Listen & Be Heard Network Arts News

SPINNING WHEEL will be performing at the BENICIA HISTORICAL MUSEUM in the STONE HALL on August 16. Come ready for a good time because you will be singing along, clapping your hands and stopping your feet to their delightful mix of bluegrass and Irish Traditional music. Tickets are $20 and are available at the Museum, BENICIA MAIN STREET, BOOKSHOP BENICIA or online at www.beniciahistoricalmuseum.org .

August 13 the BAY AREA ALLSTARS will be the featured entertainers At the Vallejo Wednesday Night Celebration hosted by the VALLEJO MAIN STREET PROGRAM. Gather near the end of Georgia Street and enjoy.

August 14 will see ALVON JOHNSON at THE SHORELINE RESTAURANT. He was a member of THE COASTERS, and has sung with many greats for 30 years. And you will get to enjoy his talents from 5-8 PM. He brings his all star quartet with him. Call 745-3364 for more info.

August 14 will be a Karaoke Night with TJ at the UPSTAIRS venue of THE FIRST STREET CAFÉ. TJ brings and endless supply of tunes for you to sing along to. There is no cover, but there is a two drink minimum for this event. The fun begins at 7:30 PM. Call 745-1400 for more info.

August 15 from 3-6 PM there will be a display of A LOT OF ART on the patio behind the YOUTH ACTIVITY CENTER on East K Street. The work is done by students aged 5-12 in a variety of mediums. For more info call 745-ARTS.

Friday, August 15 will be another DOUG HOUSER night. Bring friends and your sweetheart and enjoy an evening of fun with your favorite tunes. Doug takes the stage at 8:00 PM. No cover. Call 745-1400 for more info.

Enjoy a balmy evening with a Hawaiian flair as ANDY GUTIERREZ and ED SALVADOR bring Aloha night to the UPSTAIRS venue at THE FIRST STREET CAFÉ. Come in your Hawaiian garb and get ½ off your first drink or appetizer. The evening begins at 8:00 PM. No cover. Call 745-1400 for more info.

August 17 12-4 at 601 First Street and August 18 7-9 PM at the BDES HALL. The BENICIA OLD TOWN THEATRE GROUP will be holding auditions for its October presentation of “Bottoms Up”. For more info go to www.beniciaoldtowntheatregroup.com .

August 17 and all Sundays through August the FISCHER-HANLON HOUSE will be offering tours between 12 and 4 PM. Tickets can be purchased at the STATE CAPITOL BUILDING for $2 per person. Groups are limited to seven for each tour. For more info call 745-3385.

August 17 ARTS BENICIA is hosting an Artist’s Forum in connection with its “Cream, from the top” exhibit featuring top art students from Bay Area Colleges. The forum will be moderated by KENNETH BAKER, Art Critic for the SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE. During the forum exhibiting artists will participate in the conversation on the direction of contemporary art as exemplified by work in the current exhibit. The public is invited to sit in and admission is free. For more info call 747-0131.

August 17 you will be able to enjoy the BRYAN GIRARD/GRAHAM BRUCE QUINTET at THE SHORELINE RESTAURANT from 2-5 PM. No cover. This is a great destination for your Sunday stroll down First Street. This all star group will “challenge your ears!”. For more info call 745-3364.

August 17 LAURA WINE PASTER will be the guest reader at the PAGAN’S PLACE poetry group. They will be at a new venue at the WALNUT CREEK COFFEE COMPANY located on Newell Ave. Born in Brooklyn and moved to California as a child . She has works appearing in many publications and runs a writing group known as “Word Garden East”. For more info call 510-684-9024.

Beginning August 19 MARTHA CINADER MIMS is now publishing a network of arts websites and she will debut her online format at 8:00 PM on internet radio open mic at www.blogtalkradio.com/listenandbeheard/2008/08/20/listen-be-heard-open-mic . Artists who sign in on the open mic list ahead of time will be featured in the first two rounds. The third round will feature people who call in to the show at 718-506-1481.

