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The Lafayette community will host two morning and one afternoon Energizer Stations to support and encourage bicyclists pedaling to and/or from work that day. The City of Lafayette's Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) will have a station in Plaza Park (Mt. Diablo Blvd. & Moraga Rd.) from 6-8:30am to catch the riders heading to work. In the afternoon, the Chamber of Commerce's Green Committee will host a station at that same location to support the ride home. Also in the morning, there will be an Energizer Station at Lafayette BART from 7-9am hosted by Hank and Frank Bikes. All stations will offer refreshments, commute information and great giveaways. According to Bart Carr, BPAC member and one of Lafayette's Bike to Work Day organizers, "the progression over the years to three stations indicates Lafayette's growing interest in bicycling."
Orinda is hosting an energizing station in the BevMo parking lot, 6-8am. The station will provide snacks, fruit and juice for those biking to work. The public is encouraged to try biking to work and to stop by for some goodies.
For more Bike to Work Day information go to
http://511contracosta.org/bike-to-work-day-2011

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Party in Orinda's Theatre Square: 2:00-5:00 pm
Live music, food, free cupcakes, pizza, face painting, bounce house. Sponsored by Bonfire Pizzeria, Entourage, Lava Pit, Republic of Cake, Table 24, and Shelby's.

Science Discovery Day:
10:00 am-1:00 pm
Play with huge bubbles, visit with animals, and dig for dinosaur bones. Make a volcano explode, blast a rocket into space, or explore the gooey texture of slime. This science fair is designed for children preschool age through third grade and features over 20 exciting hands-on experiments. Lafayette Nursery School, 979 First Street, Lafayette. $4.00 per child preschool age through Grade 3 (parents and infants are free). For more information contact Nancy Turtle at (925) 253-7985 or visit www.lafayettenurseryschool.com.

5th Annual Moraga Community Faire at the Rheem Shopping Center: 11:00 am- 5:00 pm
Whether it's classic cars, arts and crafts, children's activities, music or a chance to sample Lamorinda wines and local restaurant cuisine, there is something planned for people of all ages. Highlights include musical performances by local favorites, including the East Bay Banjo Club, the Oak Grove Bluegrass Family, Littledog2, the Campolindo Chorus and JM Ensemble; the opportunity to purchase arts, crafts and jewelry from a wide variety of artists; and wine tasting by Moraga's own Parkmon Vineyards and Captain Family Vineyards. This year's Classic Car Show, which takes place 11am-4pm, will highlight trophy cars owned by area residents and introduce attendees to the owners who have so carefully restored them. Young artists can enter a Chalk Contest, 11am-2pm. In addition there will be a free climbing wall, two bounce houses and plenty of other activities for children. Many local retail and businesspeople, as well as nonprofit organizations, will showcase the wealth of resources in Moraga. The Moraga Community Faire is organized and sponsored by the Moraga Chamber of Commerce and supported by the Town of Moraga. For more information, visit www.moragachamber.org/faire.

Charity Car Wash:
9:30 am-4:30 pm
STAR Service Station, corner of Rheem Blvd. and Moraga Rd. in Moraga. Presented by teen volunteers of Be the Star You Are!(r).
Tickets $10 at event, $8 at their Moraga Faire booth or online.
Questions? See www.bethestaryouare.org or call (925) 376-7126.

Lafayette Kitchen Tour:
10:00 am-3:00 pm
The Lafayette Juniors' 12th annual tour features six brand new and remodeled kitchens with an interesting variety; ranging from California Arts and Crafts style to East Coast Traditional. Also showcased are two homes with outdoor kitchens, and another spectacular home with a wine cellar built underneath. Tickets are $35 and are available at www.lafayettejuniors.org.

Orinda Theatre
Grand Re-Opening: 8:00 pm
The evening of celebration promises to be full of extravaganza and will highlight a legendary comedian who has been called "the last great impressionist of our time", Rich Little as well as well-known San Francisco Bay Area Film Critic, Jan Wahl as host of the evening. It will also feature past Orinda Idol winners who will perform song renditions live. Come to see, to be seen, and most importantly to enjoy the company of friends and relatives. It will be a night to remember for all. Ticket admissions are $35, and it will include the comedy show. There is a $125 dinner package for a limited seating for twenty-five people, first come-first-served basis, with Rich Little. A Reception Ticket, $45, which includes light refreshments and limited to 100 people, first come-first-served basis, is also available. Tickets may be purchased at the Orinda Theatre's Box Office, or at the theatre's website (www.theorindatheatre.com ). For more details, e-mail OrindaTheatre@att.net or call 925.254.9065.

