SILENT DANCING – The wildest party in Berkeley this weekend may also be the quietest. The Downtown Berkeley Association is throwing a “Silent Disco” party on Harold Way on Friday, July 14, from 7 p.m. to midnight. Four DJs will be spinning tunes on four separate channels, which will then be broadcast to attendees wearing wireless headphones. If you have never been to a silent disco, be warned: they are really fun. Those dancing get to rock out to music blasting in their ears and onlookers can gawk at people twisting their bodies. No music is blaring. Berkeley Bliss is producing the event with HUSH concerts. The featured DJs are Dj Motion Potion, Dj Ren, Dj Shooey and Dj Matt Haze who will be playing a mix of deep underground and top shelf soul, funk, hip hop and breakbeat instrumentals tracks.
Maison Bleue Café will serve food and drinks on the patio and Triple Rock Brewery will be pouring a beer brewed especially for the Summer of Love celebration, called “1967.” Berkeley Bliss is free but the headphones cost $10 in advance or $15 on site. Pre-sale tickets here: If silent dancing is not your thing, there will also be salsa dancing downtown on Center Street from noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday, July 16.
FAMILY FUN IN THE SUN Saturday marks the start of the city of Berkeley’s summer/fall concert series, which will offer musical and family events in various parks from July through October. This week the festivities start in Ohlone Park at noon and continue until 4 p.m. Berkeley Parks, Recreation and Waterfront Department has put together a great collection of events, including a bouncy house, face-painting, balloon art, crafts and more. The music lineup starts at 1 p.m. and includes Farenhyte 5150; Berkeley High Jazz Band Alumni, YMTC; and Teana Boston. Ohlone Park is at Hearst Avenue and Sacramento Street.
THE GLASS MENAGERIE (FREE TICKETS) Our theater critic, Emily Mendel, raved about Cal Shakes’ production of The Glass Menagerie, so it should be on everyone’s list of plays to check out. Luckily, Berkeleyside is here to make it easy to attend. Cal Shakes is offering Berkeleyside readers a pair of free tickets for the performance on Thursday, July 20, at 7:30 p.m. Just answer the quiz successfully to enter a drawing for the free tickets. We’ll pick the winner on Tuesday, July 18, just after the noon deadline. You can just buy tickets, too.
HIKING THE HILLS FOR A GOOD CAUSE Berkeley Path Wanderers Association is holding its second “Parks and Paths Challenge Fundraiser,” on Sunday, July 16. This year the group is raising money to create a handrail corridor along paths that run from Euclid Avenue to Grizzly Peak Boulevard. Participants should show up at Great Stone Face Park at 1930 Thousand Oaks Blvd. where they will choose their own adventure (which means choosing one of three hikes of varying lengths). The group has also prepared a quiz and the answers are hidden along the paths. The self-guided walks of varying length and difficulty start at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., or noon. Refreshments will be served at 1 p.m. Get tickets.
TARZAN IS CALLING For its last show of the season, Berkeley Playhouse is putting on Tarzan, adapted from Edgar Rice Burroughs’s novel by Grammy-award winner Phil Collins and Tony Award winner David Henry Hwang. Tarzan “explores family in unexpected ways—Tarzan is clearly not like those who raised him, yet when he meets and interacts with those that he most physically resembles, he comes to realize that values come from within, and stem from those whom you love and respect, regardless of physical appearance or blood relation. Ultimately, you choose those you call family.” Featuring a cast of over two-dozen actor/singers, Tarzan was directed by Berkeley Playhouse founder Elizabeth McKoy, and will feature choreography by Staci Arriaga and musical direction by Dan Feyer. The production continues until Aug. 13 at the Julia Morgan Theater, 2640 College Ave. Tickets range from $22-$40.
Don’t miss these other events covered on Berkeleyside:
At BAMPFA: Retrospective of surrealist and abstractionist Charles Howard
‘Octoroon’ at Berkeley Rep is great theater.
Powerful and profound: ‘brownsville song (b-side for trey)’ by Shotgun Players
‘Excellent’ Glass Menagerie at Cal Shakes
Big Screen Berkeley: ‘Pop Eye’ and the ‘City of Ghosts’
