Opera in the park, Castro Valley style
Friday, October 10, 2008 3:34Opera in the park, Castro Valley style
CASTRO VALLEY HAD its first-ever Opera in the Park on Sunday when the Trinity Lyric Opera offered up selections in the garden area of Cull Canyon Park.
Happy music aficionados such as Sal and Sylvia Tedesco brought along low chairs and refreshments and enjoyed solos, duets, some trios in a variety of languages — Italian, French, German and English. The eclectic music menu included Puccini and Rodgers and Hammerstein and Verdi performed by singers from around the Bay Area.
John Kendall Bailey, music director for the recent “Carousel” production at the Castro Valley Performing Arts Center, was emcee and was joined by accompanist Ron Valentino.
A highlight of the show was mezzo-soprano Lisa van der Ploeg who sang a selection from “Amahl and the Night Visitors.”
Expect more opera later in the year when Alan Thayer and Trinity Lyric Opera presents a classic Christmas presentation, “The Gift of the Magi” and “Amahl and the Night Visitors” at the Performing Arts Center on Dec. 20 and 21.
Tickets for that show go on sale Oct. 15.
Visit www.TrinityLyricOpera.org for details.
STUDENTS IN Barbara Lacy’s seventh-grade classroom at Our lady of Grace have been learning about giving to those less fortunate for a number of years. For the last three years, they have been earning money as part of the “Heifer Project,” in which they purchase
farm animals for impoverished families in Africa.
Their proud teacher says they have purchased about $2,000 worth of animals each year. This year, Barbara has added another component, and has invited individuals who have been doing outreach to come speak to the students about their experiences.
Jillian Luchsinger, a graduate of Our Lady of Grace who is now a high school senior, related her experiences of going to the Philippines and building houses in a tiny village with many very poor families.
Her trip “changed everything” for her, she told the awed seventh graders.
“I just want (the students) to see that life in the world is not like it is in our safe little nest of Castro Valley,” noted Barbara. “We are the lucky ones.”
She promises to share more stories as they come along.
Kudos to Lacy and her students for all their humanitarian work.
WITH ALL THE bad news, life is no picnic these days — which may mean you will want to consider a new workshop at the Castro Valley Library.
Dr. Marshall Zaslove will present “Meditate at the Library,” a workshop that offers simple effective techniques that can help you find inner peace. This program has been offered at more than 500 libraries and mental health venues by Bay Area resident Zaslove, who received the Superior Accomplishment Award from the state Department of Health. The presentation will include meditation technique demonstrations and an opportunity for audience interaction.
The free workshop will take place at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the library, 20055 Redwood Road. No registration is required. For details, call 510-670-6280 or go to www.aclibrary.org/branches/csv.
FALL IS PLANTING time in the Bay Area and the Eden Garden Club wants you to get your hands dirty! The club will hold its fall plant sale at the Castro Valley farmers market from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. The best part is the plants are exclusively member-grown and propagated, which means they should thrive in your Castro Valley garden! Sale proceeds support the club’s school grants program.
Also on the garden scene. UC Cooperative Extension’s Alameda County Master Gardeners will also host a plant sale, but theirs will take place in San Leandro at the farmers market at Bayfair Mall on Oct. 18.
Some of these plants will be featured on the organization’s list of outstanding plants for Alameda County. To view these plants in a garden setting, visit the Alameda County Master Gardeners’ Earth Friendly Demonstration Garden at the Martinelli Event Center, 3585 Greenville Road, Livermore.
Source: insidebayarea.com
