FRIDAY, SEPT. 28 

Inauguration of the New Rosie-the-Riveter National Park in Richmond, with events Fri.- Sun. For more information call 232-5050. www.homefrontfestival.com 

Bike Tour of Berkeley Worker Cooperatives Meet at 5:15 p.m. at the Downtown Berkeley BART station for a 1.5 hour tour with guided tours of the Missing Link bike shop, Cheese Board pizza & cheese shop and Nabalom Bakery. The bike ride will also include stops by the Juice Bar, Mayback High School and the Berkeley Free Clinic. For more information see www.nobawc.org/conference 

Hopalong Animal Rescue 3rd Annual Fur Ball benefiting homeless dogs and cats of the Bay Area, from 6 to 9:30 p.m. at the International House, 2299 Piedmont Ave. Tickets are $50, and includes appetizer and desert buffet. 267-1915 ext. 500. www.hopalong.org 

“California Indian Songs and Stories” with Linda Yamane (Rumsien Ohlone), Mike Mirelez (Desert Cahuilla), Ron Goode (North Fork Mono), Clarence Hostler (Hupa/Yurok/Karuk), and Charlie Thom (Karuk) at 7:30 p.m. at Bancroft Hotel, 2680 Bancroft Way. Free, but RSVP requested 549-3564, ext. 316. lillian@heydaybooks.com 

“The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism” with author Naomi Klein at 8 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Oakland, 2701 Harrison St. at 27th. Tickets are $10-$13. 559-9500.  

Red Cross Blood Drive from noon to 6 p.m. at UCB Unit 3, all purpose room, 2400 Durant Ave. To schedule an appointment go to www.BeADonor.com  

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Lori Fogarty on the development plans for the Oakland Museum of California. Luncheon at 11:45 a.m. for $14.50, speech at 12:30 p.m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. 526-2925.  

Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival at 1:15 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave. 981-5190. 

Free Compost for Berkeley Residents from 8:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. at Berkeley Marina Maintenance Yard, 201 University Ave. First priority is given to Berkeley Unified School District and Berkeley Community Gardens. 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., potluck at 7 p.m. at Hillside Community Church, 1422 Navellier St. Donation $5. 528-4253. www.circledancing.com 

Women in Black Vigil, from noon to 1 p.m. at UC Berkeley, Bancroft at Telegraph. wibberkeley@yahoo.com 548-6310, 845-1143. 

SATURDAY, SEPT. 29 

Community Discussion of the Proposed Public Commons for Everyone Initiative from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center on the corner of Hearst and MLK. 981-2498.  

Asthma Walk with the American Lung Association Check in at 9 a.m., walk starts at 10 a.m. at Middle Harbor Shoreline Park, 7th St. and Middle Harbor Rd., Oakland. 893-5474. www.snipurl.com/Asthma 

Walk2007 

Walking Tour of Jack London Waterfront Meet at 10 a.m. at the corner of Broadway and Embarcadero. Tour lasts 90 minutes. Reservations can be made by calling 238-3234. www.oaklandnet.com/walkingtours 

Toddler Nature Walk We’ll look for spiders, insects, and other creatures from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

Creating an Ecological House A seminar with author and designer Skip Wenz from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Building Education Center, 812 Page St. Cost is $85. 525-7610.  

Mystery Dinner Theater Fund Raising Event for GRIP Homeless Shelter from 5 to 8 p.m. at the El Cerrito United Methodist Church. Tickets are $35. For details and for registration forms go to www.ecumc.net 525-3500. 

Nyingma Institute 35th Anniversary from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with activities, tour, lectures and receptions. For details call 809-1000. 

Magicians David Hirata and Kim Silverman at 6:30 p.m. at Kinnel Hall, Lutheran Church of the Cross, 1744 University Ave. Tickets are $15-$25 sliding scale, children under 14 free. Includes dinner. For reservations call 704-7729. 

Benefit Tennis Classic with Monica Seles and Corina Morariu at 11:30 a.m. at Berkeley Tennis Club, 1Tunnel Rd. Benefits Alta Bates Summit Foundation. Tickets are $25, includes box lunch. 204-1667. 

