Usually a blog post has some kind of lead or intro paragraph explaining what the story will be all about. But this is Midtown Cocktail Week, what else do I have to say?

Here are five reasons not to screw up and miss it:

5. Chris Tucker and his crew at Hook & Ladder Manufacturing Co. (1630 S Street, 6 – 9 p.m.). Tucker’s is part of Sacramento’s cocktail Mt. Rushmore (not sure if he’s more Abe Lincoln or Thomas Jefferson). Anyway, H&L’s Thursday night event will be turning Japanese: It’s called The Kabuki Show, and will feature Japanese whiskeys (read Chris Macias’ Sacramento Bee feature), beers (my take: nothing to go yakuza over) and $6 drink specials (steal of a price). Chef Brian Mizner and Co. will be making Japanese small bites, and rumor has it owners John and Kimio might re-enact scene from Battle Royale.

4. A reason to go to K Street. Blackbird Kitchen & Bar (1015 Ninth Street, 6- 9 p.m.) will showcase the aesthetic cool of K Street, otherwise sometimes known as “The Kay,” with The West-End Art Show on Saturday, August 24. What’s this mean? It means you can enjoy craft cocktails while Exhibit S artists such as Danny Scheible flirt with your date and make them roses out of masking tape. Bottoms up!

3. Pop-ups that don’t suck. Sure, pop-ups aren’t cool any more. But Midtown Cocktail Week pop-ups get a pass—because they get you drunk, eh? MCW boasts nearly two-dozen pop-up events, plus there’ll be some super-top-secret gatherings, too (see Twitter). Last year, topless (dudes) at Club Raven; that’s right, ladies.

2. Barbecue and Bols. The genever night at Red Rabbit Kitchen and Bar (2718 J Street) last year really showcased the bar’s commitment to quality imbibement, so this year’s BBQ and bourbon party on Sunday, August 24 (1 to 4 p.m.), promises to be a killer way to call in sick to work on Monday. Need a reason to ditch work early on Friday? Grange’s (926 J Street) golden-era party from 6 p.m. to close. Shaun Slaughter will be reading select passages from Great Gatsby just after midnight.

1. The annual Sacramento cocktail competition finals at LowBrau. I joined Midtown Cocktail Week founder Joe Athony Zavala and designer Whitney Johnson of Johnson & Ross recently to select seven bartenders to compete in tomorrow’s finals at LowBrau (K and 20th streets; 6 – 9 p.m.; $10, which gets you admission and a sample of all seven bartenders’ concoctions). I was a bit buzzed, but I seem to recall that the take home being that Ella Dining Room & Bar’s Chris Dooley will be hella tough to beat? But that’s why they play the game, eh? 

Find out more here and here.