Top Tickets: February 18-24

Diablo's picks for the can't-miss events of the coming week: NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me, Mardi Gras celebrations in Livermore and Berkeley, di Rosa Preserve art exhibit, and Oscar-viewing on Danville's big screen.

If you haven’t seen Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Milk, The Reader, or Slumdog Millionaire, get to a Cineplex before Sunday’s big awards (btw, most Best Picture nominees are still running at Pleasant Hill’s CineArts theater).  But also make time for these great events…

February 19–20: Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me
NPR fans will not want to miss a live local taping of Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!, the weekly trivia fest in which listeners and participants test their knowledge against the best and brightest minds in the news and entertainment world. Thursday’s taping covers the week’s news; Friday’s covers anything and everything. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, 8 p.m., $24–$46, (510) 642-9988, calperfs.berkeley.edu.

February 20–21: Celebrate Mardi Gras
We may be nearly 2,000 miles from Nola, but you can still get your Mardi Gras fix right here in the East Bay. At Livermore’s Bothwell Arts Center, revel in a French Quarter atmosphere with street artists, fortune tellers, New Orleans jazz, and Louisiana-style eats such as gumbo, pralines, and hurricanes. Or don beads and masks and celebrate Mardi Gras music at the Voodooville concert at Berkeley’s Jazzschool featuring Creole culture champions Chelle! and Friends. February 20, New Orleans Bash at the Bothwell, Bothwell Arts Center, 2466 8th Street, Livermore, 5–10 p.m., $15 admission, $25 for concert, (925) 447-2787, livermoreperformingarts.org/bothwellartscenter; February 21, Voodooville: Mardi Gras Countdown, The Jazzschool, 2087 Addison St., Berkeley, 8 p.m., $12–$15, (510) 845-5373, jazzschool.com.

February 21–June 13: (un)Natural
Carrie Lederer, curator of Walnut Creek’s Bedford Gallery, joins other Bay Area artists in exhibiting work at Napa’s di Rosa Preserve. The exhibition theme is a perfect fit for the preserve, which is known for blending art and nature. Each work interprets nature—or what mankind has altered and passes for nature. di Rosa Preserve, 5200 Sonoma Hwy, Napa, gallery open Wed.–Fri. 9:30 a.m.–3 p.m., free, (707) 226-5991, dirosapreserve.org.

February 22: Oscar-Viewing Party
Why watch the Academy Awards on a 50-inch flat screen, when you can watch it on a 15-foot projection screen? The California Independent Film Festival hosts this annual viewing party, which includes door prizes, games, trivia, and food. Plus, guests are encouraged to dress as their favorite movie star. Village Theatre, 233 Front St., Danville, 4 p.m., $20–$25, (925) 314-3400, tickets: villagetheatreshows.com, more info: caindiefest.org.

For even more events happening this week, browse the complete listings on Diablo’s Community Calendar.

Posted at 05:00 PM in Best Of Editor Picks | Permalink