Time for an Oil Change? Learn how the fat you eat affects your health at 10 a.m. at Elephant Pharmacy, 1607 Shattuck Ave. 549-9200. 

Stress Less Seminar for Students at 2 p.m. at Lakeview Branch of the Oakland Public Library. 465-2524. 

Favorite Plants for the Landscape at 10 a.m. at Magic Gardens Nursery, 729 Heinz Ave. off 7th St. 644-2351. 

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. http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu 

The Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club provides free instruction at 10:30 a.m. at 2270 Acton St. 841-2174.  

SUNDAY, SEPT. 30 

How Berkeley Can You Be? Parade up University Ave. at 11 a.m. with ArtCars, community groups and more, followed by a festival in Civic Center Park with live music, food and craft booths to 5 p.m. www.howberkeley.com 

Out and About in Rockridge Live music, craft and community booths and children’s activities from noon to 6 p.m. along College Ave. from Alcatraz to Broadway. 604-3125. www.rockridgedistrict.com 

Farm Stories and Songs with Tara Reinertson at 10:30 a.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden PArk. 525-2233. 

Working with Wool Learn how the spinning wheel turns wool into yarn, try a drop spindle and make a felt ball, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

Halcyon Commons Community Potluck with live music at Halcyon Court at Prince St., from 5 to 7:30 p.m. 849-1969.  

“Nightmare Beyond Borders” The Iraqi Displacement Crisis and What Can Be Done To Stop It with Raed Jarrar, an Iraqi political analyst and consultant to AFSC's Iraq Program, at 3 p.m. at Berkeley Friends Church, 1600 Sacramento St. 415-565-0201, ext. 24. www.afsc.org/iraq/tour  

"An Unreasonable Man” The documentary about Ralph Nader at 2 p.m. at the Hillside Community Church, 1422 Navellier St., El Cerrito, between Potrero and Moeser. Tickets are $8. 526-0972. 

“On Language” with Kambiz Sakhai at 10 a.m. at Niebyl-Proctor Marxist Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave., between Alcatraz and 66th, Oakland. 595-7417. 

Victoria Lee “The Rumi Secret” at 10 a.m. and a Rumi 800th Birthday Celebration, at 7 p.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, 1 Lawson Rd., Kensington. 525-0302, ext. 306. 

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

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 

Tibetan Buddhism with Robin Caton on “Meditation for Life” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

MONDAY, OCT. 1 

Celebrate Banned Books Week Read aloud from “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” from 3 to 6 p.m. at Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6223. 

Red Cross Blood Drive from noon to 6 p.m. at West Pauley Ballroom MLK Student Union, UC Campus. To schedule an appointment go to www.BeADonor.com  

Berkeley CopWatch organizational meeting at 8 p.m. at 2022 Blake St. Join us to work on current issues around police misconduct. 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. For details see www.dragonmax.org 

Free Boatbuilding Classes for Youth Mon.-Wed. from 3 to 7 p.m. at Berkeley Boathouse, 84 Bolivar Dr., Aquatic Park. Classes cover woodworking, boatbuilding, and boat repair. 644-2577.  

TUESDAY, OCT. 2 

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 Tilden. Call for meeting place and if you need to borrow binoculars. 525-2233. 

“What Islam, Whose Islam? The Struggle for Women’s Rights within a Religious Framework & the Experience of Sisters in Islam” with Zainah Anwar, Executive Director, Sisters in Islam, Malaysia, at 4 p.m. in the Home Room, International House, 2299 Piedmont Ave. Co-sponsored by the Center for Middle Eastern Studies and the Center for South Asian Studies. 

“Reese Erlich Day” Benefit Dinner at 7:30 p.m. at Saigon Restaurant, 326 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza. Cost is $50 per person or $80 per couple and includes one copy of the book “The Iran Agenda” and a CD of the new “Making Contact” radio documentary. RSVP to 251-1332, ext. 105. 

“Reincarnation and Buddhism” A series of three talks with Reverend Harry Bridge, Lodi Buddhist Temple, on Oct. 2, 16, and 30 at 7 p.m. at the Jodo Shinshu Center, 2140 Durant Ave. at Fulton St. Cost is $20 for the series. 809-1460. 

