FRIDAY, AUGUST 10 

A Ramble into, through, and above Strawberry Canyon, with guides, at 5:30 p.m. followed by a Farmers’ Market Barbeque at 7 p.m. at the Haas Club House, UC Campus. For details call Berkeley Architectural Heritage 841-2242. www.berkeleyheritage.com 

Peace Meditation & Origami class for all ages with Hiroshima survivor Takashi Tanemori at 7 p.m. at Unity of Berkeley, 2075 Eunice St. Suggested donation $10-$20, no one turned away. 528-8844. 

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 7:30 p.m. at Finnish Brotherhood Hall, 1970 Chestnut St at University. Donation of $5 requested. 528-4253.  

SATURDAY, AUGUST 11 

Art Deco Walking Tour of Downtown Berkeley Meet at 11 a.m. in front of United Artists Theater, 2274 Shattuck. www.artdecosociety.org 

Oakland Heritage Alliance Walking Tour of Temescal Meet at 10 a.m. in front of Genova Delicatessen, 5095 Telegraph Ave. 763-9218. www.oaklandheritage.org 

Walking Tour of Old Oakland uptown to the Lake to discover Art Deco landmarks. Meet at 10 a.m. in front of the Paramount Theater at 2025 Broadway. Tour lasts 90 minutes. Reservations can be made by calling 238-3234. 

SF Mime Troupe “Making a Killing” at 2 p.m. at Live Oak Park, Shattuck Ave. at Berryman. www.sfmt.org 

The Great War Society meets to discuss “What the Doughboy Wore” by Norm Miller at 10:30 a.m. at 640 Arlington Ave. 527-7118. 

“Amazed” A family maze and labyrinth making event from 1 to 4 p.m. at The Museum of Children’s Art, 528 9th St., Oakland. Cost is $5. 465-8770. 

Solo Sierrans Hike in Tilden Park Meet at 4:30 p.m. at Lone Oak big parking lot for an hour and a half hike through the cool woods. Some climbing on fire trails. Optional dinner afterwards. 234-8949. 

Introduction to Permaculture Learn the principles of using permaculture, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Cost is $10-$15, no one turned away. Call to pre-register and for location. 548-2220, ext. 233. 

Re-Dedication of Brookdale Park with entertainment, food, spoken word and community booths at 11 a.m. at 2535 High St., Oakland. 533-2366. 

Re-Leaf the San Pablo Creekside Help push out the invasive plants and bring back native vegetation from 9:30 a.m. to noon at 4191 Appian Way, El Sobrante. For information call 665-3538. www.thewatershedproject.org 

“Less Safe, Less Free: The Failure of Preemption in the War on Terror” with Jules Lobel at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

Hopalong Animal Rescue Come meet your furry new best friend. Cats and kittens available for adoption from noon to 3 p.m. at Your Basic Bird, 2940 College Ave. 267-1915, ext. 500. 

CoHousing Potluck at 2 p.m. at 2220 Sacramento St. 849-2063. 

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

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

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. www.nativeplants.org 

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

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12 

Oakland Heritage Alliance Walking Tour of Laurel Neighborhood Meet at 10 a.m. at the Albertson’s parking lot, 4055 MacArthur Blvd. 763-9218. www.oaklandheritage.org 

Green Party BBQ at 11 a.m. at Live Oak Park. Look for the green and white canopy. 

SF Mime Troupe “Making a Killing” at 2 p.m. at Live Oak Park, Shattuck Ave. at Berryman. www.sfmt.org 

Mumia Abu Jamal on the Road to Freedom? with Mumia’s lead counsel, Robert R. Bryan on developments in Mumia’s case at 2 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Universalists, 1924 Cedar at Bonita. Suggested donation $5-$10. 526-4402. 

The Red Oak Victory Ship Pancake Breakfast from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 1337 Canal Blvd in Richmond harbor. Exit Canal Blvd off Hwy 580. Cost is $6, children under 5 free. 237-2933. 

Free Sailboat Rides from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Cal Sailing Club, Berkeley Marina. Wear warm, waterproof clothing and bring a change of clothes in case you get wet. www.cal-sailing.org 

Middle East Peace Petition Release Party from 3 to 6 p.m. at Redwood Gardens, 2951 Derby. 548-9840. 