August 22 will be the beginning of the next run of “Friday Night Supper Clubs” being run by the VALLEJO MUSIC THEATRE. The guest performers are from the GASLIGHTERS THEATRE GROUP of Vacaville. You will enjoy the musical melodrama, “Stuck Fast in Holdemat Bay or The Showboat Must Go On”. A reception begins at 6:00 PM with dinner at 7:00 PM and the show following. Tickets are $20. Call 649-2787 to get your reservations in.

August 22 is once again Outdoor Movie night at the Gazebo in CITY PARK. Movies start at 8:00 PM They will be screen Disney’s Enchanted Movie. There is no alcohol allowed in the park, but bring your picnic or take out dinner, blankets , jackets and enjoy. Popcorn is provided. Call 746-4285 for more info.

August 26 the BENICIA-VALLEJO AAUW will be celebrating Women’s Equality Day at 7:00 PM at the STONE HALL located at the BENICIA HISTORICAL MUSEUM on Camel Road. Join this tribute to Solano County Women Legislators. The event is FREE and open to the public.

CATHERINE MC SHARRY has written a musical based on her experiences in Benicia. There will be a fund raising, staged reading at 6:00 PM on August 24 at the PEACE LUTHERINE CHURCH in Danville. The reading is a fund raiser for make the full production possible. Requested donation is $10 or more. Tickets are available at ABC MUSIC.

Those who would like to take part in the SUSAN G. KOMEN 3 day Walk for a cure. The Bay Area walk is scheduled for September 5-7. You can register by calling 800-996-3DAY or by going on line to: www.The3Day.org .

THE CALIFORNIA MARITIME ACADEMY has filled out its Summertime at the Maritime Concert Series for 2008. The Series of FREE CONCERTS will continues with the next concert. September 6 DR. LOCO’S ROCKIN’ JALAPENO BAND will be opened by the RAYMOND VICTOR BAND. The series will end up on October 4 with CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE. It looks like quite a line up and some of these opening bands could well be headliners in their own right. All concerts are free and open to the public, but donations are welcomed. Bring lawn chairs, jackets, and a picnic dinner to enjoy as you sit on Morrow Cove watching the sun set over the Marin hills. Gates open at 5:00 PM. Opening Act starts at 6:00PM. Call 654-1550 for more info.

The BENICIA HISTORICAL MUSEUM AT THE CAMEL BARNS is planning quite an event for September 6 and 7. The H.L. HUNLEY will make a return visit to the museum. This is the actual Confederate Civil War Submarine. I saw the Hunley on its last visit and the ingenuity of the operating systems is remarkable. The Museum will also open Building 7 which will be dedicated at the SILAS P CASEY HALL which is dedicated to an industrial exhibit. You will also get to see the dedication of the new PAUL AND CATHERINE SPENGER MEMORIAL GARDEN that stretches out behind STONE HALL. Tickets for this event are available at BOOKSHOP BENICIA, BENICIA MAIN STREET, online at www.beniciahistoricalmuseum.org or by phone at 745-5435.

On September 12 the BENICIA SITER CITY delegation will be leaving for Tula, Hildago, Mexico. These 16 members will represent you at the Mexican Independence Day Celebration. They will also meet with dignitaries about the Ambulance recently sent to Tula to work as a mobile medical, dental and optometry clinic in the poorer areas in and around Tula. This month’s meeting was delayed one week and will be at ACITY HALL on Tuesday August 19 at 7:00 PM in the Commission Room where the trip will be discussed.

Beginning September 13 and running for seven Sundays, through October 25. Students will be cast in the VALLEJO MUSIC THEATRE will offer its Fall semester of its CONSERVACY FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS . All students will be cast in the YOUNG AUDIENCE PRODUCTION of “Willy Wonka Junior”. Instructor JO NASH of Benicia will be emphasizing audition techniques. There will also be a puppet show by the MAGICAL MOONSHINE PUPPET COMPANY. The program works on developing acting skills, movement, singing properly , protecting young voices, and music reading. Class size is limited to 30 students. Children from grades 3 -6 are accepted into the program on a first-come first-served basis. For more info call 649-2787.