Berkeley High School Governance Council meets to discuss proposed changes to the bylaws and the advisory plan, at 4:15 p.m. in the Community Theater Lobby. 644-4803. 

End the Occupation Vigil every Tues. at noon at Oakland Federal Bldg., 1301 Clay St. www.epicalc.org 

Family Storytime at 7 p.m. at 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.  

Street Level Cycles Community Bike Program Come use our tools as well as receive help with performing repairs free of charge. Youth classes available. Tues., Thurs., and Sat. from 2 to 6 p.m. at at 84 Bolivar Dr., Aquatic Park. 644-2577. www.watersideworkshops.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. 

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, OCT. 3 

Walking Tour of Oakland City Center Meet at 10 a.m. in front Oakland City Hall at Frank Ogawa Plaza. Tour lasts 90 minutes. Reservations can be made by calling 238-3234. 

El Sabor de Fruitvale with a farmers’ market, bilingual storytelling with puppets, face painting, free books for children and information on community services from 3 to 7 p.m. at Fruitvale Village Plaza, 3411 East 12th St., Oakland. 535-6900. www.unitycouncil.org  

“The Revolt Against Consumerism” Author and journalist Tim Holt will speak on the Hillside Movement at 6 p.m. at the North Berkeley Branch Library, 1170 The Alameda at Hopkins. 981-6250. 

“The Darwin Awards” a film comedy, at 7:30 p.m. at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. Cost is $5. 843-8724. 

Friends of Albany Library Membership Meeting with a celebration of the publication of “Images of America: Albany” by Karen Sorensen at 7:30 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720. 

Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning Colloquium with Clare Cooper-Marcus on “Healing Gardens and Restorative Landscapes: The Links to Physical Health and Psychological Wholeness” at 1 p.m. at Wurster Hall, Room 315A, UC Campus. All welcome. laep.ced. 

berkeley.edu/events/colloquium 

“Responsibilities of Global Citizenship” Dinner and reception for I-House director Martin Brennan, at 5:30 p.m. at Chevron Auditorium, International House, Piedmont Ave. Cost is $15. 642-4128. 

Stagebridge Theater at the monthly birthday party at 1:15 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst. 981-5190. 

Writer Coach Connection Volunteers needed to help Berkeley students improve their writing and critical thinking skills from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. To register call 524-2319. www.writercoachconnection.org  

Red Cross Blood Services Volunteer Orientation from 10 a.m. to noon at 6230 Claremont Ave., Oakland. Registration required. 594-5165. 

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 p.m. at the Berkeley BART Station, corner of Shattuck and Center.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, OCT. 4 

BOSS Graduation Formerly homeless graduates celebrate new homes, jobs and lives at 6 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Includes entertainment and dinner. 649-1930. 

Berkeley School Volunteers Orientation from 10 to 11 a.m. at 1835 Allston Way. Come learn about volunteer opportunities. 644-8833. 

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  

CITY MEETINGS 

Council Agenda Committee meets Mon. Oct. 1, at 2:30 p.m., at 2180 Milvia St. 981-6900. 

Peace and Justice Commission meets Mon., Oct. 1, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5510.  

Commission on Labor Special Meeting to discuss the Public Commons for Everyone Inititive Wed. Oct. 3 at 6 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-7550.  

Commission on the Status of Women meets Wed., Oct. 3, at 7:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5190.  

Landmarks Preservation Commission meets Thurs., Oct. 4, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-7419.  

