THURSDAY, MAY 8 

Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS) 35th Anniversary Celebration at Hs Lordships at the Berkeley Marina. For tickets and information call 649-1930. www.self-sufficiency.org 

“Angel Island: Immigrant Gateway to America” with Judy Yung, professor emerita at UC Santa Cruz, at 1 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St. 238-2022. 

High Blood Pressure Drop-In Clinic with free blood pressure testing, and giveaways from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. at Over 60 Health Center, 3260 Sacramento St. 981-5356. 

East Bay Mac Users Group meets to discuss Drive Savers and Time Capsule at 7 p.m. at Expression College for Digital Arts, 6601 Shellmound St., Emeryville. http://ebmug.org  

East Bay Science Cafe “Mortality and Nature: the Human Challenge” A look at disease, old age and death in nature then how humans transformed these as we built civilizations at 7 p.m. at Espresso Roma, 2960 College Ave. at Ashby 644-3773. 

Memorial Service for Janet Foldvary at 7 p.m. at St. Joseph the Worker Church, 1640 Addison St. 

Green Chamber Mixer at 5:30 p.m. at 1750 Broadway, Oakland. greenchamberofcommerce.net  

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

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

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. http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu 

FRIDAY, MAY 9 

Berkeley Neighborhood History Hunt, involving the upper half of the Historic McGee Spaulding District neighborhood between Dwight, University, McGee and MLK Jr. will begin today. If you live in the neighborhood, game booklets will be delivered to your doorstep. Prizes will be awarded to winners. There is no cost to enter the Hunt. For more details or to help with the hunt, please contact Gingi at 540-7072, ext. 12. gingi_f@berkeley.edu  

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Richard Fields of the Pacific Legal Foundation. 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 524-7468.  

“Palettes and Paddles” for children ages 9 and up to learn water-safety, boating and plein-air painting on Lake Merritt, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. on Fri. for 5 weeks. Cost is $63. To register call 238-2196. 

“Voices from Inside: Women Prisoners and their Children Speak Out” at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, 1924 Cedar St. at Bonita. Donations requested. 528-5403. 

Cancer Prevention and Survival Cooking Class meets Fri. from 6 to 8 p.m., through June 20 at Alta Bates Summit Cardiac Rehabilitation, 3030 Telegraph Ave. Free, but registration required. 869-6737.  

Communities in Transition Forum: Can There Be a “Female Man”? A panel discussion on the intersection of gender and sex at 7 p.m. at Berkeley City College Auditorium, 2050 Center St. 350-8495. 

Womansong Circle An evening of participatory singing for women led by Betsy Rose at 7:15 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, Small Assembly Room, 2345 Channing at Dana. Suggested donation $15-$20. 525-7082. betsy@betsyrosemusic.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, MAY 10 

“Grassroots Greening” A walk in West Berkeley to see grassroots “greening” projects near the old Santa Fe rail route, ending with a no-host picnic in Strawberry Creek Park. Meet at 10 a.m. at the observation railing at Codornices Creek on the Ohlone Greenway, north of Santa Fe, under the BART tracks, opposite 1200 Masonic. Wheelchair and stroller accessible. 848-9358. 

Berkeley Historical Society Walking Tour “Northbrae Trolleys” Explore the relationship between the early electric street railroads and real estate interests in the Northbrae area, from 10 a.m. to noon. Cost is $8-$10. For reservations call 848-0181. 

Peralta in Bloom Peralta Elementary Spring Community Festival with carnival games, climbing wall, food and entertainment, from noon to 4 p.m. at Peralta Elementary, 460 63rd Street, Oakland. Free.  

Golden Gate Audubon Society Bird Walk at Wildcat Canyon Regional Park Meet at 8 a.m. at Arlington Clubhouse on Arlington Ave. in El Cerrito, for a six-mile hilly hike. 925-376-8945. 

Golden Gate Audubon Society Bird Walk at Vollmer Peak Meet at 8 a.m. at the Vollmer Peak trailhead in Tilden Park. 540-8749. 

Bike Day at the Berkeley Famers’ Market, Center St. btwn Milvia and MLK Way. “How to Lock Your Bike” at 10:30 a.m., “Everyday Bicycling” at 11 a.m., “Hands-On Repair Class” at 12:30 p.m., and “How to Lock Your Bike” at 2 p.m. 548-7433. www.ebb.org 

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 

Spring Plant Sale to benefit the Edible Schoolyard, Sat. and Sun. from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School. 558-1335. www.edibleschoolyard.org 

Dye-Namite Tie Dye Learn natural tie-dying and the history of the craft, from 1 to 3 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden PArk. For ages 10 and up. Cost is $5-$7. Registration required. 1-888-EB-PARKS. 

Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival with activity tables where approximately 50 mathematicians and engineers will engage the children as they figure out the math behind puzzles, games and problems, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Pixar Animation Studios, 1200 Park Ave., Emeryville. For more event information, please see www.msri.org/specials/festival/invite2008.html 

Green Treasure Hunt for children at 11:30 a.m. at Children’s Fairyland, Emerald City Stage, 699 Bellevue Ave., at Grand Ave., Oakland. www.fairyland.org 

Celebrate Ghana! with the music, food, and arts of Ghana and drumming by Pope Flynn, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Peralta Hacienda Historical Park, 2465 34th Ave., Oakland. Free. 532-9142. 

Advanced Recycled Bookmaking from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Eology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. Cost is $10-$15. Registration required. 548-2220, ext. 233. 

Unselt Birding Breakfast A walk and talk with a light breakfast, at 8 p.m. at UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. Reservations required.643-2755. http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu 

Mother’s Day in the Garden of Old Roses at 1 p.m. at UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. Cost is $17-$20. 643-2755. http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu 

“Financial Crisis in America” A forum with Jack Rasmus, Prof of Economics at St. Mary’s College, Moraga, at 7 p.m. at Alameda Free Library, Conf. Room A, 1550 Oak St. at Lincoln. Sponsored by the Alameda Public Affairs Forum. 814-9592. 

Isadora Dance Workshop with Lois Flood from 10 a.m. to noon at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. Suggested donation $20. Class size limited. For reservation email LDAyres@gmail.com 

The East Bay Chapter of The Great War Society meets to discuss “General MacArthur Part II” by Robert Rudolph at 10:30 a.m. at the South Berkeley Library, corner of Russell & Martin Luther King Way. 527-7118. 

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, MAY 11 

Little Farm Open House Learn about the animals through songs, crafts and activities, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Tilden Park Little Farm. 525-2233. 

“California Families” A family exploration day with activities, games, performances and films celebrating California’s diverse families, from 1 to 4 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St. 238-2022. 

