Hot Picks 06.15.23

Friday, June 16-Sunday, July 9

Wild Ride

Imagine this scenario: Six teens from a Canadian choir die in a tragic amusement park accident. We know what you’re thinking – all the makings of a musical comedy, right? After all, they already can sing. Amusement parks are fun. Bloody death and dismemberm… hang on. How does this work? Ride The Cyclone is indeed a musical, and a hilarious one at that. It’s also a bit, well, outlandish. A mechanical fortune-telling machine can save one of the victims and restore that person to life. Will it be the teen whose ambition is to become a French prostitute but, alas, can only find work at Taco Bell? The teens have to compete for the prize by telling a story. Unfortunately, the fortune-telling machine’s life may be cut short, too – a rat is chewing on its power cord. Yes, it’s an unusual take on what makes for a life well lived, but the Forest Theater Guild is up to it. Musical directors Laurel Lane Bowen and Hunter Hobson have crafted an unforgettable production. [DF]

8pm Fridays-Sundays, June 16-July 9. Outdoor Forest Theater, Santa Rita Street and Mountain View Avenue, Carmel. $22; $17/seniors, military, teachers; $12/teens. 626-1681, foresttheaterguild.org.

Saturday, June 17

Birding for All

Here’s one of many magical things about birding: Anyone can do it, virtually anytime, anywhere. That’s the underlying MO behind Monterey Audubon’s outings, including this guided birding trip at Laguna Grande Park, which is ADA-accessible, located in an easily accessible urban area and also home to 200-plus bird species. Sam Phillips, a wildlife biologist who works at Fort Hunter Liggett, specializes in raptors but is curious about all things avian and leads this roughly one-mile-long stroll around the park. It’s Monterey Audubon’s Pride Month event, so feel free to wear your rainbow colors – betcha the birds will still be even more colorful – and bring binoculars if you have them. Beginner birders are encouraged to attend. If you get lucky, you might see some of the four baby peregrine falcons chicks that are starting to wander around the rooftop of Embassy Suites. [SR]

9am-noon Saturday, June 17. Laguna Grande Park; meet in the Chili’s parking lot at 1349 Canyon Del Rey Blvd., Seaside. Free. montereyaudubon@gmail.com, montereyaudubon.org/outings.

Open Door

The Monterey County Historical Society is opening its doors this Saturday with a six-hour-long open house, and if you haven’t been already, you might want to step inside. Some fun facts: After Marguerite Nelson, former owner of the Boronda Adobe in Salinas, gifted it to the society in 1972, then-board president Gaylord Nelson memorialized the society’s commitment to preserving the adobe in a resolution that was written on parchment. In the same historical spirit, the society, which was gifted the Pat Hathaway trove of historical photos just over a year ago that are stored in a temperature-controlled vault, is building a Victorian reading room for visitors to sit in while perusing the multitude of historical documents the society has in its collection. That room, some of which is being appointed with items from the former home of Jesse Carr – a founding father of Salinas who passed away in 1903 – is going to be a treasure. The open house is kid-friendly, so feel free to bring the young bucks. [DS]

10am-4pm Saturday, June 17. Monterey County Historical Society, 333 Boronda Road, Salinas. Free. 757-8085, mchsmuseum.com/salinas.

Wondir Wonder

Hanif Panni is the Renaissance man of the Monterey Peninsula. He is equally talented as a DJ who plays Monterey County’s biggest and most prestigious events and as a visual artist – a painter and a muralist. The Monterey History and Art Association is thrilled to present WONDIR, a gallery exhibition featuring the visionary works of Wondir. “Bridging art and music is very important to me,” Panni writes on his website. “As an artist, I feel the same zone gets tapped into when expressing yourself honestly.” Skilled in design, illustration and digital composition, he melds classic fine art with emerging technologies to create works in mixed media, representing mastery in traditional and digital media, public mural painting, 3D design and video projection mapping. [AP]

6-8pm Saturday, June 17. Monterey History & Art at Stanton Center, 5 Custom House Plaza, Monterey. Free. 372-2608, montereyhistory.org.