Community Meditation and Potluck at 7 p.m. at 1940 Virginia St. Sponsored by The East Bay Open Circle. 495-7511. www.eastbayopencircle.org  

MONDAY, AUGUST 13 

Peace Child Summer Arts Camp for Children ages 8-12 with singing, dancing, acting, music-making, shadow puppetry, and art-making about peace runs to Aug 17, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Arlington Community Church, 52 Arlington Ave., Kensington. Cost is $100. 526-9146. 

Emergency Womyn’s Round Table and Pot Luck to strategize on how to bring our troops home at 6 p.m. at Redwood Gardens, 2951 Derby St. RSVP to 524-2776.  

Peoples Park Community Peace Rally Planning at 7 p.m. at Café Mediterranean, 2400 block of Telegraph Ave. The rally and concert will take place Sept. 15. 658-1451. 

Roads to Recovery to celebrate the departure of Mark Rhoades and learn about neighborhood issues at 6:30 p.m. at Cafe de la Paz, 1600 Shattuck. Cost is $5. RSVP to 849-4619. mariebowman@pacbell.net  

Berkeley CopWatch organizational meeting at 8 p.m. at 2022 Blake St. 548-0425. 

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

Drop in Knitting Class at the Albany Library Work on your own project or make pet blankets and children’s hats to be donated to charity organizations, at 3:30 p.m. at 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

TUESDAY, AUGUST 14 

Readers Theater Program for children ages 7-10 at 2 p.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6223.  

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

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

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. 

Games Club Games designers meet at 6 p.m. and games lovers meet at 8 p.m. to discuss board, strategy and social interaction games at at Dr Comics and Mr Games, 4014 Piedmont Ave., Oakland. To RSVP call 601-7800. 

Baby-Friendly Book Club meets to discuss “The Third Man” by Graham Greene at 10 a.m. at Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave. 524-3043. 

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 15 

Walking Tour of Historic Oakland Churches and Temples Meet at 10 a.m. at the front of the First Presbyterian Church at 2619 Broadway. Tour lasts 90 minutes. Reservations can be made by calling 238-3234. www.oaklandnet.com/walkingtours 

Recording African American Stories Add your voice to the Library of Congress and the National Museum of African American History, Wed. from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., by appointment, at Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Ave., Oakland, through Sept. 12. For appointment call 228-3207. 

“Under the Radar” Israelis and Palestinians Working Together against Occupation and for Human Rights at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Unitarian Fellowship Hall, 1924 Cedar St. at Bonita. Donation $5-$20, no one turned away. Sponsored by Jewish Voice for Peace. 465-1777. 

Lead-Safe Painting & Remodeling A free class to learn about lead safe renovations for your older home, from noon to 2 p.m. at Lakeview Branch Library, 550 El Embarcadero, Oakland. Presented by Alameda County Lead Poisoning Prevention Program. 567-8280. www.ACLPPP.org 

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Book Discussion at 4 p.m. at the Central Berkeley Public Library, 4th Floor, Children’s Story Room. 981-6223.  

“What the Bleep Do We Know?” at 7:30 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland. Donation $5. www.HumanistHall.net 

“Insights to Wellness” Demonstrations at 7:45 p.m. at Takibi Yoga Studio, 4550 San Pablo Ave., Suite D, 2nd Floor, in Emeryville. Cost is $5. 

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 every Wednesday 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 at the Berkeley BART Station, corner of Shattuck and Center. www.geocities.com/vigil4peace/vigil 

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16 

Free Diabetes Screening Come find out if you might have diabetes with our free screening test and make sure not to eat or drink anything for 8 hours beforehand, from 8:45 to noon at the Downtown Oakland Senior Center, 200 Grand Ave. 981-5332. 

World of Plants Tours Thurs., Sat. and Sun. at 1:30 p.m. at the UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. Cost is $5. 643-2755.  

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

FRIDAY, AUGUST 10 

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 

California Shakespeare Theater “The Triumph of Love” at the Bruns Ampitheater, 100 Gateway Blvd., Orinda, through Sept. 2. Tickets are $15-$60. 548-9666. www.calshakes.org 

Woodminster Summer Musicals “The Wizard of Oz” Fri.-Sun. at Woodminster Amphitheater in Joaquin Miller Park, 3300 Joaquin Miller Rd., Oakland, through Aug. 19. Tickets at $23-$36. 531-9597. www.woodminster.com 

EXHIBITIONS 

Mark Axelrod “Sticks and Stones Not Only Break Bones” oil paintings, and Linda Braz “Explorations” mixed media installations and sketches, opens at The Gallery Of Urban Art, 1746 13th St. Oakland. 706-1697. 

