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The annual Thangs Taken gathering at La Peña Cultural Center will take place on Sunday, Nov. 23. Credit: Clara Perez
🐦 Heyday Books presents a talk with the creators of “In the Shadow of the Bridge: Birds of the Bay Area,” a book that highlights the wide variety of birds in the Bay Area and how they interact with the urban environment. The talk will include an audience Q&A session, book signing, and time to chat with other bird lovers. Thursday, Nov. 20, 7 p.m. David Brower Center. FREE (RSVP required)
🎸 Berkeley guitarist, songwriter and raconteur Steven Emerson returns to this intimate venue for his monthly Songs, Stories and Stand-Up engagement, which features a set of his material followed by an open mic for stories, jokes, songs and show-and-tell items. Thursday, Nov. 20, 7:30 p.m. The Monkey House. $20 suggested donation
🇲🇱 Malian ngoni master Mamadou Sidibe joins forces with Eliyahu Sills on bass, ney, bansuri, oud, and vocals, Kele Nitoto on percussion and vocals, and Ashel SeaSunz on vocals, percussion and ngoni in Soulful Currents, a project that combines the sounds of Middle East, Mali and the African Diaspora. Thursday, Nov. 20, 7:30 p.m. La Peña Cultural Center. $35
⚔️ Lovers of Dungeons & Dragons can see the game come to life in “She Kills Monsters,” a play where D&D characters explore “the complexity of grief, love, and sibling bonds while celebrating the inner nerd within us all.” Shows run from Nov. 20-23. Zellerbach Playhouse. $10-$20
🎨 Bonita Arts Gallery’s latest exhibition, Life in Color, features recent paintings by three local artists that celebrate life’s vibrancy. Friday, Nov. 21, 5:30-7 p.m., and Friday, Nov. 27, noon-2 p.m. 1942 Bonita Ave. FREE
🇧🇷 Led by Brasilia-reared guitarist/composer Papiba Godinho and vocalist and Salvador da Bahia native Dandha da Hora, Santa Cruz’s SambaDá regularly infuses Ashkenaz with a percussion-powered torrent of samba-reggae funk. Friday, Nov. 21 8 p.m. Ashkenaz. $20-$25
🍃 Connect with the natural world in a nature journaling club, where participants will explore watercoloring and sketching the wildlife of the Berkeley Waterfront. Children are welcome but must be accompanied by an adult. Saturday, Nov. 22, 10 a.m. Shorebird Park. $10 (spots limited)
📖 Kala Art Institute launches its newest exhibition, Bookness, which explores how the book has evolved as an artistic medium throughout history. At the opening reception from noon-4 p.m., visitors can screen print and take home an image of Mary V. Marsh’s artwork with the quote: “Read the message, hold the knowledge, create the story, send the message on — long may we wave.” Bookness runs from Nov. 22 to Feb. 11, 2026. 2990 San Pablo Ave. FREE
🔬 Take a closer look at the native ingredients of an East Bay Ohlone salad, including popped amaranth and edible flowers, under a microscope. Ingredients are selected by members of the ‘ottoy initiative, and folks from the SF Microscopical Society will be available to guide. Saturday, Nov. 22, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Lawrence Hall of Science. FREE with admission
💃🏾 Inspired by the quilts in the acclaimed exhibition Routed West, members of Dimensions Dance Theater use rhythm, movement and verse to piece together their family stories of journeying to California during the last wave of the Great Migration. The Routed West show closes at the end of the month. Saturday, Nov. 22, 5:30 p.m. BAMPFA. $18 (free with admission to museum)
🌽 Thangs Taken: Rethinking Thanksgiving challenges the colonial roots of Thanksgiving by centering Native art, storytelling, and resistance that advocates for land rematriation and Indigenous sovereignty. (Read more about last year’s gathering.) All proceeds go to the Indigenous event organizers, and the event is open to all ages. Sunday, Nov. 23, 6 p.m. La Peña Cultural Center. $17-$60
