WED 24
Oakland’s Humanist Hall gives you the other side of the story, just in time for Turkey Day. Tonight at 7 p.m., stop by 390 27th St. (between Telegraph and Broadway) to viddy John Borden, George Burdeau, and Phil Lucas’ The Native Americans. The miniseries, which originally aired on PBS in 1994, begins with an examination of the tribes of the northern and southern Great Plains, including the Lakota, Cheyenne, Crow, Kiowa, and Blackfeet. After a break to stretch your legs and empty your bladders, Part Two explores the woodland and Great Lakes tribes (Micmac, Pequot, the Iroquois Confederacy, and others). The Band’s Robbie Robertson provides the soundtrack. Admission to the film screening is free, but donations are accepted. 510-452-1235. — Stefanie Kalem
THU 25
Fear not the first turkey; fear the first stuffing. So much attention gets paid to the bird — whether a real dead one or an overpriced Unturkey — that the carbolicious dressing is often an afterthought, and tastes that way. May we humbly suggest our favorite recipe, the virtually foolproof (or at least assistant calendar editor-proof) Corn Bread and Kale Stuffing (from Gourmet magazine via Epicurious.com). This sucker feeds eight with leftovers and, if made right, will make even your Tofurducken taste better. Substitute nondairy margarine and it’s vegan-friendly, too.
Ingredients:
• Two large onions, chopped (about four cups)
• Four ribs of celery, chopped
• One stick (half a cup) unsalted butter
• One large bunch of kale, stems discarded and the leaves rinsed well and chopped (about ten cups)
• About four cups corn bread or packaged corn bread stuffing
• One tablespoon crumbled dried sage
In a large skillet, cook the onions and the celery with salt and pepper to taste in butter over moderately low heat, stirring until the vegetables are softened. Add the kale in batches, stirring until each batch is wilted, and cook the mixture until the kale is bright green. In a bowl, combine the mixture with the corn bread, stir in the sage and salt and pepper to taste, and toss the stuffing gently until it is combined well. Let it cool. The stuffing may be made one day in advance and kept covered and chilled. (To prevent bacterial growth, do not stuff the turkey in advance.) — Stefanie Kalem
FRI 26
Have yourself a merry little Sinatra Christmas. No, Clyde, we don’t mean by punching obnoxious drunks or eating breakfast off the chest of a Vegas hooker. We’re talking about digging Christmas My Way: A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra, a cheery musical revue featuring a sleighful of Ol’ Blue Eyes holiday standards like “Silver Bells,” “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” “Mistletoe & Holly,” and “Winter Wonderland” — forty tunes in all — performed by Emily Saxe, John Haithcock, Todd Carver, and Leah Tandberg-Warren. The show opens tonight (8 p.m.) and runs through December 18 at CTA Crossroads Theatre, 1277 Boulevard Way, Walnut Creek. $22-$25. Ring-a-ding-ding 925-944-0597 or visit CTACrossroads.org — Kelly Vance
SAT 27
Tired of Thanksgiving leftovers yet? Yes? How about Thanksgiving references in this section? Definitely? Well, then, how about some curry? Mark Curry, that is. Yes, the Oakland-born star of ABC’s long-running Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper is making a three-day stand-up stop at Tommy T’s in Concord. He currently hosts Animal Tails, a variety show for animal lovers in the thirteen-to sixteen-year-old age bracket on the PAX network, so presumably he has some grown-up stuff to unload. Friday and Saturday night at 8 and 10 p.m., and 8 p.m. Sunday. Tommy T’s is located at 1655 Willow Pass Rd. Tickets cost $20 on Friday and Sunday, $25 tonight. Ticketweb.com, 925-686-6809. — Stefanie Kalem
SUN 28
That Grinch guy got it all wrong. Why gaffle one holiday when you can steal ’em all? That’s what The Tale of the Wicked Winter Witch is all about — the transformation of the Winter Fairy into a frosty ol’ crone bent on stopping Christmas, Kwanzaa, and Hanukkah. What’ll happen? Nobody really knows, because this musical fable for the wee ones is being put on by Delta City Improv, so each show is a blend of script, spontaneity, and song. Catch it Thursdays through Saturdays at 7 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through December 23 at Cue Productions, 1835 Colfax St. in Concord. Prior to each performance, kids can get their faces painted and check out the dancing student troupe Miniature Dancing Snowflakes, and Moving Arts II’s Moving Statues. $8 kids and seniors, $10 adults, free for kids three and younger. 925-687-4220. — Stefanie Kalem
MON 29
They’re still talking about Rosie the Riveter in Richmond. The archetypal WWII home-front-workin’ gal who built the ships and planes is honored in a new historical sign and tableau on display at Richmond’s Lucretia Edwards Park (1400 block of Marina Way South) — featuring a set of eighteen-foot-high sculptures accompanied by words and photos of the real people who worked in the East Bay’s defense plants during The Big One. The Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park, as it’s known, is open every day. — Kelly Vance
TUE 30
Eric Sager says that when he got downsized out of his corporate job, he wanted to get back down to earth and shoot some pictures. That’s how the Blew Back Photo Show came about. The title has two meanings, the literal (“Look what the wind blew in”) and the figurative (“The backs of picture frames were blue acrylic”), and Sager’s photos cover a wide range of subjects, including portraits of homeless people, in color and black-and-white. The photos are now on the walls of Urban Blend at the corner of 4th and Broadway near Jack London Square in Oakland, where they’ll stay until the wind blows them back or until December 13, whichever comes first. — Kelly Vance
