
Cool elephant sculpture spotted in Blackhawk Plaza in front of the Blackhawk Automotive Museum.

Cool elephant sculpture spotted in Blackhawk Plaza in front of the Blackhawk Automotive Museum.

Having signed up for Apple Music recently I find myself listening to way more music, especially artists and groups I’ve passed over previously, like The White Stripes, Harry Nilson, The Clash, Marvin Gaye and more. What is your favorite musical artist or band right now?

Home Canning & Food Preservation Workshop:
Rodgers Ranch
315 Cortsen Rd, Pleasant Hill
Thursday, September 17th, 2015
10:00am – 12:00pm | $20Learn how to preserve the bounty of summer in this beginner’s class on fruit jam and pickles. Demonstration of the hot-pack method of fruit jam prepared without a canning kettle will take the mystery out of home-made jams. Students will also learn how easy it is to make their own refrigerator pickles and will take a jar of pickles home. Making flavorful vegetable chips in a dehydrator will also be demonstrated.
Bring one 1-pint jar with lid and screw-top band.Class taught by Rosemary Mark, recipe developer and a long-time canner, using only quick and simple methods. Rosemary blogs from ‘Rosie’s Kitchen’ at www.getcookingsimply.com where she shares delicious healthful recipes and cooking tips.

Park Plaza, Lafayette
In July we learned that the Danville-based restaurant Sideboard would be opening next spring in the newly redeveloped Park Plaza in Lafayette and as you can see from the Sideboard bench spotted outside things are progressing. It looks like both spots in the above photo will be occupied by Sideboard. On the other hand the gluten-free bakery Mariposa, that was also supposed to come to Park Plaza has decided to opt out and will no longer be coming to Lafayette according to Diablo Dish.


Spotted in downtown Walnut Creek on Locust Street. My kid said this must be a really old sign, like from the olden days, the 1980s. 🙂

In My Life – A Musical Theatre Tribute to The Beatles:
Lesher Center for the Arts
1601 Civic Dr, Walnut Creek
Sunday, September 13th, 2015
2:00pm | from $39Take a magical musical tour through The Beatles’ most iconic performances in this rock ‘n’ roll stage biography narrated from the unique point-of-view of longtime Beatles manager Brian Epstein. In My Life takes audiences from the mop-tops’ humble beginnings in Liverpool’s Cavern Club and their career-defining performance on The Ed Sullivan Show, to their famed final live performance on the rooftop of the Apple Records building. Renowned Beatles tribute band Abbey Road stars at the Hofmann Theatre, providing spot-on renditions of 33 of the legendary group’s classic songs.

Locust St, Walnut Creek
The building that features the Chinese restaurant Dragon’s Pond and the future Fuego Tequila Grill has finished up their external makeover in downtown Walnut Creek. This is what it looked like four years ago when the outside redevelopment was just beginning. Looks like Dragon’s Pond lost the paint battle in the middle.

1500 Mt. Diablo Blvd, Walnut Creek
Significant progress is being made on the 1500 Mt. Diablo building at the corner of Mt. Diablo Blvd. and Main St. in downtown Walnut Creek as the scaffolding has been removed revealing the cool design that we saw in the renderings over two years ago. The corner entrance will be home to the clothing store Vineyard Vines while the second floor restaurant will have Barcelona-based Telefèric with the top floor occupied by ROOFTOP. Check out updates on ROOFTOP’s Facebook page here.

From the Moraga PD:
At 2:50 p.m. today (Tuesday), Moraga Police received a report that a subject in a pickup truck attempted to entice 2 girls to get into his vehicle. The girls were walking on Camino Pablo, near Camino Pablo School, when the subject drove up to them and asked if they could come with him to help find his dog. The girls did an excellent job and quickly ran away and summoned help at the school.
The subject is described as a white male adult, 30-40 years old, short light colored hair, clean shaven, wearing a grey shirt and sunglasses. The vehicle is described as a white 2-door pickup with a lumber rack and a decal on the passenger door (there may also be one on the driver’s door, but the girls only saw the right side of the truck).
When the girls ran away, the truck drove off on Camino Pablo towards Canyon Road.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the Moraga Police Department at 925-284-5010.

California Independent Film Festival:
Orinda, New Rheem and Castro Theares
Thursday, September 10th – Wednesday, September 16th, 2015The 18th Annual California Film Festival (CAIFF) is excited to present another year of a diverse array of films from around the world to the San Francisco Bay Area from September 10-16, 2015. From World Premieres to celebrity tributes, CAIFF has included some of the best inindependent films from around the world. The festival takes place at the New Rheem Theatre in Moraga, The Orinda Theatre in Orinda, and The Castro Theatre in San Francisco. For more information about the festival visit www.caiff.org.
