JEWISH MUSIC MASH-UP How often do you get the chance to see a concert featuring a rabbi and a Christian gospel choir? Sunday sees the kick-off for the fourth Netivot Shalom Music Festival. Previously an annual event, the festival now hosts five monthly Sunday concerts featuring local artists performing a diverse array of Jewish music. It is a grass-roots effort, organized totally by volunteers, say the organizers, and they favor concerts with a twist, hence the mash-up on Jan. 20 which includes Rabbi Menachem Creditor. March 17 includes a klezmer band and two jazz big bands; and April 14 features a Grammy-winning Boys Choir, a black Jew by Choice who sings Yiddish music, and a beautiful young opera singer. Congregation Netivot Shalom is on University Ave. For more details, visit their website.
BOOK ARTS DISCUSSION In the first of a series of moderated round-table discussions about the state of book arts, Alisa Golden of Berkeley’s Never Mind the Press will talk about her “Curiosity Boxes” and her print-on-demand book Sidewalk Story (that evolved out of a flash fiction blog) at Moe’s Books on Sunday at 7:30 p.m.. Jonathan Clark of The Artichoke Press in Mountain View will present his latest project, Carmine, a book of digital photographs with letterpress text. The discussion will be moderated by well-known Berkeley scholar-printer Alastair Johnston. Moe’s Books is at 2476 Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley. For more information visit Moe’s Books.
FREE CHAMBER MUSIC Friday evening offers the chance to see a free performance of Berkeley High School’s larger Chamber Ensembles performing at the Berkeley Community Theater on the school campus at 7:00 p.m. The BHS Band and Orchestra Chamber Ensembles played earlier this week at the Freight & Salvage and are well worth seeing.
FREE YOUTH DANCE LESSONS Does your child dance from room to room or turn any available space into a drum? Maybe it’s time to harness their inner dancer? World Dance Center, located at Casa de Cultura at 1901 San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley, offers free dance and music classes for children ages 3-15. Saturday offers Child Brasilian Percussion for ages 6 and up, and West African Dance for which teens are welcome. All classes are free in January. For more information, visit the BrasArte website.
BERKELEY AUTHOR READING On Sunday at 4:00 p.m., Berkeley author Erica Lorraine Scheidt will read from Uses for Boys at Mrs Dalloway’s bookstore in Berkeley. Uses for Boys is a beautiful coming-of-age debut aimed at the young adult reader about a girl who grows up loveless and alone and, following in her mother’s footsteps, begins to believe that if she gives boys what they want, they will give her what she needs. Mrs. Dalloway’s is at 2904 College Ave. Visit Mrs Dalloway’s website for details.
Don’t forget these other weekend events previously covered on Berkeleyside:
Dina Maccabee plays the Freight and The Gonifs play Starry Plough
‘The Rabbi’s Cat’ plays at Embarcadero Center in San Francisco
Do you want to receive the It List in your email inbox each week? Sign up today.
To find out about more events in Berkeley and nearby, visit Berkeleyside’s Events Calendar. We also encourage you to submit your own events.