Public Works Commission meets Thurs., Oct. 4, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-6406.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 28 

THEATER 

Altarena Playhouse “Urinetown, The Musical” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at 1409 High St., Alameda, through Oct. 6. Tickets are $17-$20. 523-1553. www.altarena.org 

Aurora Theatre “Hysteria” Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 and 7 p.m. at 2081 Addison St., through Sept. 30. Tickets are $40-$42. 843-4822. www.auroratheatre.org 

California Shakespeare Theater “King Lear” at the Bruns Ampitheater, 100 Gateway Blvd., Orinda, through Oct. 14. Tickets are $15-$60. 548-9666. www.calshakes.org 

Contra Costa Civic Theatre “Rumors” by Neil Simon, Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., selected Sundays at 2 p.m. at 951 Pomona Ave. at Moeser, El Cerrito, through Oct. 14. Tickets are $11-$18. 655-8974. www.cct.org 

Impact Theatre “Sleepy” Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m. at La Val’s Subterranean, 1834 Euclid Ave., through Oct. 13. Tickets are $10-$15. 464-4468. 

Masquers Playhouse “The Shadow Box” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., selected Sun. matinees, at 105 Park Place, Point Richmond. Runs through Sept. 29. This show is not recommended for children. Tickets are $15. 232-4031. www.masquers.org 

Ragged Wing Ensemble “Alice in Wonderland” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. at Envision Academy, 1515 Webster St., Oakland, through Oct. 13. Tickets are $15-$30. 800-838-3006. www.raggedwing.org 

Shotgun Players “Bulrusher” Thurs.-Sun. at 8 p.m. at the Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave. through Oct. 28. Tickets are $17-$25. For reservations call 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Needle Lace: Borne of Thread and Air” featuring needle lace from the 16th through the 20th centuries. Opening reception at 6 p.m. at Lacis Museum of Lace and Textiles, 2982 Adeline St. 843-7290. http://lacismuseum.org 

“Wonderland, A Fairytale of the Soviet Monolith” Black and white photographs by Jason Eskenazion. Reception at 5 p.m., artist talk at 6 p.m. at the Graduate School of Journalism, North Gate Hall, UC Campus. 

FILM 

Girls Will Be Boys “Little Old New York” at 6:30 p.m. and “Queen Christina” at 9 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Vintage Films: “Safety Last!” at 1 and 7 p.m. at Piedmont Cinema, 4186 Piedmont Ave., Oakland. 464-5980. 

Midnight Movies “The Sandlot” Fri. and Sat. at midnight at Piedmont Cinema, 4186 Piedmont Ave., Oakland. Cost is $8. 464-5980. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Denise Uyehara on “Shedding Light: Performance and Illumination at 7 p.m. at the Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way, enter on Durant. 642-0808. 

Naomi Klein describes “The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism” at 8 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Oakland, 2701 Harrison St. at 27th. Tickets are $10-$13. 559-9500. www.codysbooks.com  

Parthenon West Review, new issue release party with readings by contributing poets at 7:30 p.m. at Pegasus Books Downtown, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320. claybanes@gmail.com 

“California Indian Songs and Stories” with Linda Yamane (Rumsien Ohlone), Mike Mirelez (Desert Cahuilla), Ron Goode (North Fork Mono), Clarence Hostler (Hupa/Yurok/Karuk), and Charlie Thom (Karuk) at 7:30 p.m. at Bancroft Hotel, 2680 Bancroft Way. Free, but RSVP requested 549-3564, ext. 316. lillian@heydaybooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Global Drum Project with Mickey Hart, Zakir Hussain, Siriru Adepoju and Giovanni Hidalgo at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $24-$52. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

University Symphony Orchestra at 8 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $4-$12.. 642-4864. http://music.berkeley.edu 

“Exilio: Creating Home Away from Home” Chilean art, music and poetry at 7 p.m. at La Peña. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Rova Saxophone Quartet at 8 p.m. at The Berkeley Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. Cost is $10-$15. 845-1350. 

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

The Vowel Movement, beatboxing, at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

April Verch at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

John Pallowich with the Danny Mertens Trio at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $10. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Sleepy Boy Moe and Adam Balbo at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

77 El Dora, Burning Embers, Tom Armstrong at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

What It Is at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

SATURDAY, SEPT. 29 

CHILDREN  

Active Arts Theatre for Young Audiences “James and the Giant Peach” Sat. and Sun. at 2 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $14-$18. 925-798-1300. 

