BERKELEY’S JUNETEENTH FESTIVAL The RD Bonds stage will be ringing with music this Sunday as Berkeley celebrates its annual Juneteenth festival, whose roots reach back to the 19th century. Although President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing slaves in the rebelling Confederate states, in January 1863, news of the signing didn’t reach Galveston, Texas, until two years later on June 19, 1865. The ensuing impromptu party gave birth to the national Juneteenth holiday, which celebrates African American culture and tradition. Sunday’s festivities will include food vendors alongside spoken word and dance performances, a basketball tournament, art for children, and every stripe of music from neo soul to African drumming. The family focused festival will be held in South Berkeley’s five-block Adeline-Alcatraz corridor from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Details at the Berkeley Juneteenth website.
BERKELEY WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL The 10th Annual Berkeley World Music Festival will be featuring Berkeley’s finest world music artists from noon to 9 p.m. on Saturday June 22. Performances will stretch across Berkeley, from Moe’s Books and Amoeba Music on Telegraph Ave to the Sculpture Garden at the Berkeley Art Museum to the stage at People’s Park. The Festival’s “diverse world music scene” includes artists MC RAI, the Tri Tip Trio, Sukhawat Ali Khan, LES GWAN JUPONS, and more in genres like Arabic urban-folk fusion, vintage Caribbean folk jazz, Zydeco, Celtic, and Latin jazz. A craft fair with vendors tied to world music will be at People’s Park from noon to 6 p.m. Berkeley World Music Festival, starting at 2454 Telegraph Ave. Details regarding locations and artists are at Berkeley World Music Festival. (Read Andrew Gilbert’s preview of musicians who will be performing.)
NORTHERN ALAMEDA COUNTY EMERGENCY RADIO FIELD DAY In case of disaster, the Northern Alameda County Emergency Radio Services is on hand to keep radio communications up and running, and on Saturday, they’ll be hosting a field day near the west entrance of the UC campus. Members of this volunteer organization – numbering over 30 in total – will be setting up tents there to answer questions, demonstrate emergency action procedures, and show how their radio equipment works. West entrance to the UC Berkeley campus, at the intersection of Center and Oxford. (Read Camille Baptista’s feature article on Berkeleyside about NALCO.)
WESTBRAE GARDEN CONCERT SERIES The garden of Toot Sweets & The Bagel Shop on Sante Fe will be home to several musicians on Saturday June 22 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Donnalou Stevens & Barry Silverblatt, the Sauce Piquante Trio and Ken Hayes will all be playing at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., and 12 p.m., respectively. When the performance ends, the stage will be open and anyone interested can stand up and jam. For more information, visit the Westbrae Garden Concert Series Facebook page. 1281 Gilman St, between Curtis and Santa Fe.
AL YOUNG AND FRIENDS: POETRY PAST AND PRESENT Berkeley’s libraries aren’t always the quietest places: this Sunday, the California Poet Laureate Emeritus Al Young and four other poets will be breaking the silence with the reading of both their own original poetry and that of celebrated poets in the past. Young, along with Rafael Jesús González , Avotcja Jiltonilro, Kirk Lumpkin and Ava Bird, will present their works in the 3rd floor Community Meeting Room in the Central Branch of the Berkeley Public Library at 2 pm Sunday the 23, along with the work of poets like e.e cummings, Rumi, Henry David Thoreau and Federico García Lorca. Aspiring poets, don’t forget your own notebook: the session will end with an open mic, and audience members of all ages will have 5 minutes to read one original poem and one poem by a writer they admire. Disclaimer: readers are reminded that this is a family event. Third floor Community Meeting Room, Central Branch Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge Street.
Don’t miss these other events featured on Berkeleyside:
A global feast: The Berkeley World Music Festival
Local amateur radio group to host annual field day June 22
Fundraiser for Good Shepherd Church rebuild
Big Screen Berkeley: A Hijacking
Khaled Hosseini in conversation with Berkeleyside’s Frances Dinkelspiel
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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.
