FRIDAY, JAN. 25 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Robert E. Friend on “Permanency for Foster Youth” Luncheon at 11:45 a.m. for $14.50, speech at 12:30 p.m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. For information and reservations call 526-2925.  

Albany Lions Club Annual Crab Feed at 5:30 p.m. at Albany Veterans Memorial Building, 1325 Portland Ave., Albany. Tickets are $30. 418-6101, 236-1344. 

Friday Films for Teens at 3:30 p.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, 3rd flr., 2090 Kittredge St. For details call 981-6121. 

Kol Hadash Humanistic Tu B’Shvat Seder at 7:30 p.m. at the Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin Ave. Details on what ritual food items to bring are posted at www.kolhadash.org 

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. 

SATURDAY, JAN. 26 

Bird Rescuers’ Get-Together Celebrate the Bay and join in a thank-you get-together for everyone who helped after the November oil spill. We will see pictures from the spill, celebrate wildlife that was rescued, chat and hear about what others did, remember and reflect on plans to make it better next time, at 3 p.m. at Shorebird Park Nature Center, 160 University Ave. 981-6720. 

Help Plant Natives on Berkeley Paths Please join BPWA and Friends of Five Creeks planting natives and removing weeds on Covert Path, part of a long-term project creating demonstration plantings and an “interpretive trail” from hills to Bay in the Codornices Creek watershed. Meet at 10 a.m. at the top of Covert Path, downhill side of Keeler Ave. a short distance southeast of Twain Ave. 848-9358. www.fivecreeks.org 

Civil Rights Panel and Community Speak-Out with Kris Worthington, Berkeley City Council member, Osha Neumann, Attorney and former Police Review Commissioner, Melvin Dickson, Commemoration Committee for the Black Panther Party, Andrea Prichett, Copwatch, Subcommittee on Evidence Theft Issues, Mike Diehl, Activist and advocate for homeless rights, James Chanin, Attorney, former Police Review Commissioner, from noon to 2 p.m. at 1730 Oregon St., below MLK Jr. Way. www.berkeleycopwatch.org  

Celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with Jamil Dakwar, American Civil Liberties Union Director of Advocacy and Human Rights Programs from 2 to 5 p.m. at Pacific School of Religion, 1798 Scenic Ave. Sponsored by United Nations Association-USA East Bay. Cost is $5-$15. 864-9005. www.unausaeastbay.org 

Vegetarian Cooking Class “Healthful Resolutions: Lo-Cal, High Flavor” featuring kale and nori salad, Asian-inspired lettuce wraps, yellow split pea dal, hummus and fruit smoothies, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at First Unitarian Church of Oakland, 685 14th St. at Castro. Cost is $55 plus $5 material fee. to register call 531-COOK. www.compassionatecooks.com 

Benefit for the Oak Grove Tree Sitters Legal Defense with music by The Funky Nixons, Hali Hammer, Rockin’ Solidarity Labor Heritage Chorus and others at 7 p.m. at Redwood Gardens Community Room, 2901 Derby St. 548-6310. 

Play Around the Bay Symposium on the disappearance of children’s play, and proposals for postitive change, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Doubletree Hotel, 200 Marina Blvd. Cost is $40-$55. 647-111 ext. 35. www.habitot.org  

Scalky Sleepers Learn how scales help animals weather the cold at 10:30 a.m. at the Oakland Zoo, 9777 Golf Links Rd. Cost is $7.50-$10. Registration required. 632-9525. www.oaklandzoo.org 

Kids Go Green Activities centered on ecology and climate change from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Chabot Space and Science Center, 10000 Skyline Blvd., Oakland. Cost is $9-$13. 336-7373.  

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

“The Music of Kurt Weill: September Songs” A film of staged and choreographed dramatizations of Brecht-Weill songs set in an old warehouse, at 5 p.m. at the Niebyl-Proctor Marxist Library, 6501 Telegraph at Alcatraz, Oakland. 527-9584. 

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 every Wed. and Sat. at 10:30 a.m. at 2270 Acton St. 841-2174.  

Oakland Artisans Marketplace Sat. from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sun. from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Jack London Square. 238-4948. 

SUNDAY, JAN. 27 

“End the Occupation” A discussion with Max Elbaum, editor of War Times, at 11 a.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland. Donations accepted. www.Humanist Hall.org 

“Labor, the WPA Proposals and the Fight for New Orleans and Katrina Survivors” A public forum and video screening at 2 p.m. at the Fellowship of Humanity, 390 27th St., Oakland. Sponsored by the Labor Video Project. 415-282-1908. 

