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ACRES OF HOPE
BREAKING THE CYCLE OF HOMELESSNESS FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN
Established in 2006, Acres of Hope provides a safe family environment and a healthy living program for women with children striving for a new way of life. This faith-based renewal center’s balanced approach through a two-year program sets the foundation of change and breaks the cycle of homelessness.
![The ceremonial coffee at Kind Bean Cafe and Ethiopian Cuisine in Arden Arcade is served in an earthenware vessel called a jebena. (Photos by Nolan Wong)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/ceremony.png?1682365147)
Neighborhood Favorite: Kind Bean Cafe and Ethiopian Cuisine
This cafe serves ceremonial Ethiopian coffee — and breakfast burritos
The coffee ceremony at Kind Bean Cafe and Ethiopian Cuisine
unfolds like a sacrament, each tool imbued with significance like
objects on an altar. The beans, roasted and ground throughout the
day, steep in a jebena, an ebony-colored earthenware vessel
developed more than 800 years ago.
![A 175-foot Golden Dragon, carried by members of nearby Beale Air Force Base, closed the Bok Kai Festival parade at the intersection of 1st and D streets in Marysville Feb. 25. Senior Airman Zoey Martins held the “pearl” during the dragon dance, a mystical object the dragon chases in the continuous pursuit of wisdom and enlightenment.](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/kai_temple_dragon.png?1681258133)
Bok Kai Temple in Marysville Preserves Centuries of Culture
The temple is one of the oldest Taoist places of worship in the country
The temple and museum is usually a quiet respite for visitors, open by appointment only. But during one weekend, the serenity is replaced by bursts of firecrackers and thousands of visitors attending the Bok Kai Festival weekend, honoring Bok Eye.
![Woody Wooden, Marie Huggins and her daughter Brynn Wooden, at the Sugar Pine Lodge in Iowa Hill on Feb. 3. (Photos by Steve Martarano)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/copy_of_12-february_03_2023sugar_pine_lodge-12.png?1680022235)
Off the Beaten Track: A Retreat in the Forest
Sugar Pine Lodge much more than just a B&B to isolated Placer County communities
Inspired by its proprietor Brynn Wooden — known to all as Miss B — and Woody, her husband of 40 years, the lodge is a beacon in the tight-knit Gold Rush communities of Colfax, Iowa Hill and Foresthill.
![The Eagles perform before a sold-out crowd at Thunder Valley Casino Resort’s new 4,500-seat music venue on opening night, Feb. 17. (Photos by Steve Martarano)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/copy_of_7-february_17_2023thunder_valley_the_venue-3.jpg?1677026300)
The Venue Makes Its Debut
Thunder Valley Casino Resort’s $100 million entertainment showcase opens with blockbuster President’s Day Weekend
The 4,500-seat facility held a ribbon cutting celebration on Feb.
14 and then opened three days later with a sold-out, three-day
President’s Day weekend run of the Eagles, Bruno Mars and
Santana.
![Nevada County Mead Company co-owners Michael DeSena and married couple Joy Davis and Aaron Davis have known each other for 27 years, meeting when they worked together in the mental health field at a residential treatment facility in Nevada City. (Photos by Steve Martarano)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/otbt_feb.png?1676572121)
It’s All About the Mead
New Penn Valley establishment fills a niche
Nevada County Mead Company is one of the few places in the Capital Region that produces and serves mead, which the ancient Greeks called “nectar of the gods.”
![Chef Billy Ngo of Kru hosts weekly omakase sessions for a maximum of five people. (Photo by Katie Karns)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/kru-17.png?1676402564)
Trust the Sushi Chef
Local chefs bring high-end omakase tradition to the Capital Region
From Japanese, omakase translates roughly to “I leave it up to you.” It is a covenant in which the diner cedes all decision-making power to the chef.
![Benicia Historical Museum Executive Director Jen Roger at the Gold Rush era pan display, one of the museum’s top educational programs.](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/benicia_director_.png?1673997908)
Museum Tells Unusual Stories of Almost Two Centuries in Benicia
Historic building used to house camels during the 1850s
The Benicia Historical Museum houses tens of thousands of artifacts related to multiple wars and the Gold Rush era, providing a place for visitors to learn something new and appreciate the story of California.
![South Lake Brewing Company in South Lake Tahoe attracts both tourists and locals to its lively, alpine-themed tasting room. (Photos by Fred Greaves)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/south-lake-brewing_2022_12_09-fg2083.png?1673310084)
A Winter Wonderland of Breweries
South Lake Tahoe’s craft beer scene is exploding
These days, Lake Tahoe’s south shore has enough breweries for a full tasting tour, giving explorers more reason to drive into the mountains.
![Sky River Casino, which opened in August, features over 2,000 gaming machines and 80 gaming tables. (Photos by Graham Womack)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/interior_1.jpg?1671847050)
Getting the Casino Rolling
Elk Grove leaders tout promising opening months for Sky River Casino
After several years of work by Wilton Rancheria, the tribe’s casino operator Boyd Gaming, and local leaders, Sky River is finally up and running.