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Around Berkeley
🎶 Rock and Roll and Blues Hall of Famer Elvin Bishop will bring his Big Fun Trio — which consists also of pianist-guitarist Bob Welsh and Willy Jordan on cajón and vocals — to Berkeley. Saturday, July 13, 8 p.m. Freight and Salvage. $20-$45 (RSVP)
🪑 Starting Thursday, July 11, the city of Berkeley plans to host weekly chair yoga classes. The free one-hour classes, which are open to yogis of all experience levels, begin at 11 a.m. Equipment is provided. Call 510-981-5350 to reserve a spot. Walk-ins will be accepted as space allows. West Berkeley Family Wellness Center. FREE (RSVP)
🎸 A supergroup of dispersed but longtime collaborators, Damn Skippy is an indecently grooving quartet that reunites the Berkeley tandem of drummer Scott Amendola and guitarist John Schott with Berkeley-reared Brooklyn guitarist Will Bernard — three fourths of the near-legendary band T.J. Kirk — and Tony Award-winning bassist Todd Sickafoose (who orchestrated the Broadway hit Hadestown). Thursday, July 11, 8 p.m. The Back Room. $20
🌈 The city’s summer Movies in the Park series continues with a showing of the colorful animated film Trolls Band Together at Strawberry Creek Park. The movie won’t start until 8:35 p.m., but the city recommends you get there at least 30 minutes prior to secure a nice spot and set up blankets, sleeping bags and low-back beach chairs. Friday, July 12, 8:35 p.m. Strawberry Creek Park. FREE
🎥 A feature-length documentary by Mimi Chakarova, The Apology investigates the dismantling of unincorporated Russell City in 1963, when Alameda County and the City of Hayward removed 1,400 mostly African American and Latino residents from their homes to make way for an office park. A Q&A with producer Aisha Knowles and Chakarova, who also directed the 2011 investigation into human trafficking The Price of Sex, follows the screening, which is part of the Tarea Hall Pittman Social Justice Series honoring Ms. Pittman’s social justice activism. Saturday, July 13, 2 p.m. Tarea Hall Pittman South Branch. FREE
🎷 Jam to free soul, funk, jazz and R&B music by The Cool Operators and Farenhyte5150 at the city’s Funk and Soul Fest at Ohlone Park’s softball field. There will be food and drinks available for purchase and a zone for children. Saturday, July 13, 2-5 p.m. Ohlone Park. FREE
💋 Berkeley Playhouse is performing the “Mean Girls” musical based on Tina Fey’s iconic 2004 comedy of the same name. The production features a cast of 13- to 18-year-olds and is the playhouse’s “most elevated youth production of the year, according to director Melissa Rivera Simpson. July 13-21. $30 (RSVP)
🧑🎨 ACCI Gallery’s upcoming show, “Mixed Doubles,” features 35 local artists “combining their mediums to create new and inventive works of art,” according to organizers. Judy Rosenfield curated it. The show kicks off at 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 13, with an opening reception. On view through Aug. 10. (RSVP)
🎶 Los Angeles guitarist Adam Moezinia, who’s worked with jazz masters such as Freddy Cole, Mike LeDonne, Cécile McLorin Salvant and George Coleman, makes his Jupiter debut with his Folk Element Trio, a combo designed to explore jazz’s singular relationship with folk traditions ranging across West Africa, South Africa, the Caribbean, the UK and Appalachia. Saturday, July 13, 7 p.m. Jupiter. FREE
🇧🇷 Created by guitarist and Grupo Falsa Baiano co-founder Brian Moran, Oakland Samba Revue features a cast of stellar vocalists and top jazz and Latin jazz players laying down Samba de Gafieira, funk and forró with tight horn arrangements and intoxicating grooves. Saturday, July 13, 8 p.m. Ashkenaz. $20-$25
🇫🇷 Rather than distributing cake, Babette launches its first Bastille Day Picnic and Pig Roast (with vegetarian options), a feast accompanied by live music from Berkeley clarinet guru Ben Goldberg’s trio playing Thelonious Monk and Berkeley pianist Flora Sullivan’s trio, which holds down Babette’s weekend brunch dates, playing standards. Sunday, July 14, 12-6 p.m. Babette. $39
🎤 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 roundtable 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, 1-6 p.m. La Peña Cultural Center.
🌎 Composer Jim Scott will present his “The Year to Save the Earth.” Described as a “musical and multimedia experience” celebrating the beauty and fragility of the planet, there will be jazz and world music-influenced songs, projected images and optimistic poetry. Sunday, July 14, 1:30 p.m. Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, Kensington. $25 suggested donation
📚 Oakland author Tomas Moniz discusses his newly released novel, All Friends are Necessary, and joins a panel discussion on the themes of friendship and the Bay Area with local authors Lauren Parker, Ariel Gore and K Switzer. Tuesday, July 16, 6 p.m. Tarea Hall Pittman South Branch. FREE
🎶 The Berkeley Public Library’s In The Stax live music series continues with Single Origin Catnip, a recently forged duo from Monterey Bay featuring Sej and Alyssa, who describe their music as existential folk, genderqueer tea party, void gazing, chaotic good and audio snacks. Tuesday, July 16, 6 p.m. North Branch. FREE
🎭 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. Read our Q&A with Havlan. Through Sunday, July 14. 4 p.m. John Hinkel Park Amphiteatre. FREE (Donations welcome)
🎨 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.
🍓 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
Beyond Berkeley
🛍️ Last month’s inaugural Prescott Night Market had over 2,000 visitors, most vendors sold out, and the market raised $6,500 from beer sales to help support Bandaloop, the artistic program housed in West Oakland. For this month’s market, there will be 29 vendors selling desserts, juices, smoothies and more. This and next month’s market coincide with the Oakland Ballers home games. Thursday, July 11, Aug. 15, Sept. 5, and Oct. 3, 4 p.m.-8 p.m. 1620 18th Street, Oakland.
🎥 “Reflections on Lake Merritt” is a documentary collaboration between filmmaker Brandon Jourdan and East Bay Yesterday’s Liam O’Donoghue. The doc “promises to be a poignant and insightful film that not only celebrates the beauty and diversity of Lake Merritt but also addresses the profound social and environmental issues facing Oakland and similar urban areas globally.” The film includes commentary from locals like former librarian-turned-author Dorothy Lazard, Katie Noonan from the Rotary Nature Center Friends, Corrina Gould from The Confederated Villages of Lisjan and others. The duo has a sold-out event at Camron-Stanford House this Wednesday. If you didn’t get tickets for the in-person event, the Rotary Nature Center Friends and Brandon Jourdan will host an online event this Friday. Friday, July 12, 7 p.m. RSVP to get the Zoom link
🌮 The Temescal Street Fair returns with many fun activities for the whole family. The festival will include local food, expanded outdoor dining, vendors, works by local artists and three different stages for live music, including Cardboard People, Kev Choice, Los Bahianatos, MacArthur Maze, Merhawi Tewelda, Namorados da Lua and Samba Funk. TURFinc will also host a dance battle, celebrating its 12th anniversary and the King of Turf dance competition. The street fair also coincides with Nosh’s first food festival, at Temescal Brewing (4115 Telegraph Ave.) from noon to 4 p.m., which features some of our favorite East Bay pop-ups, including Tacos Mama Cuca and Asúkar. Saturday, July 13, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Telegraph Avenue between 45th and 51st Streets, Oakland. FREE
🎞️ 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. Through July 20. General admission is $16.
🎶 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. 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
🖼️ “Calli” is a word derived from the Nahuatl language in Central Mexico 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. Oakland Museum of California. $6 plus museum admission
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.