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Central Works presents their final production, \u201cThe Prince Parts 1 and 2,\u201d from July 18 to Sept. 6. Credit: Robbie Sweeny<\/p>\nCentral Works presents their final production, \u201cThe Prince Parts 1 and 2,\u201d from July 18 to Sept. 6. Credit: Robbie Sweeny<\/p>\n
Never miss local events!\u00a0Sign up for Berkeleyside\u2019s arts and culture newsletter, The Scene<\/a>. And check out our\u00a0roundup of affordable things to do anytime in Berkeley<\/a>.<\/p>\n \ud83c\udfad Before Central Works closes their doors at the end of 2026, see their final production \u201cThe Prince Parts 1 and 2\u201d \u2014 a two-play, six-act work that chronicles the life of Niccolo Machiavelli, an influential Florentine diplomat and philosopher during the Italian Renaissance. The two plays will be played in rotation from July 18 to Sept. 6. $20-$45<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83c\udfae Get your game on at Games of Berkeley\u2019s sixth annual GoBCon, a mini-convention featuring a variety of family-friendly games, game designers, publishers, artists and more to peruse and play. Convention runs from July 16 to 19. $17-$55<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83e\udd41The grooves emanating from La Pe\u00f1a will be mighty indeed with the Born to the Drum faculty concert, which marks two decades of the international gathering of leading women percussionists in the Oakland Hills. The concert precedes the four-day camp, and features more than a dozen drummers. Thursday, July 16, 7 p.m. La Pe\u00f1a Cultural Center. $25-$35<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83c\udfb7 A bevy of master Berkeley improvisers convene for Subconscious Life, a quartet featuring ROVA saxophonist Larry Ochs, cellist Ben Davis, bassist Lisa Mezzacapa, and trumpeter Daren Johnston (a ringer from San Francisco). Thursday, July 16, 8 p.m. The Back Room. $22.50-$25<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83d\udca6 Learn about the history of Berkeley\u2019s tank houses \u2014 windmill-topped water tanks that once provided pressurized water to Berkeley residents in the 1900s \u2014 in a three-mile walking tour by local architect Aaron Goldstein and the Berkeley Path Wanderers Association. (Read more about Goldstein and his obsession with backyard water towers<\/a>.) Tour starts at the corner of Sixth and Harrison streets. Saturday, July 18, 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. FREE<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83d\ude97 Car enthusiasts can browse iconic Toyota and Lexus builds at the Fourth Street car meet and craft market, which will also feature a maker mart, live music and local food. Saturday, July 18, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. 1919 Fourth St. FREE<\/a><\/p>\n \u265f\ufe0f Berkeley Public Library is hosting an International Chess Day tournament with trophies and medals up for grabs for youth, young teens and adult competition brackets. Saturday, July 18, 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Claremont Branch. FREE (RSVP)<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83c\udf7a Quench your thirst at The Elmwood Beer Crawl, where over 20 local businesses will be pouring craft beers from all over the world for you to try. Saturday, July 18, 1-5 p.m. $40<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83d\udca5 The San Francisco Mime Troupe travels throughout the Bay Area but will be in Berkeley this weekend for \u201cWreckage \u2014 A Musical Tragicomedy,\u201d a performance that explores four people\u2019s respective journeys in religious freedom, the age of AI, the pathway to citizenship and achieving security in a world that is falling apart. Saturday, July 18 and Sunday, July 19, 2 p.m. (Live music starts at 1:30 p.m.) Live Oak Park. FREE<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83d\udcda Science writer Roberta Kwok presents her new book, \u201cLost in Curiosity: Field Notes from Scientists\u2019 Adventures Into the Unknown,\u201d an inside look at the often bumpy and uncertain path to new discoveries. She\u2019s joined by San Jose science journalist Elizabeth Svoboda. Saturday, July 18, 7 p.m. Mrs. Dalloway\u2019s Bookstore. FREE (registration encouraged)<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83c\udfb6 Even by the boisterous standards of the Berkeley Balkan Bacchanal, this show is going to raise the roof \u2014 with a birthday celebration for Bulgarian Roma multi-instrumentalist and longtime West Berkeley resident Rumen \u201cSali\u201d Shopov\u2019s Balkan Ensemble Merkalii, a rare reunion of the acoustic ensemble \u00c9dessa, and an opening set by Ivan Velev on the double-sided tapan drum and Hector Bezanis on Bulgarian gaida. Saturday, July 18, 8 p.m. Starry Plough. $20-$25<\/p>\n \ud83c\udfb6 Pocket Opera presents Puccini\u2019s \u201cLa Rondine,\u201d the tale of a Parisian courtesan\u2019s reawakening to the power of love and passion in a fully staged production featuring leading Bay Area vocalists performing intelligible English translations by Donald Pippin, the company\u2019s founder and artistic director emeritus. Sunday, July 19, 1:30 p.m. Hillside Club. $45-$89<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83c\udde7\ud83c\uddf7 Flutist Jane Lenoir, reed expert Harvey Wainapel and percussionist Brian Rice are longtime collaborators in the Berkeley Choro Ensemble, and for this performance they\u2019re joined by the great guitarist\/composer Julio Lemos, who\u2019s visiting from Brazil on a short tour. Sunday, July 19, 2 p.m. The Back Room. $25-$30<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83c\udf0a Learn about the challenges and opportunities for creating a more resilient Berkeley shoreline through two presentations at the Berkeley Historical Society and Museum that will highlight sea level rise science, nature-based adaptation options and upcoming planning efforts. Ellen Plane, senior scientist at the San Francisco Estuary Institute, and Katie Van Dyke, the City of Berkeley\u2019s climate action program manager, will present, followed by a Q&A. Saturday, July 19, 3 p.m. Veterans Memorial Building Auditorium, 1931 Center St. FREE (donations appreciated)<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83d\udcda Berkeley writer Bora Lee Reed celebrates the release of her debut novel \u201cSong For Another Home\u201d with a reception and program featuring a conversation with Gene Luen Yang, graphic novelist and author of \u201cAmerican Born Chinese.\u201d Tuesday, July 21, 6 p.m. Albany Community Center. FREE (with registration)<\/p>\n \ud83c\udfb7 Alto saxophonist Beth Schenck, an intrepid improviser with a lustrous, velvety tone, hosts this week\u2019s Brown Bag Jazz Hang with a conversation about the music of Lee Konitz (1927-2020), the singularly prolific, inventive and peripatetic altoist. Wednesday, July 22, 12:30 p.m. The Jazzschool. FREE<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83d\udeb4 Bike East Bay is hosting a summer brake party with snacks, drinks and activities for all ages. Free bike parking is available, and a group bike ride to the venue will start at North Berkeley BART at 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, July 22, 5-7:30 p.m. FREE (RSVP)<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83d\uddd3\ufe0f\u00a0See more things to do\u00a0in\u00a0Oakland<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Richmond<\/a>.\u00a0And check out our big list of\u00a0affordable things to do<\/a>\u00a0anytime in Berkeley.\u00a0Sign up for our\u00a0weekly arts and culture newsletter<\/a>, The Scene.<\/p>\n If there\u2019s an event you\u2019d like us to consider for this roundup, email us at\u00a0the-scene@berkeleyside.org<\/a>. The deadline to submit events for Around Berkeley is end-of-day Monday. If there\u2019s an event that you\u2019d like to promote on our calendar, you can use the self-submission form on our\u00a0events page<\/a>.<\/p>\n We know that most readers don’t get to the end of the article. But you did! To support our in-depth, rock-solid reporting, please consider making a donation to our nonprofit newsroom today. We rely on our readers \u2014 particularly the ones who read the whole story!<\/p>\n “*” indicates required fields<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Central Works presents their final production, \u201cThe Prince Parts 1 and 2,\u201d from July 18 to Sept. 6.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":400837,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[7971,2465,2466,143,145,144],"class_list":["post-400836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-around-berkeley","tag-home-highlight","tag-home-lead","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=400836"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400836\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/400837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=400836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=400836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=400836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}