Films for a Future: “The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil” at 2 p.m., followed by a discussion, at Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

People’s Park Anniversary Planning Meeting at 5:30 p.m. at Cafe Med Telegraph, north of Dwight New people encouraged to come. 658-9178. 

“Elections: Not how Leaders are Chosen, Not how Decisions are made and Not how you can make a difference” with Larry Everest at 7 p.m. at Revolution Books, 2425 Channing Way. 848-1196. www.revolutionbooks.org 

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 

MONDAY, JAN. 28 

“Exploring Jazz with Len Lyons” A course to explore the basic building blocks of this unique musical language Mon. from 6 to 8 p.m. through March 10, at 2199 Addison St. For information contact Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, a continuing education program for people 50 and over. 642-9934. olli.berkeley.edu 

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. 

TUESDAY, JAN. 29 

Community Meeting on Pacific Steel and West Berkeley Air Quality Monitoring Learn about air monitoring results in West Berkeley and what toxics have been found in the air at 7 p.m. at West Berkeley Senior Center, 1900 6th St., at Hearst. Sponsored by Greenaction, Global Community Monitor, West Berkeley Alliance for Clean Air and Safe Jobs, and the Ecology Center. 415-248-5010. 

“The Eleventh Hour” A documentary by Leonardo DiCaprio on the state of the global environment, and practical solutions for restoring the planet’s ecosystems at 5 p.m. at Boalt Hall, Room 110, UC Campus. Sponsored by the California Center for Environmental Law and Policy. 642-6774. 

“Navigating the Mekong” A film by Mic O’Shea on his solo kayak adventure from Tibet to the South China Sea at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

Berkeley School Volunteers Orientation from 4 to 5 p.m. at 1835 Allston Way. Come learn about volunteer opportunities. 644-8833. 

Alameda Women’s Commission “Community Conversation” to gain support for CEDAW (The United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women) at 5:30 p.m. at the Alameda Library, 1550 Oak St., Alameda. Free, but reservations requested. 259-3871. 

Family Storytime at 7 p.m. at Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave. 524-3043.  

“The TV show House and the Experience of Socialist Society So Far” Discussion taking off from an excerpt of “Making Revolution and Emancipating Humanity” by Bob Avakian at 7 p.m. at Revolution Books 2425 Channing Way. 848-1196. 

Tuesday Tilden Walkers Join a few slowpoke seniors at 9:30 a.m. in the parking lot near the Little Farm for an hour or two walk. 215-7672, 524-9992. 

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

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 

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, JAN. 30 

Proposed Spraying to Combat Apple Moth in Alameda County A community meeting on the spray will take place at 7:30 p.m. at the Center for Environmental Health, 528 61st St., Oakland. 594-9864. 

Pools for Berkeley meets at 7 p.m. at the City of Berkeley Corporation Yard, 1326 Allston Way. www.poolsforberkeley.org 

“Paradise Now” A film about Palestinian recruits for a major operation in Tel Aviv, at 7:30 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland. Donation $5. www.Humanist Hall.org 

“Understanding Children’s Temperament” with Rona Renner, R.N., at 6:30 p.m. at Windrush School, Multipurpose Room, 1800 Elm St., El Cerrito. 970-7580. 

Cash for College Workshop at 6:30 p.m. at Albany High School, 603 Key Route Blvd. or Oakland High School Theater and Library, 1023 Macarthur Blvd. For deatails see www.calgrants.org 

“Women’s Hormone Balance: PMS, Infertility, and Menopause” at 7:30 p.m. at Rockridge Curves, 5665 College Ave., Suite 1, Oakland. Free. Foundation for Wellness Professionals. 849-1176. 

Pacific Boychoir Auditions for boys ages 5-9 at 410 Alcatraz in Oakland. Please call for an audition appointment. 652-4722.  

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, wear comfortable shoes and a warm hat. Heavy rain cancels. 548-9840. 

Teen Chess Club from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the North Branch Library, 1170 The Alameda at Hopkins. 981-6133. 

Berkeley Peace Walk and Vigil at 6:30 p.m. at the Berkeley BART station. www. 

geocities.com/vigil4peace/vigil 

Morning Meditation Every Mon., Wed., and Fri. at 7:45 a.m. at Rudramandir, 830 Bancroft Way at 6th. 486-8700. 