Berkeley Greens with Cynthia McKinney, Presidential candidate, former congresswoman at 2 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. www.berkeleygreens.org 

“Spraying of the Light Brown Apple Moth” What are the facts? at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Untarian Universalists, 1924 Cedar St. at Bonita. Donations requested. 528-5403. 

Mother’s Day at the Memorial Oak Grove Tree-Sit, from 2 to 6 p.m. on Piedmont Ave. just north of Bancroft Way. www.saveoaks.com 

Unselt Lecture “Interesting Insectivores” with Barry Rice of UC Davis and curator of Galleria Carnivora, at 1 p.m. at UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. 643-2755.  

Free Hands-on Bicycle Clinic Learn how to repair a flat, from 10 to 11 a.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. Bring you rbike and tools. 527-4140. 

“Anti-Mining Resistance in Guatemala and Latin America” at 7:30 p.m. at Long Haul Infoshop 3124 Shattuck Ave. 238-8400. 

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 

Berkeley Chess Club meets every Sun. at 7 p.m. at the Hillside School, 1581 Le Roy Ave. 843-0150. 

Tibetan Buddhism with Mary Gomes on “Heart Practices for Daily Life” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 809-1000. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

Sew Your Own Open Studio Come learn to use our industrial and domestic machines, or work on your own projects, from 4 to 8 p.m. at 84 Bolivar Dr., Aquatic Park. Also on Fri. from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Cost is $5 per hour. 644-2577. www.watersideworkshops.org 

MONDAY, MAY 12 

“Development Policy: Environmental Perspective” with Zelda Bronstein, former chair, Berkeley Planning Commission, Erin Rhoades, Livable Berkeley, and James Vann, architect at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Public Library, central meeting room, 2090 Kittredge.  

Capturing Solar Energy for Transportation Fuel A talk by Nate Lewis, LBNL Solar Energy Research Center Scientist at 5:30 p.m. at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, 2015 Addison St. 486-7292. 

World Affairs/Politics Discussion Group, for people 60 years and over, meets at 9:45 a.m. at Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic Ave, Albany. Cost is $3. 

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. 

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. www.watersideworkshops.org 

TUESDAY, MAY 13 

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

Tilden Mini-Rangers Hiking, conservation and nature-based activities for ages 8-12. Dress to ramble and get dirty. From 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. Cost is $6-$8, registration required. 1-888-EBPARKS. 

“New Year Baby” A documentary by Socheata Poeuv, a refugee from Cambodia, on her search for her family’s history, at 6:30 p.m. at Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 Ninth St., Suite 290, Oakland. Sponsored by ITVS Community Cinema. Free, but reservations required. rsvp@asianamericanmedia.org 

“Building a Popular Anarchism in Ireland” with Andrew Flood, at 7 p.m. at AK Press, 674-A 23rd. St., Oakland. Free, donations accepted. www.akpress.org 

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

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. www.ecologycenter.org 

Berkeley Camera Club meets at 7:30 p.m., at the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. 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 always welcome new members over 50. 845-6830. 

Sing-A-Long Group from 2 to 3 p.m. at the Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic. Ave., Albany. 524-9122. 

WEDNESDAY, MAY 14 

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

Sudden Oak Death Preventative Treament Training Session Meet at 1 p.m. at the Tolman Hall portico, Hearst Ave. and Arch/LeConte, UC Campus for a two-hour field session, rain or shine. Pre-registration required. SODtreatment@ 

nature.berkeley.edu 

Transportation 2035 Community Workshop with the Metropolitan Transportation Comission at 6 p.m. at Joseph P. Bort MetroCenter Auditorium, 101 Eighth St., Oakland. RSVP to 817-5981. www.mtc.ca.gov/T2035 

“Mind Your Mind” A whole brain workout for older adults, with Michael Pope of Alzheimer’s Services of the East Bay at 1:30 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave., Albany. 526-3720. 

“Hysteria” A film by Antero Alli at 7:30 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland. Donation $5. www.Humanist Hall.org 

“Mountain Biking Across the Tyrolean Alps” A slide show with Austin McInerny and Celeste McCartney at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

Poetry Writing Workshop with Alison Seevak from 7 to 9 p.m. at Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3700, ext. 17. 

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. 548-9840. 

Berkeley Peace Walk and Vigil at the Berkeley BART Station, corner of Shattuck and Center. Sing for Peace at 6:30 p.m. followed by Peace Walk at 7 p.m. www. 

geocities.com/vigil4peace/vigil 

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

Theraputic Recreation at the Berkeley Warm Pool, Wed. at 3:30 p.m. and Sat. at 10 a.m. at the Berkeley Warm Pool, 2245 Milvia St. Cost is $4-$5. Bring a towel. 632-9369. 

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, MAY 15 

“The Making of a Wildlife Refuge” with Leora Feeney of the Golden Gate Audubon Society and Susan Euing, USFWS refuge biologist on the Alameda wildlife refuge and the protection of the California Least Tern, at 12:30 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St. 238-2022. 

“Exploring the Sierra Nevada as a Naturalist and an Artist with John Muir Laws” at 7 p.m. at Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. Sponsored by the Golden Gate Audubon Society. www.goldengatesudubon.org 

LeConte Neighborhood Association meets at 7:30 p.m. at LeConte School, Russell St. entrance. karlreeh@aol.com 

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

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

Avatar Metaphysical Toastmasters Club meets at 6:45 p.m. at Spud’s Pizza, 3290 Adeline at Alcatraz. nam 

aste@avatar.freetoasthost.info  

FRIDAY, MAY 16 

International Day for Sharing Life Stories with spoken word, music and media presentations at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge. 548-2065. www.ausculti.org  

Cancer Prevention and Survival Cooking Class meets Fri. from 6 to 8 p.m., through June 20 at Alta Bates Summit Cardiac Rehabilitation, 3030 Telegraph Ave. Free, but registration required. 869-6737.  

“Living Broke in Boom Times: Lessons from the Movement to End Poverty” A documentary at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Untarian Universalists, 1924 Cedar St. at Bonita. Donations requested. 528-5403. 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Estelle Tarica on “Contemporary Indigenous Social Movements in Latin America” 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 524-7468.  

Iraq Moratorium Day and Vigil to Protest the War from 2 to 4 p.m. at the corners of Unvirsity and Acton. 548-9696. www.iraqmoratorium.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, MAY 17 

Berkeley Historical Society Walking Tour “Panoramic Hill Trails, Steps and History” from 10 a.m. to noon. Cost is $8-$10. For reservations call 848-0181. 

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. 

Himalayan Fair with arts, antiques and modern crafts, live music and dance and food, Sat. from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sun. from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Live Oak Park, 1300 Shattuck Ave. at Berryman. Suggested donation for raffle, $8-$20, benefits grassroots projects in the Himalayas. www.himalayanfair.net 

Family to Family with Alameda County Community Food Bank Learn about hunger in your community, and teach your children about the importance of giving back, from 9 to 11 a.m. at Alameda County Community Food Bank. Registration required. 635-3663, ext. 308. 

