sweet spot for vintage design, no Sacramento escapade would be complete without a visit at Scout Living, which specializes in mid-century modern and Danish modern furniture to die for.
Explore The Outdoors
There's so much to see and do outdoors in the Sacramento area. If you want to engage with nature, check out local sites such as Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area, Stebbins Cold Canyon Trail, and UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden.
Driftyland guest writer and Sacramento local Natalie Robertson took a day-long pilgrimage to some of these sites, and captured the joy and tranquility you can experience in California nature.
Read More: "The Day Pilgrim" by Natalie Robertson
Editor's Picks + Notes
By Melissa Elise Randall, Editor
The first thing I noticed about Sacramento was the air quality. I walked out of the airport, phone glued to my ear, and was yammering on about my flight, and the conference I just came from, and the -
"Whoa."
I stopped mid-sentence and took a deep breath. It was raining a little, and the air was so crisp, I nearly choked. It smelled like all of the best outside smells - grass, storms, big evergreen trees.
(Since this post went live, a local messaged me and let me know the air quality actually isn't that great in Sacramento - I must have been fortunate.)
But that's when I knew I was in for something truly special. Sacramento is the middle child of California, overlooked by it's ambitious and flashy siblings, Los Angeles and San Francisco. But Sacramento is what I imagine smaller cities like Raleigh, North Carolina or Tampa, FL are trying to be - a place that feels like home.
Here were my favorite things to do in Sacramento.
Get Bacon At Jim Denny's Diner
I'm a sucker for a greasy spoon. This adorable little diner, situated in downtown Sacramento, is an amazing spot to spend a rainy Monday morning. I got black coffee, runny eggs, and crisp bacon and spent some time reading here. Bring cash.
816 12th St, Sacramento, CA 95814
Check Out The Local Coffee Scene
I love coffee shops (not only because I work remotely.) There's something very soothing about sitting in a coffee shop, watching the world go by while sipping something yummy and hot. So it's not a surprise that one of my favorite things to do in Sacramento was to curl up with a cup of coffee.
A few of my favorite Sacramento coffee shops were Insight Coffee Roasters, Temple Coffee Roasters, and Pachamama in East Sacramento. They were all nice, with Temple being the busiest, but also most aesthetically pleasing - a copper penny store, long counters, and big, wide windows.
For a quieter spot, I'd recommend Pachamama. I sat there for hours, cycling through water and Lavender Lattes while I worked.
Even if you never visit Sacramento, try their coffee. Temple Coffee has an online store with free shipping over $25.
Go To Luna Cafe For Stand Up
I love stand up comedy. I did it once, even. So when I wandered into Luna Cafe in Sacramento and found a stand up open mic, I was thrilled. This was one of the most unique things to do in Sacramento. The comics were funny, the food was great (they have grilled cheeeeeeese), and the crowd was chill.
I was traveling alone, so this was also something social that didn't require a ton of commitment. I chatted with a few locals after the show, comparing the Wilmington (where I live) and Sacramento stand up scenes.
Visit Oblivion Comics And Coffee
I haven't always been a big comic book girl, but my beau loves comic books, as do a lot of my friends here in Wilmington. So I sauntered over to Oblivion Comics And Coffee to check out their selection. What I found was a diverse, safe space. People sitting around tables, talking about Magic The Gathering in hushed tones.
Friends laughing. The guy behind the counter chatting up a regular. It made me think of my little brother, and how he and his friends would love to spend hours here, playing games and fawning over the most recent additions to their library of books, comic books, and cards.
They also specialize in toast (yes, toast), with eccentric flavors like the CMYK (covered in sprinkles), The Edible Hulk (avocado toast), and Winter Is Coming, with cream cheese and crumbled oreos.
Snag Some Ramen
I LOVE RAMEN. I'm trying to go low sodium (yuck) so I haven't been eating it as much (I used to eat at least three cheap packs of it a week), but I still enjoy the occasional fancy ramen. Sacramento has fancy ramen for days. I enjoyed a hot bowl at Shoki Ramen House, which is a cute little place downtown.
Take A Walk In The Rain
I love the rain. When I was in Sacramento, it rained a lot. Poured the entire time I was there. It was a wonderful backdrop though. I spent a lot of time just walking the streets, sans umbrella, taking in the city. It made me feel brand new.
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