Hot Picks 11.14.24

Thursday, Nov. 14

Movie Star

Monterey County has appeared in some of Hollywood’s biggest hits, like From Here to Eternity, as well as a few less memorable ones (the tourism office probably doesn’t bring up Turner and Hooch). There’s a film clip by Thomas Edison’s folks preserved by the Library of Congress. While that all seems pretty cool, it’s also pretty lucrative. Since the Monterey County Film Commission was created in 1987, production companies have spent more than $136 million here. And if you want to mingle with the people responsible for all that attention, as well as some locals in the film industry, the commission is hosting a mixer. [DF]

4:30-6:30pm Thursday, Nov. 14. Hofsas House, San Carlos Street between 3rd and 4th avenues, Carmel. $15. 646-0910, filmmonterey.org.

Bear Necessities

If you watched enough television as a kid, you picked up a lot of information about bears. They swipe picnic baskets, for one. They also favor casual hats and are prone to brag about their smartness. And if that’s what you learned, then you definitely will benefit from a happy hour discussion, “Science on Tap: Bears!” It is led by Meghan Walla-Murphy and Brock Wooldridge, who are noted ursinologists and will cover the life and habits of the massive animals, as well some tales and information about conservation. [DF]

5:30-7:30pm Thursday, Nov. 14. Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, 165 Forest Ave., Pacific Grove. $20; $15/adult members; free/students. 648-5716, pgmuseum.org.

Friday-Sunday, Nov. 14-17

Sing Along

Bruce Springsteen, Frank Sinatra, Whitney Houston. The list of New Jersey-born famous musicians is long and impressive. But perhaps none lend themselves better to a story told on the stage than Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. Their rags-to-riches arc begins in rough times in Newark, and follows them to wild success. Jersey Boys is, naturally, a musical and features some of the songs that still endure today (“Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”) and that made this group into a legend fit for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. [SR]

7:30pm Thursdays-Saturdays, 2pm Sundays, Nov. 14-Dec. 22. $49; $16/students; $29/teachers, military; $39/seniors; discount previews Nov. 14-15. Golden Bough Theatre, Monte Verde Street between 8th and 9th, Carmel. 622-0100, pacrep.org.

Friday, Nov. 15

Scratching the Surface

When clothing is made cheaply, discarded at extraordinary rates, and comprises a large portion of our waste, we get fast fashion – a $136.19 billion industry that textile artist Jaki Canterbury wants to change. Through her Monterey-based business, Slowfiber, she empowers people to repair the clothing they already own, buy secondhand, host clothing swap parties, and reshape the way they think about their wardrobes. Canterbury speaks about that vision, with a poetry introduction by Heidi McGurrin. [KR]

5:30-7pm Friday, Nov. 15. Pacific Grove Public Library, 550 Central Ave., Pacific Grove. Free. 648-5760, pacificgrovelibrary.org.

Saturday, Nov. 16

Go Birding

The birds are on the move to a different country – perhaps to the envy of many humans following the results of the presidential election. As we get deep into fall, it’s migration season along the Pacific Flyway, with millions of birds traveling thousands of miles from Alaska to Patagonia, with plenty of rest stops along the way as they search for warmer climes. Learn about the basics of migration during a walk led by biologist Patrick Furtado. [EC]

8:30-11am Saturday, Nov. 16. Laguna Grande Park, Monterey. Free; register in advance. 372-3196, mprpd.org.

Good Fun

The word “gala” implies many things. There’s likely to be a program followed by a fancy sit-down dinner, some live entertainment and plenty of wine in a fabulous setting. The Blind & Visually Impaired Center of Monterey County goes one or two better with their fall gala, because it is also a fundraiser, which means auction items and giveaways. So besides offering an evening of fun with the potential for prizes, the gala also gives guests the satisfaction of helping support the center’s many local programs for the visually impaired. [DF]

4:30pm Saturday, Nov. 16. Monterey Marriott, 350 Calle Principal, Monterey. $150. 649-3505, blindandlowvision.org.

Linked Music

Music is a universal art form that transcends language and culture and brings people together. It’s a universal language we can all relate to. Pianists Michael Martinez and Samer Fanek will create a musical bridge, a cross-cultural performance blending together the East and West. Both artists perform original work during their Bridges of Sound performance in Monterey. Samek brings an Arabic flair with dramatic, introspective and tender moments while pianist Martinez fuses contemporary and classical styles. Each alone, and especially combined, create a moving and engaging listening experience. [CJ]

5-6:30pm Saturday, Nov. 16. Wendi Kirby Music, 550 Hartnell St. # F, Monterey, $25. wendikirbymusic.com.

Controlled Chaos

Enter the comedy show, where humor has the ability to cut through internal turbulence like butter. It’s a remarkable storytelling job when someone can turn what we know to be true on its head with just an observation or an anecdote with a dash of quick wit. To do it on the fly – to improvise – is a true act of mental jiu jitsu. Here’s your chance to see it, with a show titled “Controlled Chaos.” [KR]

7-9pm Saturday, Nov. 16. Pacific Grove Art Center, 568 Lighthouse Ave., Pacific Grove. $17.85. 646-1188, comedyvarietyshowcase.com/controlledchaos.

