Arts & Events

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF BERKELEY -more-

924 GILMAN ST. -- All ages welcome. -more-

AFRICAN AMERICAN ART AND CULTURE COMPLEX -more-

A GREAT GOOD PLACE FOR BOOKS -more-

"Moving for Peace," June 12, 3 p.m. More than 100 youth performing artists celebrate community and creativity. Free. -more-

ALTARENA PLAYHOUSE -more-

AMERICAN CONSERVATORY THEATER -more-

"BAY AREA HEART GALLERY," -- Exhibit consists of photographs of children, youth and families, accompanied by their compelling stories. The joint exhibit opens in the Alameda County Administration Building, 1221 Oak Street, Oakland and at the Eden Area Multi-Service Center, 24100 Amador Way, Hayward. -more-

About a decade ago, an article in the National Geographic described a new social class named “bobos”—a portmanteau of “bourgeois” and “bohemian”—as, “…that subset of thirty- or forty-something -year-olds who don't allow their socialist leanings to interfere with an enjoyment of material pleasures." My immediate reaction to this disturbing definition was two-fold: 1) that doesn’t sound like a group I would have much sympathy for, and, 2) oh, crap! I’m one of them. -more-

Back by popular demand??? -more-

Playing at the Berkeley City Club: Just Theater's terrific '1001,' by Jason Grote, billed as a riff on the Arabian Nights--that and much, much more ... A small cast in an intimate spacedoubles, triples, quadruplesplayingprotean roles that unfoldfrom, and fold back into,the fabled tales of—and about--Sharhar and Scherazade,bawdy yet unsettling, as are the originals, with an unsteady time-warp opening up (silly to call it mere anachronism), out of which pop Flaubert in the Mideast, Jorge Luis Borges and a strange kind of romance set in Gaza and, during 9/11,New York. Hilarious, unpredictable and impossible to pin down.(The genie warned you!) Much more creative, wilder and yet more thoughtful, than the Mary Zimmerman improv on some of the same material at Berkeley Rep a few years back. And at a fraction of the cost--for company and audience as well. Thursdays-Saturdays at 8, Sundays at 5, city Club, 2315 Durant. $15-$20. 488-4116 or www.brownpapertickets.com -more-

Bruce Barthol, original bassist with Country Joe and the Fish and for over 3 decades the resident composer/lyricist with the San Francisco Mime Troupe, brings his eclectic collection of songs, satiric, subversive and occasionally normal, to the Art House on Friday, June 11 at 8:00.

If you missed the previous installment, this is part two of the story of attempting to get my mortgage modified under HAMP, the Home Affordable Mortgage Program rolled out last year by the Obama administration. -more-

I was surprised to learn earlier this year that western bluebirds have been nesting in South Berkeley. I suspect this is pretty uncommon; in the 1920’s, Joseph Grinnell and Margaret Wythe reported “rare cases” of nesting in Berkeley (and elsewhere this side of the East Bay Hills.) Local birder Rusty Scalf caught the bluebirds in the act last May, using a tree cavity at San Pablo Park. In January, a city tree maintenance crew removed the dead limb that contained the cavity. After some prodding by Scalf and other local bluebird advocates, a nest box was installed on the tree; the birds adopted it and successfully reared four nestlings. -more-

AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM AND LIBRARY AT OAKLAND The Oakland Public Library's museum is designed to discover, preserve, interpret and share the cultural and historical experiences of African Americans in California and the West. In addition, a three-panel mural is on permanent display. -more-

ASHKENAZ -more-

BERKELEY PUBLIC LIBRARY, CENTRAL BRANCH -more-

924 GILMAN ST. -- All ages welcome. -more-

ASHKENAZ -more-

ASIAN ART MUSEUM OF SAN FRANCISCO The Asian Art Museum-Chon-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture recently unveiled its new building in San Francisco's Civic Center. The building, the former San Francisco Public Library, has been completely retrofitted and rebuilt to house San Francisco's significant collection of Asian treasures. The museum offers complimentary audio tours of the museum's collection galleries. -more-

ARDENWOOD HISTORIC FARM Ardenwood farm is a working farm that dates back to the time of the Patterson Ranch, a 19th-century estate with a mansion and Victorian Gardens. Today, the farm still practices farming techniques from the 1870s. Unless otherwise noted, programs are free with regular admission. -more-

ARDENWOOD HISTORIC FARM Ardenwood farm is a working farm that dates back to the time of the Patterson Ranch, a 19th-century estate with a mansion and Victorian Gardens. Today, the farm still practices farming techniques from the 1870s. Unless otherwise noted, programs are free with regular admission. -more-

Since faithful readers of the Berkeley Daily Planet are without question of high intellectual and eclectic tastes, -more-