After-School Program Homework help, drama and music for children ages 8 to 18, every Wed. from 4 to 7:15 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Cost is $5 per week. 845-6830. 

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

THURSDAY, JAN. 31 

Babies & Toddlers Storytime at 10:15 and 11:15 a.m. at Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave. 524-3043.  

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

Fitness Class for 55+ at 9:15 a.m. at Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. 848-0237. 

ONGOING 

E-Waste Recycling St. Vincent de Paul of Alameda County accepts electronic waste including computers, dvd players, cell phones, fax machines and many other ewaste products for disposal free of charge at many of its locations throughout Alameda County. Free bulk pick-up available. 638-7600. www.svdp-alameda.org 

Help a Newt Cross the Road Every year newts migrate across Hillside Drive to reach their breeding pools in Castro Creek. Volunteers prevent many of these creatures from being crushed by cars. We need volunteers every evening during January and February in El Sobrante. The newts are most active on rainy nights. annabelle11_3@yahoo.com 

Free Tax Help If your 2007 household income was less than $42,000, you are eligible for free tax preparation from United Way's Earn it! Keep It! Save It! Sites are open now through April 15 in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. To find a site near you, call 800-358-8832. www.EarnItKeepItSaveIt.org 

Donate the Excess Fruit from Your Fruit Trees I’ll gladly pick and deliver your fruit to community programs that feed school kids, the elderly, and the hungry. The fruit trees should be located in Berkeley and organic (no pesticides). This is a free volunteer/ 

grassroots thing so join in!! To scehdule and appointment call or email 812-3369. northberkeleyharvest@gmail.com http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu

FRIDAY, JAN. 25 

THEATER 

Actors Ensemble of Berkeley “Barefoot in the Park” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. at Live Oak Theater, 1301 Shattuck Ave. at Berryman, through Feb. 16. Tickets are $10-$12. 649-5999. www.aeofberkeley.org 

Altarena Playhouse “Wait Until Dark” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at Altarena Playhouse, 1409 High St., Alameda, through Feb. 16. Tickets are $17-$20. 523-1553. www.altarena.org  

Aurora Theatre “Satellites” at 8 p.m. at 2081 Addison St. through March 2. Tickets are $40-$42. 843-4822. www.auroratheatre.org 

Contra Costa Civic Theatre “The Cocoanuts” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., some Sun. matinees at 2 p.m., at 951 Pomona Ave., at Moeser, El Cerrito, through March 2. Tickets are $15-$24. 524-9132. www.ccct.org 

Encore Theatre Company & Shotgun Players “The Shaker Chair” Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 5 p.m., at The Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave., through Jan. 27. Tickets are $20-$30. 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org 

Masquers Playhouse “Angel Street” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2:30 p.m. through Feb. 23 at 105 Park Place, Point Richmond. Tickets are $18. 232-4031. www.masquers.org 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Best Western” Art by Martin Webb. Artist reception at 5 p.m. at Estaban Sabar Gallery, 480 23rd St., Oakland. Exhibit runs through Feb. 18. 444-7411. www.estebansabar.com 

FILM 

Jean-Pierre Léaud “Love on the Run” at 7 p.m. and “Sweet Love, Bitter” at 8:40 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Sonja Lyubomirsky describes “The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. www.codysbooks.com  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Oakland East Bay Symphony Verdi’s “Requiem” at 8 p.m. at Paramount Theater, 2025 Broadway, Oakland. Pre-concert lecture at 7 p.m. 444-0801. www.oebs.org 

Pacific Lutheran University’s University Chorale Concert at 7 p.m. at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 1658 Excelsior Ave., Oakland. Free, donations accepted. 530-6333.  

“The Solo Violin” with Donna Lerew at 8 p.m. at Giorgi Gallery, 2911 Claremont Ave. Cost is $5-$10.  

The Isaac Schwartztet at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $12-$10. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

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

Tempest, Avalon Rising at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $15. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

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

Any Old Time String Band at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $20.50-$21.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Ben Ross, Christopher Hanson at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Straggler, Superthief, Humanzee at 9 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Benefit for People’s Park Anniversary with New Thrill Parade, Tulsa, Wildlife, Jump off a Building and the Functionelles, at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $7. 525-9926. 