🎹 The Back Room’s proprietor Sam Rudin, aka Hurricane Sam, is a prodigious blues/jazz pianist who’s forged a tight musical bond with East Bay drum maestro Jeremy Steinkoler, and for his monthly Sam’s Corner gig he’s added veteran bassist Sam Bevin and special guest Mads Tolling, the Grammy Award-winning violinist. Sunday, Nov. 23, 7:30 p.m. The Back Room. $25
🐵 Fresh off the critically hailed world premiere of his new opera “The Monkey King,” composer Huang Ruo discusses how he fuses traditional Chinese music and Western avant-garde and experimental music as well as natural and processed sound with Cal musicology professor Mary Ann Smart, author of “Waiting for Verdi: Opera and Political Opinion in Nineteenth-Century Italy, 1815–1848.” Monday, Nov. 24, 5 p.m. David Brower Center. FREE (with registration)
🎥 With school out for Thanksgiving break, the library offers a welcoming array of activities for kids and families, like a screening of “The Lego Movie,” complete with free popcorn. Stay and build with Legos afterward as part of Lego Club (4:30-6 p.m.). Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2 p.m. Central Library. FREE
💀 Drummer Anna Elva, a longtime presence on the Dead-related music scene, leads the 2nd Annual Grateful Waltz, which draws on music from the Band’s and the Dead’s catalogs with an expansive cast of players, including Joe Craven, Hattie Craven, Melody Walker, Jacob Groopman, and many others. Wednesday, Nov. 26, 8 p.m. Ashkenaz. $20-$25
🧘 Whether you’re excited for or dreading the holidays, ground yourself with a Thanksgiving Day yoga session. Iyengar yoga techniques will be taught, and all levels are welcome. Thursday, Nov. 27, 9 a.m. Join online or in-person at Adeline Yoga. $15-$50 sliding scale donation.
🎶 The perfect cure of a case of the holiday blues is on tap at the Back Room, where East Bay harmonica ace Mark Hummel presents a tribute to Chicago blues harp legend James Cotton (a frequent participant in Hummel’s Blue Harp Blowout festivals before his death in 2017 at the age of 81). Friday, Nov. 28, 8 p.m. The Back Room. $30-$35
🎄 The Nutcracker Nightmare Fantasy features a modern and sensual take of the classic Nutcracker as a pole, aerial and burlesque show. In this rendition, Clara stumbles into a world where “black licorice shimmers, toy soldiers smolder, and Hershey’s aren’t the only things giving kisses.” Shows run from Nov. 29 to Dec. 14. Flux Vertical Theatre. $34-$93
🦃 An East Bay tradition continues at Ashkenaz with Berkeley bluegrass icon Laurie Lewis’s annual Thanksgiving Concert of Gratitude, a country dance where she’ll be joined by longtime friends and musical collaborators like guitarist Nina Gerber. Saturday, Nov. 29, 8 p.m. Ashkenaz. $30-$35
📚 Maximilian Kasy, professor of economics at the University of Oxford, gives a talk on his book “The Means of Prediction: How AI Really Works (and Who Benefits)” as part of a symposium series presented by the UC Berkeley Computational Research for Equity in the Legal System Training Program (CRELS), which trains doctoral students in the social sciences, computer science and statistics. Tuesday, Dec. 2, 4 p.m. 820 Social Sciences Building. FREE
🗳️ A panel of political scholars and practitioners, including former California senator Nancy Skinner, will unpack and offer solutions to California’s policy and governance failures — including the outsized influence of interest groups in Sacramento and the lack of attention to state and local elections. Wednesday, Dec. 3. 820 Social Sciences Building at UC Berkeley. FREE (registration required)
🗓️ See more things to do in Oakland and Richmond. And check out our big list of affordable things to do anytime in Berkeley.
If there’s an event you’d like us to consider for this roundup, email us at the-scene@berkeleyside.org. 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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