“Art in Wood” works by Ervin Somogyi on display at the City of Berkeley Building, 1947 Center St. Lobby Gallery, through Nov. 9. 981-7546. 

FILM 

From the Tsars to the Stars: A Journey through Russian Fantastik Cinema “Planet of Storms” at 7 p.m. and “The Amphibian Man” at 9 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5-$8. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

H.D. Moe and Mel C. Thompson read at 7 p.m. at Nefeli Caffe, 1854 Euclid Ave. 841-6374. 

“Prosody Castle 2” Performance poetry at 7 p.m. at The Gallery of Urban Art, 1746 13th St. at Wood, Oakland. Donations accepted. www.thegalleryofurbanart.com 

Diane LeBow, Katherina Audly and others read from “Greece: A Love Story” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 559-9500. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Steve Gannon and Cruise Tones at 5:30 p.m. at Park Place at Washington Ave., Point Richmond. Free. www.pointrichmond.com/prmusic/ 

University Summer Symphony perfoms Beethoven, Stravinsky and Rimsky-Korsakov at 8 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $5-$10. 642-4864. http://music.berkeley.edu 

The Dunes, part of The Arab Cultural Initiative, at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $8-$10. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

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

Abyssinians, reggae, at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $15-$20. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

“Maniko” with Kit Walker on keyboards, Teerth Gonzalez on percussion at 7:30 p.m. at Sacred Space at Rudramandir, 830 Bancroft Way, at 6th. Cost is $20. 486-8700. 

Bluegrass Buffet with the Mighty Crows, Belle Monroe & Her Brewglass Boys, and Bluegrass Revolution at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $15.50-$16.50. 548-1761.  

Seconds on End, rock, at 8 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave. 548-5198.  

Scott Amendola, Wil Blades, Jeff Parker at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com  

Brook Schoenfield at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. w 

Stormcrow, Limb from Limb, Sixteens at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $6. 525-9926. 

2ME at 10 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790.  

The Memphis Murder Men at 9:30 p.m. at the Stork Club, 2330 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. Cost is $5. 444-6174. 

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

Marco Benevento at 8 and 10 p.m., through Sat. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $8-$18. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

SATURDAY, AUGUST 11 

CHILDREN  

The Panchatantra: Animal Lessons from India Sat. and Sun. at 12:30 and 3:30 p.m. at Children’s Fairyland, 699 Bellevue Ave. 452-2259. 

THEATER 

SF Mime Troupe “Making a Killing” Sat. and Sun. at 2 p.m. at Live Oak Park, Shattuck Ave. at Berryman. www.sfmt.org 

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. 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Around the Globe” Works by various artists opens with a reception at 6 p.m. at Expressions Gallery, 2035 Ashby Ave. 644-4930. 

“New Visions” Group show of work by Bay Area artists. Artists’ talk at 1 p.m. at Pro Arts Gallery, 550 Second St., Oakland. 763-9425. 

FILM 

The Overdub Club “Year of the Caves” film and music experiments at 8 p.m. at 21 Grand, 416 25th St., at Broadway, Oakland. 444-7263. 

Abbas Kiarostami: Image Maker “Taste of Cherry” at 6:30 p.m. and “And Life Goes On” at 8:35 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Jules Lobel discusses “Less Safe, Less Free: The Failure of Preemption in the War on Terror” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

“Jewish Literature: Identity and Imagination” with Dr. Naomi Seidman at 2 p.m. at Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave. 524-3043. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Bay Area Rockin’ Solidarity Labor Chorus and the Vukani Mawethu Chorus, in a benefit for The Highlander Center at 8 p.m. at Kehila Synagogue, 1300 Grand Ave., Piedmont. Tickets are $7-$12.50. 415-648-3457. 

University Summer Symphony perfoms Beethoven, Stravinsky and Rimsky-Korsakov at 8 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $5-$10. 642-4864.  

Latin Music Festival with Latin jazz and rock, samba and salsa, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Pavilion Stage, Broadway and Water St., Oakland. Free. www.jacklondonsquare.com 

“Gateswingers Jazz Band” at 8 p.m. at Central Perk: 10086 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. 558-7375.  

Gary Wade & Friends, guitar and vocals, at noon at Cafe Zeste, 1250 Addison St. at Bonar, in the Strawberry Creek Park complex. 704-9378. 