AJ Jihad

This punk band from Arizona was formed in 2004 by Sean Bonnette (acoustic guitar and vocals) and Ben Gallaty (bass). They became a modern anti-folk group with messages reminiscent of folk, speaking of poverty, social phobia, altruism, religion, politics and existentialism. The original name of the band was Andrew Jackson Jihad. AJJ is returning to its two-person guitar/upright bass/vocal ensemble that consumed its earliest days touring in and around the Left Coast. [AP]

7-11pm Saturday, Nov. 16. Henry Miller Memorial Library, Big Sur. Sold out. 667-2574, folkyeah.com.

Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 16-17

Artisans at Work

The Aromas Hills Artisans, nearing the 25th anniversary in February since its founding, is an active group of artists who not only host various events through the year, but their work can be seen throughout the small town. The mural on the Aromas branch library? That was them. What about the colorful mural of fish along the Rogge Lane bridge that crosses the Pajaro River? You guessed right. Now’s your chance to buy the pieces these artists have worked countless hours to create, in every type of media imaginable, from glass, wood, fiber, jewelry and more. [EC]

10am-4pm Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 16-17. Aromas Community Grange, 400 Rose Ave., Aromas. Free to attend. aromashillartisans.org.

American Classics

George Gershwin debuted the definitive song of the jazz age, “Rhapsody in Blue,” on a snowy afternoon in New York in January 1924. It came at the end of a long concert, “An Experiment in Modern Music,” that had mostly bored the audience. People were restless and getting up to leave but suddenly they heard something new, the jazzy clarinet that opens “Rhapsody” – and they ran back to their seats. When it ended, the composition was met with thunderous applause. The clarinet’s iconic call is no longer new to us, but it’s still a good reason to run to hear the Monterey Symphony perform the tune, with Adam Golka on piano. (See story, p. 33.) [PM]

7:30pm Saturday, Nov. 16 and 3pm Sunday, Nov. 17. Sunset Center, San Carlos Street at 9th, Carmel, $65-$85; $11-$42/students, military. 646-8511, montereysymphony.org.

Sunday, Nov. 17

World Music

Western listeners may be acquainted with the power of spiritual music to transport you – no particular belief system required – mostly through church music. This concert presents an opportunity to hear Sufi-inspired music, drawn from messages from Muhammad. The Al Firdaus Ensemble offers a musical portal to a spiritual world and also to an international world – they are based in Granada, Spain, but draw inspiration widely, from flamenco, music therapy tradition on the Iberian Peninsula, Celtic, Sudanese, Syrian music and more. [SR]

3-5pm Sunday, Nov. 17. International School auditorium, 1720 Yosemite St., Seaside. $30. palenkearts.org.

Tuesday, Nov. 19

Fiddle Me This

There are some rules of etiquette to go over before attending an Otter Opry event. First of all, hootin’ and hollerin’ – just fine, perhaps even encouraged. Britches instead of slacks – definitely. Referring to a fiddle as a violin – big no-no. Now, down to the fun. The California Bluegrass Reunion features some of the country’s best players, including Grammy award-winner John Reischman on mandolin and banjo picker Bill Evans, who earned the Steve Martin award. There are others to name, but it’s a list too long for this space. [DF]

7pm Tuesday, Nov. 19. Monterey United Methodist Church, 1 Soledad St., Monterey. $40; $35/members; free/ages 15 and under. otteropry.org.

Wednesday, Nov. 20

Bombs Away

While some might argue the atomic bombs America dropped on Japan in World War II, causing the country to surrender, saved both Japanese and American lives, it doesn’t negate the fact that nuclear attacks are horrific, or that the bombing victims in Hiroshima and Nagasaki were largely civilians. Twelve of those victims were American POWs, and Shigeaki Mori, a Japanese atomic bomb survivor from Hiroshima, has dedicated his life to telling their stories as part of an effort to have a world without nuclear weapons. [DS]

4-6:30pm Wednesday, Nov. 20. McCone Irvine Auditorium, 499 Pierce St., Monterey. Free. middlebury.edu.

Cool Beans

Beans is a feature film, released in 2020, based on true events that occurred in Quebec, Canada, when a group of Mohawk tribal members protested to protect a pine forest on their native land from being cut down to make way for a golf course. It’s a film about standing up for what’s right, and protecting what’s left. The Sunset Center is screening the movie at a time where that message is as salient as ever, as we stumble into an uncertain and perhaps chaotic future. You don’t always win when you fight, but you always lose when you don’t. [DS]

7pm Wednesday, Nov. 20. Sunset Center, San Carlos Street at 9th Avenue, Carmel. Free. 620-2048, sunsetcenter.org.

HOT PICKS by Erik Chalhoub, Dave Faries, Celia Jiménez, Pam Marino, Agata Popęda, Katie Rodriguez, Sara Rubin and David Schmalz.