THURSDAY, DEC. 4 

Mario Savio Memorial Lecture “Our Environmental Destiny” with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Community Theater, 1930 Allston Way. Free. 707-823-7293. 

Heyday Harvest Fundraiser with poets Gary Snyder and Al Young and others at 6:30 p.m. at The Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. Suggested donation $60. 549-3564, ext. 316. www.haydaybooks.com 

Walkers 50+: Explore Restored Nature on Baxter Creek Meet at 9 a.m. at El Cerrito’s Gateway Park, Conlon and Ohlone Greenway, stub end of Conlon just east of San Pablo Ave., AC Transit 72, near El Cerrito Del Norte BART. This two-hour, moderately hilly loop walk is free but numbers are limited. Register at Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic. 524-9122.  

Cool Cuisine with Laura Stec and Eugene Cordero on the scientific and savory solutions to global warming, with displays and tastings, at 7 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. 548-3402. 

“From Richmond to Regla” A film of the first official Richmond Sister City Delegation to Cuba in 1999 at 6:30 p.m. at Richmond Public Library, 325 Civic Center Plaza, Richmond. 620-6559. 

Yard Sale to Support Tanzanian AIDS Orphans from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 1658 Excelsior Ave., Oakland. 530-6333. 

“Faith and Reason in the 21st Century” A panel discussion inspired by “The Atheon” Art work by Jonathon Keats, sponsored by the Magnes Museum at 5:30 p.m. at 2222 Harold Way. Cost is $6-$8. 549-6950, ext. 337. 

“Understanding and Dealing with Peripheral Neuropathy Pain” at 1 p.m. at the Grand Avenue Seventh Day Adventist Church, 278 Grand Ave., Oakland. 653-8625. 

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

Circle of Concern Vigil meets on West Lawn of UC campus across from Addison and Oxford, Thurs. at noon and Sun. at 1 p.m. to oppose UC weapons labs contracts. 848-8055. 

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

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

FRIDAY, DEC. 5 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Dave Weinstein on “It Came from Berkeley: How Berkeley Changed the World” 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. www.citycommonsclub.org  

Edwardian Holidays at Dunsmuir Hellman Historic Estate Community Tree Lighting at 6p.m. Also open on weekends, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. to Dec. 21. Admission is $7-$12. For reservations call 925-275-9490. www.dunsmuir.org  

AK Press Winter Sale from 4 to 10 p.m. at AK Press, 674-A 23rd. St., Oakland. 208-1700. www.akpress.org 

“Artisticana” Artisan’s bazaar and festival from 3 to 10 p.m. at The Red Door Gallery and Collective at the Warehouse, 416 26th St., Oakland. Free. 292-7061. 

Affordable Art Exhibition and Sale from 7 to 10 p.m. at The Compound Gallery, 6604 San Pablo Ave, Oakland. 655-9019. www.thecompoundgallery.com 

World of Good Holiday Sale benefitting international artisan communities from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 6315 Doyle St., Emeryville. worldofgoodinc.com 

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, DEC. 6 

Berkeley Path Wanderers: Holiday Power Walk from the Rose Garden up to Atlas Path, high in the hills and return. Meet at 10 a.m. at the Rose Garden sign on Euclid near Eunice. 848-2944. www.berkeleypaths.org  

Holiday Crafts Fair at the Berkeley Farmers’ Market with live music, hot lunches and a variety of handcrafted gifts, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Civic Center Park, Center St. at MLK Jr. Way. 548-2220, ext. 227. www.ecologycenter.org 

California College of the Arts Holiday Fair with unique gifts handmade by the students, alumni, faculty, and staff from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at CCA Oakland campus, 5212 Broadway , at College Ave. 594-3666. 

Alternative Gift Fair: Give Outside the Box with gifts and information from local, national and international non-profit organizations working for the common good, from 2 to 5 p.m. at Church on the Corner, 1319 Solano Ave., at Pomona, Albany. http://giveoutsidethebox.org 

Berkeley Potters Guild 38th Holiday Sale Sat. and Sun. from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 73 Jones St. at Fourth St. www.berkeleypotters.com 

Berkeley Open Studios Sat and Sun. from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Dec. 21. 845-2612. www.berkeleyartisans.com 

The Jingletown 3rd Annual Holiday Art Walk Sat. and Sun. from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in Jingletown, which is situated between the Park and Fruitvale Street bridges bordered by the estuary separating Oakland from the island of Alameda. www.jingletown.org 

World of Good Holiday Sale benefitting international artisan communities from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 6315 Doyle St., Emeryville. worldofgoodinc.com 

Toy Clinic with Free Lead Testing Come find out the latest news on lead and phthalates in toys from noon to 3 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. Sponsored by the Alameda County Lead Poisoning Prevention Program and the Center for Environmental Health. 548-2220, ext. 233. ecologycenter.org 

Volunteer at Schoolhouse Creek Help turn a former garbage dump into Bayshore habitat and park with Friends of Five Creeks from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. We supply tools, gloves, and snacks. Dress in layers for all weather. Walk 5 minutes north on the Bay Trail from University Ave. and West Frontage Rd., just west of I-880/580. You will see our signs at the small turnout between University and Gilman. 848-9358. www.fivecreeks.org 

Tending the Winter Heirloom Garden Learn what old-world plants grow best in our winter climate from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. Wear boots and dress to get dirty. 525-2233. 

Fungus Fair “Fungi and Fire” with exhibits, talks, tastings and marketplace from 10 to 6 p.m. at Oakland Musesum of California, 10th and Oak sts., Oakland. Cost is $5-$8. 238-2200. www.museumca.org 

Winners of the PEN Oakland-Josephine Miles 18th Annual National Literary Awards & 12th Annual PEN Oakland Censorship Award, with keynote address by poet Michael McClure at 2 p.m. at the Rockridge Branch Library, 5366 College Ave., Oakland. Free. 681-5652. 

Holiday Wreaths—Naturally Learn to make wreaths, garlands and other decorations using natural materials, from noon to 3:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. Please bring a small pair of hand clippers, and large flat box and a bag lunch. Cost is $25-$56. Registration required. 1-888-327-2757. 

Recycled Glass Wreath-Making from 1:30 to 4 p.m. at Studio One Art Center, 365 45th street, off Broadway, Oakland. To register call 597-5027. www.oaklandnet.com/parks 

“Paws and Claus” Santa visits the Oakland Zoo Sat. and Sun. from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 9777 Golf Links Rd., Oakland. 632-9525. www.oaklandzoo.org 

“Yes we did!” – Now What? with Sam Webb, national chair, Communist Party USA at 3 p.m. at Niebyl-Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. $5 suggested donation, no one turned away. A People’s Weekly World event. 251-1050. mbechtel@pww.org 

Edwardian Holidays Dunsmuir Hellman Historic Estate Weekends through Dec. 21 with costumed docents, festive trolley, live music, entertainment, cozy tea in the cottage, and Breakfast with Father Christmas, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Cost is $7-$12. For reservations call 925-275-9490. www.dunsmuir.org  

“Shine Your Light” Learn to make a candleholder for the winter celebrations Sat. and Sun. from 1 to 4 p.m. at Museum of Children’s Art, 538 Ninth St., Suite 210, Oakland. Cost is $7. 456-8770. www.mocha.org 

Make Your Own Bike Bag Beginning class for those with little or no sewing experience. We will cover the basics of sewing on the home machines, several important bag making techniques, an intro to bag design, as well as a brief look at the industrial machines. From noon to 4 p.m. at Waterside Workshops, 84 Bolivar Drive, at Berkeley’s Aquatic Park. Cost for beginning and advanced class is $85. To register call 644-2577. www.watersideworkshops.org 

“Ancient Tools for Successful Living” Workshops from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at 2929 Summit St., Suite 103, Oakland. Cost per workshop is $10. 536-5934. 

