RESOURCES ROUNDTABLE California has been quite dry this year — but Friday’s roundtable on the drought will be anything but. The Berkeley Energy and Resources Collaborative is hosting its annual day of panel discussions and lectures on April 18. This year’s Resources Roundtable is titled “California’s Drought: Challenges and Opportunities.” Speakers — including several UC Berkeley professors — will trace the deep history of dryness in the state, and consider the current obstacles to, and potential for, addressing drought. The $10 tickets provide access to all events from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the David Brower Center at 2150 Allston Way.
SOLANO ART WALK You don’t have to wait until September to stroll Solano. Over a dozen galleries and art-related stores have signed up to open their doors after hours for the third Solano Art Walk on Saturday, April 19 from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. With this seasonal event, Solano joins an ever-increasing roster of art walks in Bay Area neighborhoods. Solano’s participating businesses are sprinkled up and down the avenue; for a map and a preview of the evening’s events, head to the Art Walk blog or Facebook page.
RECORD STORE DAY The ease and speed of downloading an album on iTunes may be unparalleled, but music fans know that the experience of rifling through racks of LPs in person is irreplaceable. Since 2007, these audiophiles and sentimentalists have been celebrating Record Store Day, an annual worldwide event that honors the endangered independent record store — and its reliable staff of music buffs who can help you find that perfect gypsy-punk 7″ you never knew you needed. Hundreds of musicians and bands, ranging from Fleetwood Mac to Skrillex, will put out new releases, exclusively available in-store on Saturday, April 19, and others will put out first-day releases which will eventually be available elsewhere. In Berkeley, Amoeba at 2455 Telegraph Ave. and Rasputin at 2401 Telegraph will be participating.
SEEGER SING-ALONG When folk icon Pete Seeger died in January, the Berkeley City Council meeting included a sing-along in his honor. If you missed the makeshift concert in the council chambers that night, you have a second chance to attend a Seeger sing-along this Saturday, April 19 from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m at 2133 University Avenue. The free event (donations are accepted) is hosted by Folk This! and Friends, and is part of the Berkeley Arts Festival.
TILDEN BIOBLITZ The plant and animal inhabitants of the Tilden Nature area have not been thoroughly surveyed in decades. This Sunday, April 20, in honor of Earth Day, naturalists will attempt to do it in just one day. Park staff are enlisting the help of the public to discover and document the biodiversity of the area. During the BioBlitz, groups will break off and track — using tools like digital cameras and smartphones — the array of species in the nature area, beginning with birds at 7 a.m. and concluding with nocturnal creatures at 7 p.m., after a pizza dinner. The BioBlitz is free and open to budding biologists of all ages and levels of experience, but registration is required. Call 888-EBPARKS or register online.
Don’t miss these other events recently featured on Berkeleyside:
Barbara Chase-Riboud in Berkeley: Revelatory, ravishing
‘Wittenberg,’ a comedy with an historical undertow
Review: Berkeley Playhouse’s ‘Spelling Bee’ is a winner
Check out Berkeleyside’s event calendar for many more events, and make sure to post your own community happenings.