Free Car Care Clinic
for Women: 1:00 pm
Held at Orinda Motors, 63 Orinda Way, Orinda, this event offers women a chance to learn about vehicle maintenance and operation from experts in the auto repair industry. The event is free but a donation or a gas gift card to the Senior Helpline Services is requested. Sign up at www.orindamotors.com or call (925) 254-2012.

Concert at the Res: 11:00 am -2:00 pm
Performing at this year's Concert at the Res, held at the beautiful Lafayette Reservoir, will be the Stanley Symphonic Band led by Bob Athayde, honored as the 2007 Outstanding Music Educator of the Year; the highly acclaimed Acalanes Wind Ensemble led by Norm Dea, the Big Band of Rossmoor led by Mo Levich, honored as Lafayette's 2007 Business Person of the year, and the Bentley School Jazz combo led by Brian Pardo. This special event showcases the Lafayette school music programs and raises money to support them as well as helping to fund many other local charities and organizations that Rotary supports. This year's concert will be held for the last time at the meadow just above the Boat House. Shuttles are available to take you from the main parking lot up to the concert. Next year "Concert at the Res" will be performed on the new permanent stage that is being built just to the left of the dam, across from the children's play structure. A model of the stage and information will be available at this year's concert.

Life in the Lafayette Garden Tour: 11:00 am- 4:00 pm
Tickets are $25 each and include an outdoor cooking demonstration, urban farming demonstration, light refreshments, live music, and tours of five Lafayette home gardens. Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the AAUW-OML Tech Trek scholarship program. For ticket information, please call Pat Lopker at (925) 376-5155.

Free Movie Nights
Friday, May 13, at the Moraga
Commons Park - Despicable Me: 8:30 pm
Enjoy the free movie under the stars-presented by The Moraga Youth Involvement Committee. Bundle up with blankets and friends, enter the raffle, and enjoy delicious concessions sold by the MYIC.

Movies in the Park
at Lafayette Plaza - E.T. (G)
at dusk
Invite your friends, family, and neighbors, bring a blanket or two, shop at the farmers market for a fresh and delicious picnic or pick-up a meal to go at the nearby restaurants, and stake out your spot on the Lafayette Plaza greens for the free family entertainment. Sweets and drinks will be available for purchase. There will also be a raffle with prizes awarded that evening, and donations collected at each event. All proceeds will go towards maintaining this event as a recurring summer series next year and beyond. Presented by the City of Lafayette and the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce.

Tuesday, May 17, 9th Annual
"Taste of Lafayette":
5:30 pm
This is your chance to sample the signature cuisine of as many of Lafayette's finest eateries as you can squeeze into two hours. Taste of Lafayette begins in Lafayette Plaza at 5:30pm where you will check in and enjoy a glass of wine and nosh on appetizers. Next you can stroll down Lafayette's Restaurant Row on Mt Diablo Blvd. or board the shuttle bus that will take you up and down the boulevard. 15-20 local restaurants and catering companies will be participating. At each stop, comes another "taste." Finally, back to the park to enjoy coffee and dessert. Proceeds from the event benefit the Lafayette Community Foundation and the Services and Programs of the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce. View Taste of Lafayette on You Tube, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r74ISEvnQsI. Tickets for the event will be available through the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce, located at 100 Lafayette Circle, Suite 103. Visit our website at www.lafayettechamber.org or call 284-7404.

The Art Room's Teen & Adult Student Art Show; Friday, May 20, 6-8:30pm. Please join The Art Room for our Teen and Adult Student Art Show. We're very proud of the work our students have been doing and would love for you to help us celebrate their accomplishments. You'll enjoy the art of our students as well as the professional art work of our teachers and artists of Lafayette Gallery. Snacks, great art, and the ambience of our beautiful yard and the gallery's Sculpture Garden all provide for a beautiful spring evening. The Art Room is at 50 Lafayette Circle, Lafayette.

Gift of the Gods: Exploring Maize, Culture and Indigenous Art in the Americas, is on view through June 19 at the Hearst Art Gallery, the museum of Saint Mary's College. Artifacts include maize belts from Northern Peru that trace back to an ancient Inca tradition, harvest festival masks from Ecuador, Navajo rugs, Hopi katsina figures and a pollen pouch, Hopi, Acoma and Mata Ortiz pottery, Tarahumara grinding stones, corn storage baskets, elaborately embroidered tortilla cloths and clothing from Mexico and Guatemala . A tamale-making lesson and dinner is planned for Monday, May 23, from 4 - 5:30 pm; $15 per person. Call (925) 631-4379 for details or to make a reservation. The Gallery is open to the public Wednesdays through Sundays, 11am-4:30pm. Adult admission is $4, students and Gallery members are free. For more information, call (925) 631-4379. Website: www.hearstartgallery.org .