“Pinocchio: The Hip-Hopera” Sat. and Sun. at 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. at Children’s Fairyland, 699 Bellevue Ave. 452-2259 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Tides and Trees” works by Jill Bliss. Artist reception at 7 p.m. at Relish at Home, 2703 7th Street, Ste #112. 981-9400. 

FILM 

Girls Will Be Boys “Little Lord Fauntleroy” at 3 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Vintage Films: “His Girl Friday” at 2 and 7 p.m. at Piedmont Cinema, 4186 Piedmont Ave., Oakland. 464-5980. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Louise Dunlap describes “Undoing the Silence: Six Tools for Social Change Writing” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. www.codysbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Patricia Barber, jazz vocalist and pianist at 8 p.m. at Wheeler Auditorium, UC Campus. Tickets are $20. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

University Symphony Orchestra at 8 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $4-$12. 642-4864. http://music.berkeley.edu 

Hopkinson Smith, solo lute, “For Pope and King” works of Francesco da Milano and John Dowland at 8 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College at Garber. Tickets are $10-$25. 528-1725. www.sfems.org 

Mike Glendinning, guitar, at noon at Cafe Zeste, 1250 Addison St. at Bonar, in the Strawberry Creek Park complex. 704-9378. 

Akosua, Ghanaian-American singer-songwriter at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10-$12. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

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

Fiesta Brasileira with Omo Aiye, Mestre Acordeon & Corpo Santo Capoeira Group and others at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10-$12. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com  

Dave Lionelli and Ronnie Cato at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

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

Jami Sieber & Kim Rosen at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Happy Hour at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $15-$18. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Eliot Randall & Chris Volpe at 8 p.m. at Spuds Pizza, 3290 Adeline St. Cost is $7. 558-0881. 

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

The Bye Bye Blackbirds, Statuesque, The Family Arsenal at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Free. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Maya Kronfeld Trio, jazz, at 9 p.m. at Downtown, 2102 Shattuck Ave. 649-3810.  

SUNDAY, SEPT. 30 

CHILDREN 

Farm Stories and Songs with Tara Reinertson at 10:30 a.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

Gennifer Choldenko introduces her new book for young readers “If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period” at 4 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 559-9500. www.codysbooks.com  

FILM 

“Shanghai’et!” at 3 p.m. and “Morocco” at 5 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Vintage Films: “Spellbound” at 2 and 7 p.m. at Piedmont Cinema, 4186 Piedmont Ave., Oakland. 464-5980. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“One Way or Another: Asian American Art Now” Artist talk with Binh Danh at 2 p.m. at 3 p.m. at the Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808. 

Mark Kramer describes “Telling True Stories: A nonfiction Writers’ Guide from the Neiman Foundation at Harvard University” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Kurt Ribak Jazz Trio at 5 p.m. at First United Methodist Church, 201 Martina St., Point Richmond. Suggested donation $10. 236-0527. www.pointrichmond.com/methodist 

Olga Borodina, mezzo-soprano, at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $36-$68. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Quinda Groove, Andean instuments mixed with folk rock at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña. Cost is $12. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

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

Reggae Showcase with David Morrison, Army, Tuff Lion, Luv Fyah and others at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $12. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

William Beatty and The Unconditionals at 6:30 p.m. at The Mt. Everest Restaurant 2011 Shattuck Ave. at University. 665-6035.  

MONDAY, OCT. 1 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Eden Invaded” Paintings by Judith Wehlau. Opening reception at 6 p.m. at Bucci’s Restaurant, 6121 Hollis St., Emeryville.  

FILM 

Vintage Films: “West Side Story” at 1 and 7 p.m. at Piedmont Cinema, 4186 Piedmont Ave., Oakland. 464-5980. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Actors Reading Writers: “Beasts,” stories by Angela Carter and Theodore Sturgeon at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. between Dana and Ellsworth. 932-0214. 

