Never miss local events! Sign up for Berkeleyside’s arts and culture newsletter, The Scene. And check out our roundup of affordable things to do anytime in Berkeley.
🎨 Berkeley artist John Turner’s “Stackables” — totem sculptures featuring an assortment of quirky pop culture items — are on view at the Hiersoux Gallery. His painted photographs, drawings, abstracts and collages will also be on display. Check the gallery’s website for hours or make an appointment before you go. 437 Colusa Avenue, Kensington. Through August 4.
🇺🇲 There will be no Berkeley Marina fireworks show on Thursday, July 4, so we’re compiled a handy list of celebrations going on in the East Bay, including in Oakland, El Cerrito, Albany and Richmond. (Take note of road closures in the Berkeley and Oakland Hills.)
🎨 If you’re looking for a place to beat the heat, the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive will be open on July 4. Since the holiday falls on a First Thursday, admission to its gallery is free all day.
🎭 The Actors Ensemble of Berkeley is performing Shakespeare’s beloved gossipy comedy “Much Ado About Nothing,” but with a modern twist. The production, directed by Glenn Havlan, is set in the 21st century and swaps some gender roles. The free shows usually take place on weekends, but there will be an extra show at 4 p.m. on July 4. Read our Q&A with Havlan. Through Sunday, July 14, 4 p.m. John Hinkel Park Amphiteatre. FREE (Donations welcome)
🎸 Though Berkeley-reared guitarist Will Bernard has maintained a steady presence in the Bay Area since moving to Brooklyn two decades ago, this is his first Jupiter gig in seven years, a Biblical passage of time that he’s making up for with a cast of friends equally invested in creating nasty, greasy grooves cut with a wry jazz sensibility. Friday, July 5, 7-10 p.m. Jupiter. FREE
🎶 Bassist Sam Grisman was weaned on the timeless old-time music inspired musical conversations between his father, mandolin legend David Grisman, and the Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia, an acoustic dialogue that he’s lovingly reimagined with his quintet featuring drummer Chris J. English, guitarist/vocalist Logan Ledger, guitarist Henry Moser and banjo maestro Victor Furtado. Saturday, July 6, 8 p.m. Freight & Salvage. $40-$45
🌄 The Berkeley Path Wanderers Association is holding one of its signature sunset hikes. The 6-mile hike, led by Tamara Gurin, will begin at UC Berkeley’s North Gate, head up steep stairways, and reach the viewpoint on Fire Trail in time to watch the sun set. You’re recommended to bring extra layers, headlamps or flashlights, hiking poles and water. Note: this event has been cancelled. Sunday, July 7, 7 p.m. FREE
🎤 Richard Leiter & Friends return to Pegasus on Solano for the monthly edition of Jazz Stories, an ongoing series featuring tales about the artists who created the improvisation-laced 20th century art form that influenced not only music around the world, but cinema, graphic arts and dance. Monday, July 8, 7 p.m. FREE (registration required)
🎹 Blues/jazz pianist Sam Rudin is the genial proprietor of the Back Room, Berkeley’s invaluable living room-like venue, and once a month he books himself for a Sam’s Corner gig with a new configuration, like this unusual trio featuring Dave Anderson, the Jaco Pastorius-trained principal bassist of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, and pedal steel guitar expert Dave Easley, who’s known for keeping company with Brian Blade, Ruthie Foster, and Peter Rowan. Monday, July 8, 7:30 p.m. The Back Room. $20/$25
🍝 Longtime Elmwood children’s book author Aimee Lucido celebrates the release of her new Mavisu Demirağ-illustrated picture book Pasta Pasta Lotsa Pasta in conversation with Northern California author Lisa Frenkel Riddiough. Tuesday, July 9, 6:30-8 p.m. Mrs. Dalloway’s Books. FREE (with registration)
🎷 The California Jazz Conservatory’s Wednesday night jam session at Jupiter continues to attract a throng of musicians, some excellent and some aspiring. Wednesday, July 10, 7-10 p.m. Jupiter. FREE
☀️ With Tilden Park closed due to the heat wave, it’s a good time to check out one of the 21 self-guided walking tours highlighted in Berkeley residents Robert Johnson and Janet Byron’s Berkeley Walks ($22) and learn about the city’s diverse architecture, unusual gardens and secret pathways and parks. There are also some free walking tours available for download on their website. Read our Q&A with the guidebook’s authors. Remember to stay hydrated if you go out!
