INSIDER VIEW OF LOCKE

Story tour of a landmark

As the only American town built by the Chinese specifically for the Chinese, the Delta town of Locke is rich in history and lore. Now's the chance to get an insider's view of the nation's only surviving rural Chinese town, a designated National Historic Landmark District.

Once a bustling community populated by Chinese agricultural workers in the early 1900s, it is now "a fragile time capsule of a bygone rural California era." Join the Locke Story Tour next Sunday for a narrated walkabout led by Jeff Lee, a third-generation Locke resident, and photographer James Motlow, co-author of "Bitter Melon: Inside America's Last Rural Chinese Town."

Visitors will be led along the town's streets and alleyways and inside historic buildings, as the guides recall the detailed history, legends and nuances of the town. The tour will include lunch and side trips to the neighboring historic towns of Isleton and Walnut Grove.

The tour will be 10:15 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Cost is $100. Registration is required at (415) 648-1302 or www.chinese-whispers.org; deadline is Thursday. When you register, you will be told where to meet the tour.

Proceeds will benefit Chinese Whispers, the community's multimedia storytelling project.

DISCOVERY MUSEUM

Grandparents honored with special program

To commemorate National Grandparents Day, the Bay Area Discovery Museum will host its own Grandparents Day, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. next Sunday.

Special programming will include a "story time" featuring children's book author Jackie Board reading her books, "Grandma Wants to Eat My Baby Sister" and "Eat Your Breakfast or Else!" (11:30 a.m.). The Radio Disney AM 1310 Road Crew will supply interactive entertainment and prizes (11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.).

The Bay Area Discovery Museum is a unique indoor- outdoor area for children, set on 7 1/2 acres on the Marin County side of the Golden Gate Bridge, and emphasizing "creativity through play."

Admission is $11. On Grandparents Day, one grandparent and one child from each group will be admitted free.

The museum is at Fort Baker, 557 McReynolds Road, Sausalito; (415) 339-3900, www.baykidsmuseum.org.

CHILI AND CARS

Sutter Creek celebrates American food, vehicles

There's just something about a bowl of chili and a lineup of classic cars that seem to go together. The folks at the Sutter Creek Business Association understand that, as shown by their 6th annual Great Chili Cook-off and Car Show, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. next Sunday in downtown Sutter Creek.

Sample homemade chili and salsa from 40 cookin' teams and vote for your favorite. Then check out more than 100 classic cars, hot rods and motorcycles, while music fills the streets.

The tab is $5 adults, $3 children. Information: (209) 267-2237, www.suttercreek.org.

ORIENTEERING

Navigation challenge in Rancho Cordova

Forget about your GPS for a day. "Orienteering" is a growing sport, one that builds self-confidence in the geographically challenged, promotes teamwork and gets families together in the outdoors.

As defined by the local club Gold Country Orienteers, orienteering is "a race in wilderness navigation, during which a person(s) uses a map and a compass to complete a course."

As part of National Orienteering Day, GCO will host an orienteering meet featuring beginner and intermediate courses, and free beginner instruction.

Register between 9 a.m. and noon at next Sunday's event, and embark on your course between 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Cost is $7 for the first group/team member, and $2 for each additional person in that group/team.

Get your bearings at River Bend Park in Rancho Cordova. To get there: Take Highway 50 to the Bradshaw Road exit. Go north to Folsom Boulevard. Turn right and go nearly two miles to Rod Beaudry Drive. Turn left and follow signs into the park. Parking is $5.

More information: Jennifer at (916) 922-8671, jkerrt1561@yahoo.com, www. goldcountryorienteers.org.

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