CHALK IT UP The 17th annual Chocolate & Chalk Art Festival will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sat. June 1 along Shattuck Ave. and Vine St. Admission is free for both viewers and artists: the chalk art competition annually draws both exuberant children and talented adult artists, as well as many people who just like the idea of chalk on sidewalk. The best chalk artwork will be judged after 4 p.m.: first prize is $250 and runners-up win gift certificates from local merchants. In addition to the chalk art, there’s chocolate tasting, a children’s play area and live music.
FUN AND FENNEL While you’re buying your fruit and veg at the weekly Farmers’ Market, you can enjoy the 9th annual Family Fun Festival on Sat. June 1 from 10 a.m to 3 p.m. Co-sponsored by Downtown Berkeley YMCA, Berkeley’s Parks, Recreation & Waterfront Dept., BART, and Parents’ Press, the festival includes a bouncy castle, children’s activities run by Sticky Art Lab, a farm animal encounter area, a zine-making station, a hula-hoop contest, and live music. The festival runs adjacent to the Ecology Center’s Farmers’ Market at Civic Center Park.
HAVE A LAUGH Laugh City, which is described as a “high-energy comedy showcase” comes to The Marsh on Fri. May 31 from 10 p.m. to midnight. Laugh City will be headlined by Jeremy Scippio and hosted by Lyall Behrens. Meg Smaker, Xander Beltran, Adrian McNair, Luigi Diaz, and Mike Walz are among the comics slated for the evening. Tickets are $15. The Marsh, 2120 Allston Way.
BERKELEY AT WAR Local historian Chuck Wollenberg is giving three lectures on Berkeley’s response to the Second World War, starting with “Ruth Kingman, the Fair Play Committee and the Japanese-American Internment” at 2 p.m. on Sat. June 1 in the third floor Community Meeting Room at the Central Library, 2090 Kittredge. Ruth Kingman (right) was a pioneering Berkeley political activist and one of the few people who took effective action against the “relocation” of Japanese-Americans during the war. Wollenberg teaches at Berkeley City College. The free program is sponsored by the Friends of the Berkeley Public Library.
FRIENDS AND MUSIC Friends Foundation International is holding a benefit concert at Freight & Salvage on Fri. May 31 at 8 p.m. The evening features “four fun bands,” Los Lost Cruzers, Sugar Pine, Jumpin’ Fish, and Papa Bear and the Easy Love. Friends Foundation International was founded in 1991 by a group of friends who had met in 1975 at UC Santa Cruz while taking “The Political Economy of Ecological Problems.” FFI identifies significant environmental projects worldwide (like the reforestation project in Panama, left) and then acts to funnel funds to those projects. It operates with no overhead expenses, so all donations go directly to the funded projects. Tickets are $22.50 in advance, and $24.50 at the door. Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse, 2020 Addison St.
And don’t forget other happenings we have featured previously on Berkeleyside:
The Six String Season, Friday night at the Jazzschool
Big Screen Berkeley: The Sightseers, a comedy of darkest hue
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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.