Forty paintings have been selected for Valley Art Gallery's juried "Slopes of Diablo 2011" show, opening on Saturday, May 21. A free opening reception will be cosponsored by Save Mount Diablo on Sunday, May 22, from 3-6pm. While the subject is Mt. Diablo, different styles and painting mediums express a wide variety of very personal views of the iconic mountain that dominates this region. Valley Art Gallery is located at 1661 Botelho Drive, Suite 110, Walnut Creek. www.valleryartgallery.org ; (925) 935-4311.

Moraga Art Gallery's show, Chiaroscuro: Light and Shadow runs through June 4.The gallery is located at 570 Center St in Moraga. For more information, go to www.moragaartgallery.com or (925) 376-5407.

"DREAMS," the latest paintings by Sheri Lenz, runs through May at Shelby's restaurant in Orinda Theater Square. For more information call (925) 376-7724.

Voices of Musica Sacra concludes its season-long survey of American choral music by featuring some of the most beautiful and peaceful works by 20th and 21st century composers. Saturday, May 14, 3pm, Piedmont Community Church, 400 Highland Ave., Piedmont and Sunday, May 15, 2011, 3:00 pm, St. Stephen Catholic Church, 1101 Keaveny Ct, Walnut Creek. Tickets at door or in advance at Brown Paper Tickets, 1-800-838-3006. http://www.brownpapertickets.com/producer/16457. $20 adults, $15 students/seniors, children 5-12 free.

Aspiring vocalists can strut their stuff at the next piano bar open mic on May 18 at Petar's Restaurant & Pub. It may not exactly be American Idol, but the music is upbeat and the crowd appreciative. Pianist Gary Neuman plays an eclectic mix and guests take turns at the mic so all styles are represented. Young and old are invited to participate and celebrate the spirit of restaurant founder, Petar Jakovina.

Campolindo High School Year End Spring Concert, Friday, May 20, 7:30PM at the CPAC. Presenting the year end performances of Campolindo's Jazz Band, Orchestra, Concert Band and Symphonic Band. Featuring CHS Concerto Winner Lindsay Willmore performing Ralph Vaughan Williams' Oboe Concerto. Also on the program are Simple Symphony by Benjamin Britten, Gaelic Rhapsody by Elliot Del Borgo with Emily Spitz as student conductor, and Fervent Is My Longing by J.S. Bach, among other musical highlights. The concert is free and open to the public with an after concert reception in the Campolindo Cafeteria.

Flute and Fiddle Concert Featuring Flutist Carol Alban and Fiddler Mark Shaw. An afternoon performance that ranges from classical to folk to standards. Light refreshment will be served. Friday May 20, 1:30 - 3pm Live Oak Room, Lafayette Community Center $1Members/$3Non-Members. Call ahead to 284-5050 to let us know you'll be joining us.

Contra Costa Performing Arts Society Concert, Sunday, May 22, 2pm, honoring founder Rosamund Davis. Grace Presbyterian Church, 2100 Tice Valley Blvd., Walnut Creek. COST: Free to the community. Info: www.ccpas.org.

The Cantare Con Vivo Chorale culminate their 24th season by joining with the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir for a stunning concert of African American music. The concert will be performed on Sunday, May 22, at 4pm at the Walnut Creek Presbyterian Church, 1801 LaCassie Avenue, Walnut Creek. Ticket prices are $25 in Advance, $ 30 At Door and $10 Youth. Tickets can be purchased by going on line to www.cantareconvivo.org or by phone at (510) 836-0789.

Free Contra Costa Performing Arts Society Friday morning solo and chamber music concert, May 27 10:30am, Grace Presbyterian Church, 2100 Tice Valley Blvd., Walnut Creek. www.ccpas.org.

Resident harpist Shannon Polley performs a farewell concert, celebrating music of the dance, with Maestro Duane Carroll and Contra Costa Wind Symphony. Composer Randol Bass conducts his composition "Champagne and Roses." May 28 at 8 pm, Walnut Creek Presbyterian Church, 1801 Lacasssie Ave., Walnut Creek. Tickets: ($10) at www.CCWindSymphony.org and at the door.

The THK Players presents "The Wizard of Oz" May 12-15. The THK Players is Town Hall Kids' flagship program, featuring young actors from ages 7 to 18 performing full-length, family-friendly productions. At the end of the month, political satirist Will Durst makes his triumphant return as part of the Town Hall Comedy Series, hosted by improv giant Crisis Hopkins. For more details and tickets go to TownHallTheatre.com or call the Town Hall Theatre Box Office at (925) 283-1557.

