THURSDAY, APRIL 30 

UCB Entrepreneurs Forum: Finalists of the Business Plan Competition at 6 p.m. at Anderson Auditorium and the Bank of America Forum, Haas School of Business, 2220 Piedmont Ave. 642-4255. www.entrepreneurship.berkeley.edu 

“Girls Rock!” screening and director Q&A at 7:15 p.m. at Rialto Cinemas Elmwood, 2966 College Ave. Cost is $10-$15. www.bayareagirlsrockcamp.org 

Volunteer Training for Circle of Care, a program of East Bay Agency for Children in Oakland. Email Shoshana at Shoshana@ebac.org for more information. 531-7551 ext. 195. wwww.ebac.org 

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. 

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. 

Buddhist Class on Shikan Meditation at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, Cedar at Bonita. http://caltendai.org 

FRIDAY, MAY 1 

Golden Gate Audubon Society Field Trip to Jewel Lake in Tilden Park Meet at 8:30 a.m. at the parking lot at the north end of Central Park Dr. for a one-mile, two-hour-plus stroll through this lush riparian area. Breeding birds are returning, and we should be treated to some wonderful bird song. Leader Phila Rogers 848-9156. www.goldengateaudubon.org 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Prof. Tony Kingsbury, Haas School of Business on “Paper or Plastic? Measuring Sustainability” Luncheon at 11:45 a.m. for $15, speech at 12:30 p.m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. For information and reservations call 527-2173. www.citycommonsclub.org 

“Torture and Popular Culture” with members of the Bay Area Religious Campaign Against Torture on how the post-9/11 US media frame the use of torture through writings and TV shows like “24” and uncover the truth about its effectiveness at 7 p.m. at St. Joseph the Worker Church, 1640 Addison. Free. 704-8859. 

“Climate Change Mitigation: Considering Lifestyle Options in Europe and the US” a workshop from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. in 223 Moses Hall, UC campus. Hosted by the European Union Center. 643-4558. eucenter.berkeley.edu 

Celebration of 60 years of KPFA on Workers Day with a potluck at 6 p.m. and music, speakers and films at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship Unitarian Universalists Hall, 1924 Cedar at Bonita. 848-4124. www.bfuu.org 

Circle Dancing, simple folk dancing with instruction at 7:30 p.m. at Finnish Brotherhood Hall, 1970 Chestnut St at University. Donation of $5 requested. 528-4253. www.circledancing.com 

Tian Gong Open House Celebration with Master Tian Ying at 5:30 p.m. at Tian Gong International Foundation, 830 Bancroft Way, Lotus Room 114. 883-192. tgif@tiangong.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. 

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

SATURDAY, MAY 2 

7th Annual Hidden Gems of Berkeley Ride and Walk Visit the unique and vernacular treasures in and grassroots greening initiatives around central Berkeley. Ride and walk start at 10 a.m. at the Civic Center fountain. Bring lunch and water. The event is family friendly, over the age of 10. Updated Hidden Gems of Berkeley maps will be available for a nominal fee. www.bpfp.org 

Berkeley Historical Society Spring Walking Tour “The Northern End of the Santa Fe Right-of-Way” led by Bebo Turman, from 10 a.m. to noon. Cost is $8-$10. For reservations and starting point call 848-0181. 

Walking Tour of Old Oakland Explore the 9th and Washington St. district. Meet at 10 a.m. in front of Ratto’s, 821 Washington St. Tour lasts 90 minutes. Reservations can be made by calling 238-3234.  

Annual California Wildflower Show from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak sts. Presented in collaboration with the California Native Plant Society. Cost is $5-$8. www.museumca.org/tickets 

Flowers in May Hike Join a three-mile up and down hike from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. in Briones Regional Park, Bear Creek Staging Area. for information call 544-3265.  

Bring Back the Native Garden Tour On Sat. and Sun., visit 50 pesticide-free gardens that conserve water and provide habitat for wildlife. Registration required. www.bringingbackthenatives.net 

“Urban Farming Basics: Grow Your Own Food” With Willow Rosenthal of City Slicker Farms from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. A second class will take place on May 9, outdoors in Berkeley. Cost is $10-$15. 548-2220, ext. 239. 

Berkeley High 3rd Annual Athletic Hall of Fame Induction from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Donahue Gym. Tickets are$20 at the door or at www.berkeleyathleticfund.org 

“Art from the Heart” Art by individuals with Alzheimer’s Disease and related dimentias to be auctioned in a fundraiser and celebration for Alzheimer’s Services of the East Bay at 6:30 p.m. in the Rotunda Building, 300 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Oakland. Tickets are $50-$100. 644-8282. 

“Día de Los Niños/Día de Los Libros” from noon to 3 p.m. at Cesar Chávez Park in Oakland with diverse performance groups, storytellers, literacy-related arts activities, and a free book for each child in attendance. Sponsored by KQED. 

“Not Just Change But Justice” a conference on U.S. trade policy and its impacts on food, land and immigration with David Bacon speaking on NAFTA and Pierre LaBossiere and Delvis Fernandez comparing Haiti and Cuba, from 1 to 6 p.m. at 110 Barrows Hall, near Telegraph & Bancroft, UC Berkeley campus. 525-5497. info@nacla.org  

Bay Area Community Land Trust Bus Tour of Elder Co-ops and Senior Cohousing communities in Berkeley and Davis. Tickets are $40 for members, $60 for others. For information call 841-5307. 

Designing with Succulents Learn how to use these beautiful and low water plants in your landscape at 10 a.m. at at Magic Gardens, 729 Heinz Ave. 644-2351.  

Annual Junktique Sale and Fundraiser from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at First United Methodist Church, 201 Martina St., Point Richmond. Lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. 236-0527. 

Friends of Roman Cats and Feeding Ferals Local Promotion Slideshow about feral cat spay/neuter programs in Italy, at 2 p.m. at RabbitEARS, 377 Colusa Ave, Kensington. 525-6155. 

Full-Impact Women’s Self-Defense Techniques Demonstrations from 1 to 3 p.m., and a free intro class on Street Safety at 3 p.m. at Impact Bay Area Training Center, 1724 Mandela Pkwy #1, Oakland. 208-0474. erica@impactbayarea.org  

Beginning Internet Class “Useful Web Sites” at 10 a.m. at El Cerrito Library, 6510 Stockton Ave., El Cerrito. Free, but call to sign up 526-7512. 

Preschool Storytime, including crafts and finger plays at 11 a.m. at The Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave., Albany. 526-3720 ext. 16. 

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 

Lawn Bowling on the green at the corner of Acton St. and Bancroft Way every Wed. and Sat. at 10 a.m. for ages 12 and up. Wear flat soled shoes, no heels. Free lessons. 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, MAY 3 

“Maybeck Country: Hillside Houses of the Early- and Mid-20th Century” Berkeley Architectural Heritage’s 34th Annual Spring House Tour from 1 to 5 p.m. Tickets are $30-$40. 841-2242. www.berkeleyheritage.com 

Golden Gate Audubon Society Field Trip to Wildcat Canyon Regional Park Meet at 8 a.m. by Arlington Clubhouse on Arlington Ave. in El Cerrito, next to tennis courts between Brewster Drive and Thors Day Road. We'll drive to trailhead on Rifle Range Road, then walk a hilly transect of the canyon to bird brushlands, oak woodlands, riparian areas, and grasslands. Five-mile hike led by Malcolm Sproul for the 29th year. Bring lunch and liquids. www.goldengateaudubon.org 

Annual California Wildflower Show from noon to 5 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak sts. Presented in collaboration with the California Native Plant Society. Cost is $5-$8. www.museumca.org/tickets 

Little Farm Goat Hike Join a short hike with the goats as we explore the historic connections between humans and our ungulate friends at 11 a.m. at the Little Farm, Tilden Park. For ages 6 and up. Children, please bring your adults along. 544-3265. tnarea@ebparks.org 

Tilden’s Pipes: Portholes to the Past Crisscrossing Tilden Park steel pipes hide under trails, go through bushes and cross creeks. Explore the historic network of waterways on this four-mile hike along Wildcat Creek, from 2 to 5 p.m. For meeting place call 544-3265. tnarea@ebparks.org 

“Gardening without Invasives: Protecting wildlands and waterways from invasive plants” with Christiana Conser of PlantRight at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. at The Watershed Nursery, 601-A Canal Blvd., Richmond. 234-2222. www.thewatershednursery.com 

SASSAFRAS Shotgun Players’ Annual Silent Auction Fundraiser with barbeque, bluegrass music and a preview of upcoming shows at 4 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Cost is $70-$100. 841-6500 ext. 301. 

“Maya of the Quiet Strength” Documentary about the Berkeley disability activist, Miya Rodolfo-Sioson, at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship Unitarian Universalist Hall, 1924 Cedar at Bonita. Donation $10. 841-4824. 

