ART

 

Art show at Orinda Books. October features the paintings of Cleo Vilett, an East Bay native who brings her passion for the natural world into her paintings. She works outside as much as possible and is particularly interested in representing how people use outdoor spaces and the intersection of urban and wild landscapes. With degrees in marine biology and science illustration, she has also worked on many large-scale murals, illustrations, and sculptures for natural science institutions. www.orindabooks.com/artist/october-features-paintings-cleo-vilett

 

Valley Art Gallery Announces New Exhibition: "Thinking Art" - through Nov. 6.  From a flock of intriguing abstracts to a covey of Mount Diablos - our new show, "Thinking Art," offers a lot to think about. More than 300 thoughtful works representing the best by the best of East Bay artists covering a wide array of styles, media, motifs, and price points. Open Tuesday - Saturday 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.  Valley Art Gallery: 1661 Botelho Drive, Suite 110, Walnut Creek www.valleyartgallery.org; (925) 935-4311

 

Eric Carlstrom is once again exhibiting his art at Main Street Arts in Martinez from Oct. 22 to Nov. 21. Carlstrom is a longtime member of the Pinole Artisans and runs their Pinole Artisans Gallery.  Carlstrom and his art truly embody the love of tattoo art.  Reception on Oct. 30 from 3-6 p.m. https://pinoleartisans.weebly.com/eric-carlstrom.html, Main Street Arts, 613 Main Street, Martinez, 925-269-8049, www.mainstreetarts.net

 

THEATRE

 

Diablo Ballet's 28th Season opens with a new full-length production of Julia Adam's smash holiday hit, "The Nutcracker Suite," which performs Nov. 12 - 13 at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek. For in theatre or virtual tickets, call 925-943-SHOW (7469) or visit www.lesherartscenter.org or www.diabloballet.org.

 

LITERATURE

 

Art Embraces Words next LIVE program is outdoors beginning at 12 noon on Saturday Oct. 30 at the Lafayette Library & Learning Center Amphitheater, 3491 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Lafayette. All COVID-19 precautions observed for your safety. A reception with light refreshments follows the program. While costumes are optional for our LIVE October 30 Halloween Theme, we invite you to appear as your favorite Literary or Artistic character. Prizes will be awarded. Be there to see which playful characters show up! The following artistic and literary celebrities will be present in costume: Gustave Courbet (1819-1877), Dorothy Parker (1893-1967) and Yayoi Kusama, 90+ years and going strong. Find out who else inspires lovers of literature and art by attending.

 

Saint Mary's College Creative Writing Reading Series with Aria Aber. Monday, Oct. 18, 7 to 8 p.m. Online https://stmarys-ca.zoom.us/j/95647742538?pwd=Ulg1Nk9hRVBXSlRYTURGOG9INmV0Zz09. Aria Aber's debut collection "Hard Damage" (University of Nebraska Press, 2019) won the Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Poetry and a Whiting Award. Her poems are forthcoming or have appeared in The New Yorker, New Republic, Kenyon Review, The Yale Review, and elsewhere. A graduate from the NYU MFA in Creative Writing, where she was the Writers in Public Schools Fellow, she holds awards and fellowships from Kundiman and the Wisconsin Institute of Creative Writing. She was the 2020 Li Shen Visiting Writer at Mills College and is currently a Wallace Stegner Fellow in Poetry at Stanford University.

 

OTHER

 

Hospice East Bay is proud to be celebrating its 35th annual Tree of Lights! For 35 years these ceremonies have provided a way for families and friends to honor their loved ones and find solace in the symbolism of light as the names of their loved ones are read. The Tree of Lights ceremonies will begin on Nov. 4 and run through Dec. 12. Lafayette Tuesday, Nov. 16, 5:30 p.m.; Orinda Saturday, Dec. 4, 4:30 p.m.; Moraga Sunday, Dec. 12, 5:30 p.m. www.hospiceeastbay.org/tol

 