Tree of Life Qi Gong Workout at 10 a.m. at 2929 Summit St., Ste. 103, Oakland. Cost is $15. 253-8120. 

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 

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

SUNDAY, DEC. 7 

International Craft Bazaar from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave. at Gilman. Cost is $1 and up. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com  

Richmond Holiday Arts Festival from noon to 5 p.m. at Richmond Art Center, 2540 Barrett Ave., Richmond. 620-6772. www.therichmondartcenter.org 

Fungus Fair “Fungi and Fire” with exhibits, talks, tastings and marketplace from noon to 5 p.m. at Oakland Musesum of California, 10th and Oak sts., Oakland. Cost is $5-$8. 238-2200. www.museumca.org 

Winter Wanderland Hike Series An invigorating fast-paced hike from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. This week we will visit Kennedy Grove. Call for meeting place. Bring water, layered clothing and a snack to share. 525-2233. 

“Spirit of Activism” Silent auction, raffle, appetizers and music by Peg Millet and others, from 6 to 10 p.m. at La Peña, 3105 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $8 and up. Benefit Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters. 548-3113. 

23rd Annual Holiday Appeal for Class-War Prisoners Fundraising party with dinner for Mumia Abu-Jamal, Leonard Peltier and 14 others, from 1 to 5 p.m. at 2939 Ellis St. Cost is $5-$10. 839-0852. pdcbayarea@sbcglobal.net 

“Printmaking: Holiday Cards” Stamp printing and simple screen printing activities for the whole family from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in Oakland. Cost is $25-$40 per family. To register call 431-9016. 

“Sample This!” Children’s Community Center Sample Sale from 1 to 5 p.m. in the Gym at Martin Luther King Middle School, 1871 Rose St. Cost is $5, includes raffle entry. 528-6975. www.cccpreschool.org 

Holiday Card Show & Sale from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 398 Colusa Avenue at the Kensington Circle. 

Berkeley Rep Family Series “Discovering Dr. Seuss” from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Nevo Education Center, 2071 Addison St. Free, but bring a book to donate to a school library. 647-2973. 

“Scientific Revolutions and Religion: The Darwinian Revolution” with Prof. Bill Garrett at 10 a.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, 1 Lawson Rd., Kensington. 525-0302, ext. 306. 

Tibetan Nyingma Institute Open House with introduction to Tibetan yoga and meditation, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. at 1815 Highland Place. 809-1000. 

Tibetan Buddhism with Betty Cook on “Maps to Enlightenment” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 809-1000. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

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. 

MONDAY, DEC. 8 

East Bay Track Club for girls and boys ages 3-15 meets Mon. at 6 p.m. at Berkeley High School track field. Free. 776-7451. 

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

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. 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 

TUESDAY, DEC. 9 

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 Landfill Loop on the Richmond Bay Trail. 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. 

Invitation to Serve on the Berkeley Public Library Board of Trustees Information on the application process and library services and programs at 6 p.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, 3rd floor meeting room, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6107. 

International Human Rights Day: A Call for Human Rights in Iraq, Haiti, US Vigil from noon to 1 p.m. at Oakland Federal Building, 1301 Clay St., Oakland., near 1th St. BART. www.haitisolidarity.net 

“Lake Tahoe: What Will It Look Like in 2040?” with Geoffrey Schladow, Director, Tahoe Environmental Research Center, at 5:30 p.m. at 112 Wurster, UC campus. 642-2666, waterarc@library.berkeley.edu, www.lib.berkeley.edu/WRCA/ccow.html 

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. 

Pacific Boychoir Academy Open House to learn about the academic and music program from 9 to 10:30 a.m. at 410 Alcatraz Ave. Please RSVP to 652-4722. www.pacificboychoiracademy.org 

The Association for Women in Science East Bay Chapter meets at 6:30 p.m. at Jupiter, 2181 Shattuck Ave. www.ebawis.org 

“Snowcamping Essentials” at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

Red Cross Volunteer Orientation from 6 to 8 p.m. at 6230 Claremont Ave., Oakland. To sign up call 594-5165. 

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 

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. 

Caribbean Rhythms Dance Class begins at 5:30 p.m. at Redwood Gardens, 2951 Derby St., and meets every Tues. eve. Donations accepted for Community Rhythms Scholarship Fund. 548-9840. 

Ceramics Class Learn hand building techniques to make decorative and functional items, Tues. at 9:30 a.m. at St. John's Senior Center, 2727 College Ave. Free, materials and firing charges only. 525-5497. 

Yarn Wranglers Come knit and crochet at 6:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344. www.nomadcafe.net 

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 10 

Richmond Main Street Holiday Festival from 10 a.m. to noon for preschool and kindergarten, and 5 to 7:30 p.m. for the community at Nevin Park and Community Center 598 Nevin Ave., Richmond. 236-4049. www.richmondmainstreet.org  

60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights “Reaffirming Action Amidst Global Crises” with panelists from Amnesty International, Jesuit School of Theology, Survivors International, UCB Human Rights Center, UCB Political Science. Brown bag lunch from noon to 2 p.m. in the Home Room, International House, 2299 Piedmont Ave. at Bancroft. 540-8017. unausaeastbay.org  

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

Temescal Branch Library Turns 90! Join in the Community Celebration of the Temescal Branch Library's 90th Anniversary at 6 p.m. at 5205 Telegraph Ave., Oakland.  

“Bigfoot Encounters in California: The Hoopa Project” with David Paulides at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

“The Way Bobby Sees It” A documentary about Bobby McMullen, a blind mountain bike racer, at 7:30 p.m. at Grand Lake Theater, Oakland. Open captioning and open narration available. Cost is $12-$15. www.norcalmtb.org 

Evergreen Wreath Making at 7 p.m. at UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. Registration required. Cost is $25-$30. 643-2755. http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu 

“Night of Remembrance” A night to remember those loved ones who have passed and celebrate their lives, at 6:30 p.m. at Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Ave., Oakland. 654-0123. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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

Berkeley CopWatch Drop-in office hours from 6 to 8 p.m. at 2022 Blake St. 548-0425. 

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

THURSDAY, DEC. 11 

Introduction to Urban Permaculture Learn about what is possible in a city with members of Merritt College’s Landscape Horticulture Dept. at 7 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. Free. 548-2220, ext. 233. www.ecologycenter.org 

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

Circle of Concern Vigil meets on West Lawn of UC campus across from Addison and Oxford, Thurs. at noon and Sun. at 1 p.m. to oppose UC weapons labs contracts. 848-8055. 

East Bay Mac Users Group with Howard Cohen of Timefold on “Terminal and the Unix shell under OS X” at 7 p.m. at Expression College for Digital Arts, 6601 Shellmound St. Emeryville. http://ebmug.org 

Three Beats for Nothing South Mostly ancient part music for fun and practice meets every Thurs. at 10 a.m. at the South Berkeley Senior Center, Ellis at Ashby. 655-8863. asiecker@sbcglobal 

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, DEC. 12 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Leslie Kowalewski on “Infant Mortality in the United States.” 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. www.citycommonsclub.org 

“It Will Be Magic” Alameda Holiday Home Tour candlelight preview at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $75. Benefits Alameda Family Services. Day tour on Sat. from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for $30-$35. 629-6208. alamedaholidayhometour.info 

Class Struggle Classics film series presents “Blue Collar” a 1978 film, starring Richard Pryor and Harvey Keitel, depicting the deadend life of factory workers, at 7 p.m. at Niebyl-Proctor Marxist Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. 595-7417. www.marxistlibr.org 

Womensong Circle An evening of participatory singing for women at 7:15 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, small assembly room, 2345 Channing Way at Dana. Donation $15-$20. 525-7082. 