Justice for San Salvador Atenco with videos on the community’s resistance to government plans to build an airport on their land and police crackdown and arrests at 6:30 p.m. at Niebyl Proctor Marxist Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. Sponsored by Chiapas Support Committee. 654-9587. www.chiapas-support.org 

Soul Sanctuary Dance Weekly Family-Friendly Freestyle Dance for children, teens and adults from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave. www.bayareandw.org 

Dance-a-Rama Free Open Studio performances in celebration of National Dance Week, from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Eighth Street Artists’ Center, 2525 Eighth St.  

Berkeley Rep Family Series “Story Builders” from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Nevo Education Center, 2071 Addison St. Recommended for age four and up. Free, but bring a book to donate to a school library. 647-2973. 

Cinco De Mayo At Playland Celebrate Mexican and Latino contributions to the world of fun, Sat. and Sun. from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Playland, 10979 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. Cost is $10-$15. 232-4264 ext. 25. www.playland-not-at-the-beach.org 

Personal Theology Seminars with Endre Nagy on “Religious Tradition as Freedom for Individual Theology” 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 

Tibetan Buddhism with Sylvia Gretchen on “Ancient Wisdom: Modern Application” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 809-1000. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

MONDAY, MAY 4 

“Language Acquisition amd Immigrant Integration: Comparing European and U.S. Experiences” A conference from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Lipman Room, Barrows Hall, UC campus. Hosted by the European Union Center. www. 

law.berkeley.edu/4247.htm 

“Memory, A Remedy for Evil?” a lecture by cultural theorist Tzvetan Todorov at 4 p.m. in the Maude Fife Room, 315 Wheeler Hall, UC campus. Free. Hosted by the Townsend Center for the Humanities, 643-9670. http://townsendcenter.berkeley.edu 

“The Math Behind the Cath: the Inside Story of Stents, Pacemakers, and Other Medical Miracles” Two speakers, one in biomedical R&D, the other an artist-mathematician, share their perspectives of how math underlies the invention of medical devices at 7 p.m. at the at Roda Theatre, Berkeley Rep, 2015 Addison St. Free. Sponsored by The Mathematical Sciences Research Institute. www.msri.org 

Making Chocolate Truffles learn everything you need to know to make deliciously decadent truffles Mon. and Tues. from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Cost is $50-$75, plus $15 supply fee. For details contact The Institute of Urban Homesteading at iuh@sparkybeegirl.com 

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 

Community Yoga Class 10 a.m. at James Kenney Parks and Rec. Center at Virginia and 8th. Seniors and beginners welcome. Cost is $6. 207-4501. 

Three Beats for Nothing South Mostly ancient part music for fun and practice meets every Mon. at 3 p.m. at the South Berkeley Senior Center, Ellis at Ashby. 655-8863. asiecker@sbcglobal 

Small-Business Counseling Free one-hour one-on-one counseling to help you start and run your small business with a volunteer from Service Core of Retired Executives, Mon. evenings by appointment at Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. For appointment call 981-6148. www.eastbayscore.org 

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 

Free Boatbuilding Classes for Youth from 10 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. at Berkeley Boathouse, 84 Bolivar Dr., Aquatic Park. Classes cover woodworking, boatbuilding, and boat repair. 644-2577. www.watersideworkshops.org 

TUESDAY, MAY 5 

California Colloquium on Water “Ground Water Depletion: A National Assessment and GLobal Persepctive” with Leonard Konikow, scientist, U.S. Geological Survey,, at 5:30 p.m. at Goldman School of Public Policy, room 250, 2607 Hearst Ave. www.lib.berkeley.edu/ 

WRCA/ccow 

“Up the Yangtze” Screening of the documentary followed by skype interview with the director, Yung Chang at 6 p.m. at GAIA Arts Center, 2120 Allston Way. Free. www.accountabilityproject.org 

Origami for Teens Learn how to fold shapes out of paper without cutting, glueing or stapling at 4 pm. at El Cerrito Library, 6510 Stockton Ave. For students in grades 6-12. Sign up by calling 536-7512. 

Typing Chinese Learn how to type chines characters on a computer at 2 p.m. at Berkeley Public Library, Electronic Classroom, 3rd flr, 2090 Kittredge at Shattuck. Drop-in class with limited space for 16 students - first come, first served. 981-6136. 

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., Sat. and Sun. 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. Share your digital images, slides and prints and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 548-3991. www.berkeleycameraclub.org 

St. John’s Prime Timers meets at 9:30 a.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. We offer ongoing classes in exercise and creative arts, and always welcome new members over 50. 845-6830. 

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. 

Bridge for beginners from 12:30 to 2:15 p.m., all others 12:30 to 4 p.m. Sing-A-Long at 2:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5190. 

Wheelchair Yoga at 4:30 p.m., Family Yoga on Sat. at 10:30 a.m. at Niroga Center for Healing, 1808 University Ave. between MLK Way and Grant St. All classes by donation. 704-1330. www.niroga.org 

Rhythm Tap Exercise Class Tues. at 5 p.m. at Redwood Gardens, 2951 Derby St. Donation $2. 548-9840. 

WEDNESDAY, MAY 6 

Southside Plan Update A community meeting sponsored by the City of Berkeley at 6 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church, 2407 Dana St. The plan is available at www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ContentDisplay.aspx?id=420 or call 981-7484. 

“The Century of the Self—Episode One: Happiness Machines” by Adam Curtis at 7:30 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., uptown Oakland, between Telegraph and Broadway. Donation $5. www.HumanistHall.org 

Oakland Heritage Alliance Walking Tour of Chinatown Meet at 10 a.m. at the fountain of Pacific Renaissance Plaza, Ninth St., between Webster and Frainklin. 763-9218. www.oaklandheritage.org 

“Paws to Read” Help your child practice reading with a friendly dog at 2:45 and at 3:20 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave., Albany. Dogs and handlers are from Therapy Pets volunteering for Paws to Read. Children in grades 1-5 may sign up for 25 minute sessions with tested therapy pets. To reserve a session call 526-3720, ext. 5.  

Niroga Yoga Center Open House with yoga and meditation classes, including classes for cancer survivor, wheelchair users, youth and seniors, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. at 1808 University Ave. www.niroga.org 

Red Cross Blood Drive from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Watergate Towers, Suite 120, 2200 Powell St., Emeryville. To schedule an appointment go to www.BeADonor.com 

Red Cross Blood Drive from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Laney College, ASLC Offices, 900 Fallon St., Oakland.. To schedule an appointment go to www.BeADonor.com 

“Love and Light Empowerment” with Master Tian Ying at 7:15 p.m. at 830 Bancroft Way, Lotus Room 114. Donations accepted. 883-1920, tgif@tiangong.org 

“Benefits of Meditation and Spiritual Lifestyle” with authorized speaker for Sant Baljit Singh at 7:30 p.m. at Fireside Room, upstairs, Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, 1606 Bonita Ave. 290-3013. 

Confused by Computers? Novice computer users can get one-on-one assistance from noon to 1:45 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave., Albany. Sign up for an appointment at the reference desk or call 526-3720 ext. 5. 

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. 

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, MAY 7 

Berkeley Democratic Club with Assembymember Nancy Skinner on the state of the State, and the League of Woman Voters presents the propositions for the May 19th Special Statewide Election, at 7 p.m. at the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda.  

SalmonAID Festival with music, dancing and information about the salmon at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $25. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

“Inquiries into the Nature of Slow Money” with author Woody Tasch on his view of the world of capital markets and sustainability at 7 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave. 548-3402. 

Project YouthView” The Power of Youth in Film Festival of winning bay area local youth film shorts, plus the documentary “Trouble the Water” at 6 p.m. at Historic Theatre of the Alameda Theater & Cineplex, 317 Central Avenue, Alameda. Sponsored by Alternatives in Action. Tickets are $5-$8, $100 for VIP section. 748-4314, ext. 304. www.projectyouthview.org 

“Reptiles and Amphibians” with Paul Hamilton as part of the Conservation Speaker Series at 6:30 p.m. in the Marian Zimmer Auditorium, Children’s Zoo, Oakland Zoo. Suggested donation $5-$20. 632-9525, ext. 122. 

Red Cross Blood Drive from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Laney College, ASLC Offices, 900 Fallon St., Oakland.. To schedule an appointment go to www.BeADonor.com 

Film on Washington DC indepth exploration of this multi-cultural city at 1:30 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720. 

“The Heart of Islam: Essentials of Islamic Religion and Spirituality” A four week introductory course, open to the general public, Thurs. nights at 7 p.m. at Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California, 1433 Madison St., Oakland. Cost is $25 for all classes. To register call 832-7600. www.iccnc.org 

Teaching English as a Second Language Learn about the Foreign Language Certification Program offered by UC Berkeley Extension, at 5:30 p.m. at 1995 University Ave. To reserve a space call 642-4111. 

“Don't Be in Pain” with Dr. Ellliott Wagner on the benefits of acupuncture in relieving neuropathic pain at 1 p.m. at the Seventh Day Adventist Church, 278 Grand Ave., Oakland. 653-8625. 

