ART

The Valley Art Gallery presents “Wintermission” from Jan. 8 through Feb. 2. This show between shows features selected works by gallery artists designed to brighten and warm even the longest winter days. Reflecting a wide range of motifs, styles and media, the show continues a mission to represent the best of the best of more than 100 East Bay artists. www.valleyartgallery.org
 
Bedford Gallery, located in the Lesher Center for the Arts, offers enriching, educational volunteer opportunities. Train to become a docent from 1 to 3:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, Jan. 16, 23, 30 and Feb. 6, 13. Docent volunteering is fun and provides opportunities to make friends, learn about art, and help foster the arts in our community. No prior art knowledge is required. To sign up, contact Carmen Kelly at (925) 295-1416 or kelly@bedfordgallery.org. Learn more at: www.bedfordgallery.org/support/volunteer

The Moraga Art Gallery presents its new show, “A Sense of Place,” running from Jan. 9 to March 16 and featuring Wenda Pyman’s beguiling landscape photographs, which call to mind the camera work of Ansel Adams and Eliot Porter. For more information, visit www.moragaartgallery.com or call (925) 376-5407.

Jennifer Perlmutter Gallery is proud to present an exhibition featuring 16 glass artists from the Association of Clay and Glass Artists of California. This exhibit features a variety of wall and pedestal art glass - sculptural, conceptual, and decorative. The exhibit opens with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. on Feb. 7, and runs through March 2. There will also be a discussion with artists and jurors at 4 p.m. on Feb. 9. www.jenniferperlmutter
gallery.com.

MUSIC
 
Drum, Relax & Learn at the monthly Lamorinda Drum Circle from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Monday Feb. 4.  Enjoy learning to drum in a fun small-group environment.  Drums are provided.  Lamorinda Music, 81 Lafayette Circle, Lafayette. We meet at this time and place on the first Monday of each month.  Suggested donation $10-$20. www.MusicForTherapy.com

The Gold Coast Chamber Players present one of the leading quartets of our time, the St. Lawrence String Quartet along with three-time Grammy-nominated clarinetist, Todd Palmer at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 9 at the Lafayette Library Community Hall. The program offers an unprecedented musical, emotional, and spiritual experience with chamber music spanning four centuries. From Haydn and Beethoven, to Berger and Golijov, this unique program is not to be missed! Tickets $15 - 45 https://gcplayers.tix.com/Event.aspx?EventCode=1079081 or call (925) 283-3728. www.gcplayers.org.

THEATER

Diablo Ballet opens the new year with the second program of its landmark 25th Season, Balanchine and Beyond, Feb. 1 and 2, at the Del Valle Theatre in Walnut Creek. This program features three ballets including the classic masterpiece Apollo by George Balanchine. Immediately following each performance, ticket holders are invited to stay for a post-performance Q&A with our dancers, choreographers and musicians followed by a dessert and coffee reception where you can meet and mingle with the dancers. Single tickets are $15-$47. For tickets and showtimes, call (925) 943-SHOW (7469) or visit www.lesherartscenter.org. For more information, visit www.diabloballet.org.

Children’s Theatre Production, “Miss Nelson Is Missing!” directed by Saint Mary’s Theatre Professor Will Huddleston. The play is adapted from the book by Harry Allard and James Marshall, with book, music, and lyrics by Joan Cushing runs from Tuesday, Jan. 29, through Friday, Feb. 1, at the LeFevre Theatre at Saint Mary’s College, 1928 St. Mary’s Road in  Moraga. The story follows the misbehaving students of Room 207, the worst behaved in the entire school. With spitballs flying across the room and paper airplanes sailing in every direction, their gentle yet long-suffering teacher has reached her wit’s end. For tickets and showtimes go to www.stmarys-ca.edu/missnelson or at the box office, 30 minutes to curtain.
Information only: (925) 631-4670. Please note, many performances are already sold out.
 
Town Hall Theatre’s staged reading series “In the Wings” presents a one-night only reading of “BOY,” a moving new play about gender identity by Anna Ziegler.  “BOY” will have one performance only at 8 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 4 at Town Hall Theatre Company, 3535 School Street, in Lafayette. Tickets are $10 general admission and free to subscribers, and are available through the Box Office at (925) 283-1557 or online at www.TownHallTheatre.com.  
 
Town Hall Theatre Company presents Brooklyn Bridge by Melissa James Gibson, directed by M. Graham Smith Feb. 28 through March 23. Tickets and showtimes are available at TownHallTheatre.com or by calling (925) 283-1557. The theatre is located at 3535 School Street in Lafayette.  
 
