FRIDAY, JULY 27 

Impeachment Banner Fridays at 6:45 to 8 a.m. on the Berkeley Pedestrian bridge between Seabreeze Market and the Berkeley Aquatic Park, ongoing on Fridays until impeachment is realized. www. Impeachbush-cheney.com 

The Sydney B. Mitchell Iris Society will hold its annual Bearded Iris Rhizome Auction from 7:30 to 10 p.m. at the Lakeside Park Garden Center, 666 Bellevue Ave, Oakland. Growing advice from experts is available. 277-4200. 

International Working Class Film Festival with “Mother Jones: The Most Dangerous Woman in America” and others at 7:30 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland. Suggested donation $5. www.HumanistHall.net 

Free Compost for Berkeley Residents from 11:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. at the Berkeley Marina Maintenance Yard, 201 University Ave, next to Adventure PlaygroundSelf-serve. Please complete sign-in log before loading compost. 644-6566. 

Berkeley Women in Black weekly vigil from noon to 1 p.m. at Bancroft and Telegraph. Our focus is human rights in Palestine. 548-6310. 

Circle Dancing, simple folk dancing with instruction at 8 p.m. at Hillside Community Church, 1422 Navellier St. Pot luck at 7 p.m. 528-4253. www.circledancing.com 

SATURDAY, JULY 28 

Berkeley Kite Festival on Sat. and Sun. from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Cesar Chavez Park, Berkeley Marina. www.highlinekites.com 

Mini-Farmers in Tilden A farm exploration program, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. for ages 4-6 years, accompanied by an adult. We will explore the Little Farm, care for animals, do crafts and farm chores. Wear boots and dress to get dirty! Fee is $6-$8. Registration required. 1-888-EBPARKS. 

Brooks Island Voyage Paddle the rising tide across the Richmond Harbor Channel to Brooks Island from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. For experienced boaters who can provide their own canoe or kayak and safety gear. For ages 14 and up with parent participation. Cost is $20-$22. Registration required. 1-888-EBPARKS. 

Kid’s Garden Club for ages 6-9 to explore the world of gardening, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Tilden Nature Area, Tilden Park. Cost is $6-$8, registration required. 1-888-EBPARKS. 

Cece Weeks Commemoration Day Potluck and Tree Planting, in honor of the disability and Indian rights activist at noon at Ohlone Park, McGee St. entrance. 332-6654. 

Electronics Recycling for televisions, computers, monitors, and home electronics, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Elephant Pharmacy, 1607 Shattuck Ave. 868-3034. 

E-Waste Recycling from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at IKEA Emeryville, 440 Shellmound St. For a list of what can be recycled see www.unwaste.com 

Oakland 1946 General Strike Walk to revist the sites of Oakland’s “Work Holiday.” Meet at 10:30 a.m. at the fountain at Latham Square, Telegraph and Broadway. For information call 464-3210. 

Oakland Heritage Alliance Walking Tour of the Estuary to learn about Oakland’s founding on the waterfront. Meet by 10 a.m. at the C.L. Dellums statue in from of the Amtrack station, Second and Alice Sts. Cost is $10-$15. 763-9218. www.oaklandheritage.org 

Walking Tour of Old Oakland around the restored 1870s business district. Meet at 10 a.m. in front of G.B. Ratto’s at 827 Washington St. Tour lasts 90 minutes. Reservations can be made by calling 238-3234. 

The Sydney B. Mitchell Iris Society will hold its annual Bearded Iris Rhizome Sidewalk Sale from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in front of the Downtown Oakland YMCA, 2350 Broadway. Growing advice from expertsis available. 277-4200. 

Explore the Ohlone Greenway in El Cerrito from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on a six-mile hike to visit a restored creek, view public art, and hike the Hillside Nature Area. Return by BART. Reservations required. 415-255-3233. www.greenbelt.org 

Summer Garden Party with musical entertainment featuring a Barbershop Quartet & old-fashioned brass ensemble and Ice Cream Bar, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Salem Lutheran Home, 2361 East 29th St., Oakland. Free. 534-3637. 

Cherokee Society for the Greater Bay Area General Meeting with a focus on Cherokee visual art. Potluck lunch and program, including Cherokee language practice and children’s activities from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Community Meeting Room, 3rd flr., Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 464-4649. www.bayareacherokee.org 

“Rosie Goes Green” Presentations on green technology in Richmond’s historic Atchison Village, from 9:30 to 2:30 p.m. at the AV auditorium, by the flagpole, Curry St. and Collins, at west end of McDonald Ave., Richmond. Food, music and other entertainment. 215 5530. 

