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What to Do in Berkeley: Weekend Events Calendar July 15-17

Championship windsurfing continues at the Marina, while all-girl Shakespeare opens at Live Oak, a celebrity underground chef pops up at Local 123 and activist S. Brian Willson rides his prosthesis-friendly bike down from Oregon to push his new memoir.

When: Through Saturday, July 15

Where: Berkeley Marina

Why go: If the weather’s hot, you can sit surfside and beat the heat; if it keeps being unseasonably stormy, the action only gets better. It’s a win-win.

When: FridayJuly 15, 2011, 7:30 p.m.–9:30 p.m.

Where: , 1724 San Pablo Ave, Berkeley, CA 94702

Why go: Comfy Café Leila is a great place to kick back, and it’s BYO-friendly. Con Alma Vocal Jazz Ensemble, a six-voice group that works its rich harmonies on jazz standards, blues, bossa nova, latin, pop, and rock, will be backed by a jazz quartet.

When: Friday, July 15 and Saturday, July 16, 7 p.m.

Where: The Crucible, 1260 7th St, Oakland, CA 94607

Why go: Trained professionals play with fire in yet another amazing Crucible extravaganza of theater, industrial design and pyrotechnics. Don’t try this at home!

When: Saturday, July 16, 2011, 9 a.m.–3:45 p.m.

Where: , 1 Central Park Drive, Berkeley, CA

Why go: Learn to offset sports injuries, bum knees and other orthopedic woes – or just learn to hike while carrying more stuff – at this clinic and short hike that introduces this lower-impact hiking technique. The staff will have poles available to borrow for free during the event.

When: Saturday, July 16, 2011, 2 p.m.

Where: , 1301 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley, CA

Why go: Intelligent and family-friendly free entertainment from this all-female Shakespeare repertory company. Starting this fall, Women’s Work will go into K-12 classrooms with free workshops based on this play.

When: Saturday, July 16, 2011, 3 p.m.–5 p.m.

Where: , 2020 Addison St, Berkeley, CA

Why go: If you’ve always wanted to sing in a chorus but felt intimidated, this friendly, no-audition workshop is a place to start. Blakeslee is artistic director of an Oakland chorus that welcomes new members if you catch the choral-singing bug. Families and kids 8 and over are welcome.

Where: 1924 Cedar St, Berkeley, CA 94709 (Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall)

When: Saturday, July 16, 2011, 7 p.m.–11 p.m.

Why go: Cabasso, executive director of the Western States Legal Foundation, and research analyst Andrew Lichterman speak on “Nuclear Hiroshima to Fukushima: Confronting the Two-Headed Monster of Nuclear Weapons and Nuclear Power” on the anniversary of the 1945 nuclear test in White Sands, N.M., that changed the world.

When: Saturday: July 16, 2011, 3:30 p.m.–midnight

Where: 3105 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley, CA

Why go: LoCura and Flametal evangelize flamenco fusion with a day of music and dance. Bring your guitar for a low-cost ($10/free with concert ticket) workshop before the performance starts.

When: Saturday and Sunday, July 15-16; 7:30 p.m. Sunday, July 17, 2 p.m. Continuing through July 30.

Where: The Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave, Berkeley, CA 94703

Why go:Please be advised that this show contains theatrical portrayals of physical violence, gun violence, death, and illicit drug use, as well as very loud noises, haze, and flashing lights…” Huh, I don’t remember any of that from Andrew Lloyd Weber’s 1970s chestnut. Well, the loud noises, maybe. Director Jennifer Boesing frames this classic in a contemporary setting — “half rock concert, half guerilla theater” — as the Youth Musical Theater Company, backed by a seven-piece professional rock band, opens its latest high-caliber production on the Ashby Stage.

When: Saturday, July 16, 2011, 8 p.m.–11 p.m.

Where: Local 123, 2049 San Pablo Ave, Berkeley, CA

Why go: As Psalm 34 has it, “Taste and see!” A 10-course celebration of summer’s bounty from the off-the-grid chef who learned his chops at Greens, Citron and the Bercat de la Boqueria in Barcelona.