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. 

Buddhist Class on Shikan Meditation at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, Cedar at Bonita, through May 28. http://caltendai.org 

FRIDAY, MAY 8 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Douglas J. Long, Chief Curator, Dept. of Natural Sciences, Oakland Museum of CA on “The California Grizzly Bear in Fact and Fancy” Luncheon at 11:45 a.m. for $15, speech at 12:30 p.m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. For information and reservations call 527-2173. www.citycommonsclub.org 

“What I Saw in Gaza” with Middle East Children’s Alliance Executive Director Barbara Lubin at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Hall, 1924 Cedar at Bonita. Donation $5-$10. 526-2900. www.bfuu.org 

The Orchid Society of California Annual Mother’s Day Weekend Show and Sale, Fri. noon to 6 p.m., Sat. and Sun. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Lakeside Garden Center, 666 Bellevue, Oakland. Free. 582-3404. www.orchidsocietyofcalifornia.com 

Stockton Avenue Art Stroll Meet the artists at their studios or galleries, and have a great time exploring art along El Cerrito’s Stockton Ave. For more details, contact Well Grounded Tea & Coffee Bar, 6925 Stockton Ave. 528-4709. 

Womansong Circle “A Celebration of Mothers” An evening of participatory singing for women with guest Evelie Posch, at 7:15 p.m. at First Congregational Church, Small Assembly Room, 2345 Channing St. Suggested donation $15-20. www.betsyrosemusic.org 

Love and Justice for Tristan & Palestine with Charming Hostess, Devin Hoff Platform, Molotov Mouths, Hillary Lehr and others at 7:30 p.m. at AK Press Warehouse, 674-A 23rd St., Oakland. Donation $7-$25. 208-1700. 

Red Cross Blood Drive from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Children’s Hospital, Outpatient Center Basement, 747 52nd St.,, Oakland.. To schedule an appointment go to www.BeADonor.com 

Kamit Fest 36th Anniversary Ausar Auset Society Rregistration at 6:30 p.m., meditation at 7 p.m. Oakland Public Conservatory, 1616 Franklin St., Oakland. Other events throughout the day on Sat. 536-5934. 

Circle Dancing, simple folk dancing with instruction at 7:30 p.m. at Finnish Brotherhood Hall, 1970 Chestnut St at University. Donation of $5 requested. 528-4253. www.circledancing.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. 

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 

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

SATURDAY, MAY 9 

Berkeley Path Wanderers Walk in Claremont Heights, Grand View, and Hiller Highlands Walk the old paths behind the Claremont Hotel that once helped commuters reach the Key Route trains, and look for traces of paths that are no more. Learn about historic Smith Lane and the family that built it. Finally, explore newer paths and streets in neighborhoods rebuilt after the 1991 Oakland-Berkeley firestorm. This route has long, steep hills and stairways, some with uneven footing. Meet at 10 a.m. at Peet’s, 2912 Domingo Ave. www.berkeleypaths.org 

Golden Gate Audubon Society Field Trip to Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve Join Rusty Scalf for a morning of bird watching at our own East Bay volcano. Drive south on Grizzly Peak Blvd until it ends; turn left onto Skyline, the park entrance is located a short distance, about a quarter mile, on Skyline on the left at 6800 Skyline. Meet at parking lot at 8 a.m. www.goldengateaudubon.org 

Blessing of the Animals at 11:00 a.m. at First Presbyterian Church of Oakland, on the front lawn at 2619 Broadway, Oakland. Please bring pets on leashes or in carriers. 444-3555. www.firstcurchoakland.org  

Jefferson School Mayfair Games, prizes, food, performances, cakewalks, root beer floats and rockets abound at this year’s space-themed Mayfair. Come in costume and compete for prizes. From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 1400 Ada St., Sacramento St.  

Edible Schoolyard Jamboree and 5th Annual Mother’s Day Plant Sale from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at The Edible Schoolyard, Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, 1781 Rose St. Plant sale continues on Sun. 558-1335. 

Bike Day at the Farmer’s Market from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Center St between Milvia St. and M.L.K.jr. Way. Come learn to take care of your bicycle with workshops on everything from changing a flat tire to greasing your chain. www.bfbc.org 

“Opening Doors to Homes: A Walk for Affordable Housing” to raise awareness and funds for much needed affordable housing to the Bay Area from 1 to 4 p.m. at Memorial Glade, UC campus. Cost is $15-$30. Sponsored by Resources for Community Development. Register online at www.firstgiving.com/rcdhousing 

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 

“Urban Farming Basics: Grow Your Own Food” With Willow Rosenthal of City Slicker Farms from 2 to 6 p.m. at Berkeley Youth Alternatives Garden, Bancroft Way between Bonar and West St. Cost is $10-$15. 548-2220, ext. 239. 

The Orchid Society of California Annual Mother’s Day Weekend Show and Sale Sat. and Sun. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Lakeside Garden Center, 666 Bellevue, Oakland. Free. 582-3404. www.orchidsocietyofcalifornia.com 

California Lawn Bowls Day Open House from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the corner of Acton St. and Bancroft. 841-2174. 

“Becoming America: Becoming California” Exhibition on the history of the Peralta family and the Native People with food, crafts and games, dancing and tours, from noon to 5 p.m. at Peralta Hacienda Historical Park, 2465 34th Ave., Oakland. Suggested donation $1. 532-9142. www.peraltahacienda.org/VisitUs.htm  

“Pakistan and Afghanistan: Obama’s and America’s Next Vietnam?” with speaker Conn Hallinan at 7 p.m. at the Alameda Free Library, 1550 Oak St., Alameda. Sponsored by the Alameda Public Affairs Forum Suggested donation $5, no one is turned away. 814-9592. www.alamedaforum.org 

Common Agenda Regional Network meeting on reordering federal priorities from the military to human and environmental needs at 2 p.m. at 1403 Addison St. at the Gray Panthers’ Office, adjacent the back entrance of the Andronico’s Grocery. 

1st Annual Rock Paper Scissors Collective Cupcake Bake-off Benefit for the Community Collaborations Donor Campaign at 2 p.m. at Rock Paper Scissors Collective, 2278 Telegraph Ave, Oakland. 238-9171. www.rpscollective.com 

Origami Flowers with Margo Wecksler from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave., Albany. 526-3720. 

“Food For Thought” Comedians and speakers, including Johnny Steele, Kamau Bell, Richard Stockton and Carmen Tedesco of Slow Food San Francisco in a benefit for the Alameda County Food Bank at 8 p.m. at the Julia Morgan Theater, 2460 College Ave. Tickets are $15. Advance tickets can be purchased online at www.juliamorgan.org 

“The African Presence in Mexico: From Yanga to the Present” Community opening of the exhibition from noon to 4 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak sts. Cost is $5-$8. www.museumca.org/tickets 

Kensington Library Spring Book Sale Sat. from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sun. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Community Center, 59 Arlington Ave, Kensington, up the road by the library. 524-3043. 

Jitter-Bug Hunt Fun for the whole family trying to catch these bugs, at 2 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 544-3265. tnarea@ebparks.org 

Mad Hatter Tea Party and White Rabbit Adoption Fair from 1 to 4 p.m. at RabbitEARS, 377 Colusa Ave, Kensington. 525-6155. 

Kids Go Green: Protecting Chabot’s Redwood Ecosystem from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the redwood forest surrounding Cahabot Space and Science Center, 10000 Skyline Blvd., Oakland. Cost is $10.95-$14.95. 336-7373. 

Preschool Storytime, including crafts and finger plays at 11 a.m. at The Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave., Albany. 526-3720 ext. 16. 

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 

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, MAY 10 

Grand Opening of the David Brower Center Tour the Center, celebrate the planet, and explore environmental and social issues of our time, from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. at 2150 Allston Way, between Oxford and Shattuck. For a complete schedule of events see www.browercenter.org 

Friends and Family Day at the Magnes Join us in the garden and museum as we reflect on memory and personal history through arts and crafts from 11 a.m. t0 3 p.m. at 2911 Russell St. www.magnes.org 

Welcoming the Three Sisters to the Garden Help us plant beans, squash and corn in the Childrens’ Garden and learn why they encourage eachother to grow, at 10 a.m. at Tilden Narure Area, Tilden Park. 544-3265. tnarea@ebparks.org 

Mothers Day Stories and Songs with Doug and Todd Elliott’s cultural tour of America’s backcountry, at 11:30 a.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 544-3265. tnarea@ebparks.org 

Treat Your Mother Right Join a tour of the Tilden Little Farm to meet the animal mothers, and two farm grandmothers, at 2 p.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 544-3265. tnarea@ebparks.org 

Mother’s Day Peace Fair with speakers, music, refreshments from 3 to 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, 1924 Cedar at Bonita. Donation $5, no one turned away. 841-4824. www.uucb.org 

CodePINK: Women for Peace Pink Follies for Mothers’ Day with music, dance, comedy, spoken word at 6:45 p.m. at a La Pena, 3105 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $10. 540-7007. 