Orquesta La Moderna Tradición, classic and modern Cuban dance music, at 9 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $12. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Lloyd Gregory and Friends at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $14. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Lepidoptera at 7:30 p.m. at Epic Arts, 1923 Ashby Ave. Cost is $5-$10. 644-2204. www.epicarts.org 

Three Mile Grade, bluegrass, at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $12. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com  

Ruben Quinones and Rick Hardin at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Gearóid Ó Hallmhuráin & Barbara Magone at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Andy Tisdall, The Fancy Dan Band at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Royal Hawaiian Serenaders at 9 p.m. at Temple Bar Tiki Bar & Grill, 984 University Ave. 548-9888. 

Something New at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $10. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

“Cari Lee & the Saddle-ites” at 9 p.m. at Downtown Restaurant & Bar, 2102 Shattuck Ave. 649-3810. 

Blind Duck, Irish music, at 9:30 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. Cost is $5. 843-2473. www.albatrosspub.com 

Misner & Smith at 8 p.m. at Spuds Pizza, 3290 Adeline St. Cost is $7. 558-0881. 

Broun Fellinis at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

WarKrime, Rabies, Second Opinion at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $6. 525-9926. 

SUNDAY, AUGUST 12 

EXHIBITIONS 

Exhibition of Remastered Black Panther Posters and book signing by Emory Douglas at 3 p.m. at Guerilla Cafe, 1620 Shattuck Ave.  

FILM 

From the Tsars to the Stars: A Journey through Russian Fantastik Cinema “Aelita, Queen of Mars” at 4:45 p.m. and “Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka” at 7 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Architecture Tour of the Oakland Museum and Gardens at 1 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak at 10th St. Cost is $5-$8. 238-2200. www.museumca.org 

Sheila Kohler reads from her new novel “Bluebird, or The Invention of Happiness” at 4 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

“Invocation to the Sun God Narayana” by the Jyoti Kala Mandir College of Indian Classical Arts at 6 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $12-15. 86-9851. mail@jyotikalamandir.org 

Bill Evans String Summit at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $19.50-$20.50. 548-1761.  

Aleph Null at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ.  

Americana Unplugged: Big B and his Snake Oil Saviours at 5 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

Pappa Gianni & North Beach Band at 2 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave. 548-5198.  

María Volanté “Intima” at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $13-$15. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Cafe Bellie at 7:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10. 525-5054.  

Randy Marshall at 11 a.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

Bayonettes at 5 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

Sunny Hawkins at 7 and 9 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $12-$20. 238-9200.  

MONDAY, AUGUST 13 

CHILDREN 

“The Case of the Missing Mutt” with Tony Borders and his puppets at 10:30 a.m. at the South Branch, Berkeley Public Library. 981-6260.  

EXHIBITIONS 

“Wood Bodies” Photo mosaic portraits of home and place by Marty Kent and Ted Harris. Reception for the artists at 7 p.m. at Café Strada, 2300 College Ave. 848-1985.  

THEATER 

Duck’s Breath Mystery Theatre, comedy, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $20.50-$21.50. 548-1761. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Jane Booth describes “Transformed by Triathlon: The Making of An Improbable Athlete” at 7:30 p.m. at Laurel Bookstore, 4100 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland. 531-2073. 

Poetry Express with Carol Hogan from Phoenix, Arizona at 7 p.m., at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. 644-3977. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

City Concert Opera Orchestra performs Haydn’s “L’Isola Disabitata” Opera in two acts with period instruments at 7:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $10-$20. www.cityconcertopera.com  

Nada Lewis, Eastern European songs, at 7 p.m. at Le Bateau Ivre, 2629 Telegraph Ave. 849-1100. www.lebateauivre.net 

Parlor Tango at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Edgardo y Candela, salsa, at 8 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10. 238-9200. 

TUESDAY, AUGUST 14 

CHILDREN 

P&T Puppet Theatre performs The Adventures of Spider and Fly at 3:30 p.m. at the North Branch, Berkeley Public Library. 981-6250. 