Mark Hummel’s Blues Harmonica Blow Out with John Mayall, Kenny Neal, Fingers Taylor & Lazy Lester and the Blues Survivors at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $22-$30. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com  

Bayonics at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $5. 548-1159.  

Paula Fuga at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

Russell Taylor, R&B, at 9 p.m. at Maxwell’s Lounge, 341 13th St., Oakland. Cost is $10-$15. 839-6169. 

SATURDAY, JAN. 26 

CHILDREN  

Los Amiguitos de La Peña with EarthCapades at 10:30 a.m. at La Peña. Cost is $5 for adults, $4 for children. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Active Arts Theatre for Young Audiences “Little Women” Sat. and Sun. at 2 p.m., through Feb. 3, at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $14-$18. 925-798-1300. www.willowstickets.org  

Uncle Eye Songs and stories at 11 a.m. at Studio Grow, 1235 Tenth St. Cost is $7. 526-9888. 

THEATER 

San Francisco Theater Project “Aftermath of War: in their own words” Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 7:30 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $15-$20. 925-798-1300. www.willowstickets.org  

EXHIBITIONS 

“Don Clausen: Retrospective, 1964 to Present” Reception at 2 p.m. at Alta Galleria, 2980 College Ave., Suite 4. Exhibition runs to March 1. 421-1255. www.altagalleria.com  

FILM 

African Film Festival “Waiting for Happiness” at 6:30 p.m. at “Bamako” at 8:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“As if in Sleep: Collected Stories by Tim Barsky” at 8 p.m. at at the JCC of the East Bay, 1414 Walnut St. Tickets are $12. 848-0237. 

“The Music of Kurt Weill: September Songs” A film of staged and choreographed dramatizations of Brecht-Weill songs set in an old warehouse, at 5 p.m. at the Niebyl-Proctor Marxist Library, 6501 Telegraph at Alcatraz, Oakland. 527-9584. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Jane Bernstein describes “Rachel in the World: A Memoir” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

A Conversation with Christopher Taylor and David Benson author of “Music: A Mathematical Offering” at Chern Hall, Grizzly Peak and Centennial Way. 642-9988. 

Andrew Demcak and Nina Lindsay, poets, at 7:30 p.m. at Pegasus Books Downtown, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320. claybanes@gmail.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

American Bach Soloists “Christmas Oratorio” at 7:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $16-$42. 415-621-7900. 

The Arlekin String Quartet Celebration of the 35th Anniversary of Young People's Chamber Orchestra at 4 p.m. at Arlington Community Church, 52 Arlington Ave. Suggested donation $15-$25, includes dinner. 595-4688. 

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, with Winton Marsalis, trumpet, at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $34-$68. 642-9988. www.calperformances.net 

De Rompe y Raja “Diáspora Negra” at 8:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $13-$15. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

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

Baba Ken & Kotoja at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. African dance lesson at 9 p.m. Cost is $15. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com  

Benefit for the Oak Grove Tree Sitters Legal Defense with music by The Funky Nixons, Hali Hammer, Rockin’ Solidarity Labor Heritage Chorus and others at 7 p.m. at Redwood Gardens Community Room, 2901 Derby St. 548-6310. 

Fatlip, Omni at 8 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $12. 548-1159. www.shattuckdownlow.com 

Jon Roniger, Scott Waters at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

Danny Maseng and Soul on Fire, a multi-media concert at 8:15 p.m. at Temple Sinai, 28th and Webster, Oakland. Free. 451-3263. 

Ravi Abcarian Group at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

Any Old Time String Band at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $20.50-$21.50. 548-1761.  

Jonathan Alford Group with Maria Marquez and Alan Hall at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $15-$18. 845-5373.  

George Cotsililos Jazz Group at 9:30 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. Cost is $3. 843-2473. www.albatrosspub.com 

Izabella, Cas Luas at 9 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $10. 841-2082.  

Mark Hummel’s Blues Harmonica Blow Out with John Mayall, Kenny Neal, Fingers Taylor & Lazy Lester and the Blues Survivors at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $22-$30. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

SUNDAY, JAN. 27 

FILM 

“The Trial of Joan of Arc” at 3 p.m., “The Passion of Joan of Arc” at 4:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Dorothy Bryant reads from “The Berkeley Pit” at 4 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 559-9500.  

“Egyptology: Asasif Tombs of the 25th and 26th Dynasties: A Case Study in the Construction of Identity” with Jean Li, at 2:30 p.m. at Barrows Hall, Room 20, Barrow Lane and Bancroft Way, UC Campus. 650-363-8081. 