California Native Plant Society Walk Discover California native plants along the way. This loop has a 700 foot elevation gain, with many ups and downs. Round trip is about 5 miles. Meet at 10 a.m. in the Briones Reg. Park, Reliez Valley Staging Area parking lot. 223-3310. 

Personal Theology Seminars with Rosa Grandillo-Schwentker on “My Experience with the Toltec Shamanic Tradition” 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 

Tibetan Buddhism with Jack Petranker on “The Buddhist Path and the Scientific Method” 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 2 to 6 p.m. at 84 Bolivar Dr., Aquatic Park. Also on Thurs. from 2 to 6 p.m. Cost is $5 per hour. 644-2577. www.watersideworkshops.org 

CITY MEETINGS 

City Council meets Tues., May 5, at 7 p.m in City Council Chambers. 981-6900. www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/citycouncil 

Community Environmental Advisory Commission meets Thurs., May 7, at 7 p.m., at 2118 Milvia St. Nabil Al-Hadi

THURSDAY, APRIL 30 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Think Green” Opening reception at 4 p.m. at City of Berkeley Planning Dept., 2120 Milvia St., 2nd flr. Art on loan from Expressions Gallery. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Clive Matson will read from his collection of poetry, “Mainline to the Heart” at 7:30 p.m. at Pegasus Books Downtown, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320. 

Poetry Flash with Lynne Knight and Carolyn Miller at 7:30 p.m. at Moe’s Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave. 849-2087. 

Andrew M. Shanken reads from his new book, “194X: Architecture, Planning, and Consumer Culture on the American Home Front” at 7 p.m. at Builders Booksource, 1817 4th St. RSVP to vikateicher@yahoo.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Sergei Podobedov, pianist and Alison Lopatin-Podobedov, soprano at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Piano Club, 2724 Haste. Tickets are $20. 415-990-3851. 

Little Wolf & the Hellcats at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Swing/blues dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Tim O’Brien at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $24.50-$25.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

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

Misner and Smith, Pamela Parker, Steve Taylor-Ramirez at 9 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Cuba Hurricane Benefit: End the Blockade at 7 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $5-$20. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

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

FRIDAY, MAY 1 

THEATER 

Actors Ensemble of Berkeley “Luv” with gay, straight and lesbian versions, rotating Thurs.- Sat. at 8 p.m. at Live Oak Theater, 1301 Shattuck Ave. at Berryman, through May 23. Tickets are $12. 649-5999. www.aeofberkeley.org 

Aurora Theatre “Miss Julie” Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 and 7 p.m., at 2081 Addison St. to May 10. Tickets are $40-$42. 843-4822. auroratheatre.org 

Berkeley High School Drama “Double Digits” Fri. and Sat. at 7 p.m. at Florence Schwimley Little Theater, 1930 Allston Way. Tickets are $6-$12. 

Berkeley Rep “The Lieutenant of Inishmore” at Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison St. through May 15. Tickets are $33-$71. 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org 

Brookside Rep “Basha Rubenchek from Minsk, Comrade of Petaluma” Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 5 p.m. at Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant, through May 3. Tickets are $19-$24. www.BrooksideRep.org 

Contra Costa Civic Theater “Saint Joan” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at 951 Pomona Ave., El Cerrito, through May 10. Tickets are $11-$18. 524-9132. www.ccct.org 

Impact Theatre “Impact Briefs: Puberty” Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m. at La Val’s Subterranean, 1834 Euclid Ave., through June 6. Tickets are $10-$17. impacttheatre.com 

“Free Land” solo performance by Ariel Luckey, Fri.-Sun. at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $7-$12. 849-2568.  

Masquers Playhouse “The Last Five Years” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2:30 p.m. at 105 Park Place, Point Richmond, and runs through May 2. Tickets are $18. 232-4031. www.masquers.org 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Re:con-figure” Inaugural exhibition and reception from 6 to 9 p.m. in Kala’s new galleries at 2990 San Pablo Ave. Exhibition runs to June 27. 841-7000. www.kala.org 

“En Plein Air: California Landscapes by James Brosnahan” Reception and Benefit for Options Recovery Services at 6 p.m. at St. Clements Episcopal Church, 2837 Claremont Blvd. 666-9552, ext. 125. www.optionsrecovery.org 

“Eternal Sky: Reviving the Art of Mongol Zurag” An exhibition featuring the the work of artist and calligrapher Narmandakh Tsultem, through July 15, 2009 IEAS Conference Room, 2223 Fulton Street, 6th Floor. 642-2809. ieas.berkeley.edu 

“Earth Days” Works by Tyrell Collins, Ralph Singer, and John Wood. Reception at 7 p.m. at Oakopolis, 447 Twenty-fifth St., Oakland. oakopolis@gmail.com 

“Nature Morte” Small images of pressed flowers by Naomi Weissman at Garage Gallery, 3110 Wheeler St. www.berkeleyoutlet.com 

“Death is Easy, Comedy is Hard” Group show of humorous art. Opening reception at 6 p.m. at Red Door Gallery and Collective, 416 26th St., Oakland. Exhibit runs to May 31. 374-0444. reddoorgalleryandcollective.com 

WCCUSD Annual Student Art Show Reception and award ceremony at 5 p.m. at The Richmond Art Center, 2540 Barrett Ave. at 25th St., Richmond. 620-6772. www.therichmondartcenter.org 

“Mindful Light” Photographic images by Gary Wilson. Reception at 5 p.m. at The Gallery @ Lavezzo Designs, 5751 Horton St., Emeryville. 428-2384. 

“Intimate Observer” paintings and drawings by Jill McLennan and “Speed and Ecstasy” paintings and pastel drawings by Jamie Morgan. Opening reception at 6 p.m. Mercury 20 Gallery, 25 Grand Ave., at Broadway, Oakland. Exhibit runs through May 30. 701-4620. 

“Tempered Fragility” New work by Reem Rahim. Opening reception at 7 p.m. at The Compound Gallery, 6604 San Pablo Ave., Oakland. 655-9019. 

“Altars, Icons, & Drawings” works by Stanley WIlson and San Jose State Student Photography Exhibit, opening reception at 5:30 p.m. at Joyce Gordon Gallery, 406 14th St., Oakland. 465-8928. www.joycegordongallery.com 

FILM 

“Notorius” at 7 p.m. at the Paramount, 2025 Broadway. Tickets are $5. Box office opens at 6 p.m.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Jane Smith reads from “The Garden of Invention” at 7:30 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Chamber Orchestra, members of the University Symphony Orchestra at noon at Hertz Hall, UC campus. 642-4864.  

Sylvia Nakkach in Concert at 8 p.m. at Rudramandir, 830 Bancroft Way. Tickets are $15-$25. 486-8700.  

The Literary Groove of Jazz Weekend at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $15. 845-5373.  

Medicine Ball Band at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island. Cost is $14. 841-JAZZ.  

“I Like My Bike Night” with Antioquia, Carne Cruda at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $8 iwth bike, $13 without. 525-5054. 

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

Papmalo, Amygdala, Hijack, Mooska at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082.  

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

Fishbone, Bangdata, Monkey at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $15-20. 548-1159.  

Crude, Hellshock, Wartorn, ADT 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. 

SATURDAY, MAY 2 

CHILDREN  

Active Arts Theatre for Young Audiences “Alice in Wonderland” a circus adaptation Sat. at 2 and 7 p.m., Sun. at 2 and 4:30 p.m., at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $14-$18. 296-4433. activeartstheatre.org 

Lori & RJ/Cotton Candy Express Music Sat. and Sun. at 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. at Children’s Fairyland, 699 Bellevue Ave., Oakland. Cost is $7. 452-2259. www.fairyland.org 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Young Americans” Mills College MFA Exhibition. Opening Reception at 7 p.m. at Mills College Art Museum, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland. Exhibition runs to May 31. 430-2164. www.mills.edu/museum 

THEATER 

Stone Soup Improv Comedy at 8 p.m. at Temescal Arts Center, 511 48th St. at Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is $7-$10. www.stonesoupimprov.com 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Poetry in Tribute to Ferlinghetti at 5:30 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. Tickets are $12-$15. 644-6893. www.berkeleyartcenter.org 

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

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Concerto Festival Concert with winners of Concerto Competition from the Preparatory Music Dept. at 4 p.m. in the Regents’ Theater in Valley Center for the Performing Arts, Holy Names University campus, Oakland. Tickets are $5-$10. 436-1224. 

Chapel College Men and Boys Ensemble “Music of the Anglican Tradition” at 7 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 114 Montecito Ave., Oakland. Tickets are $10-$50. 834-4314. www.pacificcollegium.org 

Masankho Banda, African storyteller and drummer, along with intergenerational dancer and singer Soyinka Rahim at 10 a.m. at InterPlayce, 2273 Telegraph Ave, Oakland. www.bayareandw.org 

Mamadou & Vanessa from Mali at 2 p.m. at Down Home Music, 10341 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. 525-2129. 