Bay Area Storytelling Festival with Carol Birch, Bab Jamal Koram, Olga Loya and others, Sat. and Sun. at Kennedy Grove Regional Recreation Area. Cost is $33-$70. To register call 869-4969. www.bayareastorytelling.org 

Sprouts Gardening Project Plant veggies, sing garden songs and learn what it takes to make plants grow, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center. For ages 3 and up. 525-2233. 

Come and Frolic for Peace at Walden’s 49th Annual Spring Fair from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Walden Center and School, 2446 McKinley Ave., at Dwight. Free. 841-7248. 

Children’s Community Center Annual Silent Auction from 7 to 10 p.m. at Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. www.cccpreschool.org/2008_auction 

Satsuki Arts Festival and Bazaar with taiko drumming, jazz, Polynesian dance, Japanese and Hawaiian food, Asian arts and craft, from 4 to 9 p.m., and noon to 7 p.m. on Sun., at to 5 p.m. at Berkeley Buddhist Temple, 2121 Channing Way. 841-1356. www.berkeleysangha.org 

Wine Tasting and Silent Auction Fundraiser for Sequoia Elementary School at 4 p.m. at Joaquin Miller Community Center, 3594 Sanborn Drive, Oakland. Tickets are $20. www.bayareawritingproject.org/sequoia 

“Birth of Cool” Benefit for the Oakland Museum of California, celebrating their new exhibit on California’s midcentury art and design. For ticket information call 238-7425. 

Tommie Smith Youth Track Meet for ages 4 and up Sat. and Sun. at Edwards Stadium, UC Campus. Free. 763-3661. ajijic51@comcast.com 

The Last Drag Quit Smoking Class especially for the LGBT community, Sat. through June 21 at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Classes are free and confidential. RSVP to 981-5330. 

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 

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, MAY 18 

Himalayan Fair with arts, antiques and modern crafts, live music and dance and food, from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Live Oak Park, 1300 Shattuck Ave. at Berryman. Suggested donation for raffle, $8-$20, benefits grassroots projects in the Himalayas. www.himalayanfair.net 

Rainbow Berkeley Annual Pride Brunch from 2 to 5 p.m. at Frances Albrier Center in San Pablo Park. Cost is $20. No one turned away. RSVP to rainbowberkeley@yahoo.com 

Golden Gate Audubon Society Walk in Tilden Park Meet at 7:30 a.m. at the Nature Area parking lot to explore Jewel Lake for returing migrants. 524-7093. 

First Hike for the Young Trekker from 10:30 a.m. to noon around Jewel Lake in tilden Park. For information call 525-2233. 

“Banished” on threats to Black communities, at 6 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

“Local Medicinal Herbs and Your Health” from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at EcoHouse, 1305 Hopkins St. Cost is $20, sliding scale. 548-2220, ext. 242.  

Community Labyrinth Peace Walk at 3 p.m. at Willard Middle School, Telegraph Ave. between Derby and Stuart. Wheelchair accessible. Rain cancels. 526-7377. info@eastbaylabyrinthproject.org  

Bike Tour of Oakland Meet at 10 a.m. at the 10th St. entrance of the Oakland Museum of California. Reservations suggested. 238-3514. 

“Spring Bloom in the Garden” A walking tour from 1 to 3 p.m. at UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. Cost is $5-$7. Registration required. 643-2755. http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu 

“Walking Tour of Three Berkeley Gardens” from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tickets are $30. 236-9558. www.bringinbackthenatives.net 

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 

Berkeley Chess Club meets every Sun. at 7 p.m. at the Hillside School, 1581 Le Roy Ave. 843-0150. 

Tibetan Yoga with Jack vander Meulen on “Balancing Inner Energies” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 809-1000. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

Sew Your Own Open Studio Come learn to use our industrial and domestic machines, or work on your own projects, from 4 to 8 p.m. at 84 Bolivar Dr., Aquatic Park. Also on Fri. from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Cost is $5 per hour. 644-2577. www.watersideworkshops.org 

CITY MEETINGS 

Commission on Early Childhood Education meets Thurs. May 8, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5428. 

West Berkeley Project Area Commission meets Thurs., May 8, at 7 p.m., at the West Berkeley Senior Center. 981-7520.  

Zoning Adjustments Board meets Thurs., May 8, at 7 p.m., in City Council Chambers. 981-7410.  

Community Health Commission meets Thurs., May 8, at 6:45 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5356.  

Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board meets Mon. May 12, at 7 p.m. in City Council Chambers. 981-7368. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/rent 

Peace and Justice Commission meets Mon., May 12, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. Manuel Hector, 981-5510.  

Commission on Disability meets Wed., May 14, at 6:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-6346. TDD: 981-6345.  

Homeless Commission meets Wed., May 14, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5426.  

Design Review Committee meets Thurs., May 15, at 7:30 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-7415.  

Transportation Commission meets Thurs., May 15, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-7010.

THURSDAY, MAY 8 

EXHIBITIONS 

Enrique Chagoya: Borderlandia Guided tour at 12:15 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Michael Capozzola, comedy and cartoons at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $12. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Claire Johnson reads from her second Mary Ryan mystery, “Roux Morgue” at 7:30 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

College of Alameda Jazz Ensemble Spring Concert at 7 p.m. at College of Alameda Student Center, F Bldg., 555 Ralph Appezzato Memorial Pkwy., Alameda. 748-2213. 

Stacey Earle & Mark Stuart at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Double Vision Jazz Quartet at 8 p.m., UC Jazz Choir at 7 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $8. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

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

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

Javon Jackson Band, with Les McCann, at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $12-$26. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

FRIDAY, MAY 9 

THEATER 

Actors Ensemble of Berkeley “Uncle Vanya” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. at Live Oak Theater, 1301 Shattuck Ave., through May 17. Tickets are $10-$12. 649-5999. www.aeofberkeley.org  

Aurora Theatre “The Trojan Women” Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 and 7 p.m. at 2081 Addison St., through May 11. Tickets are $40-$42. 843-4822. www.auroratheatre.org 

“Cats” the Broadway show at 8 p.m., Sat. at 2 and 8 p.m. and Sun. at 2 and 7:30 p.m. at Paramount Theatre, 2025 Broadway, Oakland. Tickets are $20-$60. 415-421-TIXS. www.ticketmaster.com 

Contra Costa Civic Theater “Foxfire” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at 951 Pomona Ave. at Moeser, El Cerrito, through May 11. Tickets are $11-$18. 524-9132. www.ccct.org 

Theatre de la Jeune Lune “Figaro” through June 8 at Berkeley Rep’s Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison St. Tickets are $13.50-$69. 647-2949. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Rauan Klassnik, Gary Young and Karen Wood Hepner, poets, at 7:30 p.m. at Pegasus Books Downtown, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320. 