LECTURE & LITERATURE
 
KPFA Radio 94.1 FM presents Ha Jin: The Banished Immortal: A Life of Li Po from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 23, at Berkeley Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St, Berkeley. Ha Jin will discuss his new book, “The Banished Immortal: A Life of Li Po,” answer questions and sign books. Hosted by Jack Foley. Cost: $12 advance, $15 door. For more info see http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3918550 or call (510) 967-4495.

A Panel Discussion on Fixing Our Tattered Democracy from 1-3 p.m., doors open at 12:30 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 26 at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, 1035 Carol Lane, Lafayette.  The outstanding panel includes: Trent Lange, president of the California Clean Money Campaign that led to the success of the DISCLOSE Act; Ann Ravel, former commissioner of the Federal Election Commission  and precious chair of the CA Fair Political Practices Commission;  Jay Costa, the executive director at Voter’s Right to Know and Michele Sutter,  the coordinator of Money Out Voters In in Southern California and the co-chair of the statewide ballot measure - Proposition 59 that asks our legislators to do all they can to seek increased regulation of campaign spending and contributions.  For further information email moneyoutnow@yahoo.com or call (925) 878-9288. The free event is being organized by Contra Costa MoveOn.

Discovering Opera: Jake Heggie’s “Moby Dick” from 1:30 to 3 p.m. on Jan. 31 in the Lafayette Library and Learning Center Arts and Science Room. “Moby Dick” is an opera based on the classic novel by Herman Melville. Set in 1820, it tells the story of Captain Ahab of the whaling ship Pequod, who after losing one of his legs to a frightening white whale, becomes obsessed with finding and destroying the creature at any cost. Lecturer Bradford Wade will give a guided tour of the opera, with a description of the plot interspersed with musical examples. This lecture is given in conjunction with Opera San Jose’s production of “Moby Dick,” Feb. 9-24. Free.

KIDS, PARENTS & TEENS

Hack the Future is coming to Contra Costa County from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Feb. 23 at the Lafayette Library and Learning Center for a one-day hackathon for youth ages 10-19. Attendees will be able to explore and experiment with different STEM activities while learning from tech industry professionals. Activities / Demos to include: Programming, Electronics, 3D Printing, Robotics, Virtual Reality, and more. Stay tuned for more information about this very special opportunity and head over to http://hackthefuture.org/ for more information and sign up to be notified when registration opens.

The 2019 Bookmark Contest sponsored by the Friends of the Lafayette Library & Learning Center will be open to all Lafayette students grades K-8th to enter their original artwork. The entry forms will be available beginning February 15 at the Lafayette Library main desk, the Friends Corner Book Shop and at school libraries in the Lafayette School District and St. Perpetua School. The entry deadline is Friday, March 8. For more information please contact Kay Pekrul:kae865@hotmail.com.

The 7th Creating A Peaceful School conference will take place 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9 at Mt. Diablo Peace and Justice Center, 1035 Carol Lane in Lafayette.  The year’s conference topic, “Building Bridges Not Walls”, provides a daylong opportunity to explore how we can use our school and classroom practices to identify tools and resources for enhancing peace, understanding and communication in our diverse communities and will feature keynote speaker Lauren Markham, a local educator, activist and author. The conference is for everyone who works with children and youth in grades K-12: including parents, teachers, administrators, classroom aides, school personnel, after-school program providers and the students themselves. Cost: $50 (or $10 for high school and undergraduate college students). Refreshments and lunch included. Register at https://creatingpeacefulschools.
weebly.com/upcoming-events.html or find link at http://ourpeacecenter.org. For info, call (925) 933-7850 or email margli@ourpeacecenter.org.

In conjunction with Saint Mary’s College and the Orinda-Moraga-Lafayette branch of the American Association of University Women, the Expanding Your Horizons STEAM full day conference for middle school girls on March 23 will open registration Jan. 24. This conference fills up quickly  and is limited to 200 girls in sixth to eighth grade on a “first come, first served” basis. For details and registration visit www.expandingyourhorizons.
org/conferences/AAUW
SAINTMARYS/.

OTHER
 
Many Faces of Leukemia, Lymphoma and Myeloma from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 23 in the Lafayette Library Community Room. Patients and caregivers are invited to attend this free educational program focusing on the unique issues of blood cancer patients. A panel of medical experts will discuss current treatments and emerging, exciting breakthrough therapies to treat CLL, ALL, Lymphoma and Multiple Myeloma. Please register by calling (925) 677-5041 x272 or send email to sjung@dvohmg.com.

Join Campolindo’s Academic Decathlon team’s “Through the Decades” Trivia and FUNdraising Night from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 24 in the Campo cafeteria. The evening will feature trivia, raffles, a bake sale, performances by the student music group The Cooks, and free babysitting/activities for young children. Cost: $10 at the door for raffle and trivia to support the team to make it to the state championship. Please contact CampoAcademicDecathlon@gmail.com for more info.