Music for Flute, Harp and Flute Choir Gail Edwards and Anna Maria Mendieta with the SFSU Flute Choir at 8 p.m. at Trinity Chapel, 2320 Dana St. Tickets are $8-$12. 549-3864. www.trinitychamberconcerts.com 

Spirit of Africa A concert of dance-drumming from West Africa at 8 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC campus. Tickets are $5-$15. 642-9988.  

Ray Obiedo & Mambo Caribe at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $14. 841-JAZZ.  

Mystic Roots Band, Lakay and Mystic Man at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $12-$15. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com  

Battle of the Salsa Bands at 7:30 p.m. at Gaia Arts Center, 2120 Allston Way Cost is $20. Benefit for Project Peace East Bay. www.projectpeaceeastbay.org  

Sotaque Baiano at 8 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $10. 548-1159.  

The Ditty Bops at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $20.50-$21.50. 548-1761.  

Michael Zilber’s Billy Collins Project at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $15. 845-5373.  

Beep with Michael Coleman at 9:30 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. Cost is $3. 843-2473. www.albatrosspub.com 

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

Grateful Dead Jams with Live Dead and The Dead Guise Acoustic at 9 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $10. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Sotaque Baiano at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $5-$10. 548-1159.  

Deadfall, Conquest for Death, Eskapo, Dangers at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $8. 525-9926. 

SUNDAY, MAY 3 

CHILDREN 

Asheba at Ashkenaz at 3 p.m. Cost is $4-$6. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Above Ground” Works by Jacqueline Neuwirth Krayna. Reception at 4 p.m. at the Albany Community Center, Foyer Gallery, 1249 Marin Ave., Albany. 524-9283. 

Jamie Erfurdt Art Gallery Art Opening from 2 to 6 p.m. at 1966 University Ave. at Milvia. 421-2912. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Art and the Creative Process” with Squeak Carnwath and Carrie Lederer at 2 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak sts. Cost is $5-$8. www.museumca.org/tickets 

Poetry Flash with Carol Moldaw, Julia B. Levine, Ruth L. Schwartz at 3 p.m. at Diesel, 5433 College Ave., Oakland. 653-9965. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Vox Dilecti “Coronation Anthems” at 3 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $18-$25. www.sfcitychorus.org 

Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra performs Dvorak’s “Stabat Mater” at 4:30 p.m. at St. Joseph the Worker Church, 1640 Addison St. Donations appreciated. www.bcco.org 

California Bach Society “From Tallis to Tavener” 300 years of British choral music, at 4 p.m. at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 2300 Bancroft Way, at Ellsworth. Tickets are $10-$30. 415-262-0272. www.calbach.org 

Tribute to John Coltrane: “Giant Steps” to a “Love Supreme” performed by students from Music 116B at 8:30 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC campus. Free. 642-4864. 

Bay Area Girls Rock Showcase at 7 p.m. at the Starry Plough Pub, 3101 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $8. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Cypress String Quartet at 3 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC campus. Tickets are $46. 642-9988. www.calperformances.net 

Grupo Falso Baiano with Ana Carbatti at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $12. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

George Brooks’ Double Moiré at 4:30 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $15. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

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

MONDAY, MAY 4 

EXHIBITIONS 

Political Art & Activism Works by graphic artists Lincoln Cushing, Ivan Rubio, Favianna Rodriguez and Susie Lundy at La Peña Cultural Center, through May 31. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Irene Kacandes reads from “Daddy’s War: Greek American Stories” at 5:30 p.m. at University Press Books, 2430 Bancroft Way. 548-0585. www.universitypressbooks.com 

Andrej Grubacic will read from “Wobblies & Zapatistas: Conversations on Anarchism, Marxism, and Radical History” at 7:30 p.m. at Pegasus Books Downtown, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320. 

Ayelet Waldman reads from “Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, and Occasional Moments of Grace” at 7:30 p.m. at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. Tickets are $10-$15. www.brownpapertickets.com/event/63644  

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

TUESDAY, MAY 5 

CHILDREN 

Children’s Delight Theatrical Storytellers with Darryl Hulsey & Gemma Barozzi at 6:30 p.m. at Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave., Kensington. For ages 4 and up. 524-3043. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Hana Matt discusses “Counting the Omer” at noon at The Badè Museum, 1798 Scenic Ave. 

Tamim Ansary on “Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes” at 7:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $5-$10. berkeleyarts.org 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Off the Classical Beat Jeremy Cohen and Karen Blixt with Quartet San Francisco and young Crowden musicians in a benefit for Crowden Music Center at 7:30 p.m. at Yoshi's Oakland, Jack London Square. Tickets are $10-$25. 559-6910. www.crowden.org 

Mariachi Colima in a Cinco de Mayo celebration at noon at Oakland City Center, 12th and Broadway.  

Mark St. Mary Lousiana Blues and Zydeco Band at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

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

WEDNESDAY, MAY 6 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Soft Sculpture” by Emily Peters, through July 5 at Christensen Heller Gallery, 5829 College Ave., Oakland. 655-5952. www.christensenheller.com 

FILM 

Independent Filmmakers Screening Night Bring your 5 - 10 minute shorts & selects to screen every Wed. at 6:30 p.m. at Café of the Dead, 3208 Grand Ave., next to the Grand Lake Theater. Oakland. 931-7945. cafedeadscreening@gmail.com 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Legacy of Forgiveness in Shakespeare’s Late Plays” with actor-director Julian Lopez-Morillas at 7:30 p.m. at Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. 526-3805. 

Maria Espinoza and Clive Matson read at 7:30 p.m. at Moe’s Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave. 849-2087. 

Alva Noe reads from “Out of Our Heads: Why You are Not Your Brain, and Other Lessons from the Biology of Consciousness” at 7:30 p.m. at Pegasus Fine Books, 1855 Solano Ave. 525-6888. pdtevents@gmail.com 

Jessica Valenti discusses “The Purity Myth” at 7 p.m. at Revolution Books, 2425 Channing Way. Free, donations appreciated. 848-1196. 

10th Annual Berkeley Poetry Slam Finals 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 

Wednesday Noon Concert, with University Gamelan Ensembles at Hertz Hall, UC campus. Free. 642-4864. http://music.berkeley.edu 

Afro Cuban Ensembles from SF State College, directed by John Calloway, at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $6. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

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

Zabava at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Balkan dance lesson at 7:30 p.m. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Candela at 8 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. with salsa dance lessons. Cost is $5-$10. 548-1159.  

Mayne Smith & Johnny Harper, Ray Bierl at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

THURSDAY, MAY 7 

CHILDREN 

Young Actors Workshop “Love’s Labors Lost” featuring students age 11-18 from middle and high schools from around the Bay Area, Thurs.- Sat. at 7 p.m., Sun. at 5 p.m. at Aesop’s Playhouse, Children's Fairyland, 699 Bellevue Ave. Tickets are $9-$13. 

FILM 

Project YouthView: The Power of Youth in Film Fifth annual evening festival of winning bay area local youth film shorts, plus the documentary “Trouble the Water” at 6 p.m. at Historic Theatre of the Alameda Theater & Cineplex, 317 Central Avenue, Alameda. Sponsored by Alternatives in Action. Tickets are $5-$8, $100 for VIP section. 748-4314, ext. 304. www.projectyouthview.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Raka Ray and Seemin Qayum discuss “Cultures of Servitude: Modernity, Domesticity, and Class in India” at 5:30 p.m. at University Press Books, 2430 Bancroft Way. 548-0585. www.universitypressbooks.com 

“Mongol Zurag: Artist’s Talk with Narmandakh Tsultem” whose work is featured in the IEAS Gallery exhibition “Eternal Sky: Reviving the Art of Mongol Zurag” at 4 p.m. in the IEAS Conference Room, 2223 Fulton St., 6th Floor. 642-2809. ieas.berkeley.edu 

“Art and Culture of Cuba” with Sue Matthews, at 6 p.m. at West Auditorium, Oakland Main Library, 125 14th St. at Oak. 238-3136. 

Judy Yung and Eddie Fung will give a slide talk on their book “The Adventures of Eddie Fung: Chinatown Kid, Texas Cowboy, Prisoner of War” at 7 p.m. at El Cerrito Library, 6510 Stockton Ave. 536-7512. 

Poetry Flash with Chad Sweeney and Farrah Field at 7:30 p.m. at Moe’s Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave. 849-2087. 

Eva Hoffman reads from “Appassionata” at 7:30 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Koto Concert with Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto and Brian Mitsuhiro Wong in celebration of Asian Pacific Islander month at 12:15 p.m. in the Art and Music Dept., 5th flr., Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6241. 