Tim Donnelly and Lizz Bronson, poets, read at 7 p.m. at Nefeli Cafe, 1854 Euclid Ave. 841-6374. 

Will Giles reads and shows slides from “Encyclopedia of Exotic Plants for Temperate Climates” at 7:30 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Berkeley Opera “Bluebeard’s Castle” by Bartok and “L’enfant at les sortileges” by Ravel at 8 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $16-$44. 925-798-1300. 

Lily Storm & Dan Cantrell’s MegaBand at 8 p.m. at The Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. Tickets are $10-$15 at the door. 845-1350. www.hillsideclub.org 

University Symphony Orchestra at 8 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $4-$12. 642-9988.  

Marvin Sanders, flute, at 8 p.m. at Giorgi Gallery, 2911 Claremont Ave. Tickets are $10. 848-1228. 

Charlie King, The Prince Myshkins, Roy Zimmerman, political songs and satire, at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $15-$18. 849-2568.  

San Francisco Opera “The Little Prince” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 3 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $40-$60. 642-9988.  

Pete Yellin Quartet with Shiela Jordan at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $14. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Mucho Axe, Latin World Goove, at 8 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Girlyman at 8 and 10:30 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $19.50-$20.50. 548-1761.  

Judgement Day, Ninja Academy, Birdmonster at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $7. 525-9926. 

The Dave Stein Hub-Bub at 10 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. www.beckettsirishpub.com 

Poach Stevens at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $10. 548-1159.  

Thee Immortals, alt blues, at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

Javon Jackson Band, with Les McCann, at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $12-$26. 238-9200.  

SATURDAY, MAY 10 

THEATER 

“Memories and Dreams of the Twentieth Century” An evening of stories written and performed by Michael D. Brown at 8 p.m. at Da Silva Ukulele Co., 2547 8th Street, suite 28, in the Sawtooth building between Dwight and Parker. Suggested donation $15. 

EXHIBITIONS 

"Jean Henry School of Art" a painting exhibition. Works by Margaret Atkinson, Loretta Di Luzio, Ivy Jou, Frank Lillef, Peggy Maynes, Hiten Parmar, Noelle Phillips, Mike Ritch, Joy Rosander, Lore Rossi, Helena Sito, Rolayn Tauben, April Watkins. Reception from 4 to 7 p.m. at The Art of Living Center, 2905 Shattuck Ave. Exhibit runs to June 10. Hours: Mon.-Wed. & Sat. 12-5, Fri. 1-5. 848-3736. 

Paintings by Judith Brownfield, James Hartman and Nell Haskell. Opening reception at 4 p.m. at Giorgi Gallery, 2911 Claremont Ave. 848-1228. www.giorgigallery.com 

“Intertidal” Works by Jamie McHugh, Tara Gill, Susan Adme and Judy Shintani. Opening reception at 5 p.m. at the Community Art Gallery, Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, 2450 Ashby Ave. 204-1667. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Writing Motherhood” with Lisa Garrigues at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Oakland Youth Chorus “Oye La Musica!” at 7 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2501 Harrison St., Oakland. Tickets are $10-$20. 287-9700. 

MusicEterna “La Vida Breve” Spain and Russia between the Great Wars, at 8 p.m. at Trinity Chapel, 2320 Dana St. Tickets are $8-$12. 549-3864.  

Voci Women’s Vocal Ensemble at 4 p.m. at Lake Merritt Methodist Church, 1330 Lakeshore Ave. Tickets are $17-$20. 531-8714.  

University Symphony Orchestra at 8 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $4-$12. 642-9988.  

“The Lost Musical Instruments of Joe Pachinko” A concert on unusual instruments at 7 p.m. at Leaning Tower of Pizza, 498 Wesley Ave., off Lakeshore, Oakland. 444-6824. 

Los Mapaches, Latin American music for the whole family at 7 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10, $5 for children. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Ed Reed & Brian Cooke Quartet at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $15. 841-JAZZ.  

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

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

Mike Zilber Group “Tribute to Michael Becker and Wayne Shorter” at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $18. 845-5373.  

Andrew Sammons and Friends at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

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

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

Punk Prom with Knights of the New Crusade, People Eaters, The Martyr Index at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $7. 525-9926. 

Les Nubians at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $30. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

SUNDAY, MAY 11 

CHILDREN 

“California Families” A special celebration with performances by the Oakland East Bay Men’s Chorus, magician Timothy James, martial arts by Destiny Arts, and games and art projects, from 12:30 to 4:40 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St., at Tenth, Oakland. 238-2200.  

EXHIBITIONS 

Enrique Chagoya: Borderlandia Guided tour at 2 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum. 642-0808.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Back Room Live” Literary magazine with authors Janet W. Hardy, Sarah Mumolo, Lucas Champagne and others at 7:30 p.m. at Pegasus Books Downtown, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320. 

Hertha Sweet Wong reads from the anthology of writings by Native women “Reckonings” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books, 2201 Shattuck Ave. 559-9500. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Kathy Kallick Mother’s Day Show at 1 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $7.50 children, $9.50 for adults. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Berkeley Opera “Bluebeard’s Castle” by Bartok and “L’enfant at les sortileges” by Ravel at 2 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $16-$44. 925-798-1300. 

The Decker Family Band Mothers’ Day Concert at 4:30 p.m. at La Peña. Cost is $5-$10. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Mother’s Day Music Jam at the Memorial Oak Grove Tree-Sit, from 2 to 6 p.m. on Piedmont Ave. just north of Bancroft Way. www.saveoaks.com 

Barbara Dane & Her Hot Five at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $20. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Austin Lounge Lizards at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

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

Americana Unplugged, live bluegrass and old-time music at 5 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

Mike Zilber at 4:30 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $10-$20. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

MONDAY, MAY 12 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Charles Potts, John Oliver Simon and Richard Krech, with music by Howard Barkin, at 7:30 p.m. at Moe’s Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave. 849-2087. 

“Art and Travel” with Jan Schafir at the El Cerrito Art Association meeting at 7:30 p.m. in the Garden Room, El Cerrito Community Center, 7007 Moeser Lane at Asbury Ave. All welcome. 558-1078. 

Frederick Rolf will read from his father’s memoir “Berlin, Shanhai, New York: My Family’s Flight from Hitler” at 7 p.m. at Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave. Kensington. 524-3043. 

Andrew Sean Greer on his novel “The Story of a Marriage” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books, 2201 Shattuck Ave. 559-9500. 