🍓 When Strawberry Creek Park was built in the 1980s on an abandoned rail yard, its centerpiece, a section of daylighted creek, marked a watershed moment (pardon the pun) in Berkeley’s environmental history. Today, it’s a popular place to hang out or attend the occasional live outdoor concert. Plan ahead: There are upcoming concerts planned from 2 to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 27, and Sunday, July 28. We recommend stopping by the cozy Hidden Cafe while you’re there. Open daily, 6 a.m.-10 p.m. FREE
🚗 Writer-performer-director Don Reed will present his solo show The DMV, in which he impersonates eight characters as they impatiently wait in line. Through July 19. The Marsh Berkeley. $25-$100 (RSVP)
🍿 Walking through Berkeley and the Movies, the exhibition on view at the Berkeley Historical Society & Museum, is a decidedly bittersweet experience. Modest and low-tech in presentation but packed with information and historical photos of the long-shuttered movie palaces and more recently departed theaters, it traces the rise and fall of Berkeley’s deeply consequential love affair with film. Through September 21. Thursday-Saturday, 1-4 p.m. Berkeley Historical Society & Museum. FREE
🎤 Plan ahead: La Peña is holding a benefit for displaced families in Palestine, Sudan and the Congo. The event, “Fusion of Nations,” will feature live performances by DJ Ari B, Bomba Rebelde, Amihan, Alyssa Tha G, MC Pauze and Equipto. A live podcast round-table will feature speakers including Maisa Morar from the Palestinian Feminist Collective, and Haneen Sidahmed of the Sudan Tapes Archive. Presale tickets are $10 and cost more at the door. Sunday, July 14, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. La Peña Cultural Center.
Beyond Berkeley
⚾ Sports fanatics, rejoice — Oakland Sports Unity Day is coming. For the price of a single $30 ticket, you can see the Oakland Spiders face off against the Portland Nitro in ultimate frisbee, the Pioneer League’s Oakland Ballers take on the Yolo Highwheelers, and the Oakland Roots duel with Louisville City FC. The Ballers’ first pitch is at 1:05 p.m. at Raimondi Park, the Spiders game starts at 5 p.m. at Fremont High School, and the Roots game kicks off at 7 p.m. at Cal State University, East Bay’s Pioneer Stadium. Saturday, July 6. Multiple locations. $30 (RSVP)
🎹 Pianist Laurence Hobgood and violinist Matthew Szemela first connected roughly a decade ago and they quickly recognized a musical connection, an ability to seamlessly play off of one another. Hobgood is also a composer and producer and has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the White House, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Tanglewood, Hollywood Bowl, and the Sydney Opera House. Szemela moves across musical genres and has performed around the world and has recorded with a variety of artists including Jay-Z, Beyonce, Rihanna, Savion Glover, Sting, Lana Del Rey, Josh Groban, Placido Domingo, Bob Weir, and Olivia Newton John. Sunday, July 7, 5 p.m. Piedmont Piano Company, 1728 San Pablo Avenue, Oakland. $20 (RSVP)
🖼️ “Calli” is a word derived from the Nahuatl language that signifies the essence of home, family, and lineage. A new exhibit at OMCA, Calli: The Art of Xicanx Peoples, explores those topics and more through intergenerational, feminist, queer and Xicanx-Indigenous artworks. The exhibit includes an adobe Mesoamerican stylized temple installation from rafa esparza, a border-focused installation from Consuelo Jimenez Underwood that addresses issues such as land commodification, militarization, dehumanization and ecological impacts, and Melanie Cervantes’ soft sculpture installation of the Aztec moon goddess, Coyolxauhqui, among other works. Through Jan. 25, 2025. Oakland Museum of California. $6 plus museum admission
🎶 Puerto Rican reggaetón superstar Don Omar gained fame and popularity in the early 2000s. He plays Rico Santos in the Fast & Furious franchise. The singer has been battling cancer and recently underwent successful surgery to treat it. He is kicking off the second leg of his Back to Reggatón tour here in Oakland. Wednesday, Aug. 7, 8 p.m., 7000 S Coliseum Way, Oakland. $65-$180
🎞️ The Fraenkel Film Festival, an 11-night celebration held at the Roxie Theater in San Francisco to celebrate the Fraenkel Gallery’s 45th anniversary, will showcase many landmark films projected in their original 35mm formats. The films were curated by Fraenkel Gallery artists, including photographer Richard Misrach and artist Martine Gutierrez, who both have Berkeley ties. July 9 through July 20. General admission is $16.
If there’s an event you’d like us to consider for this roundup, email us at the-scene@berkeleyside.org. If there’s an event that you’d like to promote on our calendar, you can use the self-submission form on our events page.
Nosh Editor Tovin Lapan and The Oaklandside’s Arts and Community reporter Azucena Rasilla contributed to this list.
more to do in berkeley
Affordable things to do in Berkeley any day of the week
From farmers markets to trivia nights, we put together a roundup of events and activities held regularly in Berkeley.