“The U.S. vs John Lennon” Screening at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Hall, 1924 Cedar at Bonita. Donations accepted. 528-5403. 

Family Sundown Safari at 5 p.m. at the Oakland Zoo. A hands-on program for children 3 and up to explore the Valley Children’s Zoo. 632-9525. www.oaklandzoo.org 

Your Library, Your Way - Have Your Say! An Albany Library Community Forum from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave., Albany. 526-3720 ext 16. 

Fast Pitch Softball for Adults at noon on Saturdays in Oakland. For information call 204-9500. 

Guinea Pig Adoption Fair from 1 to 4 p.m. at RabbitEars, 303 Arlington Ave., Kensington. 525-6155. 

Preschool Storytime for 3 to 5-year-olds at 11 a.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720 ext. 17. 

Free Garden Tours at Regional Parks Botanic Garden Sat. and Sun. at 2 pm. Regional Parks Botanic Garden, Tilden Park. Call to confirm. 841-8732.  

Around the World Tour of Plants at 1:30 p.m., Thurs., Sat. and Sun. at UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. 643-2755.  

The Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club provides free instruction every Wed. and Sat. at 10 a.m. at 2270 Acton St. 841-2174. . 

SUNDAY, JULY 29 

“Open Garden” Join the Little Farm gardener for composting, planting, watering and reaping the rewards of our work, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Tilden Nature Area, Tilden Park. 525-2233. www.ebparks.org 

Oakland Heritage Alliance Walking Tour of the Eichers of Oakland to learn about Oakland’s residential district of houses by Joseph Eichler, from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Cost is $10-$15. Reservations required. 763-9218. www.oaklandheritage.org 

Toddlers in the Meadow Little ones and their grown-up friends exlore the meadow and look for butterflies, at 10:30 a.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

Beautiful Butterflies Learn what kinds visit our meadows, at 2 p.m. at the Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

“Rewriting Copyright with the Swedish Pirate Party” A panel discussion on how both creativity and civil liberties are often stymied by today’s copyright laws at 5 p.m. at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. Cost is $10. www.hillsideclub.org 

Kids’ Day, with children selling their artwork and homegrown produce from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Kensington Farmers’ Market, 303 Arlington, behind ACE Hardware, Kensington.  

Social Action Forum with Stephen Zunes on terrorism and the Middle East at 9:30 a.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, One Lawson Rd., Kensington. 525-0302. 

CoHousing Slide Show and information on a new co-housing project in Grass Valley at 2 p.m. at 1250 Addison St, Suite 113. 849-2063. 

Bicycle Trails Council of the East Bay presents The DirtLaw Festival with music, films and food from 5 to 11 p.m. at Blake’s on Telegraph, 2367 Telegraph Ave. Cost is $10. 848-0886. www.btceb.org  

Free Garden Tours at Regional Parks Botanic Garden in Tilden Park Sat. and Sun. at 2 p.m. Call to confirm. 841-8732.  

Lake Merritt Neighbors Organized for Peace Peace walk around the lake every Sun. Meet at 3 p.m. at the colonnade at the NE end of the lake. 763-8712. lmno4p.org 

MONDAY, JULY 30 

Sing-a-long Circles in the Oak Grove from 4 to 6:30 p.m. at the threatened Oak Grove in front of Memorial Stadium, Piedmont Ave., just north of Bancroft. 658-9178. 

Summer Science Club for children in grades 3-5 for two weeks in the afternoon at Hall of Health, 2230 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $100, financial aid available. 549-1564. 

Berkeley CopWatch organizational meeting at 8 p.m. at 2022 Blake St. Join us to work on current issues around police misconduct. Volunteers needed. For information call 548-0425. 

Family Sing-a-long at 6:45 p.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6223. 

Dragonboating Year round classes at the Berkeley Marina, Dock M. Meets Mon, Wed., Thurs. at 6 p.m. Sat. at 10:30 a.m. For details see www.dragonmax.org 

TUESDAY, JULY 31 

Tuesdays for the Birds Tranquil bird walks in local parklands, led by Bethany Facendini, from 7 to 9:30 a.m. Today we will visit Berkeley Meadow in the East Shore State Park. Call for meeting place and if you need to borrow binoculars. 525-2233. 