Piper Link at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $20.50-$21.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Kelly Park Trio with guest vocalist Seaon at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Night of Roots Rock, Country Western and Blues with Natasha James, The Madison Blues Band and Pete Olson at 7:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $12. 841-2082 www.starryploughpub.com 

SalmonAID Festival with music, dancing and information about the salmon at 7:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $25. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

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

FRIDAY, MAY 8 

THEATER 

Actors Ensemble of Berkeley “Luv” with gay, straight and lesbian versions, rotating Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m. at Live Oak Theater, 1301 Shattuck Ave. at Berryman, through May 23. Tickets are $12. 649-5999. www.aeofberkeley.org 

Altarena Playhouse “A Streetcar Named Desire” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at Altarena Playhouse, 1409 High St., Alameda, through June 7. Tickets are $17-$20. 523-1553. www.altarena.org 

Aurora Theatre “Miss Julie” Wed.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 and 7 p.m., at 2081 Addison St. to May 10. Tickets are $40-$42. 843-4822. auroratheatre.org 

Berkeley Rep “The Lieutenant of Inishmore” at Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison St. through May 15. Tickets are $33-$71. 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org 

Contra Costa Civic Theater “Saint Joan” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at 951 Pomona Ave., El Cerrito, through May 10. Tickets are $11-$18. 524-9132. www.ccct.org 

Impact Theatre “Impact Briefs: Puberty” Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m. at La Val’s Subterranean, 1834 Euclid Ave., through June 6. Tickets are $10-$17. impacttheatre.com 

EXHIBITIONS 

“All Gurls” A group show by women artists. Opening reception at 7 p.m. at Eclectix Gallery, 10082 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. Exhibition runs to June 20. www.eclectix.com 

FILM 

“Auntie Mame” at 7 p.m. at the Paramount, 2025 Broadway. Tickets are $5. Box office opens at 6 p.m.  

“Under a Shipwrecked Moon” A film by Antero Alli with filmmaker in person at 8 p.m. at Grace North Sanctuary, 2138 Cedar St., near Walnut. Tickets are $6-$10. 464-4640. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Lucille Lang Day and Peter Tamases will read their poetry at 7 p.m. at Nefeli Caffe, 1854 Euclid Ave., a little north of Hearst, as part of the Last Word Reading Series. There is also an open reading. 841-6374. 

Zachary Shore reads from “Blunder” at 7:30 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

University Symphony Orchestra at 8 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC campus. Tickets are $5-$15. 642-9988. http://music.berkeley.edu 

Lina G Torio CD release concert of “Mestiza” at 9 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $7. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Puska Sunda Gamelan Degung at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $10-$15. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

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

Extra Golden with Makuru and Ousseynou Kouyate at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10-$12. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Steve Seskin at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $20.50-$21.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Izabella, Alma Desnuda at 9 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $10. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

Coffins, Stormcrow, Adlebran, Alaric at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St., an all-ages, member-run, no alcohol, no drugs, no violence club. Cost is $10. 525-9926. 

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

SATURDAY, MAY 9 

CHILDREN  

California Revels performs songs and dances for May Day at 11:30 a.m. at Children’s Fairyland, 699 Bellevue Ave., Oakland. Cost is $7. 452-2259. www.fairyland.org 

“Snow White” Puppet show by East Bay Waldorf’s School’s 7th grade class at 2 pm. at El Cerrito Library, 6510 Stockton Ave. 536-7512. 

Family Film Series “The Princess Bride” Sat. and Sun. at noon at Rialto Cinemas Elmwood, 2966 College Ave. at Ashby. Tickets are $4. 433-9730. 

Living Arts Playback Ensemble “A Celebration of Mothering” at 2 p.m. at Glitter & Razz, 5951 College Ave, Oakland. 654-7166. www.glitterandrazz.com 

Young Actors Workshop “Love’s Labors Lost” featuring students age 11-18 from middle and high schools from around the Bay Area, at 7 p.m., Sun. at 5 p.m. at Aesop’s Playhouse, Children's Fairyland, 699 Bellevue Ave. Tickets are $9-$13. 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Images of Morocco” by Stephen Donwerth and “Photos of Mali” by Gary McIntyre. Reception at 1 p.m. at Alta Galleria, 2980 College Ave Suite 4. 414-4485. www.altagalleria.com 

“5 Takes” Photographs by Fraser Bonnell, Eric Kaufman-Cohen, Cathy Lozano, Martha Snider and Ted Williams. Opening reception at 6 p.m. at Photolab, 2235 Fifth St. 644-1400. 

“The African Presence in Mexico: From Yanga to the Present” opens at the Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak sts. and runs through Aug. 23. Cost is $5-$8. www.museumca.org/tickets 

“Becoming America: Becoming California” Exhibition on the history of the Peralta family and the Native People with food, crafts and games, dancing and tours, from noon to 5 p.m. at Peralta Hacienda Historical Park, 2465 34th Ave., Oakland. Suggested donation $1. 532-9142. www.peraltahacienda.org/VisitUs.htm  

“Exoskeleton” Paintings by Philippe Janssens, sculpture and jewelry by Victoria Skirpa. Opening reception at 6 p.m. at Float Gallery, 1091 Calcot Place, Unit # 116, Oakland. 535-1702. 

THEATER 

“Food For Thought” Comedians and speakers, including Johnny Steele, Kamau Bell, Richard Stockton and Carmen Tedesco of Slow Food San Francisco in a benefit for the Alameda County Food Bank at 8 p.m. at the Julia Morgan Theater, 2460 College Ave. Tickets are $15. Advance tickets can be purchased online at www.juliamorgan.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World Without Rape” with anthology editors and contributors Jaclyn Friedman, Lisa Jarvis, Leah Lakshmi and others at 7:30 p.m. at Pegasus Books Downtown, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

“Mozart Matinee” The inaugural event of Midsummer Mozart’s new youth oriented concert at 11 a.m. at El Cerrito Community Center, 7007 Moeser Lane, El Cerrito. Tickets can be purchased at the El Cerrito Community Center for $5 per child, $10 per adult. 559-7000. 

Golden Gate Boys Choir Concert at noon at C’era Una Volta, 1332 Park St. at Redwood Square, Alameda. 769-4828. www.ggbc.org 

Pocket Opera “The Haunted Manor” at 2 p.m. at Julia Morgan Theater, 2640 College Ave. Tickets are $20-$37. 415-346-7805. www.pocketopera.org 

Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra performs Dvorak’s “Stabat Mater” at 8 p.m. at St. Joseph the Worker Church, 1640 Addison St. Donations appreciated. www.bcco.org 

Young People’s Symphony Orchestra Spring Concert at 8 p.m., silent auction at 6:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Tickets are $12-$15. 849-9776. www.ypsomusic.net 

Community Women’s Orchestra Spring Family Concert “Music Around the World” at 4 p.m. at Lake Merritt United Methodist Church, 1330 Lakeshore Ave., Oakland. Donation $10, children free. Reception following concert. www.communitywomensorchestra.org 

Paufve/Dance Benefit Performance at 5:30 p.m. at Shawl-Anderson Dance Center, 2704 Alcatraz Ave. Tickets are $50-$100. www.shawl-anderson.org  

University Symphony Orchestra at 8 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC campus. Tickets are $5-$15. 642-9988. http://music.berkeley.edu 

Nosotras at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $13-$15. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Body Tales Improvathon “The Divine Feminine Rising” Fundraising performances at 5, 6:30 and 8 p.m. at Studio 12, 2525 8th St., just south of Dwight Way. Tickets are $10-$25. No one turned away for lack of funds. 649-1791. www.bodytales.com 

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

Tito y su son de Cuba at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Dance lesson at 8:30 p.m. Cost is $10-$13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com  

Black Olive Babes, Balkan, Turkish, Romani, Shepardic roots and original music at 2 p.m. at Down Home Music, 10341 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. 525-2129. 

Robin Flower & Libby McLaren at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $20.50-$21.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

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

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

Tempest, Avalon Rising at 9 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $12. 841-2082. www.starryploughpub.com 

NoBunny, Ringers, R’N’R Adventure Kids, Street Eaters 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. 

