Bay Area events
Just because you may be stuck at home during the pandemic doesn't mean you can't explore the greater world. Here's a sampling of family-friendly in-person and virtual Bay Area shows, concerts, activities and other events over the next several weeks. As with all things in the pandemic era, everything here is subject to change. Double-check locations, dates, times and COVID precautions before you go.
“Absolute Jest”: 8 p.m. April 9, Cañada College, 4200 Farm Hill Blvd., Redwood City. The Redwood Symphony will offer John Adams' concerto, “Absolute Jest,” on a program that also features Aaron Copland's “An Outdoor Overture” and “Beethoven's Symphony No. 2.” $10 to $30. redwoodsymphony.org “amémonos // let us love each other”: 8 p.m. today-Saturday and April 8-9, Town Hall Theatre, 3535School St, Lafayette. New graduate Karina Inés makes an inconvenient pilgrimage back home where she finds Abuela Eulalia exactly as she was six years before, trapped between lost languages, time and house keys. $25. April 9 is a pay-what-you'd-like performance. townhalltheatre.com ART on the Square Summer 2022: 5 to 8:30 p.m. June 17, July 8, 22, Aug. 26, Hamilton Avenue at Courthouse Square, Redwood
City. Summer art shows accompany the city's Music on the Square series with artists who create jewelry, photography, glass, fiber art, ceramics and woodwork. Free. artonthesquarerwc. com
BLOOM SF: Through Saturday, 425Mission St. in San Francisco. A series of special events welcomes workers and visitors back downtown with festivities at the Ferry Building, Embarcadero Center, Salesforce Plaza, Salesforce
Transit Center and Park, Union Square, Westfield San Francisco Centre and The Crossing at East Cut, the City's newest outdoor community hub, offering food, drinks and entertainment at this spring celebration. Free admission. bloomsf.org Brentwood Literary
Stroll: 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, 140Oak St. in Brentwood and businesses throughout downtown Brentwood. Meet an array of fiction and nonfiction authors, hear about their books and enjoy refreshments at local restaurants. $5. brentwoodlibraryfoundation.org Carolyn Wonderland performance : 8 p.m. April 13, Sweetwater Music Hall, 19Corte Madera Ave. in
Mill Valley. Award-winning Texas singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Carolyn Wonderland will celebrate the release of her Alligator Records debut album, “Tempting Fate,” which features Wonderland's signature, blistering six-string and lap steel playing and her original songs melding blues, rock and Americana. $28 to $34. sweetwatermusichall.com/ event/carolyn-wonderland
Comedy at the Factory:
8:45 to 9:45 p.m. the first Tuesday of each month,
The Polka Dot Room at
The Factory Bar, 12517San Pablo Ave., Richmond. A monthly standup-comedy showcase that brings a halfdozen of the best Bay Area comedians to perform short sets. $20. Eventbrite: bit. ly/3tOTstM
Dance Theatre of Harlem: 7:30 p.m. April 29-30, Hofmann Theatre, Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek. This program of treasured classics and innovative contemporary works includes resident choreographer Robert Garland's Higher Ground set to the music of Stevie Wonder. $52 to $92. lesherartscenter.org
Duende Dinner and Flamenco
Show: 6:30 p.m. April 7, 468 19th St. in Oakland. Duende and San Francisco's Theatre Flamenco are bringing back their flamenco dinner shows, which include a three-course dinner in the restaurant's mezzanine, followed by a flamenco performance with live guitar and vocals. $150 for two. duendeoakland. com/flamenco
Espressivo presents “Jazz, Le Jazz, Der Jazz”:
4p.m. April 9, Performing Arts Center of San Lorenzo Valley High School, 7105 Highway 9, Felton. Espressivo, a small intense orchestra, will present its spring concert featuring classical works in a jazz idiom by Darius Milhaud, Michael Daugherty and Kurt Weill. $13to $37. espressorch.org Fast Forward: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Hammer Theatre Center, 101 Paseo de San Antonio, San Jose. Enjoy a fast-paced evening of world-premiere contemporary ballet. Choreographers will discuss the dances during the program, giving context and insight to their inspiration. $10 to $250. newballet.com/fast-forward Good Grief!: 8 p.m., April 7-9, 14-16, PianoFight,
1540 Broadway, Oakland; April 21-23, 28-30, 144 Taylor St. in San Francisco. Death, taxes, and … sketch? All good things must come to an end, but only after one hilarious hour of sketch comedy that takes a look at grief and endings of all kinds. $16 to $42.50. killingmylobster.com/up-nextgood-grief
Historical Walking Tours of History Park: A museum guide will lead small groups of visitors through San Jose's History Park discussing the historical and architectural background of each building. 1 p.m. (by appointment only) Tuesdays and Thursdays. $0 to $12. historysanjose.org Introducing Team Italy Manager Mike Piazza Documentary:
