The Contemporary Jewish Museum’s popular after work DIY workshop RitLab (Ritual Laboratory) is back for a summer slam of poetry and art making in honor of Gertrude Stein, the subject of the Museum’s current exhibition Seeing Gertrude Stein: Five Stories. Stein’s ever-so clever way with words is the inspiration as you create your own word magnets (complete with personalized poetry tin), swap with other RitLab-ers, and participate in a poetry slam hosted by poet and Bay Area slaminatrix Mona Webb. The evening also features an eclectic and hilarious mash up performance by Joshua Walter, internationally acclaimed comedian, poet and original member of the Bay Area beatbox collective The Vowel Movement.

DATE:
Thursday, July 21, 2010

TIME:
6-8 PM

WHERE:
Contemporary Jewish Museum
736 Mission Street (between Third and Fourth streets)
San Francisco, CA 94103

INFORMATION:
www.thecjm.org, info@thecjm.org or call 415.655.7800.

ADMISSION:
FREE with regular admission. Admission is $5 after 5 PM.

The Contemporary Jewish Museum hosts San Francisco’s free community commemoration for Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom Hashoah), with free admission, tours, ceremonies, readings and music, as well as free activities for families and teens.

Hourly public tours of the new exhibition Charlotte Salomon: Life? Or Theatre? take place on the hour every hour that day starting at 11 AM with a special 3 PM tour specifically for teens. Salomon, a young German Jewish artist, feverishly painted the story of her life before she was sent to Auschwitz and killed at the age of 26.

Visitors can also watch artist Rita Blitt’s new 9-minute film Collaboration with the Past, shown continuously throughout the day. This world premiere multi-media work features music by composer Pavel Haas, who died at Auschwitz, and echoes the musically inspired paintings of Charlotte Salomon. From 2-3 PM, Blitt will be in conversation with longtime California Symphony Music Director Barry Jekowsky, discussing the role of music in nourishing community, as well as the complexities of connecting music to painting and other forms.

From 1-3 PM, families can enjoy making tissue-paper collages inspired by the poems written by children living at Terezin concentration camp during World War II, and teens can take a workshop at 3 PM on Charlotte Salomon and her work.

The Jewish Family and Childrens’ Services Holocaust Center leads a community commemoration service from 4-6 PM.

Presented in partnership with The Jewish Family and Childrens’ Services Holocaust Center; Jewish Community Relations Council; and Lehrhaus Judaica.

DATE:
Sunday, May 1, 2011

TIME:
11-5 PM (with a special commemoration service from 4-6 PM)

WHERE:
Contemporary Jewish Museum
736 Mission Street (between Third and Fourth streets)
San Francisco, CA 94103

INFORMATION:
www.thecjm.org , info@thecjm.org
or call 415.655.7800.

ADMISSION:
FREE

Meet the plant that poisoned Socrates, the weed that killed Lincoln’s mother and other evils lurking in the garden at a special after hours event celebrating the new exhibition, Wicked Plants: Botanical Rogues and
Assassins, at the Conservatory of Flowers. Enjoy hemp ale from Pacific Brew Lab and other intoxicating potions from the bar while musical guests The Human Condition ensnare your dancing feet with their modern brand of roots music.

DATE: Wednesday, April 20, 2011
TIME: 6-9 PM
LOCATION: Conservatory of Flowers, 100 John F. Kennedy Dr. (Golden Gate
Park), San Francisco, CA 94118
FEE: $5 entry at door; beverages available, cash-only please
NOTE: 21+ only; IDs checked at the door
INFO: (415) 831-2090 or www.conservatoryofflowers.org

CONTACT: Nina Sazevich, 415.752.2483; nina911@pacbell.net

THE CONTEMPORARY JEWISH MUSEUM PRESENTS THE PING PONG PROJECT

APRIL 7 – MAY 10, 2011

San Francisco, CA, March 22, 2011: Ping pong it saved the life of Polish Jewish champion Alojzy Ehrlich, when a Nazi guard at Auschwitz recognized his lanky frame and pulled him to safety. In fact, what began as an upper crust amusement in 1880¹s England became a game dominated by Jewish champions after World War I when its competitive focus shifted to central and Eastern Europe. For the next few decades, it was players like Ehrlich, the Austrian Richard Bergmann (who played in double-breasted suits) and the Hungarian hardbats Viktor Barna and Lazlo Bellak that ruled the game.