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ARTS BENICIA, THE BENICIA-VALLEJO BRANCH OF THE AMERICAN ASSICIATION OF UNIVERSITY WOMEN, and THE LEGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS will hold the 5^th Annual Creativity Symposium Sunday, September 14 at ARTS BENICIA. From 3-5 PM. “Creativity–Culture at the Crossroads of the Abstract and Concrete” will be the theme this year. Presenters include RUTH SAXTON, Professor of Literature at Mills College; KIM ANNO, Professor of Painting and Department Chair at California College of Art in Oakland; and MAESTRO DAVID RAMADANOFF, Conductor, of the Vallejo Symphony. The Symposium is open to the public with a suggested donation of $5.

September 19 will be the “Pirates” Friday Night Supper Club Backer’s Night Preview. presented by the VALLEJO MUSIC THEATRE. These Friday night dinners include an evening of unique entertainment. This time guests will be given a preview of the upcoming “Pirates of Penzance”. For more info call 649-2787.

September 21 the JPETALUMA POETRY WALK will feature MARTHA CINADER MIMS, CARL TRENT, and PAUL NEAL at 4:00 PM at the PHOENIX THEATRE. The 51^st Poetry Walk runs from 10:00 AM through 7:00 PM.

September 22 is the beginning of the 10-week Teen Rock Camp at ABC MUSIC. Class I runs from 4-5:30 PM and Class II runs from 7-8:30 PM. The camp is designed for young musicians who want to play in a rock band, but need experience playing with other musicians, how to solo, and reading charts. Students should have at least 6 months experience on their instrument.

The “Jokers of ACE “ was such a success last year that this Fall it is coming back to the HAYLEY HORN AUDITORIUM at the BENICIA HIGH SCHOOL. September 27 the series will kick off with DON FRIESEN , A TWO-TIME WINNER AT THE San Francisco International Comedy Competition. He will be joined by DAN ST. PAUL and proceeds will go to the Adult Literacy Program at the BENICIA PUBLIC LIBRARY. General admission is $20 for adults, $10 for Seniors and youths. There is also a season ticket for $50. Tickets are available at BOOKSHOP BENICIA or online at www.reddragonflyproductions.com

Getting a new cell phone? What do you plan to do with your old one? Two kids in Massachusetts started by raising money for a soldier they read about with a huge phone bill from calling home. CELL PHONES FOR SOLDIERS is now a 501c3 program that collects 15,000 phones each month. They sell the phones and use the money for phone cards for soldiers and their families so they can keep in touch. You can go on line and print out a pre paid shipping label to send in your old phone at www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com .

On the third Saturday of each month through November the Young Eagle Flight Program is available to youths aged 8-17. A group of generous volunteers take part in this FAA program at the NUT TREE AIRPORT. Flights begin at 7:30 AM and continue until everyone who registered has flown. At least one parent or guardian must be present and sign the registration form. For general information call GERALD GORDON (446-8532), DUKE SCHOELL (448-0604) or HOWARD GUNN (448-0589).

The SOLANO-NAPA HABITAT FOR HUMANITY can turn your unwanted vehicles into homes . No, people won’t be living in them, they will be sold to fund homes. To donate call 1-877-277-4344 or visit www.carsforhomes.org/ you can donate cars, trucks, boats, RV’s, Motorcycles, airplanes or other motorized vehicles. Be sure you say you want proceeds to go to the SOLANO-NAPA HABITAT FOR HUMANITY.

BRIDGING THE GAP will return for its 7^th year on Sunday, October 5. An application form is inside the back cover of the Fall 2008 BENICIA PARKS AND COMMUNITY SERVICES Guide. You can also go online at www.ci.benicia.ca.us to find more forms, visit the department at CITY HALL or call 746-4285.