Linda Jon Myers and workshop students read from “Becoming Whole” at 7:30 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

San Francisco Chamber Orchestra “Virtuosi” by Yu-Hui Chang at 8 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way. Pre-concert talk at 7:30 p.m. Free. 415-248-1640. www.sfchamberorchestra.org 

Christopher Taylor, piano, at 3 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $34. 642-9988. www.calperformances.net 

Prometheus Symphony Orchestra at 3 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 116 Montecito Ave., Oakland. Free, donations suggested. 415-864-2151. www.prometheussymphony.org  

Midsummer Mozart Festival Benefit Concert featuring pianist Seymour Lipkin, at 5:30 p.m. at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant. Tickets are $75 and include reception. 415-627-9141. lori@midsummermozart.org.  

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

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

Bandworks at 1:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $5. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Dayna Stephens, tribute to Sonny Rollins, at 4:30 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $15-$18. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Cheap Suit Serenaders at 5 and 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $24.50-$25.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Flamenco Night with Dani Torres at 5 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Mark Hummel’s Blues Harmonica Blow Out with John Mayall, Kenny Neal, Fingers Taylor & Lazy Lester and the Blues Survivors at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $22-$30. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

MONDAY, JAN. 28 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Cycle of Life: Awakening” Works by Asian women artists. Opening reception and lecture at 4 p.m. at Institute of East Asian Studies, 2223 Fulton St., 6th flr. Exhibit runs to May 15. 642-2809. 

“New Works by Gallery Artists” including Tyrell Collins, Carol Dalton, Hedi Desuyo, Anne Hunter Hamilton, Jenifer Kent, Grayson Malone, Lucy Matzger, Kevin Nierman, and others, opens at the Cecile Moochnek Gallery, 1809-D Fourth St., upstairs. 549-1018. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Sylvia Sellers-Garcia reads from her debut novel “When the Ground Turns in its Sleep” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

Poetry Express with Nancy Wakeman at 7 p.m. at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. 644-3977. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Megan Lynch, bluegrass, at 7 p.m. at Le Bateau Ivre, 2629 Telegraph Ave. 849-1100.  

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

Classical at the Freight with S.F. Chamber Orchestra at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $6.50-$7.50. 548-1761  

Kenny Durham Project co-led by Jules Rowell and Bill Belasco with Joel Dorham at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $6-$10. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

TUESDAY, JAN. 29 

FILM 

Experimental Documentaries “we will live to see these things, or, five pictures of what may come to pass” at 7:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Beth Lisick reads from “One Skeptic, Ten Self-Help Gurus, and a Year on the Brink of the Comfort Zone” at 7:30 p.m. at Moe’s Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave. 849-2087. 

Louise Dunlap describes “Undoing the Silence: Six tools for Social Change Writing” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 559-9500. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Del Sol String Quartet “Rhythms and Sounds from Around the World” with clarinetist Jeffrey Anderle at 8 p.m. at Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. Tickets are $20. 525-5211. 

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

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

Bandworks at 7:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $5. 525-5054. 

Chris Botti at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $35-$40. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

Jazzschool Tuesdays at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 30 

EXHIBITIONS 

Youth Arts Festival Artwork from Berkeley K-12 public school students. Opening reception at 5 p.m. at Berkeley art Center. 1275 Walnut St. in Live Oak Park. 644-6893. 

“Awakening” Hand-drawn mandalas by Maia Apalonia, opens at NoneSuch Space, 2865 Broadway, Upper Floor, Oakland, and runs through March 1. 625-1600.  

Works by Sunhee Kim opens at Christensen Heller Gallery, 5829 College Ave., Oakland. 655-5952. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“From the Cinema of Abstractions to Narrative Illusionism” with Prof. Marilyn Fabe at 3 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808.  

The Believer Magazine Pizza Party at 7:30 p.m. at Moe's Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave. 849-2087. 