“What is Jewish Spirituality?” at 6:15 p.m. in El Cerrito. RSVP to Rabbi Bridget at 559-8140. 

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. 

Three Beats for Nothing Mostly ancient part music for fun and practice meets every Fri. at 10 a.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center, Hearst at MLK. 655-8863. asiecker@sbcglobal 

SATURDAY, DEC. 13 

Palestinian Hand-Crafted Gift Sale from noon to 6 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Benefit for Palestinian craftspeople & Middle East Children’s Alliance. 548-0542, meca@mecaforpeace.org.  

Holiday Crafts Fair at the Berkeley Farmers’ Market with live music, hot lunches and a variety of handcrafted gifts, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Civic Center Park, Center St. at MLK Jr. Way. 548-2220, ext. 227. www.ecologycenter.org 

Telegraph Avenue Holiday Street Fair with over 200 street artists, merchants, community groups and entertainment, Sat. and Sun. from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.between Dwight and Bancroft. 234-1013. 

El Cerrito’s Annual Holiday Pancake Breakfast with a visit from Santa and a puppet show, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at El Cerrito Community Center, 7007 Moeser Lane. Tickets are $8. 559-7000. 

Berkeley Open Studios Sat and Sun. from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Dec. 21. 845-2612. www.berkeleyartisans.com 

Berkeley Potters Guild 38th Holiday Sale Sat. and Sun. from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 73 Jones St. at Fourth St. www.berkeleypotters.com 

Heyday Holiday Book Sale from noon to 4 p.m., with a presentation by naturalist John Muir Laws at 2 p.m. at 1633 University Ave. 549-3564, ext. 376. www.heydaybooks.com 

Holiday Wreaths—Naturally Learn to make wreaths, garlands and other decorations using natural materials, from noon to 3:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park.. Please bring a small pair of hand clippers, and large flat box and a bag lunch. Cost is $25-$56. Registration required. 1-888-327-2757. 

Working with Wool Watch as the spinning wheel turns wool into yarn, try a drop spindle and create a felted holiday ornament, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

“Wrap it Up” Design handmade gift bags and wrapping paper, Sat. and Sun. from 1 to 4 p.m. at Museum of Children’s Art, 538 Ninth St., Suite 210, Oakland. Cost is $7. 456-8770. www.mocha.org 

“It Will Be Magic” Alameda Holiday Home Tour from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tickets are $30-$35, benefits Alameda Family Services. 629-6208. alamedaholidayhometour.info 

Berkeley Historical Society Walking Tour of Berkeley High from 10 a.m. to noon. Cost is $8-$10. For reservations and starting point call 848-0181. 

Vegetarian Cooking Class Healthful and Humane Holiday Cooking and Baking Learn to make warm lentil salad, grilled portabello mushrooms, purple potatoes and cashew cream, chocolate truffles and more from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at First Unitarian Church of Oakland, 685 14th St. at Castro. Cost is $50, plus $5 food and material fee. Advance registration required. 531-COOK. www.compassionatecooks.com 

“Paws and Claus” Santa visits the Oakland Zoo Sat. and Sun. from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 9777 Golf Links Rd., Oakland. 632-9525. www.oaklandzoo.org 

Origami with Margot Wecksler Learn how to make stars at 2 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave, Albany. 526-3720, ext. 16. 

Edwardian Holidays Dunsmuir Hellman Historic Estate Weekends through Dec. 21 with costumed docents, festive trolley, live music, entertainment, cozy tea in the cottage, and Breakfast with Father Christmas, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Cost is $7-$12. For reservations call 925-275-9490. www.dunsmuir.org  

The 2nd Annual STW (Stanley Tookie Williams) Legacy Summit “What Is Really Happening on Death Row?” from 1 to 4:30 p.m. at Merritt College, Huey P. Newton/Bobby Seale Student Lounge, 12500 Campus Drive, Oakland. 434-3935. www.merritt.edu 

NAACP Berkeley Branch meeting at 1 p.m. at 2108 Russell St. 845-7416. 

The East Bay Chapter of The Great War Society will hold its monthly meeting at 10:30 a.m. at the Albany Veterans Memorial Bldg., 1325 Portland Ave., Albany. Robert Deward will present “Lawrence, Guirilla Pandemic & Iraq.” 526-4423. 

Cinema Dreaming “Busby Berkeley Bliss-Out” from 2 to 6 p.m. at The Dream Institute, 1672 University at McGee. Cost is $10-$12. 845-1767. 

Tree of Life Qi Gong Workout at 10 a.m. at 2929 Summit St., Ste. 103, Oakland. Cost is $15. 253-8120. 

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

Car Wash Benefit for Options Recovery Services of Berkeley, held every Sat. from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Lutheran Church, 1744 University Ave. 666-9552. 

SUNDAY, DEC. 14 

Telegraph Avenue Holiday Street Fair with over 200 street artists, merchants, community groups and entertainment, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.between Dwight and Bancroft. 234-1013. 

Waterside Workshops Sustainable Holiday Event and Toy Making Workshop Learn how to make your own wooden toy, or sew up a fleece hat to keep your ears warm from 2 to 5 p.m. at 84 Bolivar Dr. in Berkeley’s Aquatic Park. For all ages. Free. 644-2577 www.watersideworkshops.org 

Affordable Art Exhibition/Sale from 4 to 7 p.m., Sat.-Mon. from noon to 7 p.m. at The Compound Gallery, 6604 San Pablo Ave., Oakland. 655-9019. www.thecompoundgallery.com 

Winter Wanderland Hike Series An invigorating fast-paced hike from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. This week we will visit Point Pinole. Call for meeting place. Bring water, layered clothing and a snack to share. 525-2233. 

Little Farm Open House Come grind some corn to feed the chickens, pet a bunny or groom a goat, from 1:30 to 3 p.m. at the Little Farm at Tilden Park. 525-2233. 

Old Time Radio East Bay Collectors and listeners gather to enjoy shows together at 5 p.m. at a private home in Richmond. For more information email DavidinBerkeley -at- Yahoo.com 

East Bay Atheists’ Annual Solstice Party at 1:30 p.m. at Giovanni’s Restaurant, 2420 Shattuck Ave. 222-7580. eastbayatheists.org 

Chanukah Celebration for the Very Young with puppets, songs, menorah lighting and latkes, for ages 0-5 and thier parents at 10:30 a.m. in El Cerrito. RSVP to Rabbi Bridget 559-8140. 

“Scientific Revolutions and Religion: The Einsteinian Revolution” with Prof. Bill Garrett at 10 a.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, 1 Lawson Rd., Kensington. 525-0302, ext. 306. 

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

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

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

Tibetan Buddhism with Elizabeth Cook on “The Stupa: Sacred Symbol of Enlightenment” 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 

Community Environmental Advisory Commission meets Thurs., Dec. 4, at 7 p.m., at 2118 Milvia St. 981-7461.  

Housing Advisory Commission meets Thurs., Dec. 4, at 7 p.m., at the South Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5400.  

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

City Council meets Mon., Dec. 8, at 7 p.m in City Council Chambers. Budget workshop at 5 p.m. 981-6900. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/citycouncil 

Parks and Recreation Commission meets Mon., Dec. 8, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5158.  

Commission on Disability meets Wed., Dec. 10, at 6:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-6346. TDD: 981-6345.  

Homeless Commission meets Wed., Dec. 10, at 7 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5426. 

Planning Commission meets Wed. Dec. 10, at 7 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-7484. 

Police Review Commission meets Wed., Dec. 10, at 7 p.m. at the South Berkeley Senior Center. 981-4950.  

Waterfront Commission meets Wed., Dec. 10, at 7 p.m., at 201 University Ave. 981-6740.  