FILM 

From the Tsars to the Stars: A Journey through Russian Fantastik Cinema “Stalker” at 7 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

William Poy Lee will give a talk on his book “The Eighth Promise : An American Son’s Tribute to his Toisanese Mother” at 7 p.m. at El Cerrito Library, 6510 Stockton Ave. El Cerrito. 526-7512. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

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

Singers’ Open Mic with Kelly Park at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Jenny Ferris & Laura Klein, jazz, at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

George Kuo, Martin Pahinui & Aaron Mahi at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

At Night & Lonesome Architects at 7:30 p.m. at Epic Arts, 1923 Ashby Ave. Cost is $5-$10. 644-2204. www.epicarts.org 

Kash Killion at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$14. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

Jazzschool Tuesdays, a weekly showcase of up-and-coming ensembles from Berkeley Jazzschool at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15 

CHILDREN 

Dogs and Tales! Hear stories and meet a pet from the Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society at 10:30 a.m. at Central Berkeley Public Library, 3rd Floor, Community Meeting Room. For ages 5-10. RSVP to 981-6223.  

FILM 

International Latino Film Festival “Rosita” at 7 p.m. at Richmond Public Library, 325 Civic Center Plaza, Richmond. 620-6555. 

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

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Café Poetry hosted by Paradise at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña. Donation $2. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Berkeley Poetry Slam with host Charles Ellik and Three Blind Mice, at 8:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5-$7. 841-2082 www.starryploughpub.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Skye Steele at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Solo Cissokho, Senegalese Solo Kora at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Lecture demonstration on the Griot Culture and the Kora at 8 p.m. Cost is $12-$15. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Whiskey Brothers, old time and bluegrass, at 9 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473.  

Rumbache at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Salsa dance lessons at 8 p.m. Cost is $5-$10. 548-1159.  

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

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

Mel Martin and the Benny Carter Centennial Tribute Band at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $12-$20. 238-9200.  

THURSDAY, AUGUST 16 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Homeland Obscurity” Works by Catherine Richardson and Will Tait opens at the Float Art Gallery, 1091 Calcot Place, Unit #116, Oakland. 535-1702. 

“Women by Women: The Dynamic Feminie Aspect” works by Jennifer Downey and Susan Matthews. Perfomance at 5 p.m. and artist talk at 7 p.m. at the Craft & Cultural Arts Gallery, State of California Office Building Atrium, 1515 Clay St., Oakland. Exhibit runs to Aug. 31. 622-8190. 

FILM 

Oakland International Black LGBT Film Festival through Sun. at the Parkway Theater, 1834 Park Blvd. 814-2400. www.clubrimshot.com 

Abbas Kiarostami: Image Maker “Ten” at 7 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5-$8. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Murray Suid describes “Words of a Feather: A Humorous Puzzlement of Etymological Pairs” at 7:30 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

Tony Trigilio and Andrew Demcak, poets, at 7:30 p.m. at Pegasus Books Downtown, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Rosa Los Santos at noon at the downtown Berkeley BART station. info@downtownberkeley.org 

Rachael Sage at 8 p.m. at Epic Arts Studios, 1923 Ashby Ave. 644-2204.  

Kelly’s Kitchen, Project Greenfield at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $8. 525-5054.  

Biscuit Burners, mountain music, at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50-$18.50. 548-1761.  

Jack Gates Group at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $8. 841-JAZZ.  

Saul Kaye at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

La Muneca y Los Muerteos, Fast Heart Mart, Samvega at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5. 841-2082. 

Milagro at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $8-$10. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Lee Ritenour & Friends at 8 and 10 p.m., through Sun. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $22-$26. 238-9200.  

The interesting thing about me is that I’m not interesting at all,” smiled Krisztina Peremartoni as she handed out a card reading, “Hey Actor! Shouldn’t you be acting?” for her Open Acting classes, held in a studio in Oakland. 

How she finds herself living in Berkeley after a quarter century on the stages of Budapest and around Europe as female principal for the Hungarian National Theatre is, however, very interesting, indeed. 

After growing up in Vestrem, near Hungary’s Lake Balaton, Peremartoni was accepted at 18 to the Theatre Conservatory. After no particular acting experience (“In Hungary, we’re big in reciting poems, not performing plays in school”), she found herself on stage every night after her second year at the Conservatory. “One of the big theaters takes you—big theater, not a studio theater—and you play six shows a weekend. By the time I was 20, I already had 500 performances to my credit.” 

Her training was heavily influenced by Russian theater. “Because they were occupying us, their theater culture had a big influence.” Like the Moscow Art Theatre, to which Peremartoni would later have a scholarship, the classes “were very professional; just the number of different classes in movement: acrobatics, jazz dance, ballet, modern dance, stage movement, horse riding, shooting—that’s just a few! It’s unbelievable how rich our education as actors was. And there was only one school, no private ones. If you weren’t accepted, you’d never be an actor.” 