“Elevating the Sparks of Peace: Stories of Hope and Reconciliation from the Holy Land” with Eliyahu McLean of Jerusalem Peacemakers at 8:30 p.m. at Chochamat HaLev Maggid Conference, 2215 Prince St. 704-9687. www.chochmat.org 

Tuesday Documentaries at 7 p.m. at the Gaia Arts Center, 2120 Allston Way. Donation of $5 benefits the Berkeley Food and Housing Project. 665-0305. 

Bayswater Book Club meets to discuss “The Secret History of the American Empire” by John Perkins at 6:30 p.m. Call for location 433-2911.  

Community Sing-a-Long every Tues, at 2 p.m. at the Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic Ave. 524-9122.  

Family Storytime for preschoolers and up at 7 p.m. at the Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave. 524-3043. 

Fresh Produce Stand at San Pablo Park from 3 to 6 p.m. in the Frances Albrier Community Center. Sponsored by the Ecology Center’s Farm Fresh Choice. 848-1704.  

Berkeley Camera Club meets at 7:30 p.m., at the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. Share your digital images, slides and prints and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 548-3991. www.berkeleycameraclub.org 

St. John’s Prime Timers meets at 9:30 a.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. We offer ongoing classes in exercise and creative arts, and always welcome new members over 50. 845-6830. 

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1 

Walking Tour of Old Oakland around Preservation Park to see Victorian architecture. Meet at 10 a.m. in front of Preservation Park at 13th St. and MLK, Jr. Way. Tour lasts 90 minutes. Reservations can be made by calling 238-3234.  

South Berkeley Library Presentation with Noll & Tam Architects who have been hired to investigate possible spaces for the library at the Ed Roberts Campus, at Board of Library Trustees meeting at 7 p.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, 3rd flr. Community Meeting Room, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6107. 

“Richmond Shoreline and its Resources” A talk by Rich Walkling and a showing of the documentary “Rheem Creek and Breuner Marsh: A Promised Land” at 7 p.m. at 4191 Appian Way, El Sobrante. 665-3538. www.spawners.org 

American Red Cross Blood Services Volunteer Orientation from 10 a.m. to noon at 6230 Claremont Ave., Oakland. To register call 594-5165.  

CSI at Your Library A crime solving presentation by the Berkeley Police for children 10 and up at 2 p.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6223. 

Family Math and Science Night at 6 p.m. at the West Branch of the Berkeley Public Library. A bilingual program for children ages 7-10 and their families. 981-6270. 

Skin Cancer Screening at the Markstein Cancer Education Center, Summit Campus, Oakland. Appointments reuired. 869-8833, option 2. 

Pax Nomada Bike Ride Meet at 6 p.m. at Nomad Cafe for a 15-25 mile ride up to through the Berkeley hills. All levels of cyclists welcome. 595-5344. 

Walk Berkeley for Seniors meets at 9:30 a.m. at the Sea Breeze Market, just west of the I-80 overpass. Everyone is welcome. 548-9840. 

Berkeley Peace Walk and Vigil at 6:30 p.m. at the Berkeley BART Station. www.geocities.com/ 

vigil4peace/vigil 

Stitch ‘n Bitch at 6:30 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2 

El Sabor de Fruitvale Farmers market with activities for children, information on community services and music, from 3 to 7 p.m. at Fruitvale Village Plaza, 3411 East 12th St., near the Fruitvale BART. www.unitycouncil.org 

Summer Family FIlm Series at 3 p.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6223. 

“The White Rose” A film about a group of courageous youth in Nazi Germany at 7 p.m. at Revolution Books, 2425 Channing Way. 848-1196. www.revolutionbooks.org 

Cope with Creativity Workshop on “Healing Touch for Self-Care” at 6:30 p.m. at 4401 Howe St., Oakland. To register call 888-755-7855, ext. 4241. 

Avatar Metaphysical Toastmasters Club meets at 6:45 p.m. at Spud’s Pizza, 3290 Adeline. namaste@avatar.freetoasthost.info  

FRIDAY, JULY 27 

THEATER 

Actors Ensemble of Berkeley “All in the Timing” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. at Live Oak Theater, 1301 Shattuck Ave. at Berryman, through Aug. 11. Tickets are $12. 525-1620. www.aeofberkeley.org  

Altarena Playhouse “Oh My Godmother” Fri and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at 1409 High St., Alameda, through Aug. 11. Tickets are $17-$20. 523-1553. www.altarena.org 

Central Works “Bird in the Hand” Thurs-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 5 p.m. at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave., through July 29. Tickets are $9-$25. 558-1381. 