Subterranean Shakespeare “Shakespeare’s Greatest Hits” at 8 p.m. at Unitarian Fellowship Hall, 1924 Cedar at Bonita. Cost is $10. For reservations call 276-3871. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

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

TUESDAY, OCT. 2 

EXHIBITIONS 

Berkeley Public Library Staff Art Show on display to Oct. 28 at the Central Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6100. www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org 

FILM 

“Miss Navajo” reception at 6 p.m., film at 6:30 p.m. followed by discussion, at Oakland Museum of California, Oak at 10th St., Oakland. 238-2022. www.museumca.org 

Vintage Films: “Lawrence of Arabia” at noon and 6:30 p.m. at Piedmont Cinema, 4186 Piedmont Ave., Oakland. 464-5980. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Lawrence Ferlinghetti reads at 7:30 p.m. at Moe’s Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave. 849-2087. 

“The Road to 9/11: Wealth, Empire, and the Future of America” with author Peter Dale Scott at 5:30 p.m. at University Press Books, 2430 Bancroft Way. 548-0585. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Brass Menazheri/The Greg & Aya Band at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Balkan dance lesson at 7:30 p.m. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Singers’ Open Mic with Ellen Hoffman at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $5. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Jeremy Cohen and Quartet San Francisco, SoVoSo at 8 p.m. and Paula West, Steve Heckman Quartet at 10 p.m. in at benefit for the Alzheimers Association at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $25-$35. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 3 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Hand of the Artist” Paintings, photography, sculptural basketry and jewelry. Reception at 6 p.m. at Royal Ground Gallery, 2058 Mountain Blvd., Oakland. 841-0441. 

FILM 

Vintage Films: “The Last Picture Show” at 1 and 7 p.m. at Piedmont Cinema, 4186 Piedmont Ave., Oakland. 464-5980. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Reese Erlich describes “The Iran Agenda: The Real Story of U.S. Policy and the Middle East Crisis” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

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 

Enchante String Quartet at noon at Oakland City Center, 12th and Broadway. www.oaklandcitycenter.com 

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

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

Julio Bravo 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.  

The Websters & Scott Nygaard at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $19.50-$20.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Mikie Lee and Amber at 10 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. www.beckettsirishpub.com 

Sakai at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$16. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

THURSDAY, OCT. 4 

THEATER 

“Wong Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” written and performed by Amy Wong, Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $7-$15. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

EXHIBITIONS 

Brick & Mortar: Bay Area Sculptural Abstracts Works by Stephen Day, David O. Johnson, Christopher Loomis, and Florian Roeper. Opening reception at 6 p.m. at Pro Arts Gallery, 550 Second St. Oakland. 763-4361.  

FILM 

Into the Labyrinth: The Films of Jan Svankmajer at 5:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Free screening. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“Boarding Gate” with Oliver Assayas and Jean-Michel Frodon in conversation at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Vintage Films: “Star Trek IV: THe Voyage Home” at 1 and 7 p.m. at Piedmont Cinema, 4186 Piedmont Ave., Oakland. 464-5980. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Lunch Poems with John Matthais at 12:10 p.m. at the Morrison Library, inside the Doe Library, UC Campus. 642-0137. 

5 Cave Canem Poets from the African American community at 7 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720. 

Artist Talk with Rosalind Nashashibi at 6 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum Galleries, 2626 Bancroft Way. 642-8734. 

Ann Aurelia Lopez discusses her book “The Farmworkers’ Journey” at 7 p.m. at Revolution Books, 2425-C Channing Way. 848-1196.  

Jeffrey Toobin introduces “The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court” at 7:30 p.m. in Chevron Auditorium, International House, 2299 Piedmont Ave. Tickets are $5 available from Cody’s. 559-9500. 

Gary Braasch describes “Earth Under Fire: How Global Warming is Changing the World” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Bayonics, Culver City Dub Collective at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Joffrey Ballet at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $34-$90. 642-9988. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu 

Global Conversations: Kala Ramnath & George Brooks at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Denisa Fraga & Kristan Lynch at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $9. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Pirate Radio, Scotland Barr and the Slow Drags at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082 www.starryploughpub.com 

Rahsaan Patterson at 8 and 10 p.m., through Sun. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $24-$28. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

