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Around Berkeley
✊🏿 The region’s first and longest running Juneteenth festival returns to South Berkeley for its 38th year with the theme, “What We Gonna Do?” The daylong event includes two stages featuring music, spoken word, and dance with performances by the Dynamic Dede Simon, Bobby Young Project, Twilight Brass Band, Nzuri Soul, Samba Funk, the Good News Choir, and the Larry Vann Band, with a hands-on art Kid Zone, STEM pop-ups, Slime Bar, Lady Bug De Clown, bounce houses, and the Prescott Family Circus. Sunday, June 15, 11 a.m.- 7 p.m. Adeline Street and Alcatraz Avenue. FREE
🎨 The opening reception of the Brower Center’s annual juried local exhibition, Object [Im]Permanence, features tasty treats by Gather and the first look at works by five artists challenging structural norms of disposability and their impact on the planet: Irman Arcibal, Rachel Leibman, Amy Yoshitsu, Tara K Daly, and Monique Sonoquie. Thursday, June 12, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Brower Center. FREE (with registration)
⚖️ A crusading attorney known for taking on polluters and pharmaceutical companies, Don Arbors sometimes draws musical inspiration from his legal cases, work he’s presenting in his return to the Back Room with the Bay Area All-Stars featuring ace keyboardist John R. Burr, dependably funky bassist Curtis Ohlson, veteran drummer Kevin Hayes, well-traveled guitarist Tal Morris, and vocalist Ryann Morris. Thursday, June 12, 8 p.m. $25
🍵 Blue Willow Teaspot will hold its first live music showcase this Friday. The show will feature Blue Willow employee Celia Rath’s band “Bad Camper” and the Bolinas-based folk duo “Good Friends.” Tea-infused mocktails will be available for purchase. Friday, June 13, 7 p.m., Blue Willow Teaspot. $15-$25 (RSVP recommended)
🔥 Berkeley-based human rights organization Climate Rights International is producing “Degrees of Hope and Panic,” a new staged reading that follows several college students as they “confront the reality of living in a world on fire — both literally and metaphorically,” according to the show’s description. Friday, June 13, 7 p.m. The Marsh. Tickets are pay-what-you-can.
🇵🇹 In the early aughts it seemed like Portugal had a deep supply of brilliant young fado singers reinvigorating the tradition, but it’s been a while since a new voice like singer, composer and producer, Mariana Arroja emerged, weaving together harp, jazz harmonies, and Brazilian influences while offering a preview of her upcoming debut album O meu nome é ninguém (My Name is No One). Friday, June 13, 8 p.m. The Freight. $34
🎥 Berkeley’s Movies in the Park series continues with a screening of Disney’s Moana 2 at James Kenney Park. We recommend bringing a picnic blanket, layers, mosquito repellant and a flashlight. Friday, June 13, 8:40 p.m. 1720 8th Street. FREE
🏳️⚧️ Caro De Robertis discusses their new book So Many Stars: an Oral History of Trans, Nonbinary, Gender Queer, and Two-Spirit People of Color, with author Kate Schatz. Saturday, June 14, 3 p.m. Tarea Hall Pittman South Branch Library. FREE
🧑🎨 ACCI Gallery’s new exhibit “The Gray Area” tries to “highlight the power of the grayscale in storytelling, emotion, and expression,” according to the artist co-op. The free show opens Saturday, June 14 and runs through Sunday, July 13. An opening reception is planned for 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 14. (RSVP)
🛍️ Summer on Solano will feature live music, special activities at many Solano Avenue shops, and family-friendly entertainment, including free balloon art, face-painting, a trackless kiddie “train” ride and a magic show. (Solano Avenue will remain open to vehicle traffic.) Saturday, June 14, 5-9 p.m. FREE
🎶 A power trio led by drummer Jon Krosnick, whose day job includes analyzing voter data as director of the Political Psychology Research Group at Stanford University, Charged Particles features keyboardist Murray Low and bassist Aaron Germain on a fascinating repertoire honed via collaborations with giants such as trumpeter Randy Brecker and reed wizard Paul McCandless. Saturday, June 14, 7 p.m. Jupiter. FREE
🎹 Berkeley cellist Isaac Pastor-Chermak’s only local recital of the summer presents the program “Midcentury Modern” with pianists Alison Lee and Miles Graber, playing a series of duo sonatas by Elliott Carter, Bohuslav Martinu, and Francis Poulenc. Saturday, June 14, 7:30 p.m. Berkeley Piano Club. $35
🇧🇷 Brazilian vocalist Sarah Cabral, a former Bay Area resident who studied at the California Jazz Conservatory and now lives in Brooklyn, returns for a rare Berkeley performance at the Hillside Club with Brasilia-born, Berkeley-reared acoustic guitarist Ian Faquini, mandolinist Eva Scow and Brazilian percussionist Alex Calatayud, performing her luminous repertoire of bossa nova and beyond. Saturday, June 14, 7:30 p.m. $15-$30
