The amphitheater at John Hinkel Park. Credit: Ximena Natera, Berkeleyside/CatchLight Local
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🐇 Follow the White Rabbit to the hidden jewel known as the John Hinkel Park Amphitheater to experience Brainerd Duffield’s adaptation of “Alice in Wonderland,” directed by Michael Sally. Saturdays and Sundays (plus Friday, July 3) through July 19, 4 p.m. John Hinkel Park. FREE (reservations encouraged)
🖼️ Admission is free at BAMPFA on the first Thursday of each month. Thursday, July 2 and subsequent first Thursdays, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. FREE
🎭 The Playreaders Circle meets the first three Thursdays of the month to read aloud from plays, changing parts frequently so everyone gets a chance to bring theater to life. Thursday, July 2, noon-1 p.m. Central Library. FREE
⚙️ East Bay Makers Club — Berkeley’s newest makerspace — is celebrating its grand opening with hands-on demos, community activities, a special appearance by founder of the Maker Movement Dale Dougherty and an opportunity to join the founding member cohort. Friday, July 3, noon-midnight. 1619 San Pablo Ave. FREE
🍷 The Gilman Wine Block hosts Gilman First Fridays, where you can enjoy live music and art while perusing natural wine and local vendors during the first Friday of each month. Friday, July 3 and subsequent first Fridays, 3-8 p.m. Donkey and Goat Winery. FREE
🇺🇸 😈 The Starry Plough puts the frisky fun back into the pursuit of happiness with a Sindependence Day celebration featuring burlesque artists Cat Sweet and Rosa Robada with Oakland surf rockers the Helltones, trailer-park punkers Fail Salon and the burlesque-inspired pop-punk band the Hyper Drive Kittens. Friday, July 3, 7 p.m. Starry Plough. $19
🎶 The summer jazz-youth tide continues to surge with 20-year-old San Francisco-reared, Brooklyn-based bassist Sedge Green, who presents a program of original music for a quintet powered by drummer Miles Turk. Friday, July 3, 8 p.m. The Back Room. $20-$25
🏊 Cool off during the Fourth of July weekend by swimming in West Campus Pool or King Pool, which will have additional community swim hours for the holiday weekend. Payment is not taken on-site, so make sure to pay admission online before going. Saturday, July 4, noon-5 p.m. $7-$8 for a daily pass
🇵🇷 Performing as Esotérica Tropical, Puerto Rico-raised Maria Jose Montijo is a vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and sound healer whose charismatic performances turn into dance parties, mesmerizing spectacles, and welcoming communions. Sunday, July 5, 7 p.m. Open Doors. $20-$40
🎭 A narrative longform group based in the Bay Area, Improv On Demand hosts a first-Monday-of-the-month improv session, which opens with a show and closes with a jam. Come for a fully unscripted play, and stick around for a guided group improv fracas afterwards. Monday, July 6, 7:30 p.m. The Marsh. $10-$25
📚 Legal expert, Strict Scrutiny podcast cohost, and NY Times bestselling author Melissa Murray discusses her new guide “The U.S. Constitution: A Comprehensive and Annotated Guide for the Modern Reader” in conversation with Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of UC Berkeley Law. Tuesday, July 7, 7 p.m. Mrs. Dalloway’s Bookstore. FREE (registration encouraged)
🎭 Berkeley labor organizer Yvonne Martinez has transformed her book about her experiences at the Harvard Trade Union Program into the stage production “Scabmuggers, The Play,” about contending with harassment and political divisions that mirror historic fissures in the labor movement (while anticipating today’s fraught political landscape). Read Berkeleyside’s story about the memoir the play is based on. Tuesdays, July 7, 14 and 21, 7 p.m. The Freight. $30 (livestream $20)
♟️ Come play some board games offered by Games of Berkeley in a monthly game night hosted by author Kitty Stryker (Read about her latest book on Berkeleyside). Wednesday, July 8, 5:30-7:30 p.m. West Branch Library. FREE
📚 Author Brandon Shimoda discusses his book of essays “The Afterlife is Letting Go” about the aftermath of Japanese-American incarceration during WWII. Wednesday, July 8, 6 p.m. Tarea Hall Pittman South Branch. FREE
♻️ Join the founder of the Labor Network for Sustainability, Joe Uehlein, for a reading, talk and musical celebration of his latest book, “THREE ROADS: Labor, Music, Ecology,” which details his journey intersecting the labor and climate movements. Wednesday, July 8, 7 p.m. Pegasus Books Downtown. FREE
🙂 When were you the happiest and why? Come reflect and discuss this question with others in an informal gathering hosted by Conference. Wednesday, July 8, 7 p.m. Roses on Adeline. FREE
🗓️ See more things to do in Oakland and Richmond. And check out our big list of affordable things to do anytime in Berkeley. Sign up for our weekly arts and culture newsletter, The Scene.
If there’s an event you’d like us to consider for this roundup, email us at the-scene@berkeleyside.org. The deadline to submit events for Around Berkeley is end-of-day Monday. 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.
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