Community Health Commission meets Thurs., Dec. 11, at 6:45 p.m., at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5356.  

Mental Health Commission meets Thurs., Dec. 11, at 6:30 p.m. at 2640 MLK Jr. Way, at Derby. 981-5213.  

Zoning Adjustments Board meets Thurs., Dec. 11, at 7 p.m., in City Council Chambers. 981-7410.  

ONGOING 

Help Low-wage Families with Their Taxes United Way’s Earn it! Keep It! Save It! needs Bay Area volunteers for its 7th annual free tax program. No previous experience necessary. Sign up at www.earnitkeepitsaveit.org

THURSDAY, DEC. 4 

THEATER 

Nursha Project of the Oakland Public Theater “Children of the Last Days” Written and performed by Thandiwe Thomas De Shazor Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 5 p.m. at The Noodle Factory Performing Arts Center, 1255 26th St., #207 at Union, Oakland. Tickets are $9-$20.  

EXHIBITIONS 

“Fidel y el Moncada vistos por Canet” A slide show of prints by artist Antonio Canet Hernandez at 6:30 p.m. at Richmond Public Library, 325 Civic Center Plaza, Richmond. 620-6559. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

International Body Music Festival a lecture on the origins of body music with Crosspulse Artistic Director Keith Terry and others at 8 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak sts., Oakland. Tickets are $5-$10. 238-2200.  

Osha Neumann reads from “Up Against the Wall Motherfker: A Memoir with Notes on Reason, Obsession, and the Dream of Revolution” at 7 p.m. at La Peña. Cost is $5-$10. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Ronald Sundstrom reads from “The Browning of America” at 6 p.m. at University Press Books, 2430 Bancroft Way. 548-0585. www.universitypressbooks.com 

Poetry Flash with Peter Neil Carroll and Jared Smith at 7:30 p.m. at Moe’s Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave. 849-2087. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Eliyahu & Qadim, music of the Near East, at 8 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $12-$15. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

George Coles & Vive le Jazz at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

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

The Sonando Project, Michael Bello and Kevin Odea at 9 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5-$7. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

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

Jesse Michaels, Kevin Seconds at 7:30 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

B-Side Players at 8 and 10 p.m., through Sun. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $14-$20. 238-9200.  

FRIDAY, DEC. 5 

THEATER 

Altarena Playhouse “A Taffeta Christmas” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at Altarena Playhouse, 1409 High St., Alameda, through Dec. 21. Tickets are $17-$20. 523-1553. www.altarena.org 

Aurora Theatre “The Devil’s Disciple” Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 and 7 p.m. at 2081 Addison St. through Dec. 7. Tickets are $40-$42. 843-4822. www.auroratheatre.org 

Berkeley High School and SHIFT Theatre “Madwoman of Chaillot” by Jean Giradoux, Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. at Florence Schwimley Little Theater, 1929 Allston Way. Tickets are $6-$12.  

Berkeley Rep “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” at 8 p.m. at the Roda Theater, 2015 Addison St, through Dec. 14. Tickets are $13.50-$71. 647-2949.  

Berkeley Rep “The Arabian Nights” Tues.-Sun. at the Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison St., through Jan. 4. Tickets are $27-$71. 647-2949. berkeleyrep.org 

“Bruising for Besos” A solo play examining domestic violence, written and performed by Adelina Anthony, Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10-$13. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Contra Costa Civic Theater “Greater Tuna” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at 951 Pomona Ave., El Cerrito, through Dec. 7. 524-9132.  

Impact Theatre “Tallgrass Gothic” Thurs.-Sat at 8 p.m. at La Val’s Subterranean, to Dec. 20. Tickets are $10-$17. 464-4468. impacttheatre.com 

Masquers Playhouse “Do I Hear a Waltz?” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2:30 p.m. at 105 Park Place, Pt. Richmond, through Dec. 20. Tickets are $20. 232-4031. www.masquers.org 

Nursha Project of the Oakland Public Theater “Children of the Last Days” Written and performed by Thandiwe Thomas De Shazor Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 5 p.m. at The Noodle Factory Performing Arts Center, 1255 26th St., #207 at Union, Oakland. Tickets are $9-$20.  

“Oakland 1946” Perfromance celebrating the General Strike at 8 p.m. at Latham Square, downtown Oakland. www.oakland1946.blogspot.com 

EXHIBITIONS 

“L.A. Paint” Gallery Tour with Phil Linhares, curator and Ron Tuner at 7 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak sts., Oakland. Cost is $5-$8. 238-2200.  

NIAD 25th Anniversary Retrospective Works by artists with developmental and other disabilities. Artist reception at 6 p.m. at Pro Arts Gallery, 550 Second St., Oakland. Exhibition runs to Jan. 13. 763-9470. 

“Christmas and Other Colors” Paintings by Julie Ross at Britt Marie, 1369 Solano Ave. through Dec. 21. 527-0173.  

“Suenos Mensajeros/Dream Messengers” Works by Luz Marina Ruiz. Reception at 6 p.m. at NoneSuch Space, 2865 Broadway at 29th St., 2nd flr., Oakland. 625-1600. 

“Out of Darkness” A show of Winter Solstice altars. Opening reception Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. at Oakopolis, 447 25th St., Oakland. 663-6920. 

“Color is King” Art by eight Bay Area artists. Open Fri. from 6 to 10 p.m. and Sat. from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Uptown Body & Fender, 401 26th St., Oakland. 420-7900 ext. 111. 

“Plein Air Watercolors” by Anne Poley, Annetta Fox, and Linda Oppen. Open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park, through Dec. 28. 525-2233. 

“Pen, Paint, and Paper Through Time” Paintings, drawings, prints and giclees from 1970 to 2008 by Laura Basha. Opening reception at 5 p.m. at Awaken Cafe, 414 14th St., Oakland. 836-2058. 

“Retrograde: New Work” Opening reception at 6 p.m. at Mercury 20 Gallery, 25 Grand Ave., at Broadway, Oakland. www.mercurytwenty.com 

“Open Space” Works by Zachary Royer Scholz. Opening reception at 6 p.m. at Chandra Cerrito Contemporary, 25 Grand Ave., upper level, Oakland. 415-577-7537.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Handsome Books: Decorative Bindings of the 19th and 20th Centuries” with Martin Holden at 6 p.m. at University Press Books, 2430 Bancroft Way. 548-0585. www.universitypressbooks.com 

Deborah Nelson discusses her new book, “The War Behind Me: Vietnam Veterans Confront the Truth” at 7 p.m. at Revolution Books, 2425 Channing Way. 848-1196. 

Dave Weinstein describes “It Came From Berkeley” at 7 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Wednesday Noon Concert, Holiday Jazz Classics at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Free. 642-4864. http://music.berkeley.edu 

Bay Area Classical Harmonies “Incarnation: Advent and Christmas Music of Eastern Orthodox Traditions” at 7:30 p.m. at Arlington Community Church, 52 Arlington Ave., Kensington. Tickets are $15-$28. 868-0695. www.bayareabach.org 

“Advent Lessons and Carols” at 6 p.m. at the Pacific School of Religion, 1798 Scenic Ave. Free.  

Larry Vann Band at 7 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak sts., Oakland. Cost is $5-$8. 238-2200. www.museumca.org 

Deno Gianopoulos, piano, performs works of Mozart, Chopin and Brahms, at 8 p.m. at The Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. Cost is $10-$15. www.hillsideclub.org 

Ballet Flamenco José Porcel at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $24-$48. 642-9988.  

Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir at 8 p.m. at Sacred Space at Rudramandir 830 Bancroft Way, at 6th. TIckets are $25-$30. 486-8700.  

Dick Hindman Trio at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $15-$18. 845-5373.  

