Alameda Headlines

The Experience, Alameda: Frank Bette Center for the Arts New Shows

The Experience:

Besties + The Egret-Making Contact Shows Open!

  • June 4th – Aug 7th Besties + Egret – Making Contact Shows
  • Virtual Opening Reception Friday June 11, 7-9 pm
  • 7pm Besties Show Main Gallery Opening Reception
  • 7:30pm Egret – Making Contact Signature Gallery Opening Reception

What does it mean to be ‘Besties’? Ask any dog owner. Frank Bette Center for the Arts is known for its wonderful Gallery of Pet Portraits. This summer FBCA’s Main Gallery features artists’ captures of their Besties through August 7. 16 artists are showing  their works about companions, companionship, and caring for each other. It’s about hanging out with a best buddy.

Ellie Fidler, a Berkeley artist and painter showcases three pieces in this exhibit, one of which is titled ‘Polar Bear & Red Dog’ (featured here, print of an original painting, framed 11″x14″).

Egret – Making Contact captures through photography the striking personalities of egrets at home in cities of the San Francisco Bay Area. During the opening reception photographer Gerry Traucht will also show a couple of short video clips  of the egrets, the babies, and nests that you cannot see from the ground.

The Frank Bette Center for the Arts show dovetails with the annual return of these magical birds to Alameda’s Bay Farm Island. Every spring through summer a joyous —clatter from a tribe of great and snowy egrets overflows into Alameda, mating, building nests, feeding and teaching their young.  Gerry Traucht is a Bay Area photographer, focusing on birds and dogs and has been recognized by the City of Berkeley by proclamation for his environmental and creative contributions. Having a show in the Signature Gallery is a privilege of being a FBCA member.

Join the Opening Receptions on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84866968724?pwd=WEY3cnNEV2l0NGNlZUFocVJzTnQ2QT09#success

Current Center hours: Friday – Sunday 11am- 5pm

About Frank Bette Center for the Arts

The non-profit, volunteer run Frank Bette Center for the Arts is housed in the lovely yellow turn-of-the-century Victorian at 1601 Paru Street at Lincoln Avenue in Alameda, California.Benefactor Frank Bette was well known as a master antique furniture restorer. Upon his death in 1999 at the age of 99, he bequeathed the house as “a place for meetings, readings, showings, and other creative doings.”

Where:

1601 Paru St.
Alameda

https://www.frankbettecenter.org/

The Experience, Alameda: The Hangar 1 Distillery

The Experience:

Vodka Tasting Flights Are Back!

On their outdoor patio with views of SF Bay, enjoy six (6) of Hangar 1’s flavored and straight vodka expressions while learning how to fully taste and appreciate the subtleties of vodka. Their vodka flights include both their fundamental expressions and their distillery exclusives, which can only be found at this Alameda distillery.

For example, their Core Tasting Flight includes Rosé vodka, Hangar 1 Straight, Makrut Lime, Mandarin Blossom, Buddha’s Hand Citron, and Bentwing Brandy.

Hangar 1 experts will help guide you through the tasting, answer questions, and provide ideas for new cocktail recipes. And you get to learn about the craft of making Vodka the California Way with grapes and grains in an old WWII era Hangar at Alameda Point. While visiting you’ll immerse yourself in the fresh produce and botanicals locally sourced as you learn about the distillation process in the old WWII era hangar on Alameda Point. You may want to stay and soak in the beautiful sunsets over the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges!

Where:

2505 Monarch St.
Alameda

http://hangarone.com

The Experience, Alameda: Frank Bette Center for the Arts New Exhibit

The Experience:

The Egret. Making Contact. You Can Too!

From Friday June 4 – Friday August 6, 2021, you can learn about the striking personalities of egrets at home around the San Francisco Bay. With his lens, Gerry Traucht captures egrets standing gracefully at city entrances, by freeways, lagoons, and parks. At surprise moments they perform their courting displays as mating rituals. He has taken special notice of Egrets in Alameda.

They are grace. They are otherworldly. In Alameda this colony of egrets intimately shares their way of life. Their courting, nesting, mating, and a cacophony of chicks. You can hear their clack clack clatter from Leydecker Park if you arrive at feeding times. It is a short stroll from car to their colony by the lagoon. You can observe all phases of their life and their mysteries often over six months from March through August.

