Lafayette Library and Learning Center Foundation Distinguished Speaker Series | All month long
The library’s extensive collection, frequent author appearances, a dedicated youth room and excellent proximity to the area’s numerous culinary temptations make an in-person visit to the downtown library worth the trip through the tunnel. But timing is tricky when the beach is calling, temperatures are soaring or traffic is a nightmare. Fortunately, the library’s online YouTube channel offers a literary feast accessible to anyone with an internet connection. Watch 60-minute appearances from the archival collection featuring past and present celebrities such as bestselling authors Joyce Maynard, Jessica Shattuck, Dr. Charan Ranganath, Lisa See, Kim Bancroft, Kelly Corrigan, Mary Roach and more.
All month long | Free | lllcf.org | For the YouTube series, click on HERE
SongWriter Live with W. Kamau Bell and Las Cafeteras: KQED HQ and online | July 10
The event will feature Bell, one of Oakland’s most beloved comedians, writers and producers, helming a co-production of KQED and Litquake. The “SongWriter” podcast series turns stories into songs and has featured past performances by Questlove, Joyce Carol Oates, David Gilmour (Pink Floyd), Roxane Gay and others. Bell will bring his Emmy- and Peabody-winning television host charm, while original music from Chicano band Las Cafeteras will bring Afro-Mexican rhythms and glorious “artivism” (that’s a combination of art and activism) lyrics. The electrifying vibe welds together a deep groove as “SongWriter” host Ben Arthur and social psychologist Shira Gabriel join Bell and the band for an evening where story and song merge into a powerful language that speaks about identity, home and community.
July 10, 7pm | In person: $29; Livestream: free | KQED.org
Cast: Much Ado About Nothing @ John Hinkel Park Amphitheatre | July 13-14
The Actors Ensemble presents the first of two productions for summer 2024. This contemporary adaptation, directed by Glenn Havlan, is a comedy audiences have loved for centuries. Timeless topicality adds some spice to a love story through gossip, innuendo, rumors, and the comedic machinations of an antihero. Set in 2024, the production includes gender-swapping and other shenanigans without compromising Shakespeare’s canonical language and characters. The lively late-afternoon outdoor setting complements it all, and while admission is free, reservations are recommended. Visitors can bring their own blankets and pillows, and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. The two-hour production has an intermission during which hot dogs, veggie dogs, and corn on the cob are available. Picnicking is encouraged.
July 13-14, 4:00 p.m. | Free | aeofberkeley.org
Amy Stewart presents “The Tree Collectors” @ Mrs. Dalloway’s | July 23
Stewart uses the same exquisite writing style and extensive research in her new book as she did in her New York Times bestseller The Drunken Botanist and other nonfiction books about nature. Stewart, who has also written seven novels, proves herself once again to be a detective weaver of stories based on fact and true events that are bursting with bubbling energy. In profiles of fifty people with a passion for trees, readers meet community planters, healers, and visionaries whose love of all things tree-related leads to tree sanctuaries, forests, and collections. Learn (without a lecture) about the benefits and medicinal practices of trees around the world. Stewart’s watercolor vignettes add visual elegance and flair to this captivating new release.
July 23, 7:00 p.m.–8:30 p.m. | Free | mrsdalloways.com
Bygone Berkeley: Exploring History with Liam O‘Donoghue @ Berkeley Public Library | July 27
In the library’s Mystery Room, O’Donoghue continues the traditions he established as host and producer of East Bay Yesterday. The wonderful, independently produced podcast launched in 2016 to explore local cultural, political, and environmental history in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. In this show, O’Donoghue focuses on Berkeley as a creative hub, looking at the city’s cultural leaders, social justice and free speech activities, charged experimentation, and the city’s highest highs and lowest lows. No one is perhaps more adept at using Berkeley’s past to shed light on the present than O’Donoghue. His work as a journalist and storyteller has been published in SF Gate, Berkeleyside, Oaklandside, Mother Jones, Salon, and more.
July 27th from 2pm-3pm | Free | berkeleypubliclibrary.org