Andrés Reséndez describes “A Land So Strange: The Epic Journey to Cabeza de Vaca” 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. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Wednesday Noon Concert “Schubert and Beethovan in Vienna” at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Free. 642-4864. http://music.berkeley.edu 

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

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

Gator Beat at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cajun/Zydeco dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $7. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

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

Pacific Manouche at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

THURSDAY, JAN. 31 

FILM 

Jean-Pierre Léaud “Two English Girls” at 6:30 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Jennie Wang reads from “The Iron Curtain of Language: Maxine Hong Kingston and American Orientalism” at 5:30 p.m. at University Press Books, 2430 Bancroft Way. 548-0585. www.universitypressbooks.com 

Lashonda Barnett describes “I Got Thunder: Black Women Songwriters on Their Craft” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

Richard Friar discusses “The Keepers: Part 1: WWIII” the first book in “The Keepers” trilogy and the battle machines he has included in the novel at 6:30 p.m. at El Sobrante Library, 4191 Appian Way, El Sobrante. 374-3991. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

“Change the Beat” Benefit for Educate, Ugandan and Rwandan refugees, at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Berkeley Symphony with the US premiere of Toshio Hosokawa’s “Lotus under the moonlight” at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $20-$60. 841-2800. www.berkeleysymphony.org 

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

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

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

Ben Benkert and the Burnouts, Raya Nova at 9 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5. 841-2082. 

Joe Reilly, singer-songwriter, at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $5-$10. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

The Phantom Family, La Otracina, rock, heavy metal, at 9 p.m. at Maxwell’s Lounge, 341 13th St., Oakland. Cost is $7. 839-6169. 

Chris Botti at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $35-$40. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com

There is no shortage of great film festivals in the Bay Area, celebrating the cinematic heritage of every corner of the globe.  

However, there is just one San Francisco festival that focuses purely on American film, or at least on a purely American film genre. For despite the Frenchified name, film noir is uniquely American in origin and in tone. 

The annual Noir City festival begins today (Friday) at the Castro theater in San Francisco, screening double features every day—20 films in all—through Sunday, Feb. 3. 

Film noir was not a self-conscious movement. Indeed, it was only defined in retrospect, and by outsiders, hence the French term. And yet, nearly 70 years since its genesis, it is still not easily defined.  

The genre stems from the crime fiction that emerged during the 1930s, when the Great Depression rocked the foundations of the devil-may-care America of the Roaring ’20s. Writers like Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, James M. Cain, and multitudes of lesser-known pulp authors reshaped the literary landscape with dark, cynical, morally ambivalent tales of crime, sex and vice, stories steeped in shadowy imagery, tough talk, and a hardscrabble hyper-realism that portrayed a brutal, hostile world. There were no heroes, only anti-heroes, self-preserving pragmatists whose cynicism was born of dashed hopes and faded ideals.  

The genre didn’t spread to film until the 1940s, where it took on the darker undercurrents of the American psyche during and following the horrors of World War II. And while there is still some debate over which film deserves the mantle of the first noir, the most influential of the early efforts was John Huston’s 1941 adaptation of Hammett’s Maltese Falcon, in which Humphrey Bogart captured the cynicism and weariness of San Francisco private eye Sam Spade as he fell into and then delicately extricated himself from a web of deceit spun by Mary Astor, Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet. Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane (1941), though not itself a noir, had a strong influence on the visual side of the genre, with its shadowy sets, striking German Expressionism-derived camera angles and somber tone. And Double Indemnity, Billy Wilder’s 1944 thriller starring Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray, is frequently cited as the film that essentially codified the genre and its dominant characteristics, including the ruthless femme fatale as personified by Stanwyck’s icy Phyllis Dietrichson. 

Noir City, the festival and the foundation, were founded by Eddie Muller and Alan Rode to present and preserve this cinematic legacy. And it is a legacy greatly in need of preservation, for although noir has enjoyed a great resurgence in recent years, many of these films were B pictures, cheap studio products created simply to fill out a double bill, and then forgotten days after they closed. The Film Noir Foundation helps to rediscover, preserve, and strike new theatrical prints of these neglected classics so that they can be presented in all their tawdry glory. 

The festival starts Friday with a two-film tribute to actress Joan Leslie, who will be interviewed on stage during the intermission. Repeat Performance (1947) is the first of the festival’s many rare films, none available on DVD, many not available even on VHS, and some which have not screened in decades. Leslie stars as a young woman given the opportunity to relive the past year of her life, and the chance to opt this time not to kill her husband in what the festival program describes as a noir version of It’s a Wonderful Life. The Hard Way (1943), directed by Vincent Sherman and photographed by the great James Wong Howe, is what the festival has termed an “honorary noir,” for though it doesn’t quite qualify, it is certainly one of Leslie’s darker films. 

