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PAGE 12 • ALAMO TODAY & DANVILLE TODAY NEWS • May 2022
Fair continued from front page bidding on these animals and supporting or joining 4-H can email tassajara@ contracosta4h.org. The Fair will be held at the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds located at 1201 West 10 t h St re et in Antioch. The Fair runs from Thursday, May 12th through Su n d ay, May 1 5 t h . C om e have a day of fun supporting our local youth and join in on the activities, events, and shows. For a Fair schedule and ot h e r i n for m at i on , v i s it Maya and her goat are ready for Fair! contracostafair.com.
CHROMATICA IS BACK. COME TO THE SHOW!
After a gap of more than two years, Chromatica, the popular Danville chorus, will showcase hits across the centuries at their May 7th concert. The concert will be at 7pm at Holy Shepherd Lutheran Church, located at 433 Moraga Rd in Orinda. Vaccination certificates and masks will be required. What do Mozart, Brahms, Bernstein, Paul Simon, Harold Arlen, Victor Young, and Lili Boulanger all have in common? They all wrote pieces that were huge hits in their time. From Brahm’s German Requiem with its lovely “Wie Lieblich…” to Paul Simon’s “Bridge over Troubled Water,” their music attracted large audiences and created special memories. Chromatica’s May 7 concert remembers these and a number of other pieces in unusual and expressive arrangements. Lili Boulanger, the younger sister of famed pianist and teacher Nadia Boulanger who died tragically young at 25 and won the prestigious Prix de Rome at 18, produced some extraordinary music. These concerts will feature her “Hymne au Soleil” (Hymn to the Sun) and “Renouveau” (Spring) that also include spectacular piano accompaniment featuring Julie Rieth, Chromatica’s outstanding accompanist. Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms,” sung in Hebrew, remain among his best choral works. “In Flander’s Fields” is a poignant ode to those who perished in the Great War. Add to these pieces popular toe tappers like “Ciao Bella Ciao,” “I’ve Got the World on a String,” “When I Fall in Love,” and “Twist and Shout” and Chromatica will again offer a unique program characteristic of its now 10-year history. Chromatica was founded in 2011 and now includes 20 men and women singers. Led by David P. Huff, an outstanding director and operatic tenor who has sung both in New York and San Francisco and accompanied by the exceptional pianist, Julie Rieth, it seeks to perform challenging pieces at a high level of professionalism. Tickets are $25 for adults, $10 for students, and children 10 and under are admitted free. For concert tickets and to find out more about Chromatica, visit www.chromaticachorale.org. Tickets for all concerts are also available at the door. For a more personal look, you can find Chromatica on Facebook.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Many of our neighbors cannot afford to feed and clothe themselves or their families. Volunteer opportunities for individuals, families, and groups to serve the community are available at White Pony Express (WPE). WPE, founded by Dr. Carol Weyland Conner in 2013 and headquartered in Pleasant Hill, is a nonprofit that rescues fresh surplus food from supermarkets, restaurants, and farmers markets. This nutritious food is then delivered free to organizations that feed the hungry. In addition, high-quality clothing, children’s toys, and books are distributed free of charge. Hundreds of volunteers make WPE possible. They volunteer because they believe in the mission and know they are helping others who have urgent needs at this critical time in their lives. If you are interested in volunteering, please visit whiteponyexpress.org/volunteer or call Mandy Nakaya, Volunteer Services Coordinator, at 925-818-6361 or email Mandy@ whiteponyexpress.org.
QUICK TRIPS By Linda Summers Pirkle
MUPPETS
Dreams really did come true for Jim Henson (19371991), creator of the famed Muppets. When discussing his motivation behind Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, Henson stated, “I wanted our audience to know that despite all the chaos, and despite our differences, there is nothing more fun than being together. From there, I never stopped creating and dreaming. In fact, the more we performed, the more fun we had, and the more my dreams grew bringing millions of people together. What can possibly be more magical than that?” Today, Sesame Street is watched by millions of people in over 150 countries and, at its peak, The Muppet Show was watched by over 235 million people per week. Who is your favorite Muppet? The question was asked recently on NPR’s Forum radio show and people responded with: Miss Piggy, Rowlff the Dog, Bert and Ernie, and, of course, Kermit the Frog. What I found interesting was why they loved their favorite Muppet. Invariably it revolved around how their chosen character taught them to be a better person or get through tough times or even how their moral compass was created by watching the often-hilarious antics of the lively ensemble. I discovered many details about Jim Henson in the bestseller Jim Henson by Brian Jay Jones, none so endearing as his relationship with his grandmother. Growing up in a small town in Mississippi, Jim was particularly close to his grandmother, affectionately called “Dear.” Dear could draw, paint, and was great with crafts and sculpting. She was also a seamstress whose skill “was the stuff of family legend.” Jim’s learned skills from Dear and his own innate talents were used when he later built, sculpted, and sewed his own puppets out of any material he could find. She instilled in him a “sense of genteel self-importance.” Author Jones writes, “It wasn’t arrogance, but simply a conviction that he (Jim) could do and be anything he wanted, a confidence and self-awareness that, for the rest of his life, family and colleagues admired and found reassuring.” What touched my heart was that Henson contributed his success to his beloved grandmother. A Henson documentary directed by Oscar winner Ron Howard in cooperation with the Henson family (he and his wife co-creator JaneAnn Nebel Henson had five children) is due out in 2022.According to a press release, the film will give audiences a first-person view into the life of one of the world’s most inspiring and iconoclastic creators through exclusive home movies, photographs, sketches, and Henson personal diaries. I recently visited the Jim Henson Exhibition: Imagination Unlimited at The Contemporary Jewish Museum (CJM) in San Francisco which features over 150 artifacts, including actual puppets, sketches, storyboards, scripts, photographs, costumes, and behind the scenes footage. Like anything featured at The CJM, the Jim Henson Exhibition is insightful and informative. Senior Curator, Heidi Rabben, noted, “While Henson himself was not Jewish, his life’s work and legacy beautifully reflect the core values of The CJM. Henson sought to create a better world on-screen, which allowed people from all walks of life to see parts of themselves reflected through these beloved characters. Henson’s enduring lessons around diversity, inclusion, representation, and coexistence continue to have a tremendously formative impact for children and families today.” The traveling exhibit Jim Henson Exhibition: Imagination Unlimited is on view at The CJM through August 14th. The address is 736 Mission St., San Francisco. Their website is www.thecjm.org. Hours are Thursday-Sunday, 11AM-5PM. Linda Summers Pirkle is a long-term Danville resident. To share your “Quick Trips” ideas, email Coverthemap@gmail.com.
