Things to Do in Fair Oaks

Art teacher Kimberly Godinho sees her studio as a haven for students who might be otherwise afraid of exploring their artistic sides. Her background includes earning her bachelor degree in fine arts, and her current work as a professional artist underscores her expertise. Heartened by friends and wine, visitors of all experience levels follow Kimberly’s instructions to brush up the chosen project, which may include wine glass tableaus, pastoral landscapes, and the inky insides of a camera’s lens cap. All materials are included with each class, including canvas, paints, and smocks.

Colored lights flash as a disco ball spins and glitters over Sunrise Rollerland's glossy, blond hardwood floor where kids and their families roll along on quads or inline skates. During open-skating sessions, adults relive their childhood and children experience it the first time around as a live DJ spins tunes new and old. At the rink, clubs such as the Artistic Club and Speed Skating club congregate. These clubs are open to anyone, sanctioned by USA Roller Sports, and led by experienced teams of coaches. Additionally, skaters 5 years old and older can take lessons suited to their skill level. To celebrate a birthday, kids can choose from three party themes; the rink can accommodate skaters at any private event. On Wednesday night, adults 18 and older can enjoy adult-skate night.

The Little Miss Strawberry contestants excitedly primp their pink dresses and adjust their sparkling tiaras in anticipation of the pageant’s beginning. The lighthearted event—in which girls compete in five different age groupings—is one of many novel attractions at BerryFest. A Mother's Day–weekend tradition, the 2012 festival marks the year's harvest by bringing together local farmers with a host of vendors, sponsors, entertainment acts, and conciliatory deer families at the Placer County Fairgrounds.

Daytime revelers can indulge in a surplus of diverse, certified-organic berries, which can be purchased whole or in the form of inventive, strawberry-based eats such as strawberry pizza, strawberry barbecue sauce, or strawberry-flavored strawberries. The festival’s lineup of booths also includes a beer garden where Lost Coast Brewery whets patrons’ whistles with strawberry drafts. A no-hands shortcake-eating contest crowns the winner with a commemorative trophy and proceeds benefit the Boy Scouts of America. During a live cooking demonstration, TV star Michael Marks of Your Produce Man shares recipe tips as well as tips for catching runaway piecrusts. On Sunday, festival-goers can take in a car show with a gathering of shiny, classic wheels, and all weekend long, kids can kick it on the Fun Zone’s Berry-Go-Round or drop by the event’s on-site petting zoo.

Sea Otter Swim Lessons employs a team of first-aid- and CPR-certified instructors who welcome everyone into the water to learn how to swim. People cruise up and over the learning curve inside a 92-degree natural salt-chlorine pool, fully enclosed to allow lessons during the colder months and to keep rain from getting swimmers wet. Class sizes are kept small to allow for focused attention and individual improvement—private sessions are one-on-one, semiprivate sessions are one instructor with two students, and parent/tot classes are one instructor with up to six parents and children. Outside of the water, parents can watch their youngsters from a large observation area and tuckered-out swimmers can make use of the two shower areas and several changing rooms.

Operating under the mantra “experience the difference,” Sky Zone Indoor Trampoline Park rockets jumpers of any age, shape, or physical ability across 3-D trampoline courts, which were awarded a US patent for their uniqueness. Inside the air-conditioned facility, trampoline-covered walls absorb and ricochet bodies, demonstrating real-life instances of "bouncing off the walls" to both kids and puzzled ballistics students. Aerial amusement disguises calorie-burning fitness during open-jumping sessions and competitive games, such as 3-D dodge ball and Sky Zone the Sport with goals rotating 360 degrees. Bouncers renounce gravity and their fear of ceilings with trampoline shoes or while soaring toward the rim on the Sky Jam court. SkyRobics trampoline classes motivate visitors to whip into shape with calisthenics and core exercises as they joyously reach for the skies. To ensure bouncers stay safe and follow the rules, court monitors supervise the high-flying fun at all times.