Eric Swinderman’s Quintet “Straight Outta Oakland” at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $14. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Bongo Love, Chinyakare Ensemble, music from Zimbabwe, at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $12-$15. 525-5054.  

House Jacks at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $20.50-$21.50. 548-1761.  

The Royal Deuces, The High Rhythm Hustlers at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $8. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Social Unrest, Arnocorps, United Defiance at 7:30 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $8. 525-9926. 

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

MURS, hip hop, at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $15-$20. 548-1159.  

Gato Barbieri at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $18-$30. 238-9200.  

SATURDAY, DEC. 6 

CHILDREN  

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

Tony Borders Puppets for 3-7 year olds at 10:30 a.m. at Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St., 3rd Flr. 981-6223. 

“Some Babies Sleep” with illustrator Paul Tong at 1 p.m. at Museum of Children’s Art, 538 Ninth St., Suite 210, Oakland. 456-8770. www.mocha.org 

Jean Paul Valjean “Short Attention Span Circus” Sat. and Sun. at 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. at Children’s Fairyland, 699 Bellevue Ave., Oakland. Cost is $6. 452-2259. www.fairyland.org 

Andy Z at 11 a.m. at Studio Grow, 1235 10th St. Cost is $7. 526-9888. 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Lines of Communication” A group art show at 4th Street Studio, 1717d 4th St. Reception at 7 p.m. www.fourthstreetstudio.com 

Albany Community Art Show from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin Ave., Albany. Artwork includes oil and acrylic paintings, giclee prints, photography, jewelry, cards and other gift items.  

Mongolian Papercut Exhibit from 1 to 4 p.m. at Silk Road House, 1944 University Ave. 981-0700. www.silkroadhouse.org  

THEATER 

“Playback Theatre” Personal stories shared by audience members instantly transformed by the ensemble into improvised theatre pieces at 8 p.m. at Live Oak Theater, 1301 Shattuck Ave. Tickets are $12-$15. 595-5500, ext. 25. www.livingartscenter.org 

Shotgun Players “Macbeth” Thurs.-Sun. at 8 p.m. at The Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave., through Jan. 11. Tickets are $18-$30. 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org 

Stone Soup Improv Comedy at 8 p.m. at Temescal Arts Center, 511 48th St. at Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is $6-$9. www.stonesoupimprov.com 

FILM 

“Attack!” with introduction by critic David Thomson at 6 p.m., “Kiss Me Deadly” at 8:45 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Winners of the PEN Oakland-Josephine Miles 18th Annual National Literary Awards & 12th Annual PEN Oakland Censorship Award, with keynote address by poet Michael McClure at 2 p.m. at the Rockridge Branch Library, 5366 College Ave., Oakland. Free. 681-5652. 

Bay Area Poets Coalition open reading from 3 to 5 pm. at Strawberry Creek Lodge, 1320 Addison St. Park on the street. 527-9905. 

Harold Davis, featured artist in “100 Views of the Golden Gate” at 7 p.m. at Black Oak Books. 486-0698. www.blackoakbooks.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Berkeley Community Chorus & Orchestra “The Geography of Emotions” Selections of Opera Choruses with Marcelle Dronkers, soprano, and Richard Goodman, baritone at 8 p.m. at St. Joseph The Worker Church, 1640 Addison St. Free, donations greatly appreciated.  

“Meet the Symphony!” Family concert with Berkeley Symphony at 9:45 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. at Malcolm X Elementary School Auditorium, 1731 Prince St. Tickets are $5-$10. 841-2800. www.berkeleysymphony.org 

San Francisco Mandolin Orchestra Renaissance and modern mandolin compositions at 7:30 p.m. at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church. 1501 Washington Ave., Albany. Cost is $10-$15. 525-1716 www.sfmandolin.com 

Oakland-East Bay Gay Men's Chorus “Oh What Fun, A Holiday Variety Show” at 7:30 p.m., Sun. at 5 p.m. at Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church, 3534 Lakeshore Ave., Oakland. Tickets are $12-$20. 800-706-2389. www.oebgmc.org 

Philharmonia Baroque “Natale Barocco” Scarlatti, Corelli, Vivaldi and more at 8 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing. Tickets are $30-$72. 415-252-1288. 

Contra Costa Chorale and Kensington Symphony Orchestra “Tidings of Joy” at 7:30 p.m. at the Unitarian Church of Berkeley, One Lawson Rd., Kensington. Admission is free. 527-2026. 

Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir Holiday Concert at 7:30 p.m. at Paramount Theater, 2025 Broadway, Oakland. Tickets are $5-$30. 465-6400. 

Voci Women's Vocal Ensemble “Voices in Peace VIII: Fire in the Air” at 8 p.m. at St. Mary Magdalen Parish, 2005 Berryman St. Tickets are $17-$20, free for children under 12. 531-8714. www.vocisings.com 

Pacific Boychoir Academy “Harmonies of the Season” at 7 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 114 Montecito Ave., Oakland. Tickets are $15-$20. 652-4722. www.pacificboychoiracademy.org 

Senior Chamber Symphony Fall Concert including Mozart’s Magic Flute Overture and Haydn’s Symphony No. 83 by senior members of the Young People’s Chamber Orchestra at 7 p.m. at All Souls Church, 2220 Cedar St. Tickets are $5-$10. www.ypco.org  

Neema Hekmat and Friends “A Musical Journey through Persia” at 5 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $15-$20. 800-838-3006. 

Ballet Flamenco José Porcel at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $24-$48. 642-9988. www.calperformances.net 

Ellen Robinson & Her Quartet at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $15. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

MJ Greenmountain with members of Hamsa Lila at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $15. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com  

Sotaque Baiano, Brazilian, at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low. Cost is $5-$10. 548-1159. www.shattuckdownlow.com 

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

Laurie Antonelli “Intrinsic Music” at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $18. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

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

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

The SAGA: Saturday Afternoon Gallery Acoustic, music open mic with Philip Rodriguez at 2 p.m. at Frank Bette Center for the Arts, 1601 Paru St., at corner of Lincoln and Paru, Alameda. Donations appreciated. 931-7646. 

Burlesque ‘n’ Brass, featuring Hot Pink Feathers & Blue Bone Express, Orleans-inspired jazz, at 9 p.m. at Café Van Kleef, 1621 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. Cost is $10. 763-7711. 

The Devil Makes Three, the Brother Comatose at 9 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $15. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

“Circle Fest 2008” at 7:30 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $8. 525-9926. 

Gato Barbieri at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $18-$30. 238-9200.  

SUNDAY, DEC. 7 

THEATER 

“Oakland 1946” Perfromance celebrating the General Strike at 2 p.m. at Latham Square, downtown Oakland. www.oakland1946.blogspot.com 

EXHIBITIONS 

“L.A. Paint” Tour of the exhibition at 2 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak sts., Oakland. Cost is $5-$8. 238-2200. www.museumca.org 

“EIGHT peace is ...” Photographs printed on wood, copper and books by Keba Konte, through Jan. 18 at Guerilla Cafe, 1620 Shattuck Ave. 845-2233. www.guerillacafe.com 

FILM 

African Diaspora Film Society “Negroes with Guns” the story of Robert F. Williams who fought racist terrorism of the Jim Crow South, at 2 p.m. at Parkway Theater, 1834 Park Blvd., Oakland. Cost is $5. 814-2400. 

Talk Cinema Berkeley Preview of new independent films with discussion afterwards at 10 a.m. at Albany Twin Theater, 1115 Solano Ave., Albany. Cost is $20. http://talkcinema.com 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

NaNoWriMo Young Writers read from their works at 4 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

Poetry Flash with Rick Barot and Victoria Chang at 3 p.m. at Diesel, 5433 College Ave., Oakland. 653-9965. 

