Sacramento

A new luxury property in Sacramento County offers an easy and comfortable escape for retreats and corporate groups. 

The Sacramento/Sierra Nevada Chapter of MPI held its annual trade show April 12 at the new Kimpton Sawyer Hotel in downtown Sacramento. The exhibition followed an education luncheon sponsored by the Marin County Convention & Visitors Bureau. It was one of hundreds of events held around the world in observation of Global Meetings Industry Day.

The Sacramento/Sierra Nevada Chapter of Meeting Professionals International took “Parrothead” as the theme of its annual crab-feed fundraiser held Feb. 1 at the Dante Club in Sacramento. Garratt Wilkin & The Parrotheads, a Jimmy Buffett tribute band, provided musical entertainment, and many guests dressed in appropriately tropical garb. 

New hotels: check! Updated arenas and convention centers: check! Restaurants offering every global cuisine imaginable: check! Urban parks with sprawling outdoor space: check! And everything within walking distance to make planning multiday events easier: absolutely!

California’s varied downtown areas are thriving. Here’s a look at the urban renaissance, from south to north.

SAN DIEGO

Horton Plaza Park Restored to Glory

Posed for perfection and moving beyond "say cheese."

It's likely that Sacramento would be experiencing an urban renaissance even without the “America’s Farm-to-Fork Capital” campaign that was initiated in late 2012 by Mayor Kevin Johnson. After all, a new $507 million sports arena is going up downtown; the music and art sectors are booming; the tech industry is staking a claim; new apartment blocks, hotels and office buildings are rising downtown, and the restaurant, craft beer and wine scenes are thriving.

The room, set for a gala, looks gorgeous: tables dressed in glittery linens, exotic fl oral centerpieces, chairs draped and sashed, multiple glasses sparkling like diamonds at every place setting.

It’s breathtaking, for sure. But if that room is located in California, there’s something very wrong with this picture.

It’s all about the drought.

Population: 475,000 in the city, 2.5 million in greater metropolitan area.

Nathan Flatt, a Sacramento mechanical engineer, and Justin Straub, a marketing and business strategy guru, quit their day jobs last year to concentrate full time on BloomBooth, an innovative collapsible photo booth that is picture perfect for event planners (Straub has since sold his share to Flatt). The mobile contraption can be wheeled into a venue on a utility cart and unfolds into a full-size booth equipped with camera, computer and printer.