Hot Picks 07.06.23

Thursday, July 6

Socially Included

Mic’d Up at the Press Club returns with the Weekly’s second installment of artists and creatives giving their firsthand takes on the work they do. July’s event features Ava Homa, a Kurdish-Canadian-American author now based in Pacific Grove, who has captivated readers through her writings on social issues and the human experience. Homa is the first female Kurdish author to publish a novel in English, her third language, and she’s received numerous awards for her fiction. Stop by The Press Club, grab a crepe and ask Homa your questions in-person. Copies of Homa’s novel, Daughters of Smoke and Fire, will be available for sale, or bring your own for a book signing. [KH]

12:30-1:30pm Thursday, July 6. The Creperie Cafe at The Press Club, 1123 Fremont Blvd., Seaside. Free. 901-3900.

Friday, July 7

Get Carded

What is the most disappointing thing you can hear? No, not “We were offered front-row tickets to Beyoncé, but I turned them down.” It’s the shout of “Bingo!” from across the room. Someone else won the prize. Fortunately, at Hacienda Bingo Night they give you three cards, and there are multiple games. That means more chances for you to jump from the chair with an exuberant “Bingo!” There’s also a music bingo round (get over your Beyoncé disappointment, maybe?). All the prizes are local. The folks at Hacienda promise food, drinks and fun. They had us at all three of those. [DF]

6-8pm Friday, June 7. Hacienda, 7180 Carmel Valley Road, Carmel. $10. 293-8133, haciendacv.com.

Bach in the Future

The 86th season of the Carmel Bach Festival officially kicks off July 15, but the music actually starts with a series of events in the week preceding. First up is “FreshTradition: Hope to Hope” on July 7, which features selections by Clarke, Spohr, Golijov and Debussy, played by a seven-member ensemble of strings, clarinet, piano and soprano. The performance, at Wave Street Studios in Monterey, is inspired by Samuel Johnson’s thought: “The natural flights of the human mind are not from pleasure to pleasure, but from hope to hope.” [RM]

7:30pm Friday, July 7. Wave Street Studios, 774 Wave St., Monterey. $25. 624-1521, bachfestival.org.

Friday, July 7-Sunday, July 9

Look! Missed it

Superbikes are faster than a speeding bullet… well, maybe not literally. But they are capable of scorching the asphalt at 190 mph. While they may not leap the tallest building, they can certainly conquer anything WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca throws at them – the hairpin, the Corkscrew, that nasty little 90-degree turn simply known as Turn 6, the lot. MotoAmerica Superbike Speedfest returns to the legendary track for three days of action in several classes, including Superbike, the top road racing series in America. Practice sessions and qualifying take place on Friday, with racing on both Saturday and Sunday. [DF]

8am-6pm Friday-Saturday, July 7-8; 8am-3pm Sunday, July 9. WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, 1021 Highway 68, Salinas. $15-$90. 242-8200, weathertechraceway.com.

Saturday, July 8

Hot Cars

A nice way to spend a family day is to attend this street festival and car show: the second annual Soledad Hot Summer Days. Attendees will get to look at over 300 classic cars, enjoy live music and nosh on delicious street food along Front Street. They will also contribute to a good cause: the festival benefits the Soledad Explorers Program – a program for teens and young adults to learn about public safety. The event is a collaboration between public and private entities including the City of Soledad, the Soledad Police Department, the Soledad Recreation Department, the Crusaders Car Club, and F&M Auto Repair. [CJ]

11am-6pm Saturday, July 8. Front Street in Soledad. Free to attend; donations to the Soledad Explorer Program are optional. Car owners can register to participate for a $35 fee. 223-5000, cityofsoledad.com.

Fire, Fun and Games

Big Sur Fire’s annual Muster is a summertime community gathering featuring all kinds of good fun – from barbecue straight off the grill to live music and even a round of captivating firefighter games. It’s also an important moment for the volunteer community brigade, as the Muster marks an opportunity to introduce this year’s new cohort of firefighters. Go to meet the nine individuals (your Big Sur neighbors!) who passed the fire academy this year and will now take on the huge role of providing important public safety services on the coast, stay for the fun of catching up with all the rest of your neighbors. [TCL]

Noon-3pm Saturday, July 8. Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, Highway 1, Big Sur. $15/adults; free/kids under 12. bigsurfire.org.

Sunday, July 9

In the Spirit

At what other festival can one dance to both Lady Gaga and traditional Japanese music? You don’t have to answer that, it’s a rhetorical question. For the first time since 2019, the Buddhist Temple of the Monterey Peninsula hosts its annual Obon Festival, a celebration of Japanese culture, food and ancestors. The Obon Festival is the time of year when ancestors are believed to visit from the afterlife, and Japanese people hang lanterns outside their doors to guide their ancestors home. The festival, this local institution’s 74th, will feature martial arts, bonsai and ikebana demonstrations, taiko music and traditional dancing. The event is free, with various Japanese foods for sale. Drop by and say konnichiwa, and get your Zen on. [DS]

Noon-5pm Sunday, July 9. Buddhist Temple of the Monterey Peninsula, 1155 Noche Buena St., Seaside. Free. 394-0119, facebook.com/montereypeninsulaobonfestival.

Keyed In

Alina Bercu is used to playing big stages. The Romanian pianist has performed in places like Carnegie Hall in New York, Tonhalle Zürich, Tonhalle and Opernhaus in Düsseldorf, Théâtre de Vevey, Auditorium Rome and more. Her resume and musical education is full of accolades and studies with piano greats, but it all began at age 7 – from there, Bercu quickly rose, and her family moved when she was just 9 so she could study at Transylvania University. She brings her meticulous training to a smaller stage at The SandBox for a program that includes J.S. Bach’s “Italian Concerto,” “Two Nocturnes, Opus 27” by Frederic Chopin, “Trio Elegiaque in G minor” by Sergei Rachmaninov, and “Pictures at an Exhibition” by Modest Mussorsky in an arrangement by Vladimir Horowitz. Think of it as a rising star taking on works by canonical stars, and listen in. [SR]

4pm Sunday, July 9. The SandBox, 440 Ortiz Ave., Sand City. $40. sandboxsandcity.com.

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