Around Berkeley: Oxford Elementary teacher’s final play, Persian New Year, organic gardening class

Never miss local events! Sign up for Berkeleyside’s arts and culture newsletter, The Scene. And check out our roundup of affordable things to do anytime in Berkeley.

Around Berkeley

🎭 Fifth-grade students at Oxford Elementary School are performing a new play by their teacher Carla Inniss. Titled “Grandma’s Hands: The Graduation,” the play is the 13th and final sequel of Inniss’ “Grandma’s Hands” series and centers a character named Junior who is about to earn his PhD in education. (The series’ first play, which debuted in 2003, featured Junior when he was a fifth grader at Oxford Elementary School and subsequent plays have followed his journey as he grew up.) Organizers say the play “reminds us that understanding our history is the key to shaping our future.” Inniss, who has taught fifth-graders at Oxford Elementary since 2000, plans to retire in June. Thursday, March 20, 10 a.m. and Friday, March 21, 10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Oxford Elementary School. FREE

🎥 The Hillside Club’s Documentary Film Series continues with Stripped for Parts: American Journalism On the Brink, a film co-directed by Berkeley’s Rick Goldsmith about how local newspapers like the East Bay Times and the Mercury News are being bled dry by their owner, hedge fund Alden Global Capital. Goldsmith and Katherine Rowlands, Hillside Club VP and publisher of Bay City News and Local News Matters, will take questions after the screening.Thursday, March 13, 7 p.m. Hillside Club. $15

📚 East Bay author Gary Groner will discuss his latest dystopian novel, The Way, which is set in 2048 in a world that has been ravaged by a lethal virus and a hero is tasked with delivering a potential cure to a scientist on the West Coast. Thursday, March 13, 7 p.m. Mrs. Dalloway’s Bookstore. FREE (RSVP)

🎶 Exploratory bassist/composer Mat Muntz, a relatively recent transplant to Berkeley, presents his new quartet with clarinet wizard Ben Goldberg and drum maestro Scott Amendola, both longtime Berkeley residents, and New York saxophonist Xavier Del Castillo. Friday, March 14, 8 p.m. The Back Room. $19.98

🎭 Kathryn Seabron, aka cabaret and burlesque artist Juicy D., presents her award-winning one-woman show, Angry Black Woman 101, a plunge into the microaggressions, misogynoir and systemic barriers faced by Black women, directed by Lynn Vidal. Saturday, March 15 – Sunday, April 13. The Marsh Berkeley. $25-$100

✏️ Participate in a poetry writing workshop led by Berkeley poet Aiden Baker. You’ll craft a poem based on local artwork by ACCI’s members and share and receive feedback from peers. Saturday, March 15, 12 p.m. ACCI Gallery. By donation (RSVP)

🎷 With a three-decade history of melding jazz, funk, Balkan and other international idioms, Seattle’s female-centric Tiptons Sax Quartet & Drums returns to the Back Room featuring the ensemble’s longstanding front line with Jessica Lurie (soprano, alto, and tenor sax), Amy Denio (alto sax and clarinet), Sue Orfield (tenor sax), Tina Richerson (baritone sax), and Rick Wabbies (drums and percussion), with all the women contributing vocals. Saturday, March 15, 8 p.m. The Back Room. $20-$25

🐻 Play I-Spy-A-Bear Bingo while wandering through UC Berkeley. The walk, led by Berkeley resident Sandy Friedland, is meant for “sharp-eyed kids between the ages of four and eight” (accompanied by an adult, of course) and will frequently stop so you can find 25 bears. RSVP by Thursday, March 13 by emailing [email protected] with your child’s name and age. Space is limited. Sunday, March 16, 10 a.m. Sproul Hall, UC Berkeley. FREE (RSVP)

🎶 Performing as Villareal Crom, Argentine guitarists Juan Villarreal and Patricio Crom have parlayed an avid following on the Buenos Aires tango scene into international renown. Sunday, March 16, 8 p.m. Ashkenaz. $20-$25