Contra Costa Civic Theater “Meet Me in St. Louis” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. in July at 951 Pomona Ave., at Moeser, El Cerrito, through Aug. 4. 524-9132. 

EXHIBITIONS 

“A New Home, A New Life” Photographs by Refugee Youth in Oakland, Wed.-Sat., to Aug. 8 at Oakland Art Gallery, 199 Kahn’s Alley, Frank Ogawa Plaza, Oakland. Exhibit co-sponsored by the International Rescue Committee who helped to resettle the youth in Oakland. www.oaklandartgallery.org 

FILM 

Movies About Movies “Sunset Boulevard” at 3:30 p.m. in the Community Meeting Room, Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6139. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Youth Writing Festival Participants read from their works at 6 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. www.codysbooks.com  

Eli Gordon and Andrew Joron read their poetry at 7:30 p.m. at Pegasus Books Downtown, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Berkeley Opera “Aïda” at 8 p.m. and SUn. at 2 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $15-$40. 925-798-1300. 

“La Dolce Vita dei Flauti” Recorder consort music at 8 p.m. at St. Albert’s Priory, 5890 Birch Ct. off College Ave., Oakland. Cost is $10-$15. 528-1725. 

M.I.A., Sri Lankan singer at 2 p.m. at Amoeba, 2455 Telegraph Ave. www.amoeba.com 

Warner Ellenberg Trio at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $10. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Peru Canta y Baila! A celebration of Peruvian independence day at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $15. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

The Collective at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $12. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Nawal, music from the Comoros, at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $12-$15. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Houston Jones at 8 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Robbie Fulks at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761.  

Steven Gary and Laura Zucker at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

Diablo’s Dust, The Morning Line, Fainting Goats at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082.  

Christ on Parade, Final Conflict, Look Back and Laugh at 7 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $6. 525-9926. 

The Mundaze at 10 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790.  

Kapakahi at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

A Christian McBride Situation at 8 and 10 p.m., through Sun. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $12-$24. 238-9200.  

SATURDAY, JULY 28 

THEATER 

Big City Improv, in Berkeley for one night only, at 8 p.m. at The Ashby Statge, 1901 Asby Ave. Tickets are $15-$20. 595-5597. www.bigcityimprov.com 

Shotgun Players “The Three Musketeers” Sat. and Sun. at 4 p.m. at John Hinkle Park, Southampton Ave., off The Arlington, through Sept. 9. Free. 841-6500. 

FILM 

Jewish Film Festival from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. at The Roda Theater, 2015 Addison St. For information on tickets call 925-275-9490. www.sfjff.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Rhythm & Muse Reading and Open Mic featuring poet Marc Hofstader at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. between Eunice and Rose Sts. 527-9753. 

“Transparent Passions” Performances, spoken word and art installation from 1 to 3:30 p.m. at Peralta Park, corner of Solano Ave. and Peralta St. 528-9038. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Familia Cepeda, Afro-Puerto Rican, at 8 and 10 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $12-$15. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Babatunde Lea Quartet at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $14. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Najite, Bass Culture Review, Afrobeat from Los Angeles, at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com  

Amy Obenski and Kristin Lagasse at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

The Soul Burners at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

Neydavood Ensemble at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $19.50-$20.50. 548-1761.  

Autumn Sara, High Like Five, Seconds Left at 6 p.m. at Oakland Metro, 201 Broadway. Cost is $10. 763-1146. www.oaklandmetro.org 

Maya Kronfeld Group at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $10. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Fred Randolph Jazz Group at 9:30 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. Cost is $5. 843-2473. www.albatrosspub.com 

Nicole McRory at 10 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790.  

The Altered Egos, Bunny Numpkins and the Kill Blow-up Reaction at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5. 841-2082.  

Christ on Parade, Attitude Adjustment, El Dopa at 7 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

SUNDAY, JULY 29 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Color & Light” Photographic art by Bill Hannapple. Reception for the artist at 1 p.m. at The LightRoom Gallery, 2263 Fifth St., through Aug. 24. 649-8111. www.lightroom.com 

“First Exposures: Bay Area Youth Photography” Reception at 2 p.m. at Mills College Art Museum, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland. www.sfcamerawork.org 

FILM 

Jewish Film Festival from 11:30 a.m. to 8:45 p.m. at The Roda Theater, 2015 Addison St. For information on tickets call 925-275-9490. www.sfjff.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Tao Lin and Stephanie Young read at 7 p.m. at 21 Grand, 416 25th St. at Broadway. Cost is $5. 649-1320. 

