Events
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Events April 24: Apple Blossom Festival at Ives Park, Sebastopol
Posted by admin on Wed, Apr 21, 2010 at 9:44 AM
It happens every year, and we can’t figure out why: Sebastopol’s Apple Blossom Festival always takes place on the same day and at the same time as Petaluma’s Butter & Eggs Day. Must we Sonoma County residents be forced to choose? Both boast plenty of food, frivolity and fun, so it’s not a tough decision for the festivalgoer. Who really hurt are the kids in band class expected to march in both parades. After all, they’ve got to line up in Sebastopol for the 10am parade, march down Main Street, hop on a bus and drive to Petaluma, line up on Fourth Street, march through downtown and whew! All this in a hot uniform and sometimes lugging a very heavy instrument to boot! Let’s hear it for the kids when both festivals take place on Saturday, April 24. Main Street and Ives Park in Sebastopol; downtown Petaluma. 10am–5pm. Free.Gabe Meline
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Events Dec. 12: Holiday Candlelight Tour at Uptown Theater
Posted by admin on Wed, Dec 9, 2009 at 2:21 PM
Since shutting its doors in the late 1980s, the Uptown Theater in Napa has been one of those dream projects of restoration—everyone wants to see it shine like the architectural diamond it once was when it first opened in 1937, but who’s got the money? Alas, good intentions and good benefactors have recently combined to save the decaying theater, and the Uptown is slated to reopen in early 2010, with full restoration to its original art deco splendor. The job hasn’t been easy (when it closed, its ceiling fresco was covered and the large auditorium was subdivided into four smaller theaters with separate screens), but the results are reportedly beautiful. The public gets its first chance to witness the restoration when Napa County Landmarks leads its 21st annual Holiday Candlelight Tour, which begins inside the grand theater with a full presentation and Q&A with the new owners before covering vernacular residential architecture northwest of town. Fulfill your curiosity and toast to historic preservation on Saturday, Dec. 12, at the Uptown Theater. 1350 Third St., Napa. 4pm to 8pm. $30. 707.255.1836.Gabe Meline
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Events Nov. 14: Montana StreetArt at Napa Valley Art Supplies
Posted by admin on Wed, Nov 11, 2009 at 4:44 PM
For a town with only one art-supply store, Napa is certainly ahead of the curve. Who would have thought that Santa Rosa leaders would preemptively shut down a street art festival—citing concerns about encouraging vandalism—while Napa, of all places, actually gets Montana Gold to sponsor the second in a series of Montana StreetArt events? This weekend, 10 artists from Sacramento, Oakland, Berkeley, San Francisco and Napa converge on the front lawn of Napa Valley Art Supplies to work their skills with the spray can. Throughout the day, visitors can stop in and watch the progress, browse artist portfolios and nosh on barbecue, and the completed pieces will be for sale at the end of the event. At last month’s successful event, a policeman even stopped by to check out the fresh styles. Drop in and see the future of street art on Saturday, Nov. 14, at Napa Valley Art Supplies. 3250 California Blvd., Napa. 11am–5pm. Free. 707.224.2775.Gabe Meline
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Events Oct. 24: Greg Evans at the Schulz Museum
Posted by admin on Wed, Oct 21, 2009 at 2:58 PM
There are just too many questions that longtime readers of the comic strip “Luann” would have for its creator, Greg Evans, that he can’t answer them all. When will Tiffany finally get her full comeuppance? When will Luann finally clean her room? Will Puddles ever stop peeing on the floor? And when, oh when, will Aaron finally some to his senses, sweep Luann off her feet and carry her off into the sunset? Like Charlie Brown kicking the football, these things may never happen, but Evans is at least willing to discuss why. The artist appears in Santa Rosa for a special “Adult Master Class” on how to develop strong concepts and characters in comic strips this weekend, and for an hour and a half, he reveals the methods that make Luann such a success. Advance registration is required; consider it a one-day apprenticeship from one of the most popular cartoonists in the country when Evans teaches a class on Saturday, Oct. 24, at the Schulz Museum. 2301 Hardies Lane, Santa Rosa. 10am. $40. Registration required; 707.579.4452, ext. 263.Gabe Meline
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Events Billy Joe Shaver at the Rancho Nicasio
Posted by admin on Wed, Sep 30, 2009 at 11:19 AM
I thought that Billy Joe Shaver had finally settled down. Here was a man who’d cut off two fingers in a lumber mill accident, had lost his son to a heroin overdose, who’d had a heart attack—you’d think someone was trying to tell him to let his old, rowdy ways fall away. But there’s a relentless spirit inside of Shaver; the same spirit that led him to define the “outlaw country” movement by penning songs for Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash. The same spirit that led him to write the incredible album Honky Tonk Heroes. The same spirit, unfortunately, that led him into a 2007 dispute outside Papa Joe’s Texas Saloon in Lorena, Tex., which ended by shooting a man in the face. Both lived to tell the tale—one in court, and Billy Joe Shaver, outlaw extraordinaire, on Friday, Oct. 2, at the Rancho Nicasio. Town Square, Nicasio. 8:30pm. $25. 415.662.2219.Gabe Meline
