The It List: Five things to do in Berkeley this weekend

SUNDAY STREETS Last weekend’s showers occasioned a scramble to reschedule Berkeley’s fifth Sunday Streets celebration. This Sunday, Shattuck Avenue will be closed from Haste to Rose — 17 blocks — in a celebration of local businesses and organizations. Storefronts will be unobstructed, and business owners are encouraged to promote commerce and visibility by setting out seating on the street, hosting activities, and otherwise inviting interest and community. There’s a bewildering variety of activities planned from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., including plenty of live music, children’s activities, and sports and fitness. This year’s Sunday Streets also includes Salsa Sunday on Center Street in the downtown and the Vine St. Block Party in the Gourmet Ghetto. Participants are encouraged to walk, cycle or take public transit to Sunday Streets. Shattuck Avenue from Haste to Rose, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 23.

JOKES FOR VOTES California’s deadline to register to vote is Monday, Oct. 24. If you haven’t registered yet, you can get some last minute encouragement on Sunday from Jokes for Votes, a joint campaign by Funny or Die and NextGen Climate. The free outdoor performance (RSVP required) features Sarah Silverman, Reggie Watts, Baron Vaughn, James Adomian and Kate Berlant. Jokes for Votes will be held on Lower Sproul Plaza on the UC Berkeley campus at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 23.

SEASON OF THE VOICE One of the strands of Cal Performance’s Berkeley RADICAL programming this year is a celebration of the human voice. The season of the voice kicks off on Friday, Oct. 21 with the Ensemble Basiani, master performers in Georgia’s ancient polyphony tradition. Ensemble Basiani sings religious hymns, monastic chants, epic ballads, and folk and work songs from its Eastern European homeland. One reviewer ecstatically described the group’s work as “a near psychedelic groove of unusual harmonies, rhythmic intensity and sheer beauty.” Friday, Oct. 21, 8 p.m., First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley, 2407 Dana St.

STUDS TERKEL The great writer and radio broadcaster Studs Terkel will be celebrated on Saturday by oral historian Alan Wieder. Wieder’s new book, Studs Terkel: Politics, Culture, But Mostly Conversation, is the first comprehensive work on Terkel. Wieder narrates engrossing stories of fascinating people who populated Terkel’s many books and broadcasts. By chronicling and celebrating those whom Terkel liked to call “scrappers,” Wieder wants us to see that the beat does, in fact, go on, and that “hope,” as Terkel once titled one of his books, “dies last.” Remember Terkel’s daily radio sign off: “Take it easy, but take it.” Saturday, Oct. 22, 7:30 p.m., Moe’s Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave.

CHERYL WHEELER New England’s Cheryl Wheeler performs on Saturday at the Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse. Her songs have been covered by Peter Paul & Mary, Kenny Loggins, Garth Brooks, Suzy Bogguss, Melanie, Bette Midler, Maura O’Connell, Kathy Mattea, and Holly Near, and she’s released eleven albums of her own, including her latest, Greetings: Cheryl Wheeler Live (Featuring Kenny White). According to the Freight, she tells hilarious stories, sings heartbreakingly beautiful songs, and makes an unforgettable connection with her audience. Saturday, Oct. 22, 8 p.m., Freight & Salvage, 2020 Addison St.

Don’t miss these other events featured on Berkeleyside:

Black Panthers focus of new UC Berkeley exhibit
Jeff Denson’s ever widening circle
Big Screen Berkeley: ‘The Battle of Algiers,’ ‘Do Not Resist’
Shotgun Players’ powerful ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’

Ever wonder how Berkeleyside compiles its weekly It List? We rely on event organizers to tell us about their events (email editors@berkeleyside.com) and we also select events listed by organizers on theBerkeleyside Events Calendar — submissions are self-serve and free, so be sure to use it!