Welcome!!!!

This is my effort to acquaint the greater science fiction and fantasy fandom with my hometown, Sacramento, site of the 66th Westercon. For the next two years, I will be posting restaurant info and reviews, lists of sources for party supplies, local attractions, and anything else that the Inquisitive Fan might want to know.

Sacramento has hosted 2 Westercons in the past, in 1981 and 1985. Both were held at what was then the Red Lion hotel, now the Sacramento DoubleTree. A third bid was made in 1991, but the vote went to Vancouver. If you attended either of those conventions, don't expect the same thing again.

Basic info:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacramento,_California

Historically, the fannish community in Sacto has skewed either toward the media fen, including comics and anime, or the SCAdians and reenactors. Literary fandom exists, but it keeps a low profile. There are quite a few Regency dancers in the area as well as Faire folk.

GETTING AROUND IN TOWN

Streets are laid out in a typical Western grid. Numbered streets run north to south, lettered streets run east to west. Once the alphabet has been exhausted, the numbered avenues begin. Many streets in the downtown area are one-way, so great care must be taken to avoid driving the wrong way. Buses downtown and in the Midtown area are plentiful and reasonably frequent. The Light Rail system is particularly nice if you live in a outlying community and work downtown.

More details on Sacramento will follow in the coming months. Until a hotel has been secured, most of the information will be pretty general. For now, I will use the Capitol Building as a reference point when measuring mileage. Once the hotel has been determined and a contract signed, mileage data will be revised.

FOOD

There are literally hundreds of eating establishments in downtown Sacramento, including everything from high-end steakhouses, world-famous eateries, down to chain fast food, food trucks and hot dog carts. Surprisingly, state office buildings have very good cafeterias, many of which are open to the public. Since the Sacramento area has been named one of the country's most ethnically diverse areas, you can find nearly anything you might want somewhere in the greater metro area. A large percentage of these are to be found downtown and in the Midtown district.

The Downtown Plaza is a large open-air shopping mall along K Street. In the area of K St.  between Interstate 5 and 15th Street, you can find a small food court, at least two brew pubs, a Middle Eastern cafe, three burger chains, at least two chain coffee houses, hotel restaurants, and several hold-in-the-wall sandwich shops. Side streets increase the number of possibliites. On L Street, across from the Capitol Building, you will find a See's Candy shop, among other things.

Next time, I will begin to explore individual localities.


DISCLAIMER
The information contained in this document is my own opinion and is not in any way connected to or to be construed as anything official from the committee of Westercon 66. Any errors contained in this document are mine. Corrections to errors in fact will be made and credit given to the first person to contact me with correct info. 


"Westercon" is a registered service mark of the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society, Inc.