Bay Area Kids' Book Fair - East Bay Edition, Dublin. Sunday, Oct. 17, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Bay Area Kids' Book Fair - East Bay Edition - Free event with authors, illustrators, publishers, booksellers and educational programs. Meet and greet Pete the Cat and Elephant & Piggie. Storytelling by authors and doctors from sponsor Stanford Children's Health. Free admission and free parking. Face covering required for admission. Shannon Community Center, 11600 Shannon Ave., Dublin. www.BayAreaKidsBookFair.com

 

Are you an empty nester, coming out of the pandemic with an empty social calendar?  Or perhaps a retired couple looking for something new?  Just a few minutes from Lamorinda, at the Elks club on Creekside Drive in Walnut Creek, you can kick up your heels to a live band the first and third Fridays of the month with the Merry Mixers of Contra Costa.  Merry Mixers, a social club that welcomes all adults, has met regularly since 1958 to dance, dine, and nurture friendships old and new.  They'd love to meet you!  Vaccination proof and masks are currently required, but that puts no damper on the socializing. For more information, check out the Merrymixers.life website. In addition: Lafayette Senior Services reported on Oct. 5 that the Wednesday Community Center Tea Dance has been suspended indefinitely due to COVID-19.  However, some former Tea Dance attendees encourage others to join them for dancing and socializing with Merry Mixers of Contra Costa.

 

KPFA Radio 94.1 FM presents Chris Hedges: "OUR CLASS, Trauma & Transformation in an American Prison" on Thursday, Nov. 18, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., at Online webinar, 1929 Martin Luther King Jr Way, Berkeley. Chris Hedges will discuss his new book, "OUR CLASS, Trauma and Transformation in an American Prison," and answer questions. Host Mickey Huff. Cost: Suggested Donation $5-$20.  For more info see www.eventbrite.com/e/chris-hedges-our-class-tickets-170066552637.

 

Grow food in indoor towers to avoid the increasingly inhospitable climate outside. The local Green Sofa Cinema Series explores this innovative approach to climate change Wednesday, Oct. 27, 7 to 8 p.m., with a Zoom discussion of the film "Vertical Farms" and a talk by local Chef/Teacher/Activist Cindy Gershen, a vertical farming expert. Watch "Vertical Farms" free on YouTube (https://bit.ly/3EEn9Rj) before Oct. 27; and register now for the Zoom event at https://bit.ly/3hTSDcb

 

Friends Corner Book Shop Lafayette Half Price Sale. Saturday, Oct. 23, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The shop sells gently used books to support the collection, programs, and services of the Lafayette Library and Learning Center. New volunteers are also welcome. Average time commitment is two hours per week. Express your interest to friendscornerbookshop@gmail.com. www.lllcf.org/friends-book-shop.

 

St. Paul's Concert Series is excited to present Organist John Renke in a live performance. This performance will be broadcast online from St. Paul's Episcopal Church on Saturday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m.  There will be limited seating for in-person attendance. Ticket registration www.stpaulswc.org/concert-series. St. Paul's Episcopal Church - In Person vaccine proof and masks required, 1924 Trinity Avenue, Walnut Creek.

 

The giant fall book sale sponsored by the Friends of Moraga Library will be held on Saturday, Oct. 16 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Moraga Library (1500 St. Mary's Road).  Books, CDs and DVDs in every category will be sold at prices ranging from 25 cents to $3. Beginning at 1 p.m., a bag can be purchased for $5 and filled with all the books it can hold. Proceeds from the sale are used to fund library materials and programs.  Please note that face masks and social distancing will be required.

 

GARDEN

 

Lafayette Garden Club Oct. 14 meeting will start at 10 a.m. In the Veterans Memorial Bldg. 3780 Mt. Diablo Blvd. Lafayette. The Guest Speaker John R. Fike will give us a biological insight into gardening issues in his presentation "Friend or Foe." Our gardens teem with organisms, Fike provides a snapshot image of just some of the fascinating populations that exist in the soil around us, along with the roles they play in maintaining a healthy ecosystem. After retiring from his career at UCSF Fike became involved in the Master Gardener program and is active in the Ask a Master Gardener program. There is no charge to attend. For details please contact: LGCMembershipCommittee@gmail.com