Egyptology Lecture “Horses and Chariots in Ancient Egypt” with Kathy Hansen, independent scholar at 2:30 p.m. at Barrows Hall, Room 20, Barrow Lane and Bancroft Way, UC campus. 415-664-4767. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Berkeley Community Chorus & Orchestra “The Geography of Emotions” Selections of Opera Choruses with Marcelle Dronkers, soprano, and Richard Goodman, baritone at 4:30 p.m. at St. Joseph The Worker Church, 1640 Addison St. Free, donations greatly appreciated. 

Martin Luther King Jr., Middle School Jazz Concert with the Jazz Workshop Ensemble and the Equanimous Jones Quartet at 8 p.m. at the school auditorium, 1781 Rose St. 

“Blue Christmas” at 6:30 p.m. at Lake Merritt United Methodist Church, 1330 Lakeshore Ave., Oakland. Donations accepted. 465-4793. 

“Central Javanese Gamelan Music from Village and Court” at 7 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $5-$15. 642-4864. http://music.berkeley.edu 

Elizabeth Blumenstock, violin, perfroms Bach’s Partita No. 2 in D minor at 4 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Tickets are $10-$20. 684-7563. 

Oakland-East Bay Gay Men's Chorus “Oh What Fun, A Holiday Variety Show” at 5 p.m. at Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church, 3534 Lakeshore Ave., Oakland. Tickets are $12-$20. 800-706-2389. www.oebgmc.org 

“Messiah-Sing” in Baroque style, at 6 p.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church, One Lawson Rd., Kensington. Suggested donation $15, no one turned away. 525-0302. 

Philharmonia Baroque “Natale Barocco” Scarlatti, Corelli, Vivaldi and more at 7:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing. Tickets are $30-$72. 415-252-1288. 

Soli Deo Gloria “Mixed Blessings” at 3:30 p.m. at St. Philip Neri, 3108 Van Buren St., Alameda. Tickets are $20-$25. www.sdgloria.org 

“Hidden Saints and Drunken Sages” Songs and stories inspired by Jewish spirituality at 7 p.m. at JCC East Bay, 1414 Walnut. Tickets are $10-$18. 848-0237. 

Nicolas Bearde’s Holiday Jazz and Blues Concert at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $15. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

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

MONDAY, DEC. 8 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Dan Piraro, creator of “Bizarro” discusses his cartoons at 7:30 p.m. at Moe’s Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave. 849-2087. 

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

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Swedish Folk Music with Mark Walstrom at 7 p.m. at Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave., Kensington. 524-3043. 

TUESDAY, DEC. 9 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Poetry Beyond Borders” A multimedia poetry reading featuring live music and local artists, at 7 p.m. at Heller Lounge, MLK Jr. Student Union, UC campus. Proceeds go to Save Darfur. poetrybeyondborders@gmail.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

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

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

Chris Botti at 8 and 10 p.m. through Sun., at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $24-$40. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 10 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

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

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Afro Cuban Ensembles of San Francisco State, directed by John Calloway, at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $5. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Balkan Folkdance at 8 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $7. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

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

Bill Evans & Megan Lynch at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Eric Roberson at 8 p.m. at Maxwell’s, 341 13th St., Oakland. Cost is $15.  

THURSDAY, DEC. 11 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Fresh Work” Kala Artists’ Annual Exhibition Opening reception at 6 p.m. at Kala Art Institute, 1060 Heinz Ave. 549-2977. www.kala.org 

“Walls” Paintings by Joel Isaacson on contemporary social and political concerns, at Flora Lamson Hewlett Library, 2400 Ridge Rd. Exhibition runs to Jan. 30. 649-2500. www.gtu.edu 

“Christmas and Other Colors” Paintings by Julie Ross at Britt Marie, 1369 Solano Ave. through Dec. 21. 527-0173. julierossart.com 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Story Hour in the Library with Sylvia Brownrigg reading from her latest novel “Morality Tale” at 5 p.m. in 190 Doe Library, UC Campus. 643-4715. storyhour.berkeley.edu 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

New Century Chamber Orchestra “Celebrate the Holidays” at 8 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Tickets are $32-$54. 415-357-1111. www.ncoo.org 

The Dance, Blake Williams, Spohia at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $5. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

“Three Decembers” An opera by Jake Heggie at 7:30 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $48-$86. 642-9988. www.calperformances.net 

“An Evening Down Under” with didjeridu artist, Stephen Kent at 7 p.m. at Gaia Arts Center, 2120 Allston Way. Tickets are $10-$15. 665-0305.  

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

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

Funk Revival Orchestra, Snake Plissken Quintet, Kiyoshi Foster Group at 9 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082 www.starryploughpub.com 

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

Chris Botti at 8 and 10 p.m. through Sun., at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $24-$40. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

FRIDAY, DEC. 12 

CHILDREN 

“Coppelia: The Doll with the Porcelain Eyes” Puppet Show at 2, 4 and 6 p.m. at Children’s Fairyland, 699 Bellevue Ave., Oakland. Cost is $6. 452-2259. www.fairyland.org 

THEATER 

Altarena Playhouse “A Taffeta Christmas” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at Altarena Playhouse, 1409 High St., Alameda, through Dec. 21. Tickets are $17-$20. 523-1553. www.altarena.org 

Berkeley High School and SHIFT Theatre “Madwoman of Chaillot” by Jean Giradoux, Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. at Florence Schwimley Little Theater, 1929 Allston Way. Tickets are $6-$12.  

Berkeley Rep “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” at 8 p.m. at the Roda Theater, 2015 Addison St, through Dec. 14. Tickets are $13.50-$71. 647-2949. berkeleyrep.org 

Berkeley Rep “The Arabian Nights” Tues.-Sun. at the Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison St., through Jan. 4. Tickets are $27-$71. 647-2949. berkeleyrep.org 

Impact Theatre “Tallgrass Gothic” Thurs.-Sat at 8 p.m. at La Val’s Subterranean, to Dec. 20. Tickets are $10-$17. 464-4468. impacttheatre.com 

Masquers Playhouse “Do I Hear a Waltz?” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2:30 p.m. at 105 Park Place, Pt. Richmond, through Dec. 20. Tickets are $20. 232-4031. www.masquers.org 

“Mi Bandera es la Tierra” written and performed by Nicolas Valdez and Maria Ibarra at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10-$12. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Shotgun Players “Macbeth” Thurs.-Sun. at 8 p.m. at The Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave., through Jan. 11. Tickets are $18-$30. 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Elevating Art” An eclectic winter showcase. Reception at 6 p.m. at Berkeley City College Raw Space Gallery, 2050 Center St. 526-1143. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

The Best of Actors Reading Writers short story readings by local actors, Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. Suggested donation $8-$15. 932-0214. 

Joe Shakarchi and Alice Templeton will read their poetry at 7 p.m. at Nefeli Caffe, 1854 Euclid Ave., a little north of Hearst, in Berkeley, as part of the Last Word Reading Series. There is also an open reading. 841-6374. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Berkeley Ballet Theater “The Nutcracker” at 7 p.m., Sat. at 2 and 7 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $17-$23. 843-4689. berkeleyballet.org 

Sacred & Profane “All-Britten Holiday Concert” at 8 p.m. at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 2300 Bancroft Way. Tickets are $15-$20. www.sacredprofane.org 

“Three Decembers” An opera by Jake Heggie at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $48-$86. 642-9988. www.calperformances.net 

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

Steve Lucky & The Rhumba Bums at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. East Coast Swing dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $10-$13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Al Stewart at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $29.50-$30.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

The California Honeydrops, CD release party, at 9 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8-$10. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

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

Beep! Trio at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

Netta Brielle at 9 p.m. at Maxwell’s, 341 13th St., Oakland. Cost is $10.  

