BERKELEY HALF MARATHON The third annual Berkeley Half Marathon is closed in terms of signing up to participate, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take part by cheering on the runners. It takes place Sunday, Nov. 22, and features new race options, challenges and post-race festivities that are open to the public. In addition to the 13.1-mile half marathon, runners there is a half marathon relay (two participants), 10K race or 5K race. A Finish Line Festival that is open to the public will be held following the race at Civic Center Plaza, featuring a Lagunitas beer garden and various local food vendors. And there’s a free bike valet service. The half marathon course starts and ends at Civic Center Park, taking racers through the UC Berkeley campus, the Gourmet Ghetto, Telegraph Avenue and along the scenic Bay Trail. Funds raised through the Berkeley Half Marathon helped the Berkeley Public Schools Fund reach its record $1million fundraising goal last year. For more details, visit bit.ly/berkeleyhalf.
‘AMEN CORNER’ AT BLACK REPERTORY THEATER Berkeley’s Black Repertory Group presents Amen Corner through Dec. 13. The three-act play by James Baldwin was the writer’s first attempt at theater following Go Tell It on the Mountain. It was first published in 1954, and inspired a short-lived 1983 Broadway musical adaptation with the slightly truncated title, Amen Corner.The play addresses themes of the role of a church in an African-American family and the effect of a poverty born of racial prejudice on an African-American community.The play was also revived at the Royal National Theatre in London in summer 2013. The Black Repertory Theater is at 3201 Adeline St. For details visit the theater’s website.
FUNDRAISER FOR LGBT REFUGEE SERVICES Lindgren’s Café in downtown Berkeley will host a fundraiser for the Jewish Family & Community Services East Bay’s LGBT refugees services program on Saturday Nov. 21, 7-9 p.m. JFCS East Bay has taken national leadership in the resettlement of LGBT refugees, most of whom are arriving from African and Middle Eastern countries. In fact, JFCS East Bay is currently the lead resettlement agency bringing these young people to safety in the United States. There will be savory hors d’oeuvres by guest chefs Eric Pascuel and Eduardo Dominguez, pastries by Tobey de Christopher and cocktails will be served. Suggested donation is $50, with all proceeds going to the refugee program. Lindgren’s Café is at 2120 Dwight Way, Berkeley.
‘THE SEAFARER’ AT LIVE OAK THEATRE Hawkmoon Theatre Company presents its inaugural production, The Seafarer by Conor McPherson, which opens Saturday Nov. 20 at 8 p.m. at the Live Oak Theatre. Nominated for multiple Tony Awards, as well as the Laurence Olivier and Evening Standard Awards for Best Play, the cast includes Kevin Karrick, Clive Worsley, and Michael Storm. The play is set on Christmas Eve in the coastal hamlet of Baldoyle, just north of Dublin, Ireland and centers on James “Sharky” Harkin, an alcoholic who has recently returned to live with his blind, aging brother, Richard Harkin. As Sharky attempts to stay off the bottle during the holidays, he contends with the hard-drinking, festive but irascible Richard and his own haunted conscience with hilarious results. The play runs Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 5 p.m., and closes Sunday, Dec. 20, at 5 p.m. Live Oak Theatre, 1301 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley. Tickets: www.theatrefirst.com/tickets
NATIVE AMERICAN STORYTELLING FOR KIDS Head to the South Branch of the Berkeley Public Library on Saturday, Nov. 21 at 10:30 a.m. to hear stories for preschoolers through first graders told by Alicia Retes from the Museum of the American Indian in Marin. She is of Mayo, Yaqui and Cherokee ancestry, and is an indigenous interpretive instructor and naturalist. Ages 3-7. The South Branch of the Berkeley Library is at 1901 Russell St. Berkeley. Visit the Library’s website for details.
Don’t miss these other events featured on Berkeleyside:
Fred Randolph: Tales from a busy bassist
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