Poetry Express with Jared Paul, from Providence RI, at 7 p.m. at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. 644-3977. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

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

Concord High School Jazz Band at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$15. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

TUESDAY, MAY 13 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Legacy of Berkeley Parks” photography exhibit at the Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St., through May 26. 981-6107. 

Albany Artists: Michael Che Swisher, JoAnna Pippen and Judith Corning, works on display at Albany Community Center 1249 Marin Ave., Albany, to June 13. 524-9283. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Edward Mycue and Nancy Keane, poets, read at 7:30 p.m. at Moe’s Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave. 849-2087. 

Barbara Euser and Connie Burke on “Venturing in Ireland” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books 2201 Shattuck Ave. 559-9500. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

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 

College of Alameda Jazz Big Band Annual Spring Concert, with guest artist Kenny Washington, at 7 p.m. at F Bldg Student Lounge, College of Alameda, 555 Ralph Appezzato Memorial Parkway, Alameda. free. 748-2213. 

Suzy Thompson & Del Ray at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Brian Wood Ensemble at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave. 548-5198.  

New Orleans All Stars with George Porter, Cyril Neville, Henry Butler, and Raymond Weber at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $12-$20. 238-9200.  

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

WEDNESDAY, MAY 14 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Our Visions” A group show of painitings by East Bay Women Artists on display at Royal Ground Gallery, 2058 Mountain Blvd., Monclair, through July 6. 841-0441. 

THEATER 

Poor Players “Iris and Her Girls” Wed.-Sun. at 8 p.m., Sat and Sun. matinees at 2 p.m. at Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave., through May 18. Tickets are $20. 663-5767. www.poorplayers.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Rick Perlstein discusses “Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books, 2201 Shattuck Ave 559-9500. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Music for the Spirit with Ron McKean on harpsichord at 12:15 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church of Oakland, 2619 Broadway. 444-3555. 

South Berkeley Youth Arts Summit music and dance at 7 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $5-$8. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Helenicks at 7 p.m. at Le Bateau Ivre, 2629 Telegraph Ave. www.lebateauivre.net 

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

Orquestra La Verdad 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.  

Ben Graves Quartet at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

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

Solo Bass Night at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

New Orleans All Stars with George Porter, Cyril Neville, Henry Butler, and Raymond Weber at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $12-$20. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

THURSDAY, MAY 15 

THEATER 

“Aliso in Wonderland” Written and performed by “Xago” Juárez, at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10. 849-2568.  

Eastenders Repertory Company “Three Vanek Plays” by Vaclev Havel, Thurs. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 and 7 p.m. at JCC East Bay. Tickets are $15-$20. 800-838-3006. 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Double Vision: Cubist and Abstract Expressions” Works by Carol Manasse and Steve Carlson. Reception at 5 p.m. at Craft & Cultural Arts Gallery, State of California Office Bldg., 1515 Clay St., Oakland. 622-8710. 

“Portals” Paper creations by Jen Stark, Anna Fidler and Jana Flynn. Opening reception at 6 p.m. at Johansson Projects, 2300 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. Exhibit runs through July 5. www.johanssonprojects.com 

Enrique Chagoya: Borderlandia Guided tour at 12:15 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Ariel Schrag reads from “Awkward/Definition” and “Potential” at 7 p.m. at Florence Schwimley Little Theater at Berkeley High School, 1930 Allston Way. 

Jibade-Khalil Huffman and Bronwen Tate, poets, read at 7:30 p.m. at Pegasus Books Downtown, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320. 

Sheila Weller discusses “Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon and the Journey of a Generation” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books, 2201 Shattuck Ave. 559-9500. 

Artist Support Group Speaker Series with Jamie Brunson, art coach and founder, Art Primer, at 7 p.m. at the Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. in Live Oak Park. Cost is $8-$10. 644-6893. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Oakland Opera and The Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra “Queenie Pie” Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at New Oakland Metro Operahouse, 630 3rd St., Oakland. 763-1146. 

Celtic Sands at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Irish dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

The Waybacks at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $24.50-$25.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Dick Conte Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $15. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Mario “Weary Boys” Matteoli at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

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

Poncho Sanchez Tribute to Cal Tjader at 8 and 10 p.m., through Sun. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $22-$66. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

FRIDAY, MAY 16 

THEATER 

Actors Ensemble of Berkeley “Uncle Vanya” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. at Live Oak Theater, 1301 Shattuck Ave., through May 17. Tickets are $10-$12. 649-5999. www.aeofberkeley.org  

Impact Theatre “‘Tis Pity She’s A Whore” Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m. at La Val’s Subterranean, 1834 Euclid. Tickets are $10-$15, through June 7. 464-4468. 

Poor Players “Iris and Her Girls” Wed.-Sun. at 8 p.m., Sat and Sun. matinees at 2 p.m. at Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave., through May 18. Tickets are $20. 663-5767. www.poorplayers.org 

Shotgun Players “Beowulf: A Thousand Years of Baggage” Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 5 p.m. at The Asby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave., through June 22. Tickets are $17-$25. 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org 

Theatre de la Jeune Lune “Figaro” through June 8 at Berkeley Rep’s Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison St. Tickets are $13.50-$69. 647-2949. 

EXHIBITIONS 

“These Canyons” UC Berkeley M.F.A. Exhibition Reception at 6:30 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

International Day for Sharing Life Stories with spoken word, music and media presentations at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge. 548-2065. www.ausculti.org  

Las Manas Tres, hybrid poetas, at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Raj Patel discusses “Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books 2201 Shattuck Ave. 559-9500. www.codysbooks.com  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Berkeley Ballet Theater “La Boutique Fantastique” Fri. at 7 p.m., Sat. at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $15-$21. 843-4689.  

Garrett McLean, violin, Siu-Ting Dickson Mak, piano, at 8 p.m. at Giorgi Gallery, 2911 Claremont Ave. Tickets are $10. 848-1228. 

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

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

B.A.R.S.: Break, Art. Rap. Scratch. at 7 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $5-$10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Snatam Kaur at 8 p.m. at Rudramandir, 830 Bancroft Way at 6th. Tickets are $30-$35. 486-8700. 

Ray Bierl Trio at 8 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

The Stairwell SIsters at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

John Calloway Quartet at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

Sabertooth Zombie, Murder Practice, Seize the Night at 7:30 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $7. 525-9926. 

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

Army, David Morrison, Tuff Lion, Luv Fyah, reggae, at 9:30 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $12. 548-1159.  

Bitches Brew at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

SATURDAY, MAY 17 

CHILDREN  

Dashka Slater reads from “The Sea Serpent and Me” at 4 p.m. at Cody’s Books, 2201 Shattuck Ave 559-9500. 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Birth of Cool: California Art, Design, and Culture at Midcentury” with a jazz lounge, films, and period art gallery, opens at the Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St. 238-2022. 

