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Around Berkeley
The Cal Vietnamese Student Association Lion Dance team rings in the Lunar New Year at the Central Library. Courtesy: Berkeley Public Library🐍The Berkeley Public Library Central Branch’s all-day Lunar New Year celebration includes the award-winning Leung’s White Crane Lion Dancers, the Vietnamese Student Association’s Cal VSA Lion Dance, El Cerrito’s Town Square Dance Troupe, plus Year of the Snake crafts and more. Saturday, Feb. 8, 1-4 p.m. Central Branch. FREE
🇲🇱 The East Bay duo of Mamadou Sidibé, a master and innovator on Mali’s 14-string n’goni, and Eliyahu Sills, a Qadim Ensemble multi-instrumentalist steeped in overlapping Middle and Near Eastern musical traditions, play a program of traditional Wassoulou songs and original tunes. Thursday, Jan. 23, 7 p.m. The Back Room. $29-$35
🎻 Multi-instrumental roots music mainstay Suzy Thompson, an essential force on Berkeley’s cultural scene since the 1970s, celebrates the release of her new album Suzy Sings Siebel as part of a concert with folk music legend Jim Kweskin and sweet-toned vocalist Samoa Wilson interpreting everything from jazz standards and blues to vintage folk songs accompanied by bassist Matt Berliner and Thompson on fiddle. Thursday, Jan. 23, 7:30 p.m. Hillside Club. $25-$30
🎻 In partnership with the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, the Graduate Theological Union’s Berkeley Art Pilgrimage Project presents the 2025 Winter Wandering Festival Jan. 24–26 at venues around Berkeley (and Jan. 31-Feb. 2 around San Francisco) exploring the human journey and its profound connections to place, space, and imagination via powerful musical performances and artistic expression. The concert series opens Friday with the last works of Luigi Nono and Franz Schubert, performed back to back. Friday, Jan. 24, 7 p.m. First Church of Christ, Scientist. $5-$35
⚾ Cal’s baseball team will host its annual alumni game this weekend. Only Cal baseball alumni can play, but anyone can watch the free game. First pitch starts at 1:05 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, Stu Gordon Stadium, UC Berkeley. FREE
🎨 Artist Barbara Kasten, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago Senior Curator Jamillah James and Northeastern University Associate Professor of Contemporary Art History and New Media Gloria Sutton will discuss how artists have transformed the language of painting as technologies evolve. The talk is included with gallery admission. Saturday, Jan. 25, 2 p.m. BAMPFA.
☕ Berkeley resident Lee Chen-Weinsten is hosting a winter clothing and book swap to raise money for a friend hoping to evacuate from Gaza. There will be hot cocoa. Saturday, Jan. 25, 3-6 p.m. 2727 California St. $15 suggested donation
🎹 About once a month the Back Room’s proprietor Sam Rudin takes to the stage and reverts to his former identity as blues/jazz pianist Hurricane Sam, and for this Sam’s Corner session he’s joined by the stellar rhythm section tandem of drummer Jeremy Steinkoler and bassist Daniel Fabricant, along with special guest vocalist Yolandra Rhodes, a jubilant, soulful entertainer. Saturday, Jan. 25, 8 p.m. $22.50-$25
🇯🇲One of the leading women of reggae, Kingston-born vocalist Etana returns to Ashkenaz as part of a run of Northern California gigs. Saturday, Jan. 25, 8 p.m. $20-$25.75
🥾 The Berkeley Path Wanderers Association is hosting a “weekend work party” in which you’ll help clean up Berkeley’s paths. Gloves and tools will be provided, but you’re welcome to bring your own. Remember to bring your own water. Email [email protected] to RSVP. Sunday, Jan. 26, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. FREE
✡️ The JCC East Bay’s monthly Joy of Jewish Music and Dance series continues on Sunday with a klezmer session led by dance instructor Bruce Bierman and Saul Goodman’s Klezmer Band clarinetist Mike Perlmutter and accordionist/percussionist Jonathan Kipp. Participants choose between music and dance workshops for the first 90 minutes, followed by a 30-minute dance party. Sunday, Jan. 26, 1 p.m. $25-$54
🍵 West Berkeley’s Blue Willow Teaspot will host a guided meditation session intended to help you rest your mind and body and “take refuge in community and presence.” No meditation experience is required. Monday, Jan. 27, 6:30 p.m. Blue Willow Teaspot. FREE
🐍The library’s Tarea Hall Pittman branch holds a workshop on ways to celebrate Lunar New Year, along with background on why the holiday lasts two weeks, and this year’s astrological implications for all Zodiac signs. Participants can write red-packet affirmations for friends, family, and ancestors. Wednesday, Jan. 29, 6 p.m. Tarea Hall Pittman South. FREE
⛵ Bid on a boat at the Berkeley Marina Lien Sale. Opening bids start at $1,000. You can look at the vessels before the auction by visiting the K-Dock between 2 and 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 29. Thursday, Jan. 30, 11 a.m. 201 University Ave.