Berkeley Playhouse Youth and Teens Present PIPPIN on May 14 @ 2pm and 7pm/May 15 at 12pm and 5pm, at Berkeley Playhouse at the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Avenue, Berkeley. A young prince goes on a fantastical journey to find the meaning of life only to discover fulfillment is found in simple pleasures of home and family. Cost: $15 Youth/$20 Adult/$10 for group of 20 or more (Use Code YOUTH20). For more info see http://www.berkeleyplayhouse.org or call (510) 845-8542 x397.

Green Rheem Movie Night will view "Tapped," an unflinching examination of the big business of bottled water, May 17, 6pm, The New Rheem Theatre, Moraga.. For more information and to purchase discounted tickets in advance of the show please visit www.generationgreen.com.

Oakland Ballet Company presents FORWARDS! on Thurs-Sat, May 19-21, 8pm, and Sat, May 21, 3pm, at Laney College Theater, 900 Fallon Street, Oakland. Tickets: www.BrownPaperTickets.com Cost: $21-$60. For more info see http://www.OaklandBallet.org or call 866-711-6037 or email info@oaklandballet.org.

The Orinda Library will host a special free program featuring Patricia Bulitt on Wed, May 25 at 6:30pm. The Gift Exchange of Dance: A California Dancer's Exchange with the Yupik Eskimos in Alaska will illustrate Bulitt's work with the native people of the far north in particular Hooper Bay on the coast of the Bering Sea. With a slide show of Eskimo life, Bulitt will also perform a dance which she is very careful to describe as a "non-traditional storytelling dance." The program will take place in the Gallery Room of the Orinda Library which is at 26 Orinda Way in Orinda. For more information, visit ccclib.org or call (925) 254-2184.

Stanley Middle School Book Fair Wed May 11 & Thursday, May 12 8am-4pm in Rooms 406 & 407.
Special Event Evening of Books: Thursday, May 12th 6pm - 9pm. Remember 20% of all proceeds benefit the Stanley School Library.

Homeopathy Every Day Study Group of Walnut Creek Thursday, May 19, from 6-7pm., 43 Quail Court, Suite 215, Walnut Creek, CA. Masha Rosen, CCH, RSHom(NA) will be talking to us about how to "Strengthen Your Child's Immune System - Holistic Help for Colds, Coughs, and Ear Infections.

Campolindo Grad Night 2011. Join us for a special preview of the theme "Wizard of Oz" on Thursday, June 9th 7-9:00pm "Somewhere over the rainbow, dreams really do come true!" Campolindo High School, 300 Moraga Road, Moraga.

The Moraga Women's Society and the Hospice Boutique will present "Fancy Us" a fun fashion show, raffle and delicious luncheon on Monday, May 16th, 10am-1pm at the Holy Trinity Cultural Center, 1700 School Street, Moraga. Guests are welcome. Tickets are $25.00. Proceeds benefit the schools, library, parks and other MWS service donations. For Ticket information, please call Jean Glaser, (925) 376-7961.

On May 20, The Suburban Woman's Club of Lafayette is sponsoring a Day at The Races at Golden Gate Fields. Tickets are $40 and include admission, parking and a delicious buffet lunch. All proceeds from this event go to charity. For tickets and more information call Jan Emmerich at (925) 283-5775.

Lamorinda Cert 3rd Annual Spring Drill will take place at Stanley Middle School on Saturday, May 14. The drill will start at 10am and is part of our preparations for disasters. All Lamorinda CERT graduates are invited to participate. Be at Stanley School by 9:30am to sign in; bring your CERT backpack.

Walnut Creek Aquanut's Annual, "Night of Champions" event is May 28, 5pm, at Heather Farms, Clarke Memorial Swim Center and will feature the best of our Team and Individual technical routines that are performed in both National and World competitions. Please come out and support our athletes so they can achieve their local, national, international and Olympic dreams! For Tickets Visit: aquanuts.org or email: aquanutpress@yahoo.com.

Make-A-Wish 5K walk on Saturday, June 4, 8:00 am - 12:00 pm. Music, refreshments, lots of activities for kids and a focus on life-affirming wishes make this an event the whole family will enjoy; moderately easy, wheelchair and stroller-friendly walk. Participants are encouraged to walk in honor or memory of wish children. Saint Mary's College, 1928 Saint Mary's Road, Moraga. $25 per person. Contact information: fmonet@SFWish.org or visit www.walkforwishesbayarea.org.

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