“What is a Book?” Explorations by a dozen artists on display at Oakopolis Creativity Center, 447 25th St., Oakland, Sat. from 2 to 5 p.m. to June 21. 663-6920. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Adam David Miller and Marc Elihu Hofstadter, poets, read at 2 p.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6107. 

Reading Festival with authors Vivian Walsh at 11 a.m. and Barbara Quick at 3 p.m. Music, refreshments and activities for children from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave., Kensington. 524-3043. 

Patty Seyburn, Judith Taylor, C.E. Perry, Dean Rader, Brian Komei Dempster, Jennifer K. Sweeney read at 7:30 p.m. at Pegasus Books Downtown, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320. 

Susan Phillips reads from “Candlelight: Illuminating the Art of Spiritual Direction” at 7 p.m. at First PResbyterian Church of Berkeley, Dana St. at Channing. 559-9500. 

Ryudai Takano Artist Talk at 7 p.m. at Kala Art Institute, 1060 Heinz Ave. http://kala.org 

Rhythm and Muse at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. 527-9753. 

David Corbett reads at noon at the El Cerrito Library, 6510 Stockton Ave. 526-7512. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Mozart for Mutts and Meows with players from the Midsummer Mozart Festival, and conducted by George Cleve, at 6:30 p.m. at Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. Tickets are $80-$90. Includes reception and silent auction. All proceeds benefit the Berkeley East Bay Humane Society. 845-7735, ext. 19. 

Berkeley Ballet Theater “La Boutique Fantastique” at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $15-$21. 843-4689.  

Music for Two Choirs Contra Costa Chorale and St. David’s Festival Choir at 7:30 p.m. at Unitarian Church of Berkeley, 1 Lawson Rd., Kensington. Tickets are $15-$20. 527-2026. www.ccchorale.org  

World Folk Music with Bonnie Lockhart at 2:15 p.m. at the El Cerrito Library, 6510 Stockton Ave. 526-7512. 

New Music: Graduate Composers perform at noon at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Free. 642-4864. http://music.berkeley.edu 

American Bach Soloists “Sound of the Trumpet” with special guest, John Thiessen on baroque trumpet at 8 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way at Dana. Pre-concert lecture at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10-$42. 415-621-7900. www.americanbach.org 

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

Kalbass, King Wawa, Alafia Dance Ensemble in a Haitian Flag Day Celebration at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $12-$15. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com  

Jonathan Edwards at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $26.50-$27.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Tommy Hodul’s Little Phat Band at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $10. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Mark Levine Trio at 9 p.m. at Downtown. 649-3810.  

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

Guns for San Sebastian at 10 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. www.beckettsirishpub.com 

Joseph’s Bones at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

XBXRX, Triclops, Rock Poster Art Show at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $7. 525-9926. 

Poncho Sanchez Tribute to Cal Tjader at 8 and 10 p.m., through Sun. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $22-$66. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

SUNDAY, MAY 18 

CHILDREN 

Uncle Zacky & Cousin Eric at Ashkenaz at 3 p.m. Cost is $4-$6. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

EXHIBITIONS 

Works by Carla Van Slyke, Rita Sklar, Charlotte Britoon and Jack Anderson. Reception at 2 p.m. at Solano Grill, 1133 Solano Ave., Albany. 531-1404. 

Enrique Chagoya: Borderlandia Guided tour at 2 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“These Canyons” UC Berkeley M.F.A. Exhibition. Artists’ talk at 3 p.m. at Berkeley Art Museum. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

“Israeli Art Today” with Michal Gavish, in conjunction with the exhibition “@60.art.israel.world” at 2 p.m. at the Judah L. Magnes Museum., 2911 Russell St. 549-6950. 

UC Extension Student Reading at 4 p.m. at Cody’s Books, 2201 Shattuck Ave. 559-9500. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Berkeley Ballet Theater WHAT: Spring Showcase: La Boutique Fantastique WHERE: Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Avenue, Berkeley WHEN: Friday, May 16, 7:00 PM Saturday, May 17, 2:00 PM Saturday, May 17, 7:00 PM Sunday, May 18, 2:00 PM TICKETS: $15-21 CALL: 510-843-4689  

Jazz on Fourth Street Benefit for Berkeley high School Jazz Programs, with performances by E.C. Scott, Khalil Shaheed Quintet, John Santos Quartet, and the Berkeley High Jazz Orchestra and Combos, from noon to 5 p.m. on Fourth St. between Hearst and Virginia. 

Volti “Past, Present, and Future Adventures” at 4 p.m. at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 2300 Bancroft Way. Tickets are $8-$20. 415-771-3352. www.voltisf.org 

Voci Women’s Vocal Ensemble at 4 p.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, 1 Lawson Rd., Kensington. Tickets are $17-$20. 531-8714. www.vocisings.com 

CHAMBER MUSIC SUNDAES, featuring San Francisco Symphony cellists Jill Rachuy Brindel, David Goldblatt and Carolyn McIntosh and Seattle Symphony cellist Walter Gray a concert which includes music by Vivaldi, Richard Strauss, Tansman and Moor St. John's Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. in Berkeley Sunday, May 18th at 3:00 PMTickets at the door $18 to $22. For information call: 415 753 2792 or visit our website at www.chambermusicsundaes.org 

Sunday, May 18, 2008, at 4 p.m. What: Free Orchestra Concert Who: Oakland Civic Orchestra. Martha Stoddard, conductor. Cory Lee, violin. Where: Lake Merritt United Methodist Church, 1330 Lakeshore Avenue, Oakland. Public info: (510) 238-7275. http://www.oaklandnet.com/parks/programs/ca_civicorchestra.asp. 

MUSIC FOR TWO CHOIRS - Contra Costa Chorale and St. David's Festival Choir, including Vivaldi's Beatus Vir, - and Sun May 18, 3:00pm at St. David's Catholic Church, 5641 Esmond St., Richmond. $15-$20. (510)527-2026 or www.ccchorale.org . 

Young People’s Symphony Orchestra Spring Concert with Oakland Symphony Chorus, Piedmont ChoirsSunday, May 18 at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Community Theater, Allston Way between MLK and Milvia. Tickets are $15-$20. www.ypsomusic.net 

The Carol Trio and friends 7:30 p.m. at Giorgi Gallery, 2911 Claremont Ave. Tickets are $10. 848-1228. 

“Come Away to the Skies” solo piano concert with Pastor Dan Damon at 5 p.m. at First United Methodist Church, 201 Martina St., Point Richmond. Suggested donation $10.236-0527. 

Tati Argue, hip hop and Michael Grbich, tap at 3 p.m. at Expression Gallery, 2035 Ashby Ave. 644-4930. 