I think I can’t be Mabel, because I know so many things, and she so little. Besides, I’m I, and she’s she.” Whatever you know—or think you know—about Alice in Wonderland, the Rev. Dodgson’s voyage into the mind of a young girl dropped down a rabbit hole into a dream world of playing cards, mad tea parties and hookah-smoking caterpillars—you’ll be delightfully surprised and newly enlightened by Ragged Wing Ensemble’s completely kinetic staging of Andre Gregory’s (My Dinner with Andre) adaptation (with “the Manhattan Project”—a bid to add Einstein and Oppenheimer to Freud and the Surrealists as Lewis Carroll knock-offs?) at Envision Academy in the Julia Morgan-designed old YWCA building at 1515 Webster in downtown Oakland. It’s going into its last two weekends with a full head of steam, as if the revved-up cast had eaten of the caterpillar’s mushroom and obeyed the tag on the little bottle that reads “Drink Me.” 

Escorted upstairs from the atrium lobby (inscribed under the great skylight: “The heavens declare the glory of God/the firmament showeth his handiwork/Day unto day uttereth speech and night/unto night showeth knowledge”—an apt Biblical homily to usher us into the Victorian mindset Alice’s author deranges), the audience is seated on risers leading up to the auditorium stage. The action takes place on the floor of the orchestra and upstairs in the balcony, swirling around, surging forward and back, racing up and down the aisles. 

And different spectators will laugh and react at different moments in the action. It’s a strange phenomenon remembered from My Dinner with Andre. There is seldom any unanimity of response, which somehow adds to the giddiness of the performance, lending it the air of being not only an ensemble show but a true group experience, a chain reaction of individuals ignited by the little trouvailles Alice stumbles on, or which trip her up. 

Once seated, we hear tango music. A gent (Keith Cory Davis) in a red bow tie, carrying a valise, zips down through the audience from the empty stage behind us to the floor ahead and below to unpack “Alice,” a big rag doll. (Later I heard David Stein, who plays the Red Queen and the frog Footman, among others, refer to the show as “Ragged Alice”). He asks the audience prescriptively to silence cellphones—then, unnerved by echoes of giggling from backstage, begins to manipulate the doll, making Alice herself into a spectator. A chorus (Jacob Basri, Vanessa Godinez, Amalia Korczowski and Hilary Milton) of young interns (Ragged Wing integrates their students into all their shows) bursts into “Jabberwocky,” which quickly syncopates and tersichoreates into hip-hop to stop the clock. 

With the skillful direction of Amy Sass (who also directed The Serpent, Ragged Wing’s initial outing a few years back, and has been featured as a very fine performer in the two other shows since), the ensemble expands and contracts in perpetual motion. It takes in every inch of the theatrical space, upstairs and downstairs together, making it breathe, populating it with Carroll’s crazy creatures, and creatively playing out the mind-boggling changes of shape and size that send Alice shooting up through the treetops (where the birds think her a serpent) or shrinking down to a speck on the floor, washed away in a tiny deluge with bitsy crabs, dodos and water mice.  

With quick-change costumery (Amy Sass’s design), puppets assembled equally fast (Danny Neece’s) and sometimes combined with human bodies (Anna Shneiderman’s fuming Caterpillar), recited poems (“This poem I am going to recite was written entirely for your benefit,” Humpty Dumpty broadly confides—Shneiderman again, sucking a stogie, the only castmember who keeps “smoking” onstage) and meticulous choreography, Ragged Wing plays the space like an accordion (music by Jasper Patterson) until the building itself seems to be respiring. The action multiplies, doubling, with at first a binocular Alice (the role gets passed around, everybody an Alice, sooner or later). Then, towards the end of the crazy dream, the action unfolds into a kaleidoscope of Alices, all curtsying at curtain call, each the seven-and-a-half year-old voice of Victorian reason, amid the wild phantasmagoric flora and fauna of the brain, that can spawn sea serpents in a little girl’s copious tears or a state of terror from a pack of playing cards. 

The script is maybe the best theatrical take on Alice for a contemporary audience, quick and knowing, no preambles or pauses. And Sass’s direction makes it come alive, as each ensemble member pitches in handily, with fine work from Ragged Wing regulars Davis (a truly crazed Mad Hatter and a White Knight beyond the pale), Shneiderman, and Jeffrey Hoffman (who plays a true Dodo and finds the zany core of the White Queen in drag), plus Jennifer Antonacci (a nutty March Hare and scary Duchess), David Stein and Emily Morrison (whose Cheshire Cat brings grins to the audience). 

