A couple of weeks ago I noted that the North Main St. fountains were getting refurbished and the one across from Wells Fargo has been turned on. Check out the finished work above. Cool stuff!
A couple of weeks ago I noted that the North Main St. fountains were getting refurbished and the one across from Wells Fargo has been turned on. Check out the finished work above. Cool stuff!
The 31st annual Walnut Creek Art & Wine Festival is being held this weekend at Heather Farm Park. From their website:
Celebrate Flavors of the Creek at Heather Farm Park for the 31st Annual Walnut Creek Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau Art & Wine Festival. Distinguished by its spacious park setting and family-friendly activities, the popular Walnut Creek Chamber Art & Wine Festival, recognized by the Contra Costa Times as the East Bay’s Best Outdoor Festival, runs Saturday, June 2, 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., andSunday, June 3, 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Festival admission is free, making the centrally located Walnut Creek Chamber Art & Wine Festival a fun and travel-friendly weekend.
M U S I C * L I N E U P
Saturday, June 2
12:00 – 1:00pm: Foothill Middle School Jazz Band
01:00 – 2:30pm: LUCE
03:00 – 5:00pm: The Houserockers
05:00 – 7:00pm: Finding Stella
Premium Wine Tent: Ken CooperSunday, June 3
12:00 – 1:00pm: Jeffrey Halford and the Healers
01:00 – 2:30pm: Ruckatan
03:00 – 5:00pm: Salvador Santana
05:00 – 6:00pm: The Fundamentals
Premium Wine Tent: Dan DeSharaC H I L D R E N ‘ S * A R E A
Saturday, June 2, 2012
01:15pm: Poison Apple Productions
02:00pm: George Platt’s Swordplay and Fencing Academy
02:30pm: Livermore Shakespeare
03:00pm: Poison Apple Productions
03:30pm: Livermore Shakespeare
04:00pm: Walnut Creek Intermediate School Glee ClubSunday, June 3, 2012
12:00pm: Richard Lee’s East West Kung Fu
12:45pm: Poison Apple Productions
01:15pm: George Platt’s Swordplay and Fencing Academy
03:00pm: Poison Apple ProductionsNew this year:
Pet Rest Spot sponsored by Brandman University allowing your pet to spend time in the shade, get a drink of water and plastic bags for cleaning-up after your pooch. R E M E M B E R : All dogs must be on a leash.
photo by Stacy Ventura
Corners Tavern in downtown Walnut Creek next to Macy’s will begin offering brunch service starting tomorrow. Check out their brunch menu here.
From an email:
Nestled in the heart of downtown Walnut Creek, the new contemporary American restaurant, Corners Tavern will begin serving lunch on Saturday (11:30-2) and Sunday brunch (10:30-2:30) starting this weekend, June 2. The new brunch menu will continue the theme of big, bold flavors and will be divided into two categories: appetizers and entrees. Guests can choose from sweet dishes like the Brioche French Toast with Strawberry Butter or savory fare like the Duck Confit Hash with Fingerling Potatoes and Baked Duck Egg or the Grilled Shrimp and Grits with Housemade Andouille Sausage. Brunch cocktails include the Mimosa, Brazilian(Cachaca, mint, lemongrass, lime and Prosecco) and the Michelada (Mexican beer, tabasco and lime). A full brunch menu is attached.
Perfect for summer, Corners Tavern will have the patio seating available for outdoor dining and (weather permitting) the large front-facing roll-up garage doors open for indoor dining.
Corners Tavern will remain open after brunch and lunch service with a mid-day menu featuring a limited number of items including salads, smoked chicken wings, house-made charcuterie, the Corners burger and a variety of light snacks such as the smoked and spiced almonds and duck fat roasted potatoes. The mid-day menu is a perfect respite for Walnut Creek shoppers looking for a small bite between meals or a cold, refreshing beverage on a warm day.
As I’m constantly driving back and forth between Walnut Creek, Lafayette, Orinda and Moraga, I was wondering, if you could live anywhere within these locations, where would you choose to live?
Pygmalion, a 1912 play written by George Bernard Shaw is opening tonight at the Town Hall Theatre in Lafayette and runs through June 23rd.
From the Town Halle Theatre website:
Renowned linguist Henry Higgins makes a wager that he can transform young Eliza into a sophisticated lady. But will changing her speech change her mind?
Show-at-a-glance:
Rated: PG
Running Time: approx. 2 1/2 hrs. including one 15-minute intermissionFeaturing:
Jennie Brick – Mrs. Eynsford-Hill
Tiffany Hoover – Mrs. Pearce/Bystander/Parlor Maid/Constable
Ann Kendrick – Mrs. Higgins
Jenna Stitch – Clara
Chris Parnell-Hayes – Mr. Doolittle
Ginny Wehrmeister – Eliza Doolittle
Michael Scott Wells – Freddy
Don Wood – Col. Pickering
Clive Worsley – Prof. Henry Higgins
Tickets may purchased by visiting their website.