SATURDAY, DEC. 13 

CHILDREN  

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

Tony Borders Puppets for 3-7 year olds at 10:30 a.m. at Claremont Branch of the Berkeley Public Library, 2940 Benvenue Ave. 981-6280. 

“Coppelia: The Doll with the Porcelain Eyes” Puppet show, Sat. and Sun. at 2, 4 and 6 p.m. at Children’s Fairyland, 699 Bellevue Ave., Oakland. Cost is $6. 452-2259. www.fairyland.org 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Letters from Noto, Living in Japan, 1955 to 1964” Photography of David Beckman. Opening reception at 1 p.m. at Alta Galleria, 2890 College Ave., Suite 4. 414-4485. www.altagalleria.com 

“Celebrate Diversity” New paintings by Rita Sklar, at Bucci’s, 6121 Hollis St., Emeryville, through Jan. 8. 531-1404. 

THEATER 

Women’s WIll “Holiday Memories” Sat. at at 7 p.m. and Sun. at 4 p.m. at Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Ave., Oakland. Tickets are $10-$15. 420-0813. www.womanswill.org 

FILM 

“Ulzana’s Raid” with introduction by Adell Aldrich at 8:40 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive. Cost is $5.50-$9.50. 642-0808. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu 

Jewish Film Series “Every Time We Say Goodbye” at 7 p.m. at Temple Israel, 3183 Mecartney Rd., Alameda. Cost is $10. 522-9355. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Carolyn R. Crampton describes “Bunny Language or ‘Are You going to Eat That?’” at 2 p.m. at RabbitEars, 377 Colusa Ave. Kensington. 525-6155. 

The Best of Actors Reading Writers short story readings by local actors, at 8 p.m. and Sun. at 2 p.m. at Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. Donation $8-$15. 932-0214. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Berkeley Ballet Theater “The Nutcracker” at 2 and 7 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $17-$23. 843-4689. berkeleyballet.org 

Winterberry Carollers “A Gaelic Christmas Choral Concert” at 3 p.m. at Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Ave., Oakland. Tickets are $8-$15. 800-838-3006. 

Elizabeth-Baptista Gaston, flutist, at 8 p.m. at Trinity Chapel, 2320 Dana St. Tickets are $8-$12. 549-3864. www.trinitychamberconcerts.com 

Sacred & Profane “All-Britten Holiday Concert” at 8 p.m. at St. Leo’s Catholic Church, 176 Ridgeway Ave., Piedmont. Tickets are $15-$20. www.sacredprofane.org 

The Venezuelan Music Project at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $16-$18. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Miss Faye Carol Holiday Concert at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $18. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Kotoja, West African Highlife Band, Nigerian Brothers at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $12-$15. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com  

Cris Williamson with Vicki Randle and Julie Wolf at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $22.50-$23.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

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

Polkacide, Gun and Doll Show, Carmichael & Las Frijolitas at 9 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $9. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Chris Botti at 8 and 10 p.m. through Sun., at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $24-$40. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

Youth Brigade, Pressure Point, Troublemaker at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

SUNDAY, DEC. 14 

THEATER 

Women’s WIll “Holiday Memories” at 4 p.m. at Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Ave., Oakland. Tickets are $10-$15. 420-0813. www.womanswill.org 

FILM 

Talk Cinema Berkeley Preview of new independent films with discussion afterwards at 10 a.m. at Albany Twin Theater, 1115 Solano Ave., Albany. Cost is $20. http://talkcinema.com 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Architecture Tour of the buildings and grounds designed by Kevin Roche and Dan Kiley at 1 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St., Oakland. Free Admission. 238-2200. www.museumca.org 

All Star Reading Extavaganza with Michael Palmer, Lyn Hejinian, Rusty Morrison, Craig Perez and many others from 2 to 4 pm. at Small Press Distribution, 1341 7th St., at Gilman. 524-1668. 

Actors Reading Writers short story readings by local actors at 2 p.m. at at Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. 932-0214. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Voci Women’s Vocal Ensemble “Voices in Peace VIII: Fire in the Air” at 4 p.m. at Lake Merritt United Methodist Church, 1330 Lakeshore Ave., Oakland. Tickets are $17-$20, free for children under 12. 531-8714. www.vocisings.com 

Berkeley Ballet Theater “The Nutcracker” at 2 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $17-$23. 843-4689. berkeleyballet.org 

Under Construction: New Music Series with Berkeley Symphony at 7 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Tickets are $10. 841-2800. www.berkeleysymphony.org 

“Three Decembers” An opera by Jake Heggie at 3 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $48-$86. 642-9988. www.calperformances.net 

Oakland Civic Orchestra Holiday Concert at 4 p.m. at St Paul’s Episcopal Church, 114 Montecito Ave., Oakland. 238-7275. www.oaklandnet.com 

Cris Williamson with Vicki Randle and Julie Wolf at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $22.50-$23.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

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

The New Music Seance, Other Minds’ wryly titled, more intimate (and historically minded) counterpoint to its bigger annual festival in the spring, will return this Saturday afternoon and evening to the candlelit wood interior of the 1895 Arts and Crafts-style gem designed by Bernard Maybeck, San Francisco’s Swedenborgian Church, 2107 Lyon St. in Presidio Heights, with three programs (1, 4 and 8 p.m.) for the third year of the Seances. 

The program features a wide range of composers’ music, including a homage to Ruth Crawford Seeger (1901–1953); solo piano works by Berkeley High student and composer Dylan Mattingly and Oakland’s Steed Cowart, as well as a violin and piano duet by Berkeley’s Gabriela Lena Frank. Other works will also be featured, by a range of innovative composers from Alexander Scriabin and Henry Cowell through Meredith Monk and Olivier Messiaen at his centennial, played by pianist Sarah Cahill of Berkeley and violin-piano team Kate Stenberg and Eva-Maria Zimmerman. 

Other Minds founder Charles Amirkhanian talked about how the Seances came to be held at the Swedenborgian Church: “Our annual festival’s always been about living composers and their music; the Seances were meant to be in part a historical concert, to look back at the antecedents of today’s new and unusual music. The atmosphere of the church is just perfect, appropriate for looking back over the past 100 years. 

“Sarah Cahill knew the church through her late friend, Helena Breuer of Berkeley,” Amirkhanian continued, “and when I saw it, I decided to make the nature of the music in concert there more spiritual, meditative. The scale’s important, too—there are just three performers, in a 110-seat venue we sell out, where the audience is right there, up close to the players, the church lit by a fireplace and candlelight.” 

Concert I at 1 p.m., “Birds in Warped Time,” will feature, solo piano works by Luciano Berio, Percy Grainger, Meredith Monk, Per Norgard, Tan Dun, Lois Vierk, violin and piano duets by Grazyna Bacewicz, Messiaen and Somei Satoh, the world premiere of Steed Cowart’s “Blackberry Winter”—and the solo piano piece by 17-year-old Dylan Mattingly of Berkeley.  

“It’s the first time we’ve featured a teenaged composer,” Amirkhanian said. 

“Sarah Cahill’s worked with him on this piece,” said publisher George Mattingly, Dylan’s father. Dylan is a Berkeley High senior and student of the John Adams Composition Program at Crowden School, and plays with the Young People’s Symphony Orchestra, as well as with his own band, Funky Bus & The U-Turns.  

Concert II at 4 p.m., “Deep River Dreams,” focuses on the spiritual set for violin and piano by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.  

“Coleridge-Taylor had an English mother and an African father, who left shortly after his son’s birth to return to Africa. Coleridge-Taylor was a leading violinist and a friend of Elgar,” Amirkhanian said. “And in what I thought was an interesting correspondence, Obama mentioned in his victory speech the then-controversial invitation by Theodore Roosevelt for Booker T. Washington to come to the White House for dinner, the first African-American guest there. That was in 1904, the same year Washington wrote the program notes for ‘Deep River,’ stressing its importance.”  

