IRA GLASS If you’re a fan of This American Life (and if you’re not, you should start listening), you know host Ira Glass’s steady, deadpan tone. Cal Performances brings Glass together with choreographer Monica Bill Barnes and dancer Anna Bass for an unusual combination of “live talking and dancing and radio snippets.” Barnes, “the Tina Fey of dance,” according to the Washington Post, combines elements of vaudeville and dance to pair with Glass’s “signature wit and charm.” Three Acts, Two Dancers, One Radio Host will be performed Saturday, Dec. 12 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 13 at 3 p.m. in Zellerbach Hall. Tickets available from Cal Performances.
SOLANO HOLIDAY ART WALK On Saturday evening, 18 participating businesses join forces for the Solano Holiday Art Walk, hosting events and displaying local art. Among the galleries in the art walk are Thousand Oaks Gallery, Folk & Fine Art, and Artbeat Salon & Gallery. Some Solano businesses are also opening with art displays, including North Berkeley Investment Partners, the Xocolate Bar and Sue Johnson Lamps. The art walk runs from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 12, at venues along Solano Avenue, stretching from the intersection with Masonic up to The Alameda.
HARMONIES OF THE SEASON The Pacific Boychoir has established a holiday tradition with its annual Harmonies of the Season concert. The Grammy-winning student choir, just returned from a tour in China, will sing holiday favorites, both new and old, performed with a chamber orchestra. 8 p.m., Friday, Dec. 11, tickets, $17-30, available at the box office, First Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way.
NUTCRACKER Sure, you could drag yourself to San Francisco, pay an arm and a leg, and see the SF Ballet dance the seasonal favorite. But listen to New York Times dance critic Alastair Macauley, who wrote that Berkeley Ballet Theater’s Nutcracker was “more touching than San Francisco Ballet’s performance.” BBT stresses that its performances are family friendly, with children of all ages welcome. The BBT Nutcracker is being performed Friday, Dec. 11 and Dec. 18 at 7 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 12 and Dec. 19 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 13 and Dec. 20 at 2 p.m. Tickets $32 from Berkeley Ballet Theater. Julia Morgan Theatre, 2640 College Ave.
HOLIDAY NATURE CRAFTS Perhaps your Christmas, Hannukah or Kwanza decorations have been sourced over the years from various stores. But maybe you have an urge to craft your own. Well the UC Botanical Garden has just what you need: a family program to create gifts and festive decorations inspired by the garden’s plant collections. Among the suggested projects are nature-filled globes, mini-everygreen wreaths, greeting cards from pressed botanicals, garden animal ornaments and pine cone bird feeders. All materials provided, together with refreshments. Drop in any time between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 12. Register online or by calling (510) 664-9841 or emailing gardenprograms@berkeley.edu. Tickets $20 ($18 members), which includes admission to the gardens and the Holiday Pop-Up Shop in Julia Morgan Hall. UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Dr.
Don’t miss these other events featured on Berkeleyside:
Big Screen Berkeley: ‘Hitchcock/Truffaut’
Susan Brand: Jazz in your head; Larry Ochs, Eric Van James
Want to know what else is going on in Berkeley and nearby? Visit Berkeleyside’s new-look Events Calendar. Submit your own events for free if they aren’t there already — and give them featured status for just a few dollars a day.
