Arts & Events
Baba Ken Okulo Comes Home to Ashkenaz
“Ashkenaz is always the place for me in the Bay Area,” said Baba Ken Okulolo. “Ashkenaz is home.” The Nigerian music master will be playing with the West African Highlife Band, 9:30 p. m. this Saturday at Ashkenaz, after an African dance lesson by Comfort Mensah. -more-
Clifford Odets’ ‘Awake and Sing!’ At Aurora Theatre
From disaster -more-
Works on Paper at the Berkeley Art Center
Every year the Berkeley Art Center presents a juried exhibition. This year’s jurors were Rene de Guzman, curator at the Oakland Museum of California and formerly curator at the Yerba Buena Center, and Kate Eilertsen, who was director of the Art and Crafts Museum as well a temporary head of the Berkeley Art Center and is now the director of the Sonoma Valley Art Museum. Their judicious selection spared us the fare to which we have been subjected at the ubiquitous art fairs and group shows, which are based on the fashions and vulgarities of the art market. In fact, many of the pieces in this show retain the mark of authenticity. It was also a good idea to choose more than a single piece by most of the artists. -more-
A Mother’s Odyssey Through War’s Carnage
In her book Long Time Passing, Susan Galleymore asks a question: “Are mothers supposed to simply sit and wait while their children are imperiled?” -more-
Mariah Parker's Indo Latin Jazz Ensemble Packs Yoshi's in Oakland
On Tuesday Aug. 25, Mariah Parker's Indo Latin Jazz Ensemble packed Yoshi's in Jack London Square, and the incredible live performance had the audience roaring and screaming for more of the Indo-Latin jazz rhythms filling the celebrated jazz club during the CD release event for Mariah Parker's debut recording, Sangria. -more-
East Bay Then and Now: Edward F. Niehaus, West Berkeley Stalwart
On Jan. 28, 1905, the first concatenation of the Order of Hoo-Hoo was held in Oakland. The ceremonies were conducted by the “Supreme Nine” of the local chapter of this lumbermen’s fraternity, many of whose officers’ titles were derived from Lewis Carroll’s nonsense poem “The Hunting of the Snark.” The office of Gurdon (sergeant-at-arms) was occupied by veteran lumberman and West Berkeley resident Edward Frederick Niehaus. -more-
About the House: In So Many Ways, We’re Getting Stupider and Stupider
I can recall the first time I inspected a turn-of-the-20th-century house and noticed one of those funny little doors in the hallway closet next to the bathroom and, upon prying it open, realized that this was a little repair access panel for the shower. -more-