SUNDAY, MAY 10 

CHILDREN 

Mothers Day Stories and Songs with Doug and Todd Elliott’s cultural tour of America’s backcountry, at 11:30 a.m. at Tilden Nature Center, Tilden Park. 544-3265. tnarea@ebparks.org 

The Nigerian Brothers at Ashkenaz at 3 p.m. Cost is $4-$6. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

EXHIBITIONS 

Oakland Museum of California Docent Tour A look inside the museum’s past, present and future, at 1 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak sts. www.museumca.org/tickets 

Jamie Erfurdt Art Gallery Art Opening from 2 to 6 p.m. at 1966 University Ave. & Milvia. 421-2912. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Ruth Reichl on “Not Becoming My Mother: and Other Things She Taught Me Along the Way” with desserts and drinks at p.m. at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. Tickets are $45-$65 includes copy of the book. reservations required. www.brownpapertickets.com 

Nuruddin Farah, author of “Knots” and “From a Crooked Rib” will discuss his work at 6:30 p.m. at Revolution Books, 2425 Channing Way. 848-1196. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra performs Dvorak’s “Stabat Mater” at 4:30 p.m. at St. Joseph the Worker Church, 1640 Addison St. Donations appreciated. www.bcco.org 

Celestial Sounds for Healing “Hovering Wings” a voice and Celtic harp duo at 4 p.m. in a private home in Berkeley, address to be emailed upon ticket purchase. Tickets are $15 available from www.eventbrite.com/event/318427425 

“Mother's Day Peace Fair” An afternoon of music and speakers including Carol Denney, Stephanie Hendricks, Anna -Lisa Smoker, Maxina Ventura, Hali Hammer, and The Brazen Squirrels, from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, 1924 Cedar St. at Bonita. Suggested donation $5. 841-4824. www.bfuu.org 

Bombazo de Madre Puerto Rican celebration of Mother’s Day at 3 p.m. in the lobby of Café Valparaíso, La Peña. Free. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Carlos Oliveira’s Brazilian Origins featuring Harvey Wainapel at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Soul of the Mahala at 4:30 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $12-$15. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Cascada de Flores at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $20.50-$21.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org

Ayelet Waldman will celebrate her “brash, wise, provocative” new book, Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, and Occasional Moments of Grace, with a talk and booksigning, 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 4, at the Berkeley City Club, hosted by KPFA News Director Aileen Alfandary, as a benefit for KPFA. 

Bad Mother, available at the event, will be released by Doubleday on Tuesday. Pamela Paul, author of Parenting, Inc. said Waldman “writes about motherhood the way women live it: not only as parents, but also as wives, professionals, and most touchingly, as former children.” 

“It’s half memoir and rant,” Waldman said of her book, “and half social commentary on what contemporary American women find themselves in, the parlor game of how a mother feels—eternal ambivalence, anxiety. It’s a plea for a more humane approach to motherhood.” 

The book came about from blogging on the “bad mother” theme about five years ago at www.ayeletwaldman.com. “It was very, very successful, very fast,” Waldman recalled. “I only had it up for a couple of months, then shut it down. I started to feel it was taking away from my other writing. Because of the book being written, I started blogging again. It was better for me; I’m sure it doesn’t have the same audience, but that’s not what I’m trying to get—and not as a diary, either, but as a way to say stuff. I feel I’m more mature as a writer; maybe I’ll just quote an idea, stuff I’d maybe never write a book about. And at the moment, I’m not involved in another project.” 

Known also for her advocacy of Barack Obama’s candidacy, Waldman recalled “When [husband] Michael [Chabon] and I started supporting Barack, we heard, ‘Oh you writers, what do you know?’ I traveled all over the country, was a full-time volunteer between the convention and the election. I raised over $11 million. My favorite fundraiser was ‘Books for Barack,’ book baskets and grab-bags that writer friends put together, signed first editions sometimes, or volumes of poetry beloved by the writer ... How much of the surface of our house was covered with boxes and bubblewrap! There were great parties, never fundraisers, but for canvassing. The first ones I went to were deadly! Then Alice Waters organized local chefs; somebody shot a wild boar in Point Reyes, roasted it on a spit ... ‘No Rubber Chickens!’ was our motto. We had literary events, readings with Michael Pollan, Dave Eggers, my husband, Annie LaMott, Isabel Allende—my favorite was at Robert Mailer Anderson’s: ‘Light Appetizers, Heavy Cocktails.’” 

At the inauguration, Waldman and Alice Waters “put together a dinner, ‘Art Food Hope,’ the message being a sustainable culture, healthy food. I was so angry at the excess, the parties people were throwing at $10,000 a head. So we said, ‘Let’s do a soup kitchen in D. C. and feed not just the wealthy, but the hungry.’ We started with the idea for one dinner and ended up with 12 different locations, 12 internationally known chefs.” 

Waldman reflected on “the depth of poverty” in Washington, D.C.—“one of the most racially polarized cities in the United States”—yet the mood at the inauguration which “transcended” that, “once we left the all-white enclave, and you realize what it is.” 

On Obama: “I think Barack is doing a great job in a grim situation. I’m euphoric he released the torture memoranda—after Mark Danner had already publicized it—but intensely disappointed with the Justice Department’s position. The architects should be punished. It’s what was learned at Nuremburg, holding people responsible who should’ve known better.” 

Reflecting on the KPFA benefit, she said, “Six months ago, the progressive position was only really heard on KPFA; now it’s in the mainstream press. I guess I could say I’m to the right of KPFA, and Barack is to the right of me. In any other universe, I’m a crazed liberal, Newt’s socialist menace. Here, I’m in the mainstream. My 7-year-old stepdaughter’s an Eleanor Roosevelt fan; that’s what you get, raising children in Berkeley.” 

Waldman spoke of the political legacy from her own parents. “My mom was from Brooklyn, my dad Canadian; both were suspicious of mainstream U.S. culture.” Born in Jerusalem, she reflected, “In a very real way, America is the Promised Land for Jews. Germany once was, too ... I was a committed Zionist once; I lasted about six months.” 

Author of two novels—Love and Other Impossible Pursuits (Random House) and Daughter’s Keeper (Soucebooks Landmark)—as well as seven Mommy-Track Mysteries (Nursery Crimes being one title) from Prime Crime—Waldman talked about the film of Love and Other Impossible Pursuits, now in the can, directed by Don Roos, with Natalie Portman, Lisa Kudrow and Scott Cohen starring: “I didn’t write the script; my role was as a cheerleader. Everybody has crappy things to say about Hollywood; for me it was tremendous, being part of it getting made. They’re artists in a different medium.” 

And on yet another, earlier career, as a federal public defender “for a brief period; since then, I’ve written for 12 years. But it’s informed for the longest time all my writing, both fiction and nonfiction: that sense of the powerless individual in the face of the might of government. We have to struggle together for that reason.” 

The Daily Planet will run an excerpt from Bad Mother in next week’s edition.

"An East Bay Sweep!” reads a press release for the Northern California Book Awards, presented last Sunday in the 28th annual ceremony in the Koret Auditorium in the San Francisco Main Library. 

In fact, of the eight awards presented, seven went to East Bay authors—five of them Berkeley residents—with the Fred Cody Award for lifetime achievement going to Berkeley’s Dorothy Bryant (see the Daily Planet’s April 16 story). 

In fiction, the winner was Sylvia Browning of Berkeley, with Delivery Room, her third novel, about a Serbian psychotherapist practicing in London, concerned about her family’s fate in the fighting in former Yugoslavia, where “delivery” takes on the added meaning of NATO air strikes in Kosovo. 

In general nonfiction, UC Berkeley professor and Berkeley resident Richard A. Muller won for a book based on the textbook he wrote for his class for non-scientists, Physics for Future Presidents: The Science Behind the Headlines, billed as “the knowledge needed to survive the ... political and increasingly nuclear contemporary world.” 

Well-known composer and Berkeley resident John Adams won the award for creative nonfiction with Hallelujah Junction: Composing an American Life. Named after the meeting of roadways in the Sierra where Adams had a major realization about his career (long dubbed a “Minimalist,” Adams hears Wagner’s Gotterdamerung playing, and realizes he’s been missing the rich textures of post-Romantic orchestration). Poet and former KPFA music programmer David Gitin says Adams’ memoir is “a good-spirited book, about his interesting upbringing and the early days of his career, caught up in electronic music. He talks critically of recording and of later developments of Minimalism, examines his ‘love/hate’ feelings about other composers’ music, is encouraging to young musicians—and plays himself down at every opportunity.” 

For the award in poetry, Richmond resident Rusty Morrison was chosen for her book the true keeps calm biding its story, billed as “the silvery underside of elegy,” in which the poem’s narrator reconciles herself to loss in the aftermath of her father’s death. The book also won the 2007 Sawtooth Poetry Prize and the 2008 James Laughlin Award. 

For translation, Katherine Schev of Berkeley won for her translation from Spanish of Honduran-born Horacio Castellanos Moya’s novel Senseless, in which the narrator, hired by the church to copy-edit a thousand-page report on an unnamed Central American military’s massacres of indigenous people, finds poetry in the testimony. Castellanos Moya’s style has been compared to the late Austrian author Thomas Bernhardt. 

For children’s literature, Pamela S. Turner of Oakland won for A Life in the Wild: George Schaller’s Struggle to Save the Last Great Beasts, about the work the scientist involved with animal conservation (who figured in Peter Matthiessen’s The Snow Leopard) has done in Asia, Africa and Alaska’s North Slope.

In the wake of the 1992 riots in South Central Los Angeles, the city sought to mitigate the damage to the social fabric with a series of community projects. One project was a community garden on a dormant plot of land.  

What developed was a 14-acre oasis in the midst of a blighted urban landscape, the largest community garden in the nation, sustaining more than 350 families, most of them Latino. The garden flourished for nearly a decade, until the city notified the gardeners in 2003 that in two months they would be evicted and the garden destroyed to make way for warehouses and a soccer field.  

