Note: Some events this weekend may be impacted by a potential power shutoff. Check ahead with organizers.
BERKELEY PROJECT DAY This Saturday is the annual Berkeley Project Day, a collaboration with the Associated Students of the University of California where hundreds of students perform volunteer service at 10 project sites. The public is encouraged to join in these maintenance and beautification projects. The 10 sites are: James Kenney Park — weeding, ivy removal, cleaning inside recreation building; Ohlone Park —cutting vines and ivy, raking, sweeping, general cleanup; Rose Garden — weeding, mulching, general cleanup; South Cove — weeding, raking, mulching; Antique Plaza —weeding, raking, soil preparation, laying sod; MLK Youth Services Center — weeding, mulching, raking, sweeping; West Campus Pool — weeding, raking, sweeping around pool; Willard Park —weeding, raking leaves, raking gutters, clearing storm drains; Aquatic Park — weeding, trash removal; and Halcyon Commons — weeding, mulching, raking, litter pickup. More details.
MUTTS STUTT THEIR STUFF Friends of Berkeley Animal Care Services are hosting a “Halloween Mutt Strutt” Saturday on Fourth Street/ Watch shelter dogs strutt their stuff in a parade, then consider adopting one. Dog and human treats available. Visit Friends of Berkeley Animal Care Services. Saturday, Oct. 26, 10-11 a.m. on Fourth Street, between Hearst and Virginia.
‘READY’ AT BERKELEY ARTS CENTER Opening Saturday at the Berkeley Art Center, ‘Ready’ features artists Sita Kuratomi Bhaumik, Janaki Jagannath & Cece Carpio; Cute Rage Press (Aram Han Sifuentes & Ishita Dharap); Rebecca Goldschmidt; Nyeema Morgan and Mike Cloud; and Kim Nguyen. Curated by Related Tactics, ‘Ready’ presents a pair of mobile stations that “gather and deploy a collection of artists’ interventions, tools and strategies that can be used by audiences to interrupt systems of marginalization, exploitation and erasure, large and small. The assembled materials range from the poetic to prompts for guerilla actions, from stickers to seeds, from prompts for literary analysis to the building blocks for temporary gatherings, but are all linked through their interest in encouraging individual agency in challenging everyday moments where we are often caught off guard or isolated from allies.” Through Dec. 21. Details at Berkeley Art Center.
CHOCOLATE & COFFEE FAIRE Architect Julia Morgan was known to favor coffee and chocolate as her favorite snacks while taking the train between jobs. Hence the theme for an event Sunday that kicks off a 10-year, $10 million fundraising effort, led by the nonprofit Berkeley City Club Conservancy, to preserve the landmarked Julia Morgan-designed Berkeley City Club building and to celebrate its upcoming centennial in 2030. (See our feature story.) There will be artisan chocolate and coffee tastings and sales; a raffle; live music; cooking demonstrations; mini-lectures and synchronized swimming in the pool. Julia’s restaurant will be open to faire goers for High Tea and special savories by Chef Fabrice Marcon (at a separate cost). Sunday, 27 Oct., 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. Tickets: $35 adults; $25 children under 12. Raffle: $20 each; 6 for $100.
A PARTICLE OF DREAD Anton’s Well Theater Company and Actors Ensemble of Berkeley present the Bay Area premiere of Sam Shepard’s last play, A Particle of Dread: Oedipus Variations, directed by Robert Estes. According to the production’s website, the play “brilliantly fractures the Oedipus myth into the times of both then and now — with many of the actors playing both the roles of the myth’s central characters, Oedipus, Jocasta, Laius, Antigone, Tiresias, and their modern counterparts, Otto, Jocelyn, Langos, Annalee, and Uncle Del. As the play delves deeply into the mysteries of family and fate, Shepard’s signature rambunctious language is gorgeously present in numerous monologues, and, in the searing, conflicted encounters between the mythic characters.” Through Nov. 10 at Berkeley’s Old Finnish Hall, 1819 Tenth Street. Details.
Don’t forget these other events previously featured on Berkeleyside:
The ‘Lady Matador’s Hotel’ is a hit for Central Works.
Big Screen Berkeley: ‘La Flor’ and ‘Where’s my Roy Cohn?’
Exciting and sophisticated: ‘White Noise’ at Berkeley Rep.
‘The Art of Burning Man,‘ at OCMA is captivating.