See the Light

How did the Vikings navigate at sea in cloudy or twilight conditions? They used what was called a “sunstone,” a crystal known today at Iceland spar, or crystallized calcium carbonate, that polarizes light when it’s refracted through the crystal, so that they could know the direction of the sun. Bees use the same trick – they’re buzzing around with what are essentially polarized sunglasses in their vision. That process of understanding and measuring lightwaves is known as polarimetry. For those without any sort of physics background it might be hard to wrap your head around, but to that end, Daniel Cotton, an astronomer at Monterey Institute for Research in Astronomy, is giving a talk to break it all down, and explain how MIRA is breaking ground in the field, work that promises to unlock countless scientific unknowns and make more precise measurements. It’s a free lecture and sounds fascinating, but you might want to make sure your brain is firing on all cylinders if you plan to attend. [DS]

7:30pm Saturday, June 17. Monterey Peninsula College, 980 Fremont St., Monterey (Lecture Forum #102). Free. 883-1000, mira.org.

Sunday, June 18

Wine, Dine and Song

Dads are so hard to shop for. Does he really need another gadget? Probably not. Which is why an experience featuring some of his favorite pastimes is probably just the ticket. For dads who like wine, food and live music, Folktale Winery’s inaugural Live in the Vines Summer Fest in partnership with KRML Radio is the ideal Father’s Day celebration. Four indie-folk-style acts will be performing on Folktale’s stage: Brett Dennen; Dan Croll; Wolf Jett; and Nat Lefkoff. They serve as the soundtrack for what will be a family-friendly, early evening festival in Folktale’s Wine Garden, filled with good wine and good food at different stations, games and, of course, the music. Dad will be well pleased. [PM]

4-8pm Sunday, June 18. Folktale Winery, 8940 Carmel Valley Road, Carmel Valley. $85. 293-7500, folktalewinery.com.

Here and Queer

Palenke Arts presents “Here and Queer and Thriving,” an evening of “Queer Poetry, Amor and Joy,” featuring nationally acclaimed queer poets Yosimar Reyes and Bianca Tonantzin Zamora. Reyes, who was born in Mexico and raised in San Jose, explores the themes of migration and sexuality in his work. He is a LAMBDA Literary Fellow as well as the recipient of the Undocupoets Fellowship. He is currently working on his one-man show, Prieto, to premiere soon. Zamora is the associate director for Stanford University’s School of Humanities and Sciences. As a proud, queer, Latina poet and organizer for grassroots coalitions, she has spoken at many events including Monterey Peninsula Pride. Monterey County Teen Poet Laureate and LGBTQ+ ally Mahi Shah will open the evening by reciting her poetry. [AP]

6pm Sunday, June 18. Palenke Arts. 1713 Broadway Ave., Seaside. $5-$10. 899-9909, palenkearts.org.

Tuesday, June 20

In Brief

The “flash” story format is short. Very short. But those few words contain urgency, conflict and an unforeseen twist – which makes it kinda like a Monterey County Weekly Hot Pick. Urgency? The event below takes place on Tuesday, which means action must be taken, and soon. Conflict? Go or don’t go. If you don’t, however, you’re going to miss writer Andrea Firth as she explains the form and how it breaks the solemn rules of writing. Critics say it’s easy. They say it feeds short attention spans. Is there any truth to this? She will reveal all. And the twist? You won’t see it coming, but… [DF]

6:15-8pm Tuesday, June 20. Center for Spiritual Awakening, 522 Central Ave., Pacific Grove. Free. centralcoastwriters.org.

HOT PICKS by Tajha Chappellet-Lanier, Dave Faries, Kyarra Harris, Celia Jiménez, Pam Marino, Rey Mashayekhi, Agata Popęda, Sara Rubin and David Schmalz.