Other works will include solo piano pieces by Samuel Barber, Morton Feldman, Mamoru Fujieda, Ingram Marshall (world premiere), Messaien—and selections from “Suenos de Chambi” by Gabriela Lena Frank. 

Concert III at 8 p.m., “Ruth Crawford And Her Milieu,” features the “prophetic figure, to people in New Music,” according to Amirkhanian, “the first female who made her own distinctive place in the musical avant-garde. who was unafraid to use dissonance, thinking of it as more reflective of society, more inclusive--all the notes; all the people ... an avant-gardist who wasn’t elitist!” Crawford (1901-1953) was a  

musicologist, specializing in folk music—and the stepmother to Pete Seeger.  

“She was influenced by Scriabin and Henry Cowell,” Amirhanian noted. These composers and others among her “influences, contemporaries and successors,” including Dane Rudyar, Lou Harrison and Johanna Beyer, as well as Crawford’s “Sonata for Violin and Piano” (1924), “Study in Mixed Accents” (1920) and selections from “Nine Preludes” (1927-8), will be performed. 

THE NEW MUSIC SEANCE 

1,4 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6 at Swedenborgian Church, 2107 Lyon St., San Francisco. Sliding scale: $25-65; $40-110; $60-170 (including buffet dinner with artists) complimentary tonics and libations for all ticket holders. (800) 838-3006 or brownpapertickets.com. For more information, see otherminds.org. 

“Bring your good Sunday clothes, your tambourine, your church fan—and your sense of humor!”  

Thandiwe Thomas De Shazor, who was outstanding in his portrayal of the young James Baldwin in Oakland Public Theater’s production of Richard Talavera’s Before the Dream and the Richard Wright Project readings that preceded it, has written Children of the Last Days, “a comedy show that aims to satirize black church culture and the contradictions therein,” which he’ll perform solo, with video projections and original music this Thursday through Saturday at the Oakland Noodle Factory Performing Arts Center, co-presented by Oakland Public Theater with the Nursha Project as part of the Noodle Factory’s Raw Season. 

De Shazor will portray six different characters, people involved in the church community, in a series of sketches. The characters include: “one riled up about being a closeted homosexual; a bad little girl everybody thinks is a demon; a woman reverend, The Profitess, a Bible-thumper who’s making a lot of money (the anchor, a big part of the show)—and an androgynous character, Alpha Hydroxy, the moral center of the play, who’s just as messed up as everybody else, but admits it! Alpha Hydroxy runs a sex shop in proximity of the church, and is seen as competing with it, as the same people go to both to get off on different things. He talks about the other characters.” 

De Shazor calls it both a comedy and satiric, but not against the church as such. “I think it is timely, but I’m not trying to be anti-religion, anti-black church. I want to start a dialogue—and if you can laugh about it, you can talk. The church has taken a lot of flak over Prop. 8. The ‘Yes on 8’ advertising sometimes had a shady style, telling the community different things, putting things out like that Obama was for 8. That’s unfortunate, and a lot of money spent when the schools were on the ballot; a lot of picketing over gay rights instead of these other priorities.” 

De Shazor developed Children of the Last Days while in residency last year at the Queer Arts Festival in San Francisco. “Originally, it was supposed to be a book and readings from the book. But I realized I hadn’t performed onstage for awhile, that I wanted to do it in character. I added music, too, and it started growing. Shalonda Ingram has done a lot with the tech, the projections and sound.” 

Meanwhile, Norman Gee of Oakland Public Theater, who books for the Noodle Factory, had met Thandiwe “at Van Kleef’s in Oakland. We started talking about that old jazz photo in A Perfect Day in Harlem. Later I brought him in to assist on something else. Something about his energy ... he was delightful, and fascinated with what I told him about the Richard Wright Project. I cast him as Baldwin because Baldwin was an intellectual, but not dry and intellectual. There’s a teddy bear quality to it. Thandiwe’s enjoyment of the language added a layer of delight to the show.” 

De Shazor, from Detroit—where he worked on “a lot of underground productions, experimental theater with the Walk & Squawk Co., workshops at Wayne State U., any chance I got to learn, then toured Oklahoma in The Music Man!”—moved to the Bay Area two years ago, performed with Pan Theater and now works as assistant manager in a Berkeley clothing boutique. He performed stand-up on the “Prepare for a Future” program to get out the vote at Shattuck Downlow in late October. 

And now for his solo show he says, “Get Ready! Get Ready!” 

Sculpture in America is at present at a high point, both in terms of quality and diversity. Currently, SFMOMA presents a retrospective by the celebrated African-American sculptor Martin Puryear, which came to San Francisco from New York’s Museum of Modern Art. It was preceded there by a major exhibition of the preeminent Richard Serra of giant curved steel slabs generating kinesthetic responses on the part of the visitor.  

Puryear, in great contrast, creates hand-crafted work. He studied at Yale with Minimalist sculptors, including Serra, and then rejected art which was conceived by the artist and then fabricated industrially. Before his studies at Yale, Puryear had gone to Sierra Leone in the Peace Corps, where he was able to experience living in a tribal culture, from which most black American slave ancestors originated. He then went to Sweden, a country in which craft tradition is still very much alive. And, after graduating from Yale, he went to Nashville, Tenn., to teach at a historically black college. By the mid-’70s he had established his unique style which is cognizant of many cultures and traditions, combining the craft of woodworking with modernist abstraction and informed by forms of the natural world. 

A large work, acknowledging the African-American educator, called Ladder for Booker T. Washington (1996), is a 36-foot-tall ladder, whose rungs diminish as they come closer to the far-away top. This work, referring to Washington’s illusionary dreams about slow upward mobility, was also seen when the Berkeley Art Museum mounted a fine smaller retrospective of Puryear in 2001.  

In the present show the ladder is suspend above the lobby where the viewer also sees the large Ad Astra (To the Stars) (2007). Rooted in a pair of wagon wheels and a multifaceted black form, it leads to an ash sapling, which is extended by an additional tapered limb that seems to reach to the stars. 

Most of the works are installed in a large high gallery on an upper floor. The display here is more generous than it was in New York, giving plenty of room to these pieces which need to be seen from all sides. Another sculpture that refers to black history is called C.F.A.O. (2006-07). The acronym stands for Compagnie Française de l’Afrique Occidentale, which was the name of a trading company implicated in the slave trade. Here the artist used an old wheelbarrow which he found at Alexander Calder’s property in France, on which he mounted a dense scaffold of interlocking pine rails to which he attached an oversize Gabon mask. All these elements with their different cultural implications evoke thoughts about colonizations and cultural exchange. In the exhibition there are also a number of works of wire mesh which are covered with tar, pieces which appear solid when seen from a distance, but are actually crosshatched layers of mesh to which the tar was applied, resulting in sculpture which is translucent and opaque at the same time. Many of the abstract sculptures in the show refer to the real world, suggesting waterbirds, plants, baskets and boats. 

In an interview printed in the catalog, the artist, whose work is on location in Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Seattle, and Tokyo, speaks of public sculpture, an issue of controversy here in Berkeley. He talks about allowing the sculpture “to hold its own next to the architecture and yet to have a relationship to the human moving across the plaza ... In addition to the pragmatic issues of working outdoors, making sculpture for public spaces forces the artist to confront the question of what it means to take his or her ideas ... out into the world where the work has to define itself. Under these circumstances the connection you can have with the public has a lot of uncertainty about it, but that’s what makes it an interesting challenge.” 

MARTIN PURYEAR 

Through Jan. 25 at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 151 Third St., San Francisco. (415) 357-4000. www.sfmoma.org.