Berkeley native Scott Hamilton Kennedy’s documentary, The Garden, traces the tale of the farmers’ attempt to retain their oasis. The film opens Friday, May 1 at Rialto’s Elmwood Theater on College Avenue and at the Lumiere Theater in San Francisco.  

The city had orginally acquired the land from owner Ralph Horowitz through eminent domain, paying him $5 million. In 2003 the farmers discovered that the Los Angeles City Council, in a secret, closed-session meeting, had sold the land back to Horowitz for $5 million—a price far below market value. 

Horowitz announced his intention to build warehouses on the land, as well as a soccer field.  

The soccer field was a pet project of Concerned Citizens of South Central L.A., a group that had previously spent several years and millions of dollars to develop another soccer field. Promised a grass field with seating for 800 spectators, the community was ultimately left with little more than a dusty lot with two lonely goals and shaky lines etched in white chalk.  

Though many of the questions behind the battle over the garden remain unanswered, and the nature of the corruption at play unexplained, the film touches on a host of issues, from racism to development to corruption to what one farmer refers to as “poverty pimping.” 

In the end, the district’s city councilmember still manages to get re-elected, as does the mayor; the head of Concerned Citizens of South Central L.A. dies of a stroke; a few of the gardeners accept compensation in the form of a smaller, less desirable plot of land beneath power lines; others lay down roots in Bakersfield; and Horowitz never constructs any warehouses or a soccer field, the lot remaining a fence-off, dusty expanse in the middle of an urban neighborhood. 

Scott Hamilton Kennedy credits “quite a bit of Berkeley spirit” for giving him “the confidence to talk to all the players in a story like The Garden,” recalling “all the wonderful types of people you meet in Berkeley— rich, poor, homeless, politicians—they’re all people, and I was taught to treat people with respect, as individuals. There aren’t too many situations where I feel out of place.” 

Kennedy cut his teeth in documentary filmmaking “the first summer after college, making a documentary on Long Island, then cutting it in New York City” with his mentor and friend, the late filmmaker and teacher Richard P. Rogers, to whom Kennedy dedicated The Garden. “Then I got away from doing documentaries for a long time, making music videos instead. With the digital revolution, I had the chance to make my own movies without having to raise money, without waiting for someone else to say, ‘Go ahead.’” 

The compactness of digital filmmaking makes a difference, too. “Many, many days it was just me and my camera with the microphone on top. You can’t underestimate how far that intimacy, that amateur quality, gets you with people: they think, ‘I can talk with this guy!’”  

Kennedy’s friend and co-producer Domenique Derringer saw “a piece on TV that led us to do The Garden. We knew there was a lot of good story there. From the start, we chose to tell it through the farmers’ eyes, their point of view, as information was hidden from them. There were backroom deals. The farmers kept digging for answers; some questions have never been answered. 

“Most [of the farmers] were Latino in origin, with a history of farming in their families—and most had not done much political work before. They ended up training themselves to become political. It was an exciting thing to see, the little democracy growing up among the farmers. And that meant infighting, too!” 

Kennedy related that to what he had experienced growing up in Berkeley. “Somebody said once, ‘The Perfect is enemy to the Good.’ I love the freedom of everything in Berkeley. But at the end of the day, when everybody’s fighting, everybody’s feeling everybody else is screwing them over, there’s a bigger thing than our own small squabbles. Making The Garden, we had to ask sometimes, why couldn’t it be a soccer field and a community garden too? It’s a film about the political process, about trying to communicate without getting derailed by ego, race, class ... to do what’s best, treat each other fairly. 

“I’m proud of my Berkeley roots,” Kennedy affirmed. “It’s a sensibility that got into my DNA, growing up in Berkeley—and came out in the film.” 

But what about love?” The recurring question interrupts each character’s litany of woes, and each responds with an echo of the word, with or without a question mark, and the comedy—Murray Schisgall’s Luv—starts up again.  

Starts up times three, as the Actors Ensemble production features three separate versions—straight, gay and lesbian—changing place every night, on revolving Thursday-through-Saturday schedules. 

This triptych of different preferences—a love triangle, squared, becoming a nine-sided trapezoid—came about when director Alan Barkan suggested the company produce a play he’d seen in Long Island in the 1960s, then reflected on how to do it for here and now, coming up with a veritable hall of mirrors of manners and proclivities. 

“Part of it is my inability to accept simplicity,” Barkan said. “I don’t know what originated the inspiration for it being seen through the eyes of three different orientations, except for my feeling that we all drink from the same well, that it’s all what we do with it ... It’s all about pain and love; the only thing that changes is our emotional response to it.” 

Whether it was Proposition 8 in the air, or realizing that Schisgall had also penned the screenplay for the cross-dressing classic Tootsie, Barkan advanced the controversy over same-sex marriage as contemporary rationale for the three versions when applying for rights to produce. And when Dramatists Play Service initially turned down the request, Barkan appealed to Schisgall.  

“I was impressed that Dramatists forwarded our e-mail correspondence to Mr. Schisgall’s agent, who then contacted me with a few plain questions from him,” Barkan recalled. “I was kind of surprised, really. He didn’t probe too much as to approach. Then I heard he granted us permission.” 

It’s best to see all, or at least more than one. The details become significant by comparison. None of the three casts witnessed or were told how the others were performing it. It’s the same play, but “it’s either three straight, gay or lesbian people in a world that’s straight, gay or lesbian—that’s the norm of their particular world as we represent it, their window on it—displaying highly eccentric, but nonetheless real, actions and desires.”  

The gay version is the only one this critic was able to catch in performance, though Alan Barkan kindly invited me to rehearsals of the others; like birdwatchers, reviewers must catch such variegated flocks however they land. 

It is a stellar comedy. Stanley Spenger has never been better (certainly never funnier) than as Milt, the self-made, scheming entrepreneur, who saves his old schoolbuddy Harry (a loopy, physically comic Harold Pierce, who’s also done well by Actors Ensemble in recent shows) from jumping off the bridge, in order to introduce him to Milt’s spouse Elliot (an elegant, if smouldering Federico Edwards), hoping the two will hit it off, so Milt can hook up with his lover, the ever-unseen Leonard.  

Act One ends with Milt’s scheme a raving success after some awkward bumps along the way, a lot of competitive poormouthing reminiscence and a spreadsheet-supported lecture on the infrequency of connubial bliss. The humor is both symmetrical and syncopated. 

The second act is the charm, fraught with boasting one-upsmanship, with renegs, double-reverses, the specter of Gay Divorce—a boomerang across the Outback of love-at-first-sight (however engineered) and its after-effects. The trio is such an ensemble, they could pass for an old-time, lifelong vaudeville act: Spenger, Edwards & Pierce.  

It is the charm for the other versions, too, both as discrete theatrical phenomena, and as what links the local colors (and flavor) of each preference in a unifying chain—or spectrum of a rainbow. 

Each truly has its own slant. The straight version is really straight, in every sense. Benjamin Grubb as Milt is that guy from back in school who knows how to collect people and arrange them in a bouquet he graciously accepts—then tosses away. Eric Carlson realizes distracted, melancholic, whimsical Harry, abetted by forlorn, seductive Danielle Martino as Ellen, only searching—and backtracking—to find that elusive monosyllable, the homophone of which entitles the play. 

In the lesbian Luv, Catherine Lerza plays ambitious, micromanaging Mel, Stacy Sanders the quizzically nutty Harriet (with a great, outlandish strut in Act Two), and Crystal Bush plays a plaintive Ellen, with honeyed voice like an ingenue-turned-torch singer. 

(In fact, each incarnation of Ellen/Elliot is distinguished by a teasing voice, perfect for the frustrated nester the other two hover around.) 

And lest the likewise triply-challenged designers be forgot, Norman de Veyra (set), Jeremy Cole (lights), and ever-creative costumer Helen Slomowitz put together the look of these shows. Producer Jennifer Rice presided. 

Given a once-over, Luv might look like an offbeat collection of burlesque gags and routines refashioned to reflect ’60s “existentialism” (or was it a lower-case “situationalism”?), half Henny Youngman, half Woody Allen: “Take my wife ... please!” become a kind of maladroit sexual swinging.  

But Alan Barkan stated that he struggled “not to play up the slapsticky” element, but to instead take the characters as “real people, just wacky ... My thing with theater is that it’s about people real enough so you like them. Will we allow a sense of other possibilities, for them to pop up out of us? We all have our own ridiculous, ludicrous reactions. What came out of each cast was the outgrowth of how they interacted with each other, what the characters wanted from each other—what was germane to each orientation. It breathes new life into the play, which is so timely to the questions each version invokes, which are sweeping the nation. So timely, especially to the Bay Area.” 

LUV 

A comedy by Murray Schisgall, presented by Actors Ensemble in straight, gay and lesbian versions, rotating nightly.  

8 p. m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays through May 23 at Live Oak Theater,  

1301 Shattuck Ave. $12.  

649-5999. www.aeofberkeley.org.