7:30 p.m. April 24, San Francisco Italian Athletic Club, 1630Stockton St. in San Francisco. Complimentary Italian appetizers will be served starting at 6 p.m., followed by a special meet-and-greet at 7 p.m. featuring Pato Banton, past and present MLB and Team Italy players, visiting Italian college baseball prospects as well as former Team Italy manager Gibo Gerali and more. Pato Banton and the Now Generation Band will perform live from 8:30 to 10 p.m. $15 to $35. sfiac.org/event-tickets Japanese-American Internment at Tanforan — Photographs by Dorothea Lange: Now through April 10, San Mateo County History Museum, 2200Broadway in Redwood City. During World War II, Japanese Americans were sent to the Tanforan Racetrack in San Bruno, where they spent months until permanent internment camps were built in remote locations. Lange was hired by the federal
War Relocation Authority to document this forced evacuation. Admission $4to $6. historysmc.org
Mission Chamber Orchestra of San José concert: 7:30 p.m. April 9, Hammer Theatre Center, San Jose. Saxophone soloist Ricardo Martinez joins the orchestra for Rhapsody for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra. Free. missionchamber.org/ events-tickets
Musical Flair: Now through April at the Hammer Theatre Center, 101 Paseo De San Antonio in San Jose. Enjoy today's hottest jazz artists with four-top seating at these intimate concerts featuring Miguel Zénon Duo on April 28. $25 to $30. hammertheatre.com
Sense and Sensibility: Now through Sunday, Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road in Palo Alto. Follow sisters Elinor and Marianne Dashwood through their abrupt change in fortune after their father's untimely death and ensuing romantic trials and events that test and affirm the bonds of sisterhood. Starting at $30. theatreworks. org
Shadelands Ranch Free Events: Classic Car Show, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 5. Enjoy live music, vendors, food trucks, raffles, prizes and a display of cars from the past century. Summer Market, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. July 31. This outdoor market features more than 40 vendors, food trucks, music, and entertainment. Oktoberfest, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 1. Get in the Oktoberfest spirit with live music, dancing and German beer and cuisine. 2660 Ygnacio Valley Road in Walnut Creek. wchistory.org Singer-Songwriter Sundays: 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday and May 1, June 5, Todos Santos Plaza, 2175 Willow Pass Road, Concord. Enjoy an afternoon of local original music and arts and crafts, curated and managed by the Concord Couch Concerts team. Free. ConcordCouchConcerts.com
Still Friends: Noon to 6 pm. through April 10, Gallery 621, 920First St., Suite 203, Benicia. See the work of longtime friends and artists Nikki Basch Davis and Jerrold Turner. Free. gallery621.com
The Edwardian Ball 2022:
8 p.m. today to 2 a.m. Sunday. The Regency Ballroom, 1300Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco. An elegant and whimsical celebration of music, circus arts, theater, fashion, literature and ballroom dancing, inspired by author Edward Gorey. $125 to $145. edwardianball.com Valley Dance Theatre — Spring Rep 2022: 7 p.m. May 28, 2 p.m. May 29, Bankhead Theater, 2400 First St. in Livermore. See excerpts from four ballet works, including Carmen, Dolores, Paquita and La Fille Mal Gardée, with live musical accompaniment by the Valley Dance Theatre pit orchestra. $15to $30. valleydancetheatre.com
VIRTUAL EVENTS
BATS Improv Online Shows: This San Franciscobased improv group will stream free shows each week to bring a little improv magic into homes via Zoom. At 7:30 p.m. on the night of each show, click the link next to the show you want to see to connect to the BATS virtual theater. improv. org/online-shows
Bay Area Children's Theatre Creativity Corner:
This virtual “playborhood” offers kids stories that unfold via video, plus followup activities they can do on their own, inspired by the make-believe they've seen. Parents can submit their children's creations to BACT, which is planning to share examples online. bactheatre. org
Beat the Lock Escape Room:
10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Solve a virtual escape room with your friends via an audio/video call and live feed that lets you play by instructing a game master to search for clues. $25. beatthelock.com
Bringing BADM to You:
Bay Area Discovery Museum offers a series of fun, engaging learning experiences to enjoy as a family. Explore three different themes — science and math; body and brain; and talk and play — designed to develop skills for children to succeed in school and life. Within each theme, you'll find step-bystep videos and activities with instructions written out. bayareadiscoverymuseum.org/bringing-badmto-you
Broadcast Platform, Marshstream: 7:30 p.m. nightly. Programming varies by night with offerings including short performances, book/writer discussions, singalongs, storytelling, game nights and more. Find more information online at