John Schott’s Dream Kitchen at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $7.50 children, $9.50 for adults. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

t 5 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $$5-$15. 642-9988. www.calperformances.net 

at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña. Cost is $10-$20. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Mads Tolling Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $15. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Americana Unplugged, bluegrass and old-time, at 5 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

Steve Lucky & the Rhumba Bums at 6:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $15 and up. Benefit for Scott “Edawg” Petersen. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Andrew Speight: A Tribute to Charlie Parker at 4:30 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $12-$15. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

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

at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $5-$7. 548-1159.  

at 9 p.m. at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $5-$7. 848-0886. www.blakesontelegraph.com 

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

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. 

In theater,” said that poet and visionary of drama, Antonin Artaud, in The Theater and Its Double, “there is a kind of strange sun, an unusually bright light by which the difficult, even the impossible, suddenly appears to be our natural medium. And [John] Ford’s ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore is lit by the brilliance of that strange sun.” 

Impact Theater now has onstage, in LaVal’s Subterranean, what’s become the most famous play by Ford, one of the many stars in the British dramatic firmament of the Elizabethan and Stuartian reigns that have been eclipsed by Shakespeare’s solar power, remaining to many readers and playgoers mere names: Middleton, Marston, Webster, Tourneur, Greene and Peele, to mention just a half-dozen of the most obvious. (Indeed, that other towering genius of the time, Ben Jonson, is hardly more than a reference to most).  

“Deep in a dump alone John Ford was gat/With folded arms and melancholy hat.” The old ditty, from “Choice Drollery,” maybe sums up why there was only one revival of Ford’s play for over two centuries, during the Restoration (Pepys saw and disliked it—though he spotted a blonde in the cast he did like). 

Victorian poets, such as Swinburne, and psychologists and men of letters, like Havelock Ellis, rediscovered this kind of ferocious Baroque drama, and an abridged translation by Symbolist playwright Maurice Maeterlinck (an influence on Chekhov, Yeats and Beckett) finally brought it back to the stage in the 1880s. 

There’s plenty of laughter at times, anyway, as the tone of the play shifts wildly from gripping to dire irony, to burlesque, and back to gripping. Impact’s usual fare consists of burlesk, with a “k,” new plays (often by local playwrights) and a Shakespeare or two thrown in. They deserve much credit for getting this “monstre sacree” of Baroque drama back on the boards. 

What’s the sting in this “melancholic” yet energetic play which kept it out of sympathy with producers and critics for so long? Partly its subject matter: Giovanni, the male protagonist opens the play by defending his dream of incestuous love to his confessor—and then discovers his sister, Annabella, shares his feelings.  

“There is no heaven and no earth for him,” Artaud writes, “only the strength of his tumultuous passion, which evokes a correspondingly rebellious passion in Annabella.” They proceed to consummate their maverick bond—and the run of dire consequences begins. 

The Impact production is, by necessity, a chamber play, the chamber—Andrew Susskind’s blue wall with a blue lamp hanging over a blue-dressed bed curtained in gauze—beneath the pizza parlor upstairs. Impact artistic director Melissa Hillman puts a cast of 14 through the hoops of stylized Baroque metaphysical potboiler. “Melissa’s been dying to direct this for years,” said Managing Director Cheshire Isaacs. 

Keeping it clear and close to the text, and moving right along, she gets consistently good performances from John Ferreira as Friar Bonaventura, Mary Ann Mackey as Mme. Florio (transposed genderwise from Annabella and Giovanni’s widower father in the original), Tim Redmond as the father of the buffoonish suitor (and first, mistaken casualty) Bergetto (Jai Sahai), and a sense of grim energy and resolve from Seth Hans Thygesen as Vasques, retainer and a kind of double agent and revenger and Harold Pierce as a scheming physician. 

The women play female roles like a maid and confidante (Miyuki Bierlein), a spurned lover (Mayra Gaeta) or the niece of a doctor and another love interest (Kendra Oberhauser)—or male roles as henchmen and cronies (Sarah Coykendall). 

As siblings turned lovers, Marissa Keltie and John Terrell play unevenly for most of the show—then, in the crucial, harrowing final scenes, they come through where it counts, with a sense of the transcendental drive Artaud talked about, hellbent and implacable. 

Those scenes aren’t for the fainthearted, but are great theater, suspense and cruel action that surpass mere melodrama. There is a lot of salutary gore, served with dispatch; the audience laughs at the curtain call when the smiling actors take their bow in blood-drenched costumes.

Amid the slapstick of aristocrats stashed in packing crates to cheat the guillotine, flashbacks of the genteel antediluvian life signaled by opera singers popping up out of nowhere to sing Mozart and close-ups of those singers’ and comedians’ faces projected on a big screen from a camera in the wings, a wry concept seems to be taking shape from Theatre de la Jeune Lune’s Figaro, onstage at Berkeley Rep’s Roda Theatre.  

The show is a melding of Beaumarchais’ original play and Mozart’s (and librettist Lorenzo da Ponte’s) opera with some stiffening from Beaumarchais’ lesser known third play, after The Barber of Seville and Marriage of Figaro, La Mere Coupable (Guilty Mother), all set in Paris, where Count Almaviva and his quondam barber, Figaro (now just Fig), are refugees from the revolutionary mobs.  

The pair rehash their old man-and-his-man’s-man relationship, and the romantic intrigues they’ve shared, cueing effusions of Mozart’s music, as if to quote Talleyrand’s famous bon mot, used as epigraph by Bertolucci for his second feature film, “Noboby can know how sweet life can be unless they lived before the revolution.” 

With the divine music sung wonderfully by the singers appearing by sleight-of-hand and projected on the big screen, the comedians (Dominique Serrand and Steven Epp, who also adapted the piece) show up in a flurry of sight gags cutting the reminiscences and tableaux, like the Countess (Jennifer Baldwin Peden) stretched out in a funeral boat, smothered in roses, bursting into song as Serrand slowly draws the boat around the stage. This composite, deliberately anachronistic image of memories of happiness ravaged by change, yet springing up anew, even through remorse, and of characters confronted by their own vanity, tantalizingly seems to be forming before our eyes, like the ghost of a ghost, phantom of memory and experience itself. 

Unfortunately, the assemblage doesn’t cohere, as the Jeune Lunes’ ride on Mozart’s coattails reveals more disparity of intention and purpose than the sensational collage effects it tries to muster. 

Mozart and da Ponte themselves realized what da Ponte claimed was a new kind of musical theater, at about the same time a new dramaturgy, pioneered by Diderot in France and Lessing in Germany, was being formulated of synaesthetic “tableaux” that Lessing called “pregnant moments,” images by which the whole picture, the tension and conflict of an entire play could be caught.  

Musician and critic Charles Rosen validated da Ponte’s claim to a similar advance in opera, overcoming the old effects of “coup-de-theatre” in plot and music through a close marriage of text and music by use of sonata forms, constantly building and resolving conflict musically along with the shifts in dramatic focus. 