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Events Aug. 20: Richard Shaw at di Rosa Preserve
Posted by admin on Wed, Aug 19, 2009 at 1:50 PM
For many people, works of visual art fall into two categories: those that look like stuff and those that don’t. Ceramicist Richard Shaw’s work falls solidly in the former. Shaw makes sculptures that very much look like stuff, so to speak. In fact, they belong to the tradition of trompe l’oeil, which literally means “fool the eye” in French. Though they appear to be assemblages of everyday material and found objects, his work is actually meticulously crafted entirely out of porcelain. They look exactly like household objects, albeit strangely arranged and grouped. He has sculpted a wedding cake bisected by an ocean liner, an artist’s sketchbook beside a skull and a series of humanoids that appear to be constructed from pencils and junk-drawer refuse. Shaw will be discussing his work as part of KQED’s “Spark! Arts Lecture Series” on Thursday, Aug. 20, with a wine and cheese reception at di Rosa Preserve. 5200 Carneros Hwy., Napa. 6:30pm. Free with reservation.Daniel Hirsch
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Events Aug. 14: Joel Grey at Book Passage
Posted by admin on Wed, Aug 12, 2009 at 11:30 AM
In the pantheon of dark musical comedies, there are few faces as memorable as the elastic pale, grinning visage of Joel Grey’s master of ceremonies in the 1972 film version of Cabaret. His performance as the Brechtian emcee of the Kit Kat Club dazzled, disturbed and earned Grey an Academy Award. Grey has also won four Tony Awards and starred in a little Broadway smash hit called Wicked. But what his high-C-note-belting fans may not know is that Grey is also an accomplished photographer. His images frequently zoom in close to oft-unexamined surfaces. In his most recent collection, Grey continues to look at things in a new way by specifically capturing low quality images on a camera phone. This week, the North Bay gets Grey showing off all his various skills. On Friday, Aug. 14, he presents his collection 1.3: Images from My Phone at Book Passage. 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera. 7pm. Free. 415.927.0960. The next night, he’ll be performing with a full orchestra on Saturday, Aug. 15, at 142 Throckmorton Theatre. 142 Throckmorton Ave., Mill Valley. 8pm. $85–$135. 415.383.9600.Dan Hirsch
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Events Aug. 8: Mike Henderson at the di Rosa Preserve
Posted by admin on Wed, Aug 5, 2009 at 12:29 PM
Plenty of comparisons have historically been made between music and painting—Bill Evans’ liner notes to Kind of Blue summarize the concept perfectly—and yet it’s not often the opportunity arises to admire an artist’s visual painting and his music at the same time. That chance comes this weekend, when abstract expressionist and blues guitarist and singer Mike Henderson appears at the di Rosa Preserve. A faculty member at UC Davis for over 30 years, Henderson works with a paintbrush the way most bluesmen bend nickel-wound strings, and openly states his goal is to reveal a painting that has more questions than answers. As a singer, Henderson is rugged and rough-edged, with a style that cries for empathy. To benefit educational programs, he and his band perform above the lake at the di Rosa in conjunction with his current new work on display in the Gatehouse Gallery. Advance tickets, including VIP seating with buffet dinner, are required when Henderson struts his stuff on Saturday, Aug. 8, at the di Rosa Preserve. 5200 Sonoma Hwy., Napa. 7pm. $50–$100. 707.226.5991.Gabe Meline
Events Aug. 5: Expunge Criminal Charges at the Sonoma County Bar Association Office
Posted by admin on Wed, Aug 5, 2009 at 12:12 PM
It was a hot summer night, and me and this country singer I was Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Events May 28-June 1: Circo Osorio at Sonoma County Fairgrounds
Posted by admin on Tue, May 26, 2009 at 6:12 PM
You’ve picked up the special coupons at area drugstores and taquerias, you’ve fielded phone calls from other parents and now it’s finally time for Circo Osorio! The big top goes up for just five short days, during which children of all ages can thrill to the wacky antics of Coconut the Clown, the daring maneuvers of tightrope walkers and trapeze artists, and the gravity-defying stunts performed by gymnasts and unicycling jugglers. Unrenewed immigration exemptions for temporary work visas are threatening smaller traveling circuses such as Circo Ososrio, a wing of the American Crown Circus, so the time is now to finally load up the kids and show them a disappearing vestige of pure entertainment. They’ll be talking about the amazing motorcycle “Globe of Death” for days after the fantastic tent show, which runs Thursday–Monday, May 28–June 1, at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds. 1350 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa. 6pm and 8pm. $15 adults; kids under 12, free. 707.592.7812.Gabe Meline