Leaving the resounding old hall becomes as funny as the play, with real life suddenly looking like the mathematician Dodgson’s supposedly concocted nonsense. Ragged Wing has stirred up Alice into quite a froth, as heady as the original—“and yet it was a very clever pudding to invent!”

Subterranean Shakespeare’s CD, Shakespeare’s Greatest Hits (“Two years in the making!”) is something of an instant Berkeley minor classic, what with Michael Rossman (he of the Free Speech Movement) belting out “The Ballad of Tom O’Bedlam” (which Robert Graves and Edith Sitwell both credited to the Bard) or tootling flute on other numbers with The Rude Mechanicals, or funnyman Ed Holmes and poet G. P. Skratz doing up the Scottish Weird Sisters’ “Double, double, toil and trouble” with Andy Dinsmore as World Music. This 17-track wonder features a plethora of local names that have—and haven’t—trod the boards Bardic, in every musical style and sundry. And this coming Monday, Oct. 1, there’ll be a CD release party, 8 p.m. at the Berkeley Unitarian Fellowship Hall, Cedar and Bonita streets. Rossman will croon, Bob Ernst will wail on mouth harp, Tom Waits’ sidekick Mark Growden and his band rave up Will, Michael Peppe do the 129th Sonnet as Wm. Shatner, Ed Holmes get witchy. 

The CD itself has much to recommend it, including bites of Orson Welles, Otis Skinner, Gielgud, Sybil Thorndike and Paul Robeson declaiming, to music, as a holiday gift or party background sound. $10 (276-3871 or brownpapertickets.com). www.myspace.com/subshakes (ex-Punk producer Geoffrey Pond, artistic director).  

Ten years ago Robert Colescott represented the United States at the Venice Biennale. Rarely was there a solo exhibition at the American pavilion and it was even more amazing that this honor was awarded to an African American painter. The show was very well received and after it closed at the Giardini Publici it travelled to museums in this country and was seen at the Berkeley Museum in 1999. 

The current exhibition is a retrospective of the last 10 years. Most of the works have not been shown before. In his painting, George Washington Carver Crossing the Delaware: Page from an American History Textbook (1975), which ridicules the kitschy and overexposed history painting by Emanuel Leutze, it is G.W. Carver, the black peanut farmer in the general’s uniform, who stands up in a boatload full of “darkies,” frolocking in their ride across the river. It was works such as this, which made Colescott into a celebrated artist, who produced expressionist paintings that were simultaneously hilarious and perturbing. 

Over time, his work has become more painterly and gestural while retaining their narrative message. What we see in his late work is a weighty manipulation of pigment, the palpitating vitality of paint which is used to tell his stories—some of them about social justice or the lack thereof. 

Colsecott was born in Oakland and, after having studied in Paris, came to Berkeley as a student and then as a teacher, but his family’s roots are in New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz. There is a large work in the show, called Ponchartrain (1997), produced way before Hurricane Katrina, which is imbued with a visualization of jazz. It consists of four congruent panels and has two revolvers aiming at two paint buckets with SEX and RACE written on them. “Sex and race are my raw materials,” he said, “that’s why they’re in the paint pot.” But there is more. In an interview published in the catalogue of this show he also speaks of the essential ideas in his paintings: “cultural/social criticism along with personal/ individual identity” as well as “shapes, color and surfaces.” Robert Colescott’s late paintings show the world and its problems as a great carnival.  

Peter Selz is the curator of the Robert Colescott Exhibition.  

TROUBLED GOODS:  

ROBERT COLESCOTT,  

A 10-YEAR SURVEY 

Through Oct. 20 at Meridian Gallery, 535 Powell St., San Francisco. (415) 398-7229. www.meridiangallery.org.  

Image Courtesy Meridian Gallery. 

April in Paris (1998), by Robert Colescott. Acrylic on canvas, 84” x 72”