Beyond the Creek

Walnut Creek Garden Tour Fundraiser May 5th

May 1, 2012 4:30 pm

A garden tour fundraiser, “Life in the Walnut Creek Garden”, will take place this Saturday May 5th, 11am – 4pm to support various local charities. From their website:

What:
A Garden Tour Fundraiser benefitting various local charities. Tickets purchased on our website benefit Hospice of the East Bay (click here). To purchase tickets benefitting the Quincy Lee Foundation go to www.quincylee.org. To purchase tickets benefitting Contra Costa County Guide Dog Raisers call Elaine Whiteley at (925) 698-2460. To purchase tickets benefitting The Urban Farmers, call Siamack Sioshansi at (415) 806-7005.

When:
Saturday, May 5th – 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM

Where:
Five Private Residential Gardens in Walnut Creek

Theme:
• Fundraiser – Donating to Hospice of the East Bay, the Quincy Lee Foundation and various local charities
(minimum donation of $25 per person)
• Exclusive Tour – Each project is designed by Landscape Architect John Montgomery

Highlights:
• Chat with John Montgomery about his designs
• Nibble tasty goodies from professional chefs
• Live Music
• Self guided garden tour of several Walnut Creek gardens

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The Jam Brothers Celebrates 1st Anniversary in Walnut Creek

May 1, 2012 3:00 pm

photos courtesy of The Jam Brothers

Imagine you’re the former bassist for Metallica, and you need to pick up a new guitar. Where are you going to get it? San Francisco? Berkeley? Guitar Center? How about right here in Walnut Creek! The Jam Brothers music store (next to Morucci’s deli) recently celebrated their 1st anniversary in Walnut Creek and offer a huge selection of high quality guitars as well as drums and other instruments. The owner, Shawn Steen used to work for Gibson Guitar.

Private guitar lessons are available for both children and adults and you can even pick up a new guitar there for $69 to start off.

Check out their cool guitar wall:

In addition to lessons they occasionally host small performances in their store. Word is that the next gig will be sometime this summer. Stay tuned… The Jam Brothers is located at 1208 Boulevard Way in Walnut Creek. If you’re in a band or want to start playing the guitar definitely check them out.

Oh, and the former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted bought 2 guitars and an amp there.

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Handlebar Toys Closes in Lafayette

May 1, 2012 11:30 am

Handlebar Toys in Lafayette has closed. A sign posted in the store window says:

After 42 Historic Years, HANDLEBAR TOYS has closed its doors. Thank you to all our loyal customers over the years…

Lamorinda Weekly has an article about the closing here.

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Sign of the Day

May 1, 2012 8:30 am

Spotted in front of the Zebra Tattoo Parlor.

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Star Wars Party at Lafayette Library on May 1st

April 30, 2012 4:30 pm

Photo by Flickr user starwarsblog

The Lafayette Library and Learning Center is hosting a Star Wars party for elementary and middle school kids tomorrow, May 1st from 3pm – 4:30pm. From their website:

Hang out with Star Wars reenactors, eat Cheetos (don’t be a Hog!), dance the Twist, and have fun like it’s the PTA Fun Night at McQuarrie Middle School. Celebrate finishing “The Strange Case of Origami Yoda”! For 4th-6th graders.

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Rochester Big & Tall Closes in Walnut Creek

April 30, 2012 3:00 pm

Rochester Sport for Big & Tall Men closed last week in downtown Walnut Creek. They were located in a prime spot next to Spitz Jewelers, across the street from Starbucks. Being neither big nor tall I never stepped inside this store, but for those missing it you can go to their San Francisco location at 700 Mission St.

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Opa! Greek Restaurant Opening in Walnut Creek Mid June

April 30, 2012 11:30 am

Back last November I mentioned that the Greek restaurant Opa! was coming to downtown Walnut Creek. They have announced on their website that they will be opening mid June. You can check out their menus here.

Check out the progress of the interior:

Take a look at the floor. Hardwood floors? Actually, it’s concrete made to look like wood. I look forward to checking this place out once it opens.

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Car of the Day

April 30, 2012 8:30 am

Spotted in front of Nordstrom in Walnut Creek over the weekend, this is a Packard Eight automobile from the 1930s. This car was in mint condition; I have never seen so many people staring and taking pictures of a car on a street before. This may deserve the car of the year post.

Check out the hood ornament:

Spare tire:

Has anyone seen this car in Walnut Creek before?

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Clay Arts Guild Spring Sale Last Day – Sunday, April 29th (Walnut Creek)

April 28, 2012 10:15 pm

The semi-annual Clay Arts Guild is holding a pottery sale (as well as pottery demonstrations) through Sunday, April 29th, at the ceramic studio at 1313 Civic Drive in Civic Park (next to the Walnut Creek downtown library). Take a look at some of the pottery for sale:

The artists are local and normally use the space to make pottery when not displaying their artwork. When I dropped by on Saturday someone was doing a pottery demonstration which was fun to see, and I thought the overall quality was really high. So if you plan on checking out the last day of the sidewalk sale in downtown Walnut Creek, I recommend dropping by this pottery sale in Civic Park, a short walk away.

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Walnut Creek Model Railroad Society Public Showing Tonight 8 – 10pm

April 27, 2012 4:45 pm

The Walnut Creek Model Railroad Society is holding a public viewing session tonight from 8pm – 10pm. They are located at 2751 Buena Vista Avenue and you can check out their schedule here. Tickets are $3 per adult, children under 6 free. From their website:

The Walnut Creek Model Railroad Society (WCMRS) operates the Diablo Valley Lines (DVL) model railroad, one of the most mountainous and one of the largest exclusively HO scale model railroads in the United States. This model railroad features standard gauge, narrow gauge, and interurban (overhead electric) freight and trolley lines.

At our public shows we invite you to view our permanent 34’x56′ [1,904² ft] layout. The DVL is comprised of approximately 4,300 feet of hand laid track on more than 175,000 individual ties with over 240 turnouts. The model railroad is contained in a purpose-built building designed and constructed by the club members. Diablo Valley Lines is viewable from the 160′ perimeter that includes multiple elevated viewing platforms.

The photo above doesn’t do justice to how large the mountain actually is. It’s HUGE. This is one of the coolest things to check out in Walnut Creek and East Bay. Outside of Christmas showings they only have public showings once per month so now is your chance to check this out this treasure for yourself.

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