“Rewriting Copyright with the Swedish Pirate Party” A panel discussion on how both creativity and civil liberties are often stymied by today’s copyright laws at 5 p.m. at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. Cost is $10. www.hillsideclub.org 

Cal Adventures Open Mic at 7 p.m. at the recreation yard across from Hana Japan at the Berkeley Marina. 642-4000. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Midsummer Mozart, Program II, featuring Elspeth Franks, soprano, at 7 p.m. at First Congregational Church. Tickets are $30-$60. 415-627-9145. www.midsummermozart.org 

San Francisco Renaissance Voices “The Regina Monologues” music for lute, readings from Shakespeare, and Elizabethan madrigals and folksongs at 7:30 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church, 2001 Santa Clara St., Alameda. Tickets are $12-$15. 522-1477. www.sfrv.org 

Berkeley Opera “Aïda” at 2 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $15-$40. 925-798-1300. 

Summer Jazz with Chester Smith & his Organ at 3 p.m., The History of Jazz with Randy Moore at 4:30 p.m. at Open Jam Session at 5 p.m. at Oakland Public Library, Golden Gate Branch, 5606 San Pablo Ave., Oakland. 597-5023. 

Brad Colerick at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761.  

Folk This! and Friends An evening of radical protest music and theater at 7 p.m. at La Peña. Cost is $10. 849-2568.  

Con Alma Voice-tet at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $8. 841-JAZZ.  

JL Stiles at 11 a.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Ten Ton Chicken, Eyewitness Blues Band, David Gans and others at 7 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10-$20 sliding scale. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Aaron Bahr Jazz Quintet at 4:30 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $10. 845-5373.  

Americana Unplugged: Corbin and Crew at 5 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

Ignite, Stick to your Guns These Days at 6 p.m. at Oakland Metro, 201 Broadway. Cost is $10. 763-1146.  

MONDAY, JULY 30 

CHILDREN 

Magic Dan at 3:30 p.m. at the North Branch of the Berkeley Public Library. 981-6250. 

FILM 

Jewish Film Festival from 2:15 to 8:15 p.m. at The Roda Theater, 2015 Addison St. For information on tickets call 925-275-9490. www.sfjff.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Austin Grossman and Tao Lin at 7:30 p.m. at Moe’s Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave. 849-2087. 

James Lindsay shares stories from his mother’s memoir “Bold Plum” about the guerrillas in China’s war against Japan at 7 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698.  

Marty Nemko describes “Cool Careers for Dummies” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 559-9500. 

Poetry Express with Dale Jensen birthday celebration reading at 7 p.m., at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. 644-3977. 

Breaking Chains A night of poetry at 7 p.m. at Revolution Books, 2425 Channing Way. 848-1196.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Flutopia at 7 p.m. at Le Bateau Ivre, 2629 Telegraph Ave. 849-1100. www.lebateauivre.net 

Trovatore, traditional Italian music, at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

West Coast Songwriter’s Showcase at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $5 548-1761 www.freightandsalvage.org 

Orquesta Borinquen at 8 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$16. 238-9200.  

TUESDAY, JULY 31 

CHILDREN 

Dan Chan the Magic Man and Kat at 7 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext 17. 

Voice of the Wood “How the Jackrabbit Got His Very Long Ears” at 3 p.m. at the West Branch of the Berkeley Public Library. 981-6270. 

FILM 

Jewish Film Festival from 1:45 to 8:45 p.m. at The Roda Theater, 2015 Addison St. 925-275-9490. www.sfjff.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES  

Deborah Davis introduces “Not Like You at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 559-9500. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Randy Craig Trio at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Wally Schnalle at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $6-$10. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1 

CHILDREN 

Zun Zun plays “Music of the Americas” in Spanish, English and Portuguese at 3:30 p.m. at the CLaremont Branch od the Berkeley Public Library. 981-6280. 

EXHIBITIONS 

“The Telegraph 3 p.m. Project” Photographs by Robert Eliason and poetry by Owen Hill opens at the Gaia Arts Center, 2120 Allston Way with a reception at 7:30 p.m. exhibition runs to Jan. 31. 665-0305.  

