Join with the community as Sacramento celebrates the Transcontinental Railroad’s 150th anniversary with live music and dance performances, storytelling, and hands-on activities that honor the people and cultures who helped build and shape the West we live in today. This special event will open the exhibition The Race to Promontory: The Transcontinental Railroad and the American West and Chiura Obata: An American Modern.
Explore a model railroad from the Sacramento Valley Garden Railroad, enjoy traditional songs by the Black Irish Band, and get down with the Dirty Chops Brass Band, then be delighted by shadow puppetry master Sean Powers, Chinese Lion Dancers of the Honor Kung Fu Academy, and the Flow Crew Chinese Folk Dancers will get you moving, too!
Shanghai-born fine artist Ning Hou painted portraits of Chinese railroad workers to honor those who built the railroad.Watch this celebrated artist demonstrate his techniques.Filmmaker Min Zhou will introduce her short films, Crossing Donner Summit, and Land of Luck (25 min. each). The films create a moving tribute to those who built the railroad eastward 150 years ago and laid the foundation for our local farm-to-fork agricultural movement. Meet Min Zhou and stick around for a Q&A following the films.
Find renowned storyteller Delta Mello in the Historic Ballroom, regaling families with global folk- and fairytales. Take in her legends of adventure and train travel with Westward Ho, Carlotta! and the true story of famous railroad dog Owney. Plus, singing cowboy Doug Newton; Dave Rainwater, the Huckleberry Fiddler; and demonstrations and hands-on activities at Life In 1869, featuring domestic examples of everyday living along the railroad.