BRIGHTER FUTURES FOR BERKELEY STUDENTS Every youth deserves to have the chance to pursue higher education. Berkeley Community Scholars is a nonprofit that connects students of color and those from lower-income families with scholarships and mentorships to help bridge the opportunity divide. This year, Berkeley Community Scholars will be holding its annual fundraising gala online. Berkeleyside is a media sponsor for the event (and last year, its founders were honored with the Wheeler award). Hosted by NBC7 News anchor Dan Ashley, the gala aims to raise $250,000, which will go towards helping students pay for both two-year and four-year college degrees, school supplies, events and training. Saturday, Oct. 3, at 6 p.m. Tickets are free.
VIRTUAL PIZZA Get out your oven mitts, apron, and flour—It’s pizza-making time! In this digital family-friendly pizza class from the restaurant Southside Station, kids and parents will learn how to make homemade pizza dough from scratch, top it with veggies, tomato sauce, and cheese, and pop it in the oven to make the most delicious pie you’ve ever tasted. The chef will even prepare an ingredient box that you can pick up the day before class, so you don’t have to go grocery shopping. You will need basic kitchen equipment and your own salt and pepper, sugar, olive oil, and water. Who’s in the mood to spin some dough and bake some pies? We are. $45. Sunday, Oct. 4. 11 a.m.
CREATIVE WRITING Do you have a teen with a beautiful, creative mind who loves to write stories? Encourage them to enroll in the Bay Area Book Fest’s young adult event, “Unleash Your Creative Superpowers with National Novel Writing Month.” Also known as NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month is a writing event that was founded in Berkeley in 1999. In this workshop, young writers will hear from YA authors, storytellers, educators, and a high school writer who is participating for the first time in National Novel Writing Month. You’ll learn how to banish your inner critic, get your imagination flowing, and take the creative jump to write the novel you’ve always envisioned. Berkeleyside is a sponsor of the Bay Area Book Fest. Sunday, Oct. 4 at 12 p.m.
COUCH & COCKTAIL There’s nothing better than reclining on the couch after a long day of sitting in the home office, pouring yourself a favorite concoction, and listening to some classical music. Are we singing your tune? Then check out Berkeley Chamber Performance’s first Couch and Cocktail Concert live on YouTube. To kick off the series, the Alexander String Quartet will play a program focused on Beethoven’s late period. The evening of Beethoven celebrates the composer’s 250th birthday. The quartet, comprised of two violins, a viola, and a cello, will be performing once again in November. Check out of work mode, open your ears, and clink big cheers to Beethoven. $20. Tuesday, Oct. 6, 7 p.m.
ART OF RESILIENCE Never underestimate the importance of getting in “good trouble.” The Black community in the Bay Area and beyond has faced tremendous challenges recently and in the past, embodying the very definition of resilience. ACCI Gallery is hosting a show called “Art of Resilience” that highlights the work of local Black artists as they survive and thrive during the pandemic. The show was initially scheduled to run before COVID-19 closed everything down. Now the exhibition is back and ready for your viewing, socially distanced with four guests at a time. Celebrate Black artists and strengthen your community. The show runs from Oct. 3-31.
See these other events Berkeleyside has written about:
“Front porch” music returns to The Back Room
Four documentaries worth watching
Some new books worth perusing
The Bay Area Book Festival on Oct 4.