“I love being at Harbor Bay Isle,” says photographer Gerry Traucht. “For years I have watched until their rangy Monterey pine finished its life span and was taken down. Would they come back? They surprised us. We thought they would claim a new tree, but they didn’t. They took all the trees in a grove of pines. They are fewer in number, but they offer a chance to watch them build over the next dozen years.”

Traucht’s photographs reveal movement that looks like dance, close-up images of individual birds looking into the camera, and wild feathers caught in a frenzied fraction of a second. The Frank Bette Center for the Arts is now open Friday – Sunday 11am – 5pm. Check their website for updates.

Where:

1601 Paru St.
Alameda

https://www.frankbettecenter.org/

The Experience, Alameda: Rhythmix Cultural Works Salsa Classes!

The Experience:

The Real Stars of Salsa Music: Conga, Bongo & Timbales!

Join Rhythmix for this spicy  3-week course on Zoom taught by Grammy-Award winning singer/percussionist, Omar Ledezma, Jr., who combines audio and video samples with lecture and live percussion demonstrations to create an engaging virtual class environment. Tuesdays, 7-9 pm, June 1st – 15th.

Behind the artists and celebrities, you’ll find the real stars of Salsa, the Afro-Cuban percussion section: Congas, Bongos and Timbales. In this series, instructor Omar Ledezma, Jr will share the histories of these percussion instruments, how they shaped the salsa genre, and the ways they blended into popular American music and genres around the world. Attendees will also learn about the artists who made these instruments popular, the racial barriers they had to overcome to do so, and the recognition received for developing the techniques for how these instruments are played throughout the world today.

Week 1 (June 1st)From rhythmic foundation to stardom – The Conga Drum: Artists: Chano Pozo, Tata Guines, Mongo Santamaria, Ray Barretto, Giovanni Hildalgo, Francisco Aguabella, Carol Steele and more.
Week 2 (June 8th) So little but so important – The Bongos: Artists: Armando Peraza (Santana), Johnny “Dandy” Rodriguez, Jack Costanzo, and more.
Week 3 (June 15th)From behind the symphony to Latin royalty –The TimbalesArtists: Tito Puente, Tito Rodriguez, Orestes Villato, Sheila E and more.

You can buy tickets for the whole series or by the class. Gentle Winds readers can use discount code: ‘salsastars’ for $10 off the series price!

Rhythmix Cultural Arts is a  cultural arts destination in Alameda for theater, art, classes, live music & performances. Rhythmix brings the world to you. They are celebrating their 13th year milestone and currently are dubbed Alameda’s Virtual Destination for the Arts. 510-865-5060

Born in Caracas, Venezuela Omar Ledezma Jr. is an exclusive artist with Pearl Percussion, Pinchclip, ELH Cowbells, Kandu Cajons, Vater, Remo and Soultone Cymbals.

Where:

2513 Blanding Ave
Alameda

http://www.rhythmix.org

The Experience, Alameda: 1400 Bar & Grill & Pizza

The Experience:

Pizza in the Outdoor Patio or Inside!

Enjoy dining on the patio around the fire pit and don’t forget, you can build your own Pizza with their special blend of cheeses, flavorful toppings, and sauces. And their crust is made with high-quality flour! ‘The Alameata’ includes house-made red sauce, pepperoni, house-made sausage, bacon, and cheeses. Veggie toppings include pineapple, garlic, fennel, mushrooms, bell peppers, spinach, tomatoes, arugula, and more. Pizza is served daily from 4-10pm.

The bar is famous for their cocktails and local craft beer. Enjoy American Cuisine in a historic building.

Since 1883 Alamedans have enjoyed great food, drink, and entertainment at the corner of Webster and Central in the historic Croll’s building. 1400 Bar & Grill & Pizza invites you to step back into a simpler time. Their  food is fresh, the prices moderate, and their warm welcome will keep you coming back time and again. Check their website for hours and menu items. Make a reservation: 510-263-9651.

Where:

1400 Webster St
Alameda

http://1400barandgrill.com/

By |2021-05-12T07:24:21-07:00May 12th, 2021|Tags: , , |0 Comments
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