“Glimpses in Time” Photography exhibition in honor of Gordon Parks opens at the Joyce Gordon Gallery, 406 14th St., Oakland, and runs to Aug. 31. 465-8928. 

FILM 

Jewish Film Festival from 2 to 8:30 p.m. at The Roda Theater, 2015 Addison St. For information on tickets call 925-275-9490. www.sfjff.org 

Eco-Amok: An Inconvenient Film Fest “Prophecy” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Ian Jackman describes “Eat This!: 1,001 Things to Eat Before You Diet” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Ann Channin, jazz, at 1:15 p.m. at North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst. 981-5190. 

Johnny Bones and the Palace of Jazz at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island. Cost is $8. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Saul Kaye “A Taste of Paradise” at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10-$15. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Tri Tip Trio at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cajun/Zydeco dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

The Mundaze Acoustic at 10 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. www.beckettsirishpub.com 

Tenth Annual East Bay Blues Revue at 7:30 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $20. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Shaped by Water” Abstract landscape paintings by Jane Norling. Reception for the artists at 11:30 a.m. at the EBMUD Gallery, 375 11th St., Oakland. 287-0138. 

“New Visions” Group show of work by Bay Area artists. Opening reception at 6 p.m. at Pro Arts Gallery, 550 Second St., Oakland. 763-9425. 

FILM 

“2nd Verse” A documentary exploring teen life in the Bay Area and the popularity of Spoken Word, at 8 p.m. at La Peña. Cost is $5-$6. 849-2568.  

Jewish Film Festival from 1:45 to 8:30 p.m. at The Roda Theater, 2015 Addison St. For information on tickets call 925-275-9490. www.sfjff.org 

A Theater Near You “White Light/Black Rain” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Roberta Spear Retrospective “A Sweetness Rising” with Pholip Levine, Peter Everwine and Sandra Hoben at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 559-9500. 

“Conversations on Art” with Faith Powell on the female subjects in Man Ray’s work at 6:30 p.m. at the Judah L. Magnes Museum, 2911 Russell St. Cost is $6-$8. 549-6950.  

Larry Kearney reads his poetry at 7 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave., Albany. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Steve Carter Trio at noon at the downtown Berkeley BART station. info@downtownberkeley.org 

“Once More, For the First Time” students of the Ailey Camp perform at 7 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Free tickets available from 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Dgin, Mad Maggies at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $8. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Tangria Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $9. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Iwori, Raya Nova, Sugar Shack at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $6. 841-2082 . 

Vortex Tribe at 10 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790.  

Pete Escovedo at 8 and 10 p.m., through Sun. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $18-$24. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

“I know thousands of songs,” says singer Cynthia Davis, who will perform a special matinee of jazz standards and negro spirituals this Sunday at Anna’s Jazz Island. “But I seldom sat down and learned one. I learned them from the old movies; we used to go twice a week in the old days. When I sing a song, I go back to the scene in the movie. Songs in musicals were written to tell stories. 

“And now that I’m trying to write my life as a theater performance, I’ll have to allude to those movie scenes.” 

Davis, a former longtime Berkeley resident, who taught at the New School in San Francisco and sang at “different clubs around the Santa Fe Bar and Grill,” besides doing an outdoor concert at UC in the ’80s set up by her dancer niece Maya, now lives and sings in Cancun, Mexico. 

“In 1996, I had a sabbatical from the New School, and visited Spain and London,” Davis recalled. “A friend suggested I speak at the school in Cancun; I was invited to teach for three months. That was 11 years ago!” 

She’s sung at the Ritz-Carleton and Maroma Hotels, at the Cancun Jazz Festival (on bills with such acts as Sister Sledge and Diana Krall) and at a club, Roots, “where every night I was introduced as ‘Cynthia Davis, the Golden Voice of Jazz!’” 

Her audiences in Cancun are a mix of local Mexicans and tourists. “People tell people they meet at Immigration to come see me. When I visited Cuba and went to an expensive tourist jazz club, just to take a look, a man said, ‘Hey, I know you!’ I thought it was a pick-up line. But he had a video of me advertising the jazz festival! He invited me and my friends in.” 

She works with a Mexican pianist and a Cuban guitarist. “I don’t scat very much; my guitarist does the scatting,” she said. 

“If I leave Cancun,” Davis said, “people email me and get me back. But I miss Berkeley so much. It’s the only place I could live in the U.S. If I could spend six months in each place, it would be perfect. But the rents here are so high.” 