Whenever the fine operatic singers and actors (Christina Baldwin, Baldwin Peden, Carrie Hennessey, Bryan Janssen, Momoko Tanno and Bryan Boyce and their alternates) appear—especially in the longer excerpts pasted into the second act, when the poetic structure, both musical and dramatic, can be sensed more fully—the anachronistic pastiche is refreshed by the original’s still astounding transparency, in which all manner of conflicting, even contradictory motives and actions are revealed (and studied) at once, yet still keep the freshness and humorous insouciance of opera buffa. 

The insouciance and simultaneity of what Epp and Serrand try to do is something else again, not a montage, but just a pastiche that attempts to pair unlike elements into an ungainly happy synthesis. There’s no sense of montage here, just a kind of willy-nilly slopping together and dreary repetition.  

What starts out fresh—the sudden appearances of the singers from a soon-overworked trick bed (no stage magician would ever beat dead horsehair like that for an effect) or the abrupt skittering of actors and singers across the stage—is repeated ad nauseum, providing neither compliment nor contrast to the miraculous marriage of music and text in the opera. 

When the singers are in the camera’s eye, projected on screen, it makes sense, matching what Rosen identifies as another key feature of the opera’s innovatory invention: duos and trios advancing the story, not recitivo filling in.  

When the camera focuses on Epp in his endless way-behind-the-beat expository reminiscences and routines in close-up, it defeats the purpose of being paired as a reflection of its original, like the talking heads in PBS opera programs that are the death of the surprising 220-year-old spontaneity of da Ponte and Mozart’s accomplishment. 

(A better example of how to draw from such masters would be Ingmar Bergman’s film Hour of the Wolf, based on inverting the story of ‘The Magic Flute’—though Bergman only shows a scene from the original, with ironic commentary, as a creepy puppet show.) 

Given Epp and Serrand’s errant direction, as if they were slipping on hidden banana peels while doing their adaptation, drawing attention to their own antics after capturing the audience with rivetting operatics, the play should be retitled Figaro & Me. 

Bradley Greenwald’s musical adaptation, a “miniaturization” for a chamber group, and that group’s playing, prove to be fine. 

Postmodern critical theory discusses irony and longing at great length. Here, the longing is over-attenuated and the irony is anachronistic: It is a pre-revolutionary opera, in which Mozart and da Ponte made high art from something approaching farce or burlesque, which refreshes our tired postmodern stage conventions.

This Friday Berkeley Opera opened the second opera of its 29th season, with two one-acts from the early 20th century, Béla Bartok’s Bluebeard’s Castle (A kékszakállú herceg vára) and Maurice Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges. Wildly different in tone and intent, the operas nonetheless provided a wonderful program that was evocative and satisfying. 

Bartok’s opera, which debuted in 1918 in Budapest, is a reinterpretation of the fairy story of a man who murders his wives ostensibly for their curiosity. The composer’s version converts this chilling tale into a vivid symbolic world with Bluebeard’s castle figuring as a representation of the man—dark and cold, sighs pouring forth from its closed recesses. The action of the opera focuses on Bluebeard’s psychological unveiling by his new bride, Judith, who insists on opening the seven locked doors of the castle.  

Reluctantly, Bluebeard agrees and the pair moves through the castle rooms—a torture chamber, an armory, a treasure room—Bluebeard asking the horrified Judith if she is afraid, Judith insisting that light be brought into the castle, that she will dry its wet, cold walls with her lips, her love. A secret garden follows the visions of violence and murder, then a view of Bluebeard’s vast domain. Everywhere, when she looks closely, Judith sees blood. 

Mezzo-soprano Kathleen Moss sang a superlative Judith, her rich tone smooth as honey, amber and full, slowly pouring Bartok’s dark melodic lines into the ambiguous world of the story’s emotions. Along with beautiful tone, her voice has real power—intense and focused without edge or sharpness. Paul Murray sang Bluebeard, and though he needed to reach for some of the lower notes, he portrayed a repressed and convincingly bizarre prince. 

A video backdrop by Naomi Kremer, assisted by Mark Palmer, provided the visuals, which were both spooky and atmospheric. It’s a hard task to provide sets and designs for this opera—the imagery needs to remain connected to the story but not be too literal. The music’s strength and the power of the original poetic vision, however, override almost any presentation.  

Artistic director and conductor Jonathan Kuhner used a smaller orchestra in place of the larger-than-average orchestra specified by Bartok’s score. Though hidden behind the projection screen onstage, the 34-member ensemble was nonetheless able to impel the dynamic power of the music, moving from the subtle strings of the opera’s dissonant beginning through the panorama of the work’s forte middle section with its enormous C-major chord and back to a quiet ending that, mirroring the opening, is filled with Bluebeard’s quiet angst. 

It’s a truly great short opera. A must.  

Videos by artist Ariel, assisted by Jeremy Knight, projected the fantasy world of Maurice Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges, a wry and charming opera with a libretto by Collette about a bad little boy who doesn’t want to do his homework. The opera was written at about the same time as Bartok’s, premiering in Monte Carlo in 1925. 

Forced to stay in his room with no supper by his mother—a larger than life-sized puppet with a bustle, fancifully designed by Michael and Valerie Nelson of the Magical Moonshine Theater—the boy throws a tantrum, tearing up his homework and books, breaking the teapot and cup. Suddenly, the objects of the room come to life, chastising him for his bad behavior. Teapot and cup swirl through the lively colors on the projection screen, shepherds and shepherdesses on pieces of torn wallpaper float by, and young dancers dressed in raggy, ethereal scraps of red surround the boy as disgruntled flames from the fireplace, protesting being poked.  

In a fine black-and-white sequence the arithmetic book comes to life, barraging the naughty boy with word problems—“two trains start from the towns of …” Dancers carrying phosphorescent numbers form grinning faces that surround the boy, mocking him. Two cats enter and perform a duet of meows, then lead him to the garden, where creatures—a squirrel, a bat, a dragonfly, among others—accuse him of terrorizing them. 

Patrick Dowd of the Pacific Boychoir Academy sang the part of the little boy. Though amplified, the sweetness of his voice had that clear crystalline quality of the boy soprano. He alternates in the role with Misha Brooks. The many roles of the objects and creatures were sung by adults lined at the sides of the audience. None of this was easy music: though melodic, it shifted through modes and tempi suggested by the whimsical story characters, its movement creating a light, quixotic and humorous atmosphere. 

BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE and 

L’ENFANT ET LES SORTILEGES 

Presented by Berkeley Opera at 8 p.m. Friday and at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave.  

798-1300. www.berkeleyopera.com,  

www.willowstheater.com.