🎹 Veteran pianist and longtime KCSM DJ Dick Conte returns to the California Jazz Conservatory for the 20th Annual Jazz Piano Scholarship Benefit Concert to perform with saxophonist Steve Heckman, bassist Steve Webber and drummer Jimmy Hobson, and to announce this year’s scholarship winner (who will join the band on stage to perform an original composition). Saturday, June 14, 8 p.m. California Jazz Conservatory. $25
🎤 The indefatigably creative composer, vocalist and electronics wiz Amy X Neuburg presents her new work “Come to My House,” an immersive 40-minute installation featuring eight songs about her domicile projected in eight channels of sound emanating from eight pieces of sculpture. Saturday-Sunday, June 14-15, 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. This Here Space. $20 (10 people per show)
🎻 A multi-generational cast of more than 70 cellists celebrates the 90th birthday of acclaimed Berkeley-based cellist and mentor Bonnie Hampton, who has played a key role in maintaining Berkeley’s reputation as a hotbed of cello creativity. Sunday, June 15, 2 p.m. Crowden School. Tickets are sold out, but free lawn seating is available
🎲 Be an emerging game designer’s guinea pig for a new board game! Victory Point Cafe holds its board game playtesting event on most first Wednesdays and third Mondays. It costs $12 per person, but the fee is waived if you purchase at least two items from the cafe. Monday, June 16, 6 p.m.–11 p.m. $12
📚 Berkeley physician, essayist and activist Marc Sapir celebrates the release of his new collection of essays I’ll Fly Away: Stories About Amazing Disabled Elders, exploring the persistent nature of the human spirit. Wednesday, June 18, 7 p.m. Pegasus Books Downtown. FREE
☀️ Alameda County Health and a handful of other county agencies are hosting a Summer Solstice Celebration for homeless community members and their allies to eat a free catered lunch with music and participate in a raffle. The event aims to highlight the “strength and resilience of people experiencing homelessness,” according to a press release. Wednesday, June 18, 12 p.m. Hope Center, 2012 Berkeley Way. FREE
🍴 The Center for Food, Faith and Justice and Berkeley’s public health division is holding a gardening and cooking class series on Wednesdays through June 25. You’ll learn to grow your own fruits and veggies and how to improve your culinary skills using your homegrown produce. 1640 Stuart St. FREE (RSVP)
Beyond Berkeley
🧗 For the past three years, the Black Rock Climbing Collective, a group of climbers who aim to change the perception of climbing being a white-dominated sport and introduce climbing to more Black families and their children, has celebrated Juneteenth with an event showcasing Black vendors through an artist’s market, and encouraging the climbing community to come together. There is free admission for first-time climbers at Pacific Pipe Climbing Gym, and discounted passes are available for non-members. Saturday, June 14, 3 p.m.—7 p.m., 2140 Mandela Pkwy, Oakland. free to $20
🏏 One more sport is coming to the Oakland Coliseum this month. Starting on June 12, Major League Cricket will kick off its inaugural season in Oakland and on the West Coast. The San Francisco Unicorns will play their home games at the Coliseum. Thursday, June 12 through Wednesday, June 18, 6 p.m. 7000 S. Coliseum Way. $35-$400
🎶 Woodminster Summer Musicals in Oakland’s Joaquin Miller Park has delighted theater fans for over five decades. This year’s season will kick off with the production of Anastasia, which follows the story of Anya as she discovers that she is the last surviving child of the Russian royal family. Currently, the nonprofit theater is asking for support to replace the lighting system. Friday, June 13 through Sunday, June 22. 3540 Sanborn Dr., Okland. $13-$40
🍺 Live music, cold beer, and tasty wine, along with activities for the whole family, are just some of the fun you can expect at the 11th Annual Montclair Beer, Wine & Music Festival. Brazilian band Dos Four, Namorados Da Lua (NDL), Khalil Abdullah Quartet, and a special performance by the lead cast from Woodminster Summer Musicals will be gracing the stage. Saturday, June 14, 12 p.m.—6 p.m. Montclair Village, Oakland. FREE
🌊 The Othering and Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley is home to a dance and theater troupe called The Belonging Resident Company. Sarah Crowell, the troupe’s director, is leading a Rising Seas Collaborative Movement Workshop where you can practice movement and theater exercises, share your stories about climate change and see those stories literally played back through improvisational theater. Plan ahead, as only 30 spots are available. Saturday, July 26, 3 p.m., Rhythmix Cultural Works, Alameda. FREE (RSVP)
The Oaklandside’s Arts and Community reporter Azucena Rasilla contributed to the Beyond Berkeley list.
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.
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