💃 Luna Dance & Creativity presents 30 Points of View: a peek into dance making, a free community event that unfolds over three days (March 18, 20 and 26) featuring 30 Bay Area dance artists sharing their choreographic processes in 30-minute demonstrations. Tuesday’s program includes presentations by NAKA Dance Theater, Mary Armentrout, Chingchi Yu, Claudine Naganuma, Vera Hannush and Megan Lowe. Tuesday, March 18, 10 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. Luna Dance & Creativity. FREE (registration encouraged)

🔥 Celebrate the Persian New Year with Chaharshanbeh Suri, the ancient Zoroastrian festival that welcomes spring with a leap over a bonfire. Persian music, food and craft vendors, cultural organizations, and children’s activities add to the experience. Tuesday, March 18, 6-10 p.m. 2000 Block of Durant Avenue. FREE

🎨 Kala Art Institute is hosting an exhibition and art auction to support its arts education, artist residencies and exhibition programs. The exhibit launches on Thursday, March 20, with a free, family-friendly kick-off party and artist mixer where you can preview the art and start placing your bids. The exhibit closes on April 26 with a live auction to mark Kala’s 51st Anniversary Party (tickets range from $50 to $300). 2990 San Pablo Ave.

🌊 The Sierra Club is hosting a webinar on how you can get involved with local sea-level-rise planning efforts in the Bay Area. You’ll learn about how the Bay Conservation and Development Commission’s recent approval of its Regional Shoreline Adaptation Plan will impact shoreline communities. Thursday, March 20, 7 p.m. Virtual. (RSVP)

🥕 Author and designer Stefani Bittner will teach a class on mastering the art of growing organic, edible gardens. Topics will include soil preparation, planting techniques, disease prevention, pest management, pollinator support, companion planting and optimal watering practices. Saturday, March 22, 10 a.m. UC Botanical Garden. $85 (RSVP)

🐯 Gather a team of 4 to 8 people and join the “Tiger Trials,” an event billed by its organizers as an “amazing race-style challenge course in the Berkeley Waterfront area.” Prizes include up to $500 in Berkeley Bucks, and there will be awards for best costume, best team spirit and more. The event is the brainchild of Myles Nye, a member of the Longfellow Middle School PTA and professional game master who has designed real challenges for the reality TV show Survivor and will raise funds to support Longfellow Middle School. (Register by midnight on Saturday, March 22.) Sunday, March 23, 9 a.m.–1 p.m. 124 University Ave. $54–86 per team (RSVP)

🎻 Plan ahead: Crowden Music Center’s spring benefit dinner will feature the Grammy-winning violinist and composer Mads Tolling, who will collaborate with Crowden’s young musicians and later be joined by his trio. There will also be a silent auction and raffles. Saturday, March 29, Ciel Creative Space, Berkeley. $175

Beyond Berkeley

🎥 The KQED docuseries The Class, executive produced by Daveed Diggs, follows six students from Deer Valley High School in Antioch as they navigate the effects of the pandemic during the 2020-2021 school year. The red carpet premiere is this weekend before its PBS debut on March 18. There will be a post-screening Q&A with filmmakers Jaye and Adam Fenderson, Diggs, and some of the series’ featured subjects. Sunday, March 16, 11 a.m. The Grand Lake Theatre, 3200 Grand Ave., Oakland. $10 (plus fees)

🎶 The Oakland Museum of California will host drag queen Per Sia and some of her friends for a night filled with dazzling entertainment. DJ Mark DiVita will be providing the sounds for the night. Over at Town Fare, you can test your California’s food scene trivia knowledge ahead of Oakland Restaurant Week. Ages 21 and up. Thursday, March 13, 5 p.m. 1000 Oak St., Oakland. $9-$19 (free for members)

🍺 Nine bars and counting are part of this weekend’s Temescal Bar Crawl. 51 & Tel, Tallboy, Temescal Brewing, The Avenue are among the participating venues. No tickets are required. Ages 21 and up. Saturday, March 15, 6 p.m. See Instagram for a list of all participating bars

If there’s an event you’d like us to consider for this roundup, email us at [email protected]. If there’s an event that you’d like to promote on our calendar, you can use the self-submission form on our events page.

The Oaklandside’s Arts and Community reporter Azucena Rasilla contributed to this list.