City of trees

If there’s one thing visitors remember about Sacramento, it’s the freeways. But if there’s a close second symbol of our fair city’s aesthetic, it’s the trees. The canopied streets are beautiful. The infestation of an old tree with bacteria is, well, not so pretty. But the Legacy Trees Project aims to take the city’s felled hazardous trees and recycle them into something newly eye-catching: public art. The organization that brought you the Midtown Murals Project, Arts for the Generations and Mural Project Kids is currently distributing wood from the state Capitol’s former tulip tree and from a black walnut tree that once grew off Howe Avenue and Fair Oaks Boulevard to local artists. Executive director James Cooper says the bacteria that once rendered those trees dangerous “creates pretty exciting elements” once it dies out. The woods is given new colors, scars add alternative texture. And the Legacy Trees Project hopes to raise $15,000 to $20,000 to commission two giant public works from the old wood. A horse carving by Jaime Acosta, made from wood of the aforementioned black walnut, will be on display at the project’s launch party and fund-raiser. Food will be provided by Michelangelo’s Italian Art Restaurant and ReferaChef, and Ricky Berger and Wendell Fishman will play live music. Saturday, 5/3, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Art Foundry Gallery, 1021 R Street; (916) 444-2787; www.seeart.org.