Friendship Force of Sacramento upcoming events

Madison, Wisconsin Inbound Journey to Sacramento (May 13, 2026)

Wed, 13 May 2026 07:00:00 GMT

We are excited to announce that ambassadors from Madison, Wisconsin will be visiting Sacramento from May 13–19, 2026. Rick and Elaine Armstrong will be serving as coordinators for this journey and expect to welcome 12–15 ambassadors.

As with any incoming journey, we’ll need plenty of support — home hosts, day hosts, dinner hosts, help assembling welcome bags, planning activities, and more. Please mark your calendars and let us know if you’d like to host or assist in any way. Email: mellomom.elaine@gmail.com

Stay tuned for updates as we work together to create a wonderful and memorable visit!

Farewell Dinner and May General Meeting (May 18, 2026)

Tue, 19 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Farewell Dinner and May General Meeting

A BBQ dinner to say farewell to our Wisconsin Ambassadors, as well as our General Membership Meeting for June.

There will be grilled tri-tip, a potato dish, and beverages supplied. We are asking that everyone coming, who is not a host to please bring either a side dish or dessert to share.

We hope to have boat rides on the lake available. You can take a walk along the promenade or just relax and enjoy getting to know some new friends.

Please register so we know how many are attending. Registration deadline is May 16th.

We live in a gated community, so you will need this code to get through the gate #2438. Don’t forget to wear your name tag and bring your dish to share.

If you have any questions, contact Elaine and Rick Armstrong at mellomom.elaine@gmail.com

Saskatoon, Canada Outbound 2026 (June 17, 2026)

Wed, 17 Jun 2026 07:00:00 GMT

Sacramento, California to Saskatoon, Canada

June 17th – June 24th 2026

The Journey to Saskatoon is currently oversubscribed. If you would like to be put on the wait list contact Chris Smith at 916-712-6979 via phone or text, or email smithinsac@gmail.com. We are still many months out and it's possible someone will need to back out before next June.

Saskatoon is a small city (about 300,000). Most of the Friendship Force members live close to each other. There will be plenty of options for activities, and also some down time for people to visit with their hosts and others.

Activities generally include: Wanuskewin Heritage Park an indigenous site with artifacts dating back 5000 years. UNESCO World Heritage site designation is pending.

A tour of the Remai Modern Art gallery and lunch at Hearth Restaurant

We have the city Archivist or someone from Meewasin Valley Authority do a guided walking tour of the river valley in the downtown area which includes the sight of the only ship wreck on the Canadian Prairies. See the Great White American Pelicans fishing on the river.

Depending on interest we tour the Synchrotron (The Canadian Light Source). We can also tour the University. It is quite a beautiful campus.

The Berry Barn hosts lunch and beautiful views of the river with gardens and walks.

The Western Development Museum presents the settler experience in Saskatchewan.

We usually do a day trip to Duck Lake, the St. Laurent Grotto and Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine, cross the river on a ferry and go to Batoche National Historic Park, place of the Metis resistance.

Crossmount Cidery offers cider tasting and tours. Learn how to grow apples when it gets to -40C in the winter. There are also a number of distilleries and micro breweries.

Then there is Indigenous Peoples Day activities. I hope that might include a Pow Wow since it is a weekend.

There are many conservation areas with walking trails and interpretative centres. Beaver Creek Conservation area is one. Cranberry Flats is another.

If you would like to learn more about this unique visit to Saskatoon contact the Ambassador Coordinator, Chris Smith at smithinsac@gmail.com or 1-916-712-6979.

We are researching pre and post trip options for those who are interested.

June General Meeting (June 27, 2026)

Sat, 27 Jun 2026 22:30:00 GMT

June 27 General Membership Meeting

Please join us for the June Membership Meeting. Our guest speaker will be Dick Cowan discussing the recently released book, Restoring California's State Capitol by John C. Worsley. As Mr. Worsley passed away before he could finish the book and get it to the press, his family donated the manuscript to the California State Archives. Richard (Dick) Cowan stepped in, lightly edited the manuscript and got it to press.

John Worsley was the California State Architect who led the major restoration of the California State Capitol between 1976 and 1982. John, in this book, takes the reader through the 5 stages of large projects:

Euphoria
Disenchantment
Search for the Guilty
Punishment of the Innocent
Recognition for the Uninvolved.

The book details the many architectural and construction innovations that made the restoration as accurate as possible and it also records the author's political education necessitated by this large public works project.

Mr. Cowan also worked on the restoration, but at a less exalted level. His insights and knowledge tell an interesting tale.

Belle Cooledge Library, located at 5600 S Land Park Dr., Sacramento is the location for the meeting on Saturday, June 27. We will be meeting at 3:30 PM.

Plan to join our members following the meeting as we enjoy a meal together at a Florez Bar and Grill, 5900 Land Park Dr., Sacramento.

Western Kentucky Outbound (October 20, 2026)

Tue, 20 Oct 2026 07:00:00 GMT

The Western Kentucky club is in Owensboro Kentucky (fly through Chicago), which is just across the Ohio River from the larger airport at Evansville, Indiana.

Kentucky usually hosts Welcome and Farewell parties. Owensboro has a Fine Arts Museum, Science and History Museum as well as the International Bluegrass Museum and the Kentucky Botanical Garden. Activities are centered around Owensboro and can include Mammoth Cave, the Audubon Museum and Park and the Corvette Museum. October is perfect weather for Fall colors in this beautiful state; those interested can also do a bourbon tasting.

Anyone interested can email George Meyer at geowmeyer@icloud.com or text 1-916-599-0549.