Thursday, March 7
Reclaiming Language
The Festival of Languages, Cultures and Ideas is back at CSU Monterey Bay, this time as a speaker series. The Department of World Languages and Cultures has invited special guest, Madoka Hammine, to headline the sixth annual festival. Hammine earned her Ph.D. at the University of Lapland in Finland, where she researched minority languages in Finland and in Japan, and she found that colonial and postcolonial language policies have resulted in many people feeling a loss of self-worth and pride. Learn about the power of language and identity; in addition, student clubs will be tabling before the talk, and refreshments will be served. [AP]
4-6:30pm Thursday, March 7. Tanimura & Antle Family Memorial Library (Room 1180), 3054 Divarty St., Seaside. Free; registration required at tinyurl.com/2b6b8u4j. 582-3733. tinyurl.com/3ms9u75w.
Country Voices
The short life of Patsy Cline sounds like the stuff of her own evocative song lyrics. After a hard childhood in which she was sexually abused and moved frequently, she dropped out of school at 15 to support her family after they were deserted by her father. She turned to her love and talent for singing, and by age 20, began forging the musical contacts that would lead her to record deals and producing Top 10 hits like “Crazy” and “She’s Got You.” It ended abruptly when she died at age 30 in a plane crash in 1963. It was only after her tragic death and up-and-down career that her place in American music history was sealed, with her induction as the first-ever female artist into the Country Music Hall of Fame and continued status as an influential musical icon. Her voice – along with those of fellow musical visionaries Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton – are captured by soloists Miko Marks and Kristina Train (backed by a five-member, all-women band) in Trailblazing Women of Country: From Patsy to Loretta to Dolly. All three had unprecedented success, landed in the Hall of Fame, and continue to influence the genre today. [SR]
7:30pm Thursday, March 7. Sunset Cultural Center, San Carlos Street at 9th Avenue, Carmel. $40-$65. 620-2048, sunsetcenter.org.
A Good Book
Need to find the right book? Brian Edwards is your guy. Have a question about an obscure piece of Monterey’s history? He’s also the one you want. Edwards is Monterey’s library and museums director, and he’ll join the Weekly’s Pam Marino for a conversation in this month’s installation of Mic’d Up at The Press Club. Libraries run in Edwards’ blood – his mother worked as a librarian and storyteller. He got his first job in a library in 1999 in Alameda, shelving books and making sure they were in the right places. In August 2022, Edwards became Monterey’s library director. Hear what he’s been up to since then and get a read on his future plans for the library. He also responds to audience questions. [EC]
12:30pm Thursday, March 7. The Press Club, 1123 Fremont Blvd., Seaside. Free. 901-3900.
Friday, March 8
Pivotal Time
Verlaine-Diane Soobroydoo is a New York-based writer and community builder. She is passionate about women’s rights, social justice and personal development. Soobroydoo is a guest at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies for International Women’s Day, and discusses community action and women in leadership. She delves into the methods and experiences necessary for effective women’s activism and how to nurture women’s leadership. This include topics such as volunteering, authenticity, as well as changing mindsets and narratives. [AP]
5:30-7pm Friday, March 8. Middlebury Institute of International Studies, McCone Irvine Auditorium, 499 Pierce St., Monterey. Free. 647-4123, middlebury.edu/institute.
Friday, March 8-Saturday, March 9
Ice Passages
Disney Frozen Jr. is a musical stage adaptation of a Broadway stage adaptation of Hollywood’s top grossing animated movie, ever. Instead of melting down the plot, however, the children’s version is block solid – a journey through the icy wilds of Arendelle where, in the end, the love caged within warms and is set free. The musical includes all the favorite tunes that sent shivers through audiences, such as “Do You Want to Build A Snowman?” “Love is an Open Door” and “Let it Go.” And it works all the better because only children and scriptwriters could look at a frozen landscape of snow and icicles and think, “This is wonderful.” But really, when Frozen Jr. is on a nice warm stage, even adults get the chills. [DF]
7pm Thursdays and Fridays, 2pm and 7pm Saturdays, March 8-16. ARIEL Theatrical, 320 Main St., Salinas. $16; $14/students, military; $12/children 3-12; Free/children under 3. 775-0976, arieltheatrical.org.
Saturday, March 9
Poets and They Know It
One of the wondrous things about poets is how they can voice great truths or describe great beauty with just a few words. Carmel Valley poet Laura Bayless in her poem “Atmosphere” describes a local sunrise, and the splendor immediately plays in the mind: “Near-dawn daylight paints muted colors/ flaunts pastel pink and peach/ nimbostratus streaks in the east/glitters oak leaf edges.” Here’s an opportunity to hear more of Bayless’ poems out loud, as she and fellow poet Dion O’Reilly read as part of the Monterey Bay Poetry Consortium, which meets the second Saturday of each month. Bayless has written four collections of poetry and serves as an associate editor for the Monterey Poetry Review. O’Reilly’s debut collection, Ghost Dogs in 2020, and her second book, Sadness of the Apex Predator, just released, have both received accolades. [PM]
5:30pm Saturday, March 9. Pacific Grove Public Library, 550 Central Ave., Pacific Grove. Free. 648-5760, kent.leatham.poet@gmail.com.
A Different Lens
Memories may fade and landscapes change with time, but photographs freeze a unique moment in time. During the Carmel Art Walk, when art galleries and studios open their doors for the public to enjoy an array of art, Weston Gallery hosts a drop-in book-signing called A spiritual journey of Tibet and Yosemite through the lenses of Kenneth Parker & William Neill. Both artists are renowned photographers who spent decades documenting their surroundings. Parker captured the Tibetan Mustang region and its cultural heritage while Neill shares his personal collection that captures Yosemite’s essence. Weston Gallery also has an exhibition dedicated to the photographers’ artwork, which will be open through May. [CJ]
4-7pm Saturday, March 9. Weston Gallery, 6th Avenue between Dolores and Lincoln, Carmel. Free. 624-4453, westongallery.com.
Sunday, March 10
Oh Hey, Monterey Bae
The theatrical team at Paper Wing Theatre is dead serious about having fun, and perhaps nowhere is that more apparent than their drag brunch shows. Don some sequins, indulge in the brunch spread (including bottomless mimosas) and prepare for fabulous drag queens to entertain you and make you laugh. If you can get it together to do your hair before noon, do it – this is in no small part a celebration of style, and audience participation is, naturally, expected. [SR]
Noon Sunday, March 10. Paper Wing Theatre, 711 Cannery Row, Suite I, Monterey. $39. 905-5684, paperwing.com.
Wednesday, March 13
L.A. Story
Propelled by a critically acclaimed lead performance from Mary Elizabeth Winstead, All About Nina follows a New York stand-up comedian (Nina) who’s struggled with relationships as she leaves the Big Apple to take her career to L.A., where she meets a man (Common, playing Rafe) who is both handsome and nice, and who’s taken a shine to her. But Nina has some demons and skeletons in her closet, and drama ensues – that’s how Hollywood rolls. The Sunset Center is hosting a free screening of the 2018 film, a chance to Netflix and chill on a much bigger screen. It should be a laugh and cry kind of night for those prone to do either. [DS]