Other highlights include Saturday’s tribute to screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, featuring The Prowler (1951), presented in a brand-new 35-millimeter print, and Gun Crazy (1950); Hangover Square (1945), a quintessential noir featuring a melodramatic plot of madness and murder, beautiful but dangerous dames, Wellesian camera angles, and an ominous and evocative score by the great Bernard Herrmann; a double feature by director Anthony Mann and cinematographer John Alton (Jan. 30); D.O.A. (1950), set in San Francisco (Jan. 31); and Conflict (Feb. 1), one of Bogart’s lesser-known noirs. 

Saturday Feb. 2 will feature three films, including the Coen Brothers’ The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001), the most recent production on this year’s program, along with (schedule permitting) an onstage interview with actor Billy Bob Thornton. And the festival will close Feb. 3 with a screening of Jules Dassin’s Night and the City (1950), one of the darkest films in the genre. 

NOIR CITY 6 

Through Feb. 3 at the Castro Theater,  

429 Castro St., San Francisco. 

For more information see www.noircity.com or  

www.thecastrotheatre.com.

‘APPARITION OF THE ETERNAL CHURCH’ 

Tonight (Friday) at 7 p.m. Paul Festa’s acclaimed music film, Apparition of the Eternal Church, which registers the “often riotous” responses of 31 nonbelievers to Catholic composer Olivier Messiaen’s apocalyptic musical vision, receives its Bay Area premiere by CalPerformances at Wheeler Auditorium—admission free. Participants include local cultural folk such as Richard Felciano, Eisa Davis and Daniel Handler (Lemony Snicket), as well as pronouncements from Harold Bloom.

A door on-stage is thrown open, and a vivacious young woman (Wendy Welch as Corie Bratter) surveys the room before her, and heaves a happy sigh. The room is a bare, freshly-painted fifth-floor walkup apartment, with only a ladder and paint cans for adornment. 

Corie’s little Arcadia is, in her mind, a love nest for her and brand-new husband Paul (David Irving), from which they may romp in early ’60s New York. Corie’s the pert, adventuresome one, whose escapade gives Neil Simon’s comedy its title, Barefoot in the Park, at Berkeley Actors Ensemble.  

Paul’s her straight man, a lawyer just handed his first case: “Staid,” Corie taunts him with when they argue, an observer to her doer. She’s constantly egging him on, in her exuberance, to join her in stunts and games. 

Corie also thinks the five-floor walkup will serve as a barrier to her stifling mother (Ljuba Davis as Ethel Banks), though it just gives the be-furred yenta another scene to dramatize, when she makes it over from ‘way out in Jersey, where she lives alone. 

(Though a comic telephone man (Jerome Solberg) has a few tart things to say about the ascent; a delivery man (Jose Garcia) on the other hand is too winded to complain.) 

Rounding out the cast is eccentric upstairs neighbor, Mr. Victor Velasco (David Spinner), bon vivant, raconteur and jack-of-all-trades, who makes his appearance requesting the use of the Bratter’s window to enter his apartment.  

Corie craftily sets up her mother with Mr. Velasco, who insists they all convene at an Albanian restaurant on Staten Island. But her cleverness hits the wall when Mrs. Banks and Mr. Velasco really do seem to hit it off—and her husband gets on her about her irresponsible highjinks. Corie suddenly is more overprotective of her mother than her mother is of her and falls apart over Paul’s criticism, questioning whether they were ever in love. 

Director Alan Barkan, together with assistant director Eric Carlson, worked well with cast members, who rise up from the one-liners of former TV gagman Simon to become an ensemble, especially during the hysterical second act. But even Simon’s gags aren’t so easy to deliver—the combination of tossed-off giddiness with a little Big Apple sangfroid is often missed in productions far from Manhattan. The Actors Ensemble bunch hits the mark much more often than not. 

Wendy Welch shows great comic flair, her maniacally gesturing hands and forearms syncopating the madcap movement of her various funny walks. David Irving is a fine foil for her nutty exuberance, getting his own back in the end.  

Ljuba Davis, in her theatrical debut, shows her long experience as a folk singer, comfortable with stage and dialogue as she spins out a performance that seems to send up both her character and herself, with great good humor. And David Spinner is a dead ringer for his Neil Simon eccentric turn, charming and goofy and at moments the sanest of the bunch. 