She moved to Berkeley decades ago, after graduating from Antioch College. “All my Antioch friends had moved to Berkeley. It was a perfect transition.”  

She was reunited with one of them when Loni Hancock knocked on her door, canvassing the neighborhood while running for mayor. Hancock requested that Davis sing at her wedding to Tom Bates. And Davis found herself repeating the same set of songs—twice—at their classmate Karen Jacobs’ house for a party to which Hancock and Bates came late. “I sang it again for them as they held hands and listened.” 

Born in Newport News, Vir., Davis is African American but also Cherokee and Blackfoot, French, Irish, Jewish and Portuguese. Her grandmother was a singer at churches and weddings, appearing once on the Ed Sullivan Show before moving from New York to Newport News to care for her aunt. 

Davis began singing at 6 in a school choir, and at 12 became featured soloist at her high school. Her choir director featured her in a Friday night talent show, rehearsing her in the empty auditorium. “I came out to sing ‘Ebb tide’ and almost fell down. That empty auditorium had 5,000 people in it! So I leaned on the piano for support—and people said, ‘Ooo, she’s got an act!’” 

Later, smaller audiences would make her nervous: “I could see everybody’s face! I was so used to singing in front of large groups, I didn’t think I’d make it through the concert.” 

She was featured every Friday night for five years. Later, Davis was chosen to sing negro spirituals “at everybody’s funeral. I sing them Marian Anderson style. And a capella when I can. I didn’t come from a gospel church.” After moving to Berkeley, Terence Kelly asked her to join the Oakland Gospel Choir. 

Davis has taught “since I was 12. Later, I joined the Future Teachers of America.” At one point, she improvised what would later be termed conflict resolution for 4- and 5-year-olds. Now she is a storyteller two hours a week at a Cancun private school. 

Reflecting on growing up in Virginia during segregation, Davis said, “It was a very polite segregation in Newport News. But our 250 voice choir, with a brilliant director who should’ve been at Juilliard, never won an award. I feel I had an advantage, though, because my mother was a teacher and my father directed a black bank. I seldom rode the bus, but when I did, I sat in front! They weren’t going to stop the bus for that. But my mother would say, ‘I’m going to have to bail you out of jail!’—and I’d say, ‘Yes, you will!’ All my life I bucked the system.” 

Both her parents had gone to college at Hampton Institute, “but that was too close, which is why I went to Antioch”—which finally brought her to Berkeley. 

Davis stopped singing once, but found “I have to sing. Not just to entertain, but because it has something I need. I love sad songs; they get the sadness out. It’s good they’re bringing sad stories back. Otherwise, people put the sadness into anger.” 

“I didn’t really learn how to sing,” Davis concluded, “just placement and how to breathe. I’ve sung all my life. If you ask me how, I’ll tell you to pick a song you love, learn it backwards and forwards, and sing it with all your heart—then get it out there! Then come to me, and I’ll help you.”

In 1969, Ralph Arlyck made a student film called Sean about his 4-year-old neighbor in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district. Sean was the son of hippie parents and in an interview with Arlyck he claimed to smoke and eat marijuana, earning the film a great deal of notoriety, including praise and damnation from politicians and dire predictions of Sean’s fate as an adult.  

Thirty years later, Arlyck returned to San Francisco to see what became of Sean and his family. However, the resulting feature, Following Sean, is much more than an update. The project ended up taking nearly a decade to complete, and the final product is something much more profound, Arlyck having transformed the experience into a stirring meditation on time and aging, on youth and dreams and ideals, on middle-age, old age, companionship and family.  

Despite the predictions, Sean is in fact a grounded, articulate and well-adjusted young man. And Arlyck has gone on to a successful career in film. But what makes Following Sean engaging is not so much the factual details of lives lived, but the context in which they’ve been lived, and the ways in which paths cross, diverge, reconnect and diverge again.  

The decision to draw parallels between Sean’s story and his own might at first seem self-indulgent, but Arlyck finds just the right tone, examining the social context in which their lives—and the lives of three generations of each man’s family—have unfolded. Sean’s grandparents were active Communists during the McCarthy era; his father was a hippie refugee from an upper-middle-class upbringing; and Arlyck’s East Coast Jewish background frequently clashes with attitudes and ideals he derived from his West Coast experience. Each man has both embraced and rebelled against his roots, and each has gained his share of wisdom, pride and regret from the experience. It’s a thoughtful film, a sort of cinematic poem, with images from the past juxtaposed with the present, revealing three decades worth of sadness and joy and love and pain. 