When: Monday, July 18, 2011, 7:30pm

Where: 1924 Cedar St, Berkeley, CA

Why go: Because didn’t you ever wonder whatever happened to that guy who was run over by the munitions train? Well, he’s back, and he’s written a book. Using leg prostheses, Willson cycles marathon distances on a specially modified bike – in fact, he’s cycling to Berkeley from his home in Oregon. He continues to protest U.S. war and policy, losing another pound of flesh, this time to the IRS, for his reluctance to fund war by paying taxes. 

Plus, you've got another chance to catch these previously featured events, all held over by popular demand: 

 has extended its run with performances Thursday, July 14, through Sunday, July 17, at the , 1834 Euclid Ave, Berkeley, CA 94709.

 will be playing daily except Mondays through July 24 at the , 2081 Addison St, Berkeley, CA 94704.

Finally, kid and adult artists should note that the city of Berkeley has extended its  to July 22. 

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nick mastick April 28, 2013 at 09:34 pm
Of all the concerns in our society, I put this just about dead last.
Steven Murphy April 17, 2013 at 02:25 am
Hmm. So I think you're telling me I need to add the countdown timers to the long list of BerkeleyRead More idiosyncrasies I need to ignore? I guess can do that. Thanks. --Murph
Alexander Sinclair Merenkov April 15, 2013 at 04:34 pm
This is very interesting. I bicycle and walk a lot around Berkeley. I think i know exactly whatRead More signal is being referred to the walk sign across Bancroft at MLK specifically will reset itself. many of the walk signals rely on induction loops which are loops placed in the ground that can detect Bicycles and Cars when the Bicycles or cars pass over them disrupting the current. You can often see these loops as they look like hexagonal saw cuts in the ground. Anyways the intersection detects traffic with these devices & if it doesn't detect anything then it assumes nothing is there and gives right of way to the major throughway in this case being MLK. So the reason the counter to cross Bancroft resets itself is totally logical because the intersection suspects no one is there and since that side of Bancroft is more or less residential there would be no point in setting that intersection to a timer where it gives priority to one light then the other & switches based on that & not on wether it detects any bicycles or cars passing over the induction loops. Also this is Berkeley and we are rather quirky and always have been so nobody exactly fallows the rules or knows about them its funny how simple crossing the street really is but its anything but simple in reality. Many people choose to jay walk if its safe to do so, this is typical on Shattuck at alston especially and makes sense for efficiency but isn't very safe or lawful. If the hand is flashing/Counting down dont cross!
Janet Scrivener April 6, 2013 at 11:15 pm
Actually, I just saw and spoke to him about an hour ago - the wire sculpture man. He'd moved downRead More Solano a few blocks, opposite Safeway. I asked him if the police had moved him off Colusa. He said he didn't want to talk about it. He wasn't in a very good mood. I told him that people had asked about him on a web local news site. He said, "People want to know how I'm doing? I need a car. I need somewhere to put my stuff in. To get off the streets. I don't want to sit around starving in public." I thought to myself, "Who do I think I am? A Girl Scout leader? Pollyana?" I realized my upbeat, cheery tone was really not what was needed just then. I said I couldn't help him with a car. "People want to know how I'm doing?" he said again. "Tell them that." I said, "I will." I turned to walk away, knowing only too well that the real needs that exist, yes, right here in our lovely, excellent neighborhood, are great and once you start giving you'll find it's difficult to get out of. He did say, "Thank you," as I left. He doesn't look like he's starving. But he's right about being out in public more than he would like to be. As a reasonable human being, I have to ask myself, what sort of person finds himself in that position? Ex con? Mental illness? Mind-blown Vet? Drugs? Alcohol? Incapacitated by an accident? An unforgivable act? Some combination of the above? Jesus did say, "The poor you shall have always with you." What would you do?
P. Park April 4, 2013 at 03:29 am
I agree Shattuck, especially right in front of the fire station is the scariest street around.
Mary April 3, 2013 at 06:45 pm
I am not disabled, but I am terrified of crossing streets nowadays because there are too manyRead More careless and aggressive drivers who act is if red lights, speed limits, and crosswalks either don't exist or don't apply to them. Shattuck in particular has become a nightmare to cross. Sometimes I have counted over 30 cars going by before one stops for the crosswalk. What we need is far more law enforcement - the tickets written would more than pay for the cost of hiring extra officers.