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Around Berkeley
🎻 Berkeley storyteller Alan Bern will be reading from his book In The Pace Of The Path. The reading will be accompanied by music from cellist Gael Alcock, who will perform Johann Sebastian Bach’s Fourth Cello Suite in memory of the late KPFA host Larry Bensky. Thursday, June 27, 6:30 pm Pegasus Books Downtown. FREE
🏳️🌈 The Downtown Berkeley Association is holding a Pride Variety Show. Hosted by Nitrix Oxide and Papi Churro, the family-friendly show will include drag queens, vendors and more. Friday, June 28, 4 -7 pm Downtown Berkeley BART Plaza. FREE
🎬 The city’s Movies in the Park series returns this Friday with a screening of “Top Gun: Maverick.” The exhilarating action film, featuring Tom Cruise, starts at 8:35 pm, but you’re advised to get there 30 minutes before to set up blankets, sleeping bags and low-back beach chairs. Friday, June 28, 8:35 pm Live Oak Park. FREE
👞 510 Hikersa group of Black hikers aiming to make underrepresented groups feel more welcome and comfortable when spending time in nature, is hosting a Kids Hike Play Day. The event will include a short nature hike, lunch and activities such as painting. Saturday, June 29, 9 am Codornices Park, Berkeley. FREE
🎨 If the famous artist Frida Kahlo were still alive, she would be turning 117 years old in July. La Peña is hosting a community block party ahead of Frida Kahlo’s birthday. Expect live music, food, family-friendly activities and shop handmade crafts and arts from Bay Area vendors. Saturday, June 29, Noon-6 pm La Peña Cultural Center. FREE
🧵 Berkeley photographer Toby St. John will showcase his collection of 30 miniature needlepoint Middle Eastern dollhouse rugs at the Lacis Museum of Lace and Textiles. Monday, July 1, 2 pm FREE
🌊 BAMPFA is showing the original Japanese version of Studio Ghibli’s charming but deep animated film Ponyo. The Hayao Miyazaki film follows a goldfish princess, Ponyo, who becomes friends with Sosuke, a human. But their friendship is tested as Ponyo’s home of Ella, the sea, becomes polluted because of overfishing and contamination from trash-strewing humans. Saturday, June 29, 4:30 pm BAMPFA $14 (RSVP)
🐶 Here’s another way to celebrate Pride: the Berkeley Humane is again holding its Doggy Pride Parade, which is both a parade and a fundraiser for the animal adoption nonprofit. There will be food vendors, a costume contest and a drag performance. Sunday, June 30, 12:30-3 pm Third Culture Bakery. FREE (RSVP)
🏳️🌈 ACCI Gallery is hosting its first-ever Pride show. Curated by Russell Ryan, the exhibit, titled Breaking Boundaries, aims to showcase the diversity of the LGBTQ+ community and showcase artwork that “challenges conventional norms and represents the artists’ unique, queer perspective of the world. More than 20 local artists will be featured. Through June 30.
🎭 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. Saturday, June 29, through Sunday, July 14, 4 pm John Hinkel Park Amphitheatre. FREE (Donations welcome)
🚗 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 Sept. 21. Thursday-Saturday, 1-4 pm Berkeley Historical Society & Museum. FREE
Beyond Berkeley
🏳️🌈 The Golden Bull is closing out PRIDE month with Tortured Angels’ Revue putting on a burlesque and drag show with all LGBTQ+ performers. Get there early to get a seat close to the stage. Sunday, June 30, 7 pm, 412 14th Street, Oakland. $15-$20
🎤 Keba Konte, founder of Red Bay Coffeewill be at the coffee roastery headquarters in Fruitvale to chat about his recent trip to Tanzania and Zanzibar and its partnership with Sweet Unity Farm. Red Bay is known for sourcing from countries with suitable climate and elevation combinations for their “high-grade specialty coffees.” As part of the event, there will be free coffee tastings and a food pop-up by Swahili Spot. Saturday, June 29, 1-2 pm, 3136 International Boulevard, Oakland. FREE (RSVP )
🎤 KQED journalist Pendarvis Hershaw will be in conversation with Edreece Arghandiwal, co-founder and chief marketing officer of the Oakland Roots and Soul Sports ClubRoberto Bedoya, City of Oakland cultural affairs manager, Monique Berlanga, executive director of Race Legal Centerand Fredrika Newton, president and co-founder of the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation to talk about how cities shape their residents and vice versa. The event, titled “Our Cities, Our Stories: A Thriving America, One City at a Time,” includes a free screening of the docuseries Dallas, 2019, which premieres next season on the award-winning PBS series Independent Lens. Saturday, June 29, 2-5 pm, African American Museum and Library, 659 14th Street, Oakland. FREE (RSVP)
🎶 Puerto Rican reggaeton 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 Reggaeton tour here in Oakland. Wednesday, Aug. 7, 8 pm, 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, both Berkeley residents. 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.
Oaklandside’s Arts and Community reporter Azucena Rasilla contributed to this list.