According to a project recently submitted to the Lafayette Design Review Commission, a new restaurant called Boo Koo, serving Asian street food, may be headed to Lafayette where The Art Room and The Lafayette Art Gallery are currently located, across from Chow. From the plan:
The concept focuses on a transparent façade that provides for a substantial indoor outdoor relationship and that utilizes the existing ambiance provided by the mature trees and the active uses across Lafayette Circle.
Boo Koo’s current location is in Mill Valley. From their website:
Boo Koo serves Southeast Asian street food with a California twist: fresh, healthy, and flavorful dishes that are both fast and affordable. Everything’s made here (no preservatives or MSG) and we source meats and produce locally. Our basic menu is vegan, customizable with high-quality proteins, from wild salmon and free-range chicken to natural pork and grassfed beef. Constantly changing specials keep things seasonal and creative.
The Mill Valley menu is here. Apparently a search for a new location for the Lafayette Art Gallery is being conducted so it can be relocated nearby.
What do you think of the The Art Room building going away to make room for this restaurant? Does this hold promise? Has anyone been to the Mill Valley location?
Over the weekend I had a chance to check out the Bay Area KidFest in Concord with my kid which was fun, and afterwards we headed over to Baskin-Robbins at Todos Santos Plaza for some much needed ice cream. Before entering I noticed a big poster promoting a Men in Black III ice cream tie-in. Although I haven’t seen the third movie yet, I have seen the first Men in Black, and remember the striking image of the Tony Shaloub character Jack Jeebs regrowing his head.
So with that frame of reference, we entered the store and sitting right at front is a woman with a very small head. I hesitated for a moment, wondering if I was hallucinating slightly, or maybe it was an extended promotion for the movie due to the nearby KidFest. Not wanting to be rude by staring, I quickly noted that she was dressed normally, having a conversation with someone else, and so I decided which ice cream flavor to get.
It was only later, when I got home, that I found out that there is a neurodevelopmental disorder called Microcephaly, “in which the circumference of the head is more than two standard deviations smaller than average for the person’s age and sex.”
The new Lafayette parking meters that accept credit cards on Mt. Diablo Blvd. near the Mercantile Building are really high. So high that as I was walking there one recent afternoon a woman asked me how much time she had on her meter. At first I didn’t understand, surely she could just look at the screen and see for herself. Then I realized that for people under about 5′ 3″, it’s very hard, if not impossible to view the parking meter screen. That because the meters there are 60 inches tall (5 feet), and angled up. In comparison, the same parking meters in Walnut Creek are a full 4 inches shorter at 56 inches. I hope these are part of a test, because they need to be significantly lowered to be usable by shorter people. Has anyone had problems with these meters?
Note: I couldn’t resist taking the headline from the Rent is Too Damn High Party.
Last month I noted that the hotly anticipated wood-fired Mexican Grill Barbacoa would be opening sometime in June and I have now learned that it will open next Tuesday, June 5th for dinner. Lunch service will follow sometime in the future. How cool is that sign?
Check out the awesome outdoor patio in front:
With Table 24 (same owners) and Shelby’s nearby, Orinda Theater Square is becoming a great dining destination. I can’t wait to try this place out.
The superintendent of the Moraga School District Bruce Burns must be really feeling the heat from the recent Contra Costa Times article detailing the failure to report sexual abuse from the 90s by Joaquin Moraga Intermediate School principal and current Los Perales Elementary principal Bill Walters because he has responded yet again with the following:
As most of you are probably aware, there have been several recent newspaper articles regarding events that occurred in the District in the 1990’s. These events included alleged sexual abuse of children. This is a very serious issue, as the safety of our children is paramount to the District. I have received several recent inquiries from parents about what the District knew about the allegations being discussed in the newspaper articles. The purpose of this communication is to provide some information about the District’s actions related to these allegations, and to assure the community that the District is responding appropriately and taking these issues very seriously. At the same time, as I’m sure many of you are also aware, I am legally limited in what I can disclose about any ongoing investigations or certain personnel matters.
The District recently received a request for records from the Bay Area News Group regarding the incidents that were alleged to have occurred in the District in the 1990’s. In responding to the request, I directed District staff to conduct an extensive search through the District’s records. That is when I became aware of the specific issues now being addressed by the press. The District worked cooperatively with the Bay Area News Group to provide the requested information in a timely fashion while ensuring that we complied with all applicable laws. The Bay Area News Group is to be commended for their inquiry, which served to alert me to the past incidents. Upon becoming aware of the specific issues that were subject of the document requests, I began an immediate investigation, including reviewing the documents in question and interviewing current and former employees, and consulting with the District’s legal counsel. Unfortunately, the District cannot comment on personnel matters, but I assure you that the District has taken appropriate and timely action following the completion of our investigation. Contrary to any suggestions otherwise, the District has not delayed its actions or investigations in this matter.
As stated in my earlier communication to parents, the safety of all District students is of paramount importance. The District has investigated all allegations of misconduct by District employees that have been brought to our attention, and we will continue to investigate and appropriately act in all such instances in the future. I thank the parent community for their concern, their caring, and their thoughtful inquiries, and continue to welcome dialogue on these important issues.
Reading between the lines what does one make of this? That Principal Walters, who was expected to retire by the end of the current school year, has been put on indefinite leave until he retires? That’s my guess.