Hot Picks 10.13.22

Oct. 13-16

Ride ’Em

In the Old West, roundups weren’t a lot of fun – just sweaty hours in a saddle with maybe a plate of rancid beans at the end of the day. Apparently no one told that to the folks at California Rodeo Salinas, because they put together a Fall Roundup that really puts the wild into the west. Think carnival rides with names like Rip Cord, Zipper, Zendar – which just sounds menacing – and one so daring they could only describe it as Dark Ride. No fear, though. There are also children’s rides and activities, music, entertainers and foods no chuck wagon ever offered (barbecue, loaded baked potatoes and, yes, corn dogs; it’s illegal in most states to have a carnival without them… we think). There are also something like 30 or more shopping booths – we stopped counting. No rodeo, though. This is the organization’s way of rounding up the community for a good time. [DF]

4-10pm Thursday, Oct. 13 and Friday, Oct. 14; noon-10pm Saturday, Oct. 15; noon-6pm, Sunday, Oct. 16. Salinas Sports Complex, 1034 N. Main St., Salinas. $12/adults; $7/children; free/ages 2 and under; $40/carnival wristbands. 775-3100, carodeo.com.

Oct. 14

Love in Monterey

Author and speaker Glodean Champion invites Monterey County residents to join this Let’s Talk About Love community event – an open conversation about love, social responsibility and all the things that connect us to one another. Champion hopes this event, and those that follow, will begin to change the narrative about race and difference, and move our country toward healing and connection. “It’s time for people to come together. This isn’t an American issue,” she says. “It’s a global concern, and I want to help make the world a better place by providing a safe space that will move us toward, rather than away from, one another so that we can heal and grow stronger together. We have already experienced what growing apart can do to us.” There will also be guest speakers, food, fun, prizes and an opportunity to give back to the community. [AP]

8pm Friday, Oct. 14. Deja Blue, 500 Broadway Ave., Seaside, Free. 324-0044, dejabluelive.com.

Oct. 15

Pride in the Valley

Salinas Valley Pride Celebrations, a nonprofit with the mission to create a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community through social events, invites the public to the 12th annual Salinas Valley Pride event. “We will be continuing our tradition of hosting a large pride celebration in the heart of the Salinas Valley to bring our community together,” wrote Crystal Libby, vice president of Salinas Valley Pride Celebrations. The event will feature live drag performances, belly dancing, political speakers, DJs and more. “We will also have several artists displaying their work, and even doing live paintings,” Libby adds. “Attendees can get to know local queer-friendly businesses and organizations who are excited to support the LGBTQ+ community.” [AP]

11am-4pm Saturday, Oct. 15. Central Park, 420 Central Ave., Salinas. Free. salinasvalleypride.com.

Jupiter and Beyond

Hailed by The New Yorker as “an ensemble of eloquent intensity… one of the mainstays of the American chamber music scene” and praised that “every so often a performance leaves us in awe… ” by the Dallas Morning News, this quartet enters its 20th year with as much fire and grace as they displayed when they won the Young Concert Artists International auditions in New York City in 2005 and an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2007. The group displays a reverence for the traditional chamber music canon, along with a keen eye for more modern works, and their program here this weekend offers both, with works by Charles Ives and Felix Mendelssohn paired with compositions from modernists Michi Wiancko and George Walker. [PF]

7:30pm Saturday, Oct. 15. Sunset Center, Ninth and San Carlos, Carmel. $25-$63. 620-2040, sunsetcenter.org.

Star Power

Though understanding space might not rank high in utility for the human race – we’ve got water and oxygen on this planet, and yet we’re willfully destroying it – it is undeniably fascinating and full of mysteries that, bit by bit, scientists are starting to unravel. And some of those mysteries are things that most people don’t even know exist, like “star quakes,” aka asteroseismology. Huh? Stars have quakes? Yep, and in the last decade, scientists have made great strides in better understanding them. This Saturday, Jean Perkins, an astronomer from the Monterey Institute for Research in Astronomy (MIRA), is delivering a free lecture at Monterey Peninsula College about seismic activity in stars. That understanding may or may not help us solve any real-world problems here on Earth, but, it is pretty cool. [DS]

7:30pm Saturday, Oct. 15. Monterey Peninsula College, 980 Fremont St., Monterey (lecture is in Lecture Forum #102). Free, no registration required. mira.org/events.htm.

Oct. 16

Harvest Jamboree

What’s the best way to say happy 75th birthday to Greenfield? The Greenfield Harvest Festival is a celebration of the city, its culture, and the season. Enjoy different types of live music from salsa to rock ‘n’ roll to banda. The festival also includes a parade, face painting, artisan vendors and more. Kids can enjoy pony rides, participate in crafts, and get snuggly at a petting zoo. This festival boasts four stages – three for live music and one for traditional dances. Attendees will have the opportunity to get in touch with local organizations and gather information about that they do in the community. And to wish the city a happy birthday. [CJ]

11am-5pm Sunday, Oct. 16. Downtown Greenfield, El Camino Real. Free admission. firstnightmonterey.org.

Blast from the Past

Between Sept. 1 and Oct. 13, 1849, a group of 48 delegates from around Alta California met inside Colton Hall in Monterey to debate the hot political issues of the day and, ultimately, create the original California Constitution. (We hope they had some fun around town, too.) The next year, California officially became a state. The city of Monterey’s Museums & Cultural Arts Division will celebrate this historic event on Sunday, Oct. 16 with a re-enactment, complete with original artifacts and delegates in period dress. Travel back in time – it only takes couple hours of your afternoon. [TCL]

2-4pm Sunday, Oct. 16. Colton Hall, 570 Pacific St., Monterey. Free, but seating is limited. Make a reservation at monterey.org/museums. For more information, call 646-5648 or email museumpt@monterey.org.

HOT PICKS by Tajha Chappellet-Lanier, Dave Faries, Paul Fried, Celia Jiménez, Pam Marino, Agata Popęda, Sara Rubin and David Schmalz.