🧠 Susan Snyder, a lecturer at the Haas School of Business and a Civilian CERT Instructor for Berkeley, will lead a session on how to plan for your mental health during a large-scale emergency. The presentation is a partnership with the Berkeley Disaster Preparedness Neighborhood Network. (Read our story about the city’s series of disaster readiness classes.) Thursday, Jan. 30, 6:30 p.m. Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists. FREE
🎲 Berkeley is holding its annual Family Community Game Night, featuring card and board games, chess, dominoes, cornhole and other kid-friendly games. All children must be accompanied by an adult. Friday, Jan. 31, Live Oak Recreation Center. FREE (RSVP)
🐍 Fourth Street welcomes the Year of the Snake with a Golden Lion Martial Arts demonstration, the Kei Lun Lion Dance performance, the Shop Blessing Parade and crafts for kids hosted by Shu Ren International School. The festival is dedicated to the late Winnie Yu, co-founder of Teance Fine Teas, who launched the Fourth Street celebration in 2009. Saturday, Feb. 8, 1-4 p.m. Delaware Street at Fourth Street. FREE
🎶 Plan ahead: This year’s Freight & Salvage Django Reinhardt birthday celebration brings three consecutive triple bills featuring the world’s leading practitioners inspired by the Belgian-born Manuche guitar legend, with fiddler Elana James’ Hot Club of Cowtown and Québecois Christine Tassan et les Imposteures kicking off the party Friday. Festival curator Paul Mehling’s Hot Club of San Francisco performs each night, joined Saturday by violinist Jason Anick’s acoustic Rhythm Future Quartet and L.A.-based San Lyon featuring French violinist, bassist, percussionist and vocalist Jenna Colombet, and Sunday by the Hot Club of Los Angeles and Toronto-based Debi Botos, who has immersed herself in the Hungarian Roma violin tradition. Friday-Sunday, Feb. 24-26, 7 p.m. $54-$59
Beyond Berkeley
Lake Merritt Dance Organizers Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit that gives dance organizers and dancers a home for their communities, hosts various classes in the Veterans Memorial Building including West Coast swing and bachata. Credit: Florence Middleton💃 The Lake Merritt Dance Organizers Foundation is a nonprofit dedicated to offering LBGTQ+ dance groups a space to hold their classes. Classes include West Coast Swing, salsa, queer country western and more. Check the website for details.
🐘 Every year, the Oakland Museum Women’s Board hosts the popular White Elephant Sale, which has supported educational programs, exhibitions, and marketing initiatives for over six decades. From Jan. 29 through Feb. 22, the White Elephant Sale takes over a warehouse on Lancaster Street in Jingletown, where you can find everything from antiques, glassware, toys, and more. Check the website for times and tickets. Wednesday, Jan. 29 through Saturday, Feb. 22. 333 Lancaster St., Oakland.
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