Following Sean airs at 10 p.m. Tuesday, July 31 on KQED.

Out of the hundred or so operas that are produced in major houses annually, Giuseppe Verdi’s Aïda ranks among the top 20 and has done so for decades. This brings up a pressing question for opera companies: Is it possible to show the same opera over and over with little change in the production, or are companies obliged to rework expensive operas so that they seem continually new? Last Saturday, the Berkeley Opera opened its own version of Aïda, one that strove to be unconventional—fresher and more relevant. 

Smaller companies seldom stage Verdi’s Egyptian opera because of the financial demands of the opera’s conventions—notably a cast of supernumeraries formed into a victory procession that traditionally includes elephants, horses or some other fauna, as well as a last act that necessitates a double stage, with temple above and tomb below.  

One of Berkeley Opera’s solutions to the burden of the production was to limit casting, costuming and rehearsal time to the opera’s few soloists, and to place the chorus off stage. The ingenious transformation of the Egyptian victory processional into a television broadcast allowed not only for video projections of crowd scenes but also created an ironic portrayal of the opera’s royal family as a kind of media event.  

Which leads us to a more crucial decision by Berkeley Opera’s creative team: the updating of Aïda’s setting to a contemporary milieu. It’s to the company’s credit that it continually tries to address current issues. For the other pressing question in opera today is about social significance: Are traditional operas that showcase long abandoned mores and values meaningful to the culture at large?  

Since the 1980s Peter Sellars has been a force in the direction of opera. His work with composer John Adams has pushed the themes and ideas of opera well into the present century. But his interpretations of Mozart have had even greater effect. For what Sellars brought to opera is directorial license to modernize conventional opera in edgy productions pertinent to today’s politics and sexuality. This is what director Yuval Sharon attempts with Berkeley Opera’s Aïda.  

Sharon’s production opens with a line of uniformed maids cleaning the floor of a white-walled office reminiscent of a room in the White House. The upstage hallway is painted red, the stage-left hallway, ultramarine blue. Men in suits pass through. Above the set is a second stage: a dark attic like room into which a man is thrown on a bed and beaten. During the opera’s course this room serves as torture chamber, killing room and finally the tomb in which Radamés and Aïda die.  

Even though the supertitles don’t refer to any country by name, the parallels with contemporary American political power are obvious. And they can be chilling: for example, when the priest Ramfis sings about “the Deity.” 

Overall, however, the production falls prey to the logical inconsistencies that occur when 130-year-old operas are squeezed into a modern concept; it’s further beset by difficult directorial choices badly made. 

Enacting torture is always questionable. It’s one of those extremes of reality that when set in an essentially imaginary or fantastic medium like theater takes on an artificial and self-conscious quality. It becomes a parody of itself, thereby losing its power and diverting the intent behind portraying it. It seems gratuitous. 

Other attempts to show the horrors and corruption of power—the high priest’s sexual mauling of the Patriotic Girl, the beating of the messenger, the ending throat-slitting by the opposing guerrilla forces—also seemed gratuitous. Set in contrast to the opera’s splendid choruses, which were ably sung by the UC Alumni Chorus, these scenes were awkward at best.  

Aïda is one of Verdi’s more psychologically complex operas: built around the triangle of Aïda, Radamés and Amneris, it brings up questions of personal versus social loyalty and the force of passions to betray. Its ethics of emotions have political implications in and of themselves that are accessible to the audience even in the most conservative productions. Berkeley Opera’s violence-laced interpretation flattened out the characters’ complexity so that they, and consequently the entire production, seemed cartoonish. Which was an injustice to the singers and musicians. 

Juyeon Song sang the role of Aïda in a slightly dark and appropriately weighted soprano. Tenor Kevin Courtemanche sang the role of Radamés vibrantly and energetically. Jennifer Roderer sang the wonderfully dramatic mezzo role of Amneris. The priest Ramfis was sung by bass William Pickersgill, Soprano Margaret Valeriano delivered a sweet and pure toned version of the priestess. The orchestra was kept in fine order by Maestro Jonathan Khuner. 

AIDA 

Presented by Berkeley Opera at 8 p.m. Friday and at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts. For tickets and information, call (925) 798-1300, 

or visit www.berkeleyopera.org.