After four years’ training, she was hired by the prestigious Vig Theatre. “It was a big thing, very hard to get in.” Her first role was a kind of success of scandal: “We performed [polish playwright] Gombrowicz’s Operette, and I played the lead role—completely naked. That was unheard of at that time. It was unavoidable, as I represented Freedom, and had to be naked the whole time. The Communist Party didn’t like it, and sent a delegation to check out whether I was really naked or not, so we had to fake it, put leaves on my breasts, things like that ... It was a big scandal. I was the first Communist naked actress! It was really hard on me.” 

Commenting on the social role of theater in those years, Peremartoni said, “Theater always in a hidden way went against the Party. It was always political. When we were ready to do a performance, the Party would send a few people to watch, and say, You cannot say this, say that ... They’d censor the whole play! Our duty was to find a way to deliver the message to the audience and trick the Party so they couldn’t see it. That was our political mission in society—and why, when Communism was over, we didn’t know what to do. There was nobody to go against. Everything became pointless, meaningless, aimless ... A big crisis: we didn’t know who the enemy was, anymore.”  

But theater culture was “a lifestyle ... every theater has a club, where they’d cook for you—and the tabs would run forever! We’d stay together, late nights after a performance, talking about the show, how to do better ...” 

After five years with the Vig, Peremartoni was hired by the National Theatre. The repertory was “32 different plays on the program in one month—that’s a lot! With one big theater and two studio theaters ...” The National played “the classical authors, always, older and modern—Moliere, Schiller, Brecht ... of course Shakespeare, Chekhov, Dostoyevsky, Tennessee Williams, Eugene O’Neill, Arthur Miller ... not much in experimental theater touched the National. Influenced by Jerzy Grotowski and Tadeucz Kantor, some small theaters did experimental plays, and I performed in a few—but I don’t think what I did was very good.” 

Peremartoni performed in film and TV movies—“every year, at least four lead roles”—but never liked film work. “It’s kind of abstract, not natural. It’s no fun, and you have no idea, no control, over the outcome. I’d think I had a good director, then see later the movie was bad—and the opposite. There is no such thing as film acting, just acting! I tell my students that theater is king.” 

Asked why she retired after 25 years at the top of her profession, Peremartoni said, “It was a very intense, full-time job, both at home and touring the big cities of Europe. I always had big dramatic roles, and didn’t want to carry the burden of tragedy anymore. I killed everybody I possibly could, and everybody killed me! I killed my children and they killed me. I had so many husbands, I couldn’t handle one more—and I cheated on everybody. I died of every imaginable sickness; in my last play, I had AIDS—then I moved to San Francisco! Now I just want to have a glass of wine in Berkeley and talk.” 

Peremartoni moved to the Bay Area in 2000 “because I fell in love with an American man.” After a year, she “somehow ended up” cast in a Traveling Jewish Theatre production, and was offered every role she auditioned for—but “I wasn’t thinking in English; to act in a language not your own is extremely difficult. If I was 18 when I came, maybe ... But I heard myself speaking lines from Chekhov in English, hearing from the outside, and it killed it.” 

In 2001 she started teaching in San Francisco, classes she now holds in Oakland in Jeffrey Bihr’s studio on Miles Street. Though trained in Stanislavskian style, she is put off by American “Method” acting and its teaching styles. “It’s not acting, it’s psychotherapy. I never heard of a method before; you either act or not—and learn through acting.”  

Commenting that American acting students are too academic, she said, “I get them directly into the emotion. They’re too much in their head, and acting’s from the instincts, from the gut. I want to get them out of their head—I can’t fuck [with] them there!” 

She went on: “Theater is going into the core emotion. An emphatic relationship. It’s about listening, about hearing the other person. Not about standing in your own bubble, not connecting.” 

Peremartoni strives to keep long-term students. “You can only really grow in a group situation with the same people and constant feedback.” She’s interested in teaching “what kind of roles a person can attract. I first was cast as an ingenue; I wanted to change, and had to learn how to make people cast me for the opposite role ... Theater’s about conflict; there’s always the opposite.” 

After living five years in Berkeley, she says, “I think it’s the best place on the planet to live, for a free spirit, who likes freedom and acceptance.” 

