INFERNO THEATRE IN RESIDENCE Inferno Theatre is in residence at the South Berkeley Community Church from Friday through Sunday presenting its third annual Contemporary Performance Diasporas Festival. See exciting multi-cultural, interdisciplinary dance, theatre and film works performed by a diverse line-up of guest artists and companies. They include: Rachel LePell, Blue Monkey Works: Steve Haskell, Inferno Theatre, Chabot College Theater Arts, and Anton’s Well Theatre Company. South Berkeley residents get discounted tickets. For full information, visit Inferno Theatre’s website.
BERKELEY HILLS ROAD RACE You may not know this, but the Berkeley Hills Road race is the oldest continuous running bicycle road race in the United States. This year is the 59th anniversary of the race which takes place Saturday May 7, starting at Bear Creek Road and San Pablo Dam Road in Orinda. This year, Olympic Games bound racer Megan Guarnier will be racing — which is a big deal, race director Paul Hainsworth tells us. She’s a major rising star internationally, and won the US pro national road race last year. Get more details on the race and registration.
RICKSHAW GIRL The haunting rhythms of the tabla will welcome families to the world of Bangladesh as the Bay Area Children’s Theatre (BACT) brings its world premiere of Rickshaw Girl to Berkeley Saturday and Sunday and following Saturdays and Sundays through May 22. Inspired by Mitali Perkins’ award-winning book of the same name, Rickshaw Girl tells the heartwarming story of Naima, a ten-year-old girl in an impoverished Bangladeshi village who yearns to help earn money for her family. “Naima’s story opens a window on a different culture for our young audiences, which is so important for their experience, yet it has universal appeal in its depiction of courage, duty and caring,” said BACT Executive Director Nina Meehan. Rickshaw Girl plays at the Osher Studio in downtown Berkeley. For details and tickets, visit BACT online.
DON MELANDRY PHOTOS Swing by Espresso Roma in North Berkeley to check out Don Melandry’s latest show, Photos of Fruits & Vegetables. Melandry, whose work appears occasionally on Berkeleyside, tells us the show runs until May 29. Espresso Roma, 1549 Hopkins St. (at Monterey).
COMIC BOOK WORKSHOP Join comic book and visual artist Thien Pham for a free hands-on workshop at the Central Berkeley Public Library on Saturday, 1-2:30pm on Free Comic Book Day. Pham illustrated Gene Yang’s Level Up and then went solo with Sumo. The workshop will be in the third-floor meeting room. Expect some “high-spirited instruction.” Ages 12+ are welcome. The library will be giving away free comics from 1-4pm while supplies last. More information at 510 981-6135, or at BPL online.
Don’t miss these other events featured on Berkeleyside:
Don’t miss ‘The Heir Apparent’ at the Aurora
Cheryl Leonard brings melting glaciers to Berkeley’s David Brower Center
Big Screen Berkeley: ‘The Wait,’ ‘Another Dawn’ and ‘Smashing the O-Line’
To find out what is going on in Berkeley and nearby, be sure to check out Berkeleyside’s Events Calendar. And submit your own events: it’s self-serve and free.
