Iris Kwok

3 weeks ago | berkeleyside.org | Andrew Gilbert |Iris Kwok

Never miss local events! Sign up for Berkeleyside’s arts and culture newsletter, The Scene. And check out our roundup of affordable things to do anytime in Berkeley. 🎤 Bishop Mariann Budde, who drew national attention earlier this year when she asked President Donald Trump to “have mercy” at her Jan. 21 post-inauguration sermon in Washington, D.C., is giving a lecture on religion and public life at the First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley.

3 weeks ago | sfcv.org | Iris Kwok

A new choral work seeks to bring to life the history of the forced expulsion of a few hundred Chinese immigrants from a coastal Northern California town in 1885. The Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir will present the world premiere of Eric Tuan’s Echoes of Eureka on April 12 at First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley as part of the ensemble’s annual Making History Concert. Tuan, a composer and Bay Area native who grew up singing in PEBCC, is in his sixth season as the group’s artistic director.

3 weeks ago | berkeleyside.org | Iris Kwok

A small plot of land at Thousand Oaks Tot Park could one day be the site of an airplane-themed play structure dedicated to Col. Michael “Mike” Seltzer, a Berkeley-reared Air Force fighter pilot and father of three children, who died of cancer last year at age 43. Peter Kaes, who is leading the effort, is hoping to commemorate his childhood friend by adding a new section to the park, where they spent many afternoons as kids and later watched their own children play.

4 weeks ago | berkeleyside.org | Iris Kwok |Andrew Gilbert

Never miss local events! Sign up for Berkeleyside’s arts and culture newsletter, The Scene. And check out our roundup of affordable things to do anytime in Berkeley. 🎶 The Downtown Berkeley Association is relaunching its free noon concert series Jazz-ish Lunch, which brings live music to the stage above BART every Thursday through May 16 (weather permitting). Thursdays, March 27-May 16, noon-1 p.m. Downtown Berkeley BART Plaza.

1 month ago | berkeleyside.org | Iris Kwok

Rosemary Kim has been a regular biker for more than a decade, but there were some places she couldn’t reliably get to without relying on her car or a bus — like Tilden Regional Park or to her workplace in Richmond. A few years ago, when her boyfriend bought an e-bike and raved about it, she began looking into purchasing one of her own, but quickly found that she couldn’t justify the high cost. Besides, she worried that it would be too heavy for her to carry up and down stairs each day.