ROOS IN THE TOP PADDOCK Australia’s Circus Oz returns to Cal Performances Friday, Saturday and Sunday for what’s described as “their renowned brand of collective mayhem.” “Stunt-jumping acrobats contest physics, fearless aerial artists laugh at gravity, slapstick knockabouts descend into chaos, and live onstage musicians rock the house.” The matinee performance on Saturday has special Family Fare series pricing. At Zellerbach Hall on Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. Tickets available from Cal Performances.
GOING TO SEED If you believe the Ecology Center, Friday night’s annual seed swap promises to be “boisterously joyous.” The Bay Area Seed Interchange Library (BASIL) holds its 14th annual seed swap, so you can connect and swap an abundance of local seeds with fellow seed savers. The seed swap includes a potluck supper, hoedown music and home-grown garden seeds. Bring open-pollinated seeds to exchange or a potluck dish and get in free, or make a donation of $10 at the door. From 7-9 p.m. Friday night at the Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Avenue.
THINK YOU KNOW BEER? As part of this year’s San Francisco Beer Week, Pyramid Brewery is holding a blind tasting challenge on Saturday afternoon, the proceeds of which benefit the Northern California MS Society. Taste Pyramid beers side-by-side with direct competitors in multiple style categories, all under the helpful gaze of “Cicerone Beer Server Certified” staff members. Suggested donation is $5. From 1-4 p.m. Saturday, Pyramid Brewery’s Berkeley Alehouse, 901 Gilman Street.
MORE LIONS, PLEASE You can never get enough of the Lunar New Year. Those not yet exhausted of Year of the Snake celebrations, can head down to Fourth Street on Saturday, from noon to 4 p.m. for a performance by the lion dancers of Kei Lun Martial Arts. Special seat mats will be provided for children at Delaware and Fourth Street. There will also be music and a martial arts demonstration and the day will end with a Lunar New Year procession.
BACH’S YOUNGEST Did you know that Mozart was friends with Johann Sebastian Bach’s youngest son, J. C. Bach (not PDQ, who was his most illegitimate child)? So it seems. The Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra takes that as a cue to play two infrequently heard works by J. C. Bach — the F Major Sinfonia Concertante for Oboe and Bassoon (double reed alert!) and the Symphony No. 6 in G minor — followed by Mozart’s 29th Symphony. Nicholas McGegan conducts. The concert is on Saturday at 8 p.m., at the First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way (the same program repeats on Sunday at 7:30 p.m.). Tickets range from $25 to $97 and are available from the orchestra’s website.
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Still searching for things to do this weekend in Berkeley? Berkeleyside’s Events Calendar is chock full of music, theater, dance, talks and community happenings. We also encourage you to submit your own events.
