Celebrate Labor Day Weekend in Sacramento by heading to the Americana in Old Sacramento event. The three-day event features free live music, historic vehicles such as locomotives and buses, a selection of classic cars from the California Automobile Museum, and a beer garden.

Old Sacramento museums will also have special events during the festival, which is being held in place of Gold Rush Days due to the severe California drought and the amount of water the event consumes. The Sacramento Convention & Visitors Bureau looks forward to bringing Gold Rush Days back better than ever in 2015.

The Americana in Old Sacramento activities include:

  • FREE live music -- along with an always-popular beer garden -- at Waterfront Park on Saturday from 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. and on Sunday from 10 a.m. - 10 p.m. featuring popular bands such as the Garratt Wilkin and the Parrotheads (Sunday evening), Madison Hudson Band, Rachel Steele & Road 88, 27 Outlaws and the Cripple Creek Band. As an added musical treat, live gospel music will be featured on Sunday at 10 a.m.
  • A display of eye-catching classic cars on special display along Front Street provided by the California Automobile Museum all three days
  • An exciting display of vintage vehicles on the 1849 Scene in Old Sacramento State Historic Park (Front and I streets) that will include four vintage buses provided by the Pacific Bus Museum, a vintage steam locomotive, caboose, Union Pacific bus and rail-mounted fire engine provided by California State Parks, two other vintage fire engines, a 1954 Ford Mainline police car and two vintage taxi cabs.  Visitors will have the opportunity to climb aboard or inside many of these vintage vehicles.  Additionally, the Central Pacific Railroad Passenger Station will be open (free) for visitors to view pieces of the Railroad Museum collection that are not generally seen by the public.

Plus, a few of the special evening activities happening in Old Sacramento include the following:

  • “Thursday Night at the Museums” is offered by the California State Railroad Museum and the Sacramento History Museum, both of which are open extended Thursday hours until 8 p.m. (regular museum admission applies)
  • “History Happy Hour” on Thursday evening at the Crocker Art Museum with docent-led spotlight tours (regular museum admission applies)
  • Beer Crawl in Old Sacramento on Friday from 6 p.m. - midnight with 10 beers and 10 bars ($10 per adult)
  • FREE Country Western Dance Party on Saturday evening from 7 - 10 p.m. at Waterfront Park;
  • Old Sacramento offers great vantage points to watch the FREE Fireworks Saturday following the River Cats game
  • Old Sacramento Speakeasy Tour on Sunday evening from 5 - 7 p.m. provided by the Downtown Sacramento Partnership for a cost of $15 per person 
  • FREE Outdoor Movie showing of “Pale Rider” starring Clint Eastwood on Sunday at 8 p.m. on the 1849 Scene.

In addition, Old Sacramento is home to more than 100 shops, eateries and entertainment venues -- many of which are offering special activities -- along with a number of museums and attractions that are offering expanded tour schedules and holiday weekend activities, including:

  • California State Railroad Museum is offering excursion train rides hourly from 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Saturday through Monday plus an “All Aboard for Story Time!” reading activity on Monday at 11 and 11:30 a.m.
  • Crocker Art Museum is presenting a FREE Little Buckaroos Day on Monday from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m., where families can enjoy live performances, craft-making demos, art-making and a petting zoo
  • Hornblower Cruises & Events is offering river cruises on Friday at 1:30 p.m., 3 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday at 10:30 a.m., noon, 1:30 p.m., 3 p.m., and 4:30 p.m.
  • Sacramento History Museum is offering expanded Old Sacramento Underground tours, which depart every 30 minutes from 10:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. all three days (Saturday through Monday).  Additionally, Old Sacramento Walking Tours will be available all three days at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.  Plus, the History Museum is offering half-price admission on Labor Day to visitors with an active union card
  • Old Sacramento Schoolhouse Museum (which is always FREE admission) is offering numerous activities such as having the Capitol Division of the Embroiderers' Guild on-site to instruct visitors about how to embroider and make a California mission on Saturday from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.; the Woodcarvers Association will be in the schoolyard on Saturday from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. to show visitors how to carve wood (using soap and plastic knives); and Monday is “Tom Sawyer Day” from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m., where children have the hands-on opportunity to help repaint the Schoolhouse’s white picket fence (supplies provided)
  • Wells Fargo History Museum (which is always FREE admission) is offering special hands-on banking activities for kids and giveaways for those who participate, while supplies last.

For a complete and continually updated listing of Labor Day weekend activities happening in Old Sacramento, please visit www.oldsacramento.com