Alan Barkan, in his program note, points out that the play opened a month before the JFK assassination, at the tail-end of that time of public optimism that characterized the early ’60s. “At least then, laughter came easier.” Helen Slomowitz’s costumes, as ever, pinpoint the time and place, as well as Shu Ping Guan’s “decorated” apartment, which goes from blank to busy, bare to kitsch.  

In the end, the comedy goes through the roof: Corie and Paul, dimly glimpsed above the skylight, shouting admonitions and endearments to each other, and boisterous nonsense to the rest of the world—that is, New York—in general. 

BAREFOOT IN THE PARK 

Presented by Berkeley Actors Ensemble at  

8 p.m. Friday and Saturday through Feb. 16 at  

Live Oak Theater, 1301 Shattuck Ave. $10-$12.

This Sunday at the Berkeley City Club, world-renowned pianist Seymour Lipkin will join music director George Cleve and the Midsummer Mozart Orchestra to initiate the 34th season of the Midsummer Mozart Festival.  

They will be performing intimate pocket versions of some of Mozart’s most charming compositions for an audience of exactly 100 people. For the lucky century of Amadeans who get into this benefit concert, there will also be largesse of fine food and wine along with the great music. 

Seymour Lipkin, a student of Rudolf Serkin’s who won the Rachmaninoff Competition at 19, has conducted and played the piano with every major orchestra, conductor, chamber ensemble and festival in the world. He has been a frequent guest with the Midsummer Mozart Orchestra and a longtime friend, colleague and, at one time, a teacher of piano and conducting to George Cleve. He will be donating his performances to the festival.  

For this benefit concert, Lipkin and four string players from the festival Orchestra will be playing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 13 in C Major in a transcription for piano accompanied by string quartet, a performance possibility suggested by Mozart. This sparkling work was composed by Mozart after his first year living in Vienna, and first played there in March and later in the year in Salzburg in October of 1783 It was one of his few piano concertos published during his lifetime. 

Lipkin will also perform as a soloist on the Piano Sonata in D Major, Mozart’s final piano sonata. It was composed in 1789 and has often been associated with the six easy sonatas Mozart was supposed to compose for Princess Frederika of Prussia in that year. The difficulty and experimental nature of the music, though, belies this unless the Princess was an amateur with virtuosic capabilities. 

Also on the program is the late serenade, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, probably Mozart’s single most familiar melody. It has been heard in over three dozen films and television episodes and has been used to catch the ears of battalions of insomniacs by many a late night CD offering of classical music treasures. Even these indignities have not destroyed it. Mozart wrote it in Vienna in 1787 and for this performance it will be performed by a nonet from the Orchestra’s string section.  

The Orchestra horn section will also have a chance to present its talents when flutist Maria Tamburino and oboist Laura Griffiths combine to play instrumental duets from a 1792 edition of operatic arias taken from The Magic Flute and The Marriage of Figaro. Some of the duets for flute and violin from this edition have been performed at a previous benefit and although the words are missing the emotions and personalities of the characters in the operas are perfectly transposed into their wood and metal alter egos. 

It is easy to convey the personal and historical facts surrounding the creation of this music during the rococo epoch in Eighteenth Century Europe. It is harder to explain the afterlife of this music, its movement from ephemeral popularity during Mozart’s lifetime to appreciation from a few cognoscenti like E.T.A. Hoffman, Eduard Morike and Soren Kierkegaard to the preternatural fame of the man today. The reason we still listen is not because of the cheese monger/French horn player, the Masons, the Popes and cardinals, Sheridan’s brother-in-law, princes and princesses, mesmerists and Jewish-Italian librettists, fascinating as these are. 

We listen not because this music was once great, but because it is now even greater and we need it even more today. In order to have it, we also need the imagination and insight and virtuosity of a George Cleve or a Seymour Lipkin. Through their work with the Midsummer Mozart Festival they inspire and discipline fellow musicians in order to bring these sacred treasures to life, not as musty, mechanical, note-perfect simulacra but as living, moving experiences full of beauty, surprise and humanity.  

Even if you cannot be one of the lucky hundred who attend this benefit concert, watch for this summer’s schedule of five programs, July 18 through Aug. 3, in San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Jose, Berkeley, and Sonoma. Complete concert details will be available in the spring at www.midsummermozart.org. 

MIDSUMMER MOZART FESTIVAL BENEFIT CONCERT 

5:30-8:30 p.m. Sunday at Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. Hors d’oeuvres, fine wines and a silent auction. Admission is $75, limited to 100. (415) 627-9141, or lori@midsummermozart.org.