Krisztina Peremartoni can be reached through her website, www.openacting.com, or at (415) 793-7783. 

Three quarters of a century ago the Art Deco or Moderne era left a legacy of exuberant edifices in the Berkeley architectural landscape. Several of the best will be showcased on a downtown architectural tour this Saturday, Aug. 11. 

Leading the tour is Paula Trehearne, preservation director of the Art Deco Society of California. The society conducts a regular series of architectural tours of Deco monuments in Bay Area communities, particularly San Francisco and Oakland. 

The tour is free to Art Deco Society members. There’s a $10 cost for others. Gather in front of the United Artists Theatre at 2274 Shattuck (between Kittredge and Bancroft) at 11 a.m. The tour lasts about an hour and a half. 

“The term Art Deco was used to describe the effects on design of the 1925 Parisian Exposition, but it was now somewhat confused with Modernism (less decoration, more function). Sometimes they were blended. Both now mingled with several other passing fashions, so that there was an anything goes atmosphere for a few years,” journalist and author Alan Jenkins wrote in the 1930s. 

Today, the architecture and broader design aesthetics of the late ’20s through the early ’40s subdivide into a whole salad bowl of styles including Art Deco, Modern, Moderne, Zig Zag Moderne and Streamline Moderne. 

The era—which encompassed both economic prosperity and Depression, uneasy peace and all-out war—produced some remarkable East Bay structures including the Hollywood epic exterior of George Kelham’s Life Sciences Building on the UC Berkeley campus and the fantasy palaces of Oakland’s Paramount and Fox theaters. 

During the 1920s, ’30s, and ’40s in Oakland and Berkeley’s downtowns, “frozen fountains” of terra cotta rose into the sky, sleek neon cascades poured down facades, iconic figures strode sculpturally across walls, and marquees seemed to take off and streak around the corner. 

Fluid concrete, glass block, and silvery metals came into their own as structural or decorative materials. 

Terracotta—which could be shaped, glazed and fired in an elaborate variety of forms—highlighted the exterior of many period buildings or covered them entirely. Terrazzo—small bits of colored stone mixed in a mortar matrix and polished smooth—became a favored material for floors, staircases and even parts of sidewalks. 

Berkeley’s Deco era buildings are mainly public, commercial, and institutional structures. They include ornate facilities conceived and financed in the prosperous 1920s and much more restrained and simplified late 1930s and early 1940s Depression-era buildings. 

Most of the best will be visited on the tour, which loops through the downtown past the Central Library, Berkeley High School, Civic Center Park with its still lamentably dry 1940s fountain, the Veterans’ Memorial, the old Farm Credit Building (renovated as the Martin Luther King, Jr. Civic Center Building) and the Kress Building, now housing Half Price Books. 

The route includes the landmark Howard Automobile dealership at Durant and Fulton (recently remodeled into a Buddhist educational center), period theaters, and some of the great 1930s and ’40s buildings of the UC campus including Life Sciences, Edwards Track Stadium, and the UC Printing Plant at Oxford and Center Street. 

These buildings were not necessarily called “Art Deco” or “Moderne” at the time. When built they were simply “modern architecture” done in the latest eye-popping styles and departing from Berkeley’s much more numerous Victorian, Craftsman, and Period Revival structures. 

“We talk about the buildings and the architects” on the tour, says Trehearne, who has been giving similar tours for two decades. Details of local history are not the focus. 

If you want to learn about Deco architecture from an expert, with Berkeley’s best examples as backdrop, this should be a good event. However, if you’re primarily interested in Berkeley history beyond architecture, perhaps wait for another type of walking tour. 

The Art Deco Society of California is an organization whose members share a genuine love of the design, fashions, customs, music, dances, food, drinks, cars and traditions of the era. Attendees at some of their events are enjoined to dress in period style. But there are no such restrictions on the walking tours. Show up as you wish, and enjoy. 

The Art Deco Society website is at www.artdecosociety.org. The Berkeley tour and other tours are listed under “Calendar of Events.” 

Daniella Thompson has also profiled some of Berkeley’s most interesting Moderne-era structures (not on the tour but near it) at berkeleyheritage.com. Click on “Essays” and look for the Harris House and “Call Me Joe” features. 

Photograph by Steven Finacom 

Ornate cast concrete pylons of 1932’s Edwards Track Stadium tower along Bancroft Way at the edge of the UC campus.