Meet your lap warmer at this weekend’s cat adoption event from 1 to 4 p.m. on Jan. 26 and 27, when Community Concern for Cats will be showing mellow friendly felines purrfect for these cold days and nights at Pet Food Express in Lafayette. For more information, see www.communityconcernforcats.org.

Xenophon Therapeutic Riding Center located in Orinda is offering Equine Assisted Workshops for people with early stage dementia and their care partners in collaboration with Connected Horse program which is based on research conducted through UC Davis School of Medicine and Center for Equine Health. The workshop dates are Feb.27, March 6, 13, 20, and 27. No prior horse experience is needed to participate; expect to be engaging with horses from the ground, no riding. All participants must be ambulatory and willing to participate together. There is no fee. If interested, please contact Xenophon Therapeutic Riding Center at (925) 377- 0871.

Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church’s annual Crab Feed and Dance from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 2 at 1700 School Street in Moraga. Dinner and Dance tickets are $50 and must be purchased in advance. Please call or text Thea at (925) 890-0918. The Dessert Silent Auction is back. Chicken dinner choice available by special advance order request.

Grow More Food: Home Permaculture Series with Sustainable Contra Costa from 9:30 a.m. to noon on Saturdays, starting Feb. 6 thru March 9 at Rodgers Ranch Heritage Center, 315 Cortsen Road in Pleasant Hill. Superstar gardener Marian Woodard will teach the most effective, most natural, deeply earth-centered gardening practices in this 6- week series. No matter what size your yard is, you’ll learn to be more self-sufficient, conserve water and energy, and build community with your fellow gardeners. Workshop cost is $40 each or $200 for the 6-week series. Register through http://sustainablecoco.org.

Local author Francie Low will host a book signing event for her memoir “Alive and Fixable” from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Papillion Cafe in La Fiesta Square in Lafayette on Feb. 2. Books will be available for sale or readers can bring in their personal copy for signature.  

Lamorinda Toastmasters Club meets from 7:30 to 9 p.m. every Tuesday evening at
Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, 1035 Carol Lane, Lafayette. Come and work on improving your presentation and leadership skills. Please note that this is a new location.

KPFA Radio 94.1 FM presents Robert B. Reich: The Common Good from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 6, at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way, Berkeley. Robert Reich will discuss his new book, “The Common Good,” answer questions and sign books. Hosted by Kathryn Horsley. Cost: $12 advance, $15 door. For more info see http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3918567 or call (510) 967-4495.

A lunch meeting for Sons in Retirement Lamorinda Branch 174 at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 13 at the Holy Trinity Culture Center 1700 School Street in Moraga will feature guest speaker Jill Henderson, JD. Assistant District Attorney for Fraud and Elder Abuse. For attendance and membership info, call Tyler at (925) 963-5741 or visit: www.branch174.sirinc2.org.

Free Tax preparation for the 2019 tax season is available starting in February from AARP’s Tax-Aide and United Way’s Earn It, Keep It, Save It (EKS) programs. Service is provided by volunteer tax preparers who are IRS trained and certified. EKS service is limited to those with incomes below $54,000, while Tax-Aide does not have an income limit. For Tax-Aide site information or appointments in Walnut Creek call: (925) 943-5851 for the Walnut Creek Senior Center site; (925) 405-6278 for the Walnut Creek Grace Presbyterian Church site; or (925) 979-5013 for the Walnut Creek St. Paul’s Episcopal Church site. For information on other Tax-Aide sites, call: (925) 726-3199. For information on EKS sites, call 2-1-1 or visit www.earnitkeepitsaveit.org.
 
Lafayette resident, Papa John Kiefer, will, again, offer workshops on “How to Raise Your Own Chickens.” Topics will include raising young chicks, laying hen maintenance, and sustainable coop construction. Workshops are free and will be held in Lafayette from 1 to 3:30 pm on Sundays, March 3 and 17. Reservations are required. Contact: chickenspapajohn@gmail.com. Location provided upon registration.

SENIORS

Elder Abuse Prevention Project from 10:30 a.m. to noon on Feb. 13 in the Toyon Room, Lafayette Community Center. Elder abuse can take many forms including physical, financial and emotional abuse. Do you know someone experiencing elder abuse? Are you interested in learning about available resources in Contra Costa County? The Elder Abuse Prevention Project (EAPP) team will discuss the resources available for seniors and dependent adults who may be experiencing abuse. The presentation will include speakers from the Contra Costa Family Justice Center, Contra Costa Senior Legal Services, Meals on Wheels - Diablo Valley, Employment and Human Services Department and the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office. Free.

GARDEN

Winter Rose Care Workshop at 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 26 at McDonnel Nursery, 196 Moraga Way, Orinda. Email info@mcdonnellnursery.com or call (925) 254-3713 to reserve a seat.
purchase call (925) 283-1841.