Now, the Contemporary Jewish Museum celebrates this curious footnote in sports history with The Ping Pong Project a free temporary installation of regulation tables and equipment that allows anyone to take a shot at table tennis triumph from April 7 through May 10, 2011 during regular museum hours. Admission to the Museum is not required, but a photo I.D. must be left with the front desk in order to check out equipment.

The installation, inspired by the book Everything You Know is Pong by Roger Bennett and Eli Horowitz, kicks off with a special opening event on Thursday, April 14, 2011 from 7-9 PM. The evening combines an opportunity to witness ferocious competition between reigning Bay Area champs, the chance to smash your own way to glory and a multimedia history of Jewish table tennis champions presented by Bennett and Horowitz. The event is free. Museum admission is separate just $5, a special half off deal for a limited time only.

The Ping Pong Project is part of a 6-week-long effort to encourage Bay Area residents to Take an Art Break at the Contemporary Jewish Museum. While one of the galleries is closed from March 31 through May 10, the Museum offers visitors a chance to see two exciting new exhibitions, enjoy a game of table tennis and more for just $5 — the price of a bagel and coffee. That’s a 50% savings off regular admission prices! Youth 18 and under are always free. On view in the galleries at this time are: Charlotte Salomon: Life? or Theatre? and Are We There Yet? 5000 Years of Answering Questions
with Questions.

WHAT:
The Ping Pong Project an interactive game installation celebrating Jewish contributions to the sport of table tennis.

WHEN:
April 7 – May 10, 2011

TIME:
Open daily (except Wed.) 11 AM- 5 PM and Thursday, 1 PM – 8 PM

WHERE:
Contemporary Jewish Museum, 736 Mission Street, San Francisco

ADMISSION:
Special discounted admission! $5.00 adults, students and senior citizens with a valid ID through May 10. Youth 18 and under always free.

INFO:
www.thecjm.org or call 415.655.7800.

Contra Costa County Library Launches Discover & Go:
Reserve & Print Museum Passes Online at discover.ccclib.org

Looking for something fun, educational, and free to do with the family? Have guests coming into town and want to show off the area’s cultural highlights? The Contra Costa County Library announces Discover & Go an exciting new service providing library cardholders residing in Contra Costa County with free passes to local museums and cultural institutions.

A first of its kind, Discover & Go provides access to passes that can be printed online rather than traditional physical passes that must be picked up and returned to the Library. Each Discover & Go pass expires immediately after the reservation date – no returns required and no possibility for overdue fines! This unique program allows library users to make reservations online by date or by venue and immediately print out a pass or print later for free at any Library. Customers without Internet access can reserve a pass by telephone or in person.

Library cardholders can reserve up to two passes at one time from a growing list of destinations including:
San Francisco Zoo
California Academy of Sciences
Asian Art Museum
Museum of the African Diaspora
Bay Area Discovery Museum
Museum of Craft and Folk Art
Beat Museum
Oakland Museum of California
Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive
Pacific Pinball Museum
Blackhawk Museum
San Jose Museum of Art
Cartoon Art Museum
San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles
Charles M. Schulz Museum
The Tech Museum
Contemporary Jewish Museum
Town Hall Theatre
Habitot Children’s Museum
USS Hornet
Lawrence Hall of Science
Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum
Lindsay Wildlife Museum
Zeum: San Francisco’s Children’s Museum
The Marine Mammal Center

Discover & Go is aligned with the Contra Costa County Library’s strategic initiatives including reading and information for lifelong learning and is a direct response to the Library’s Community Needs Assessment where parents identified their preferences for library programs that provide accessible low-cost cultural activities for families, programs that tie-in with the arts and support easy, independent exploration.

Lafayette City Council Member Don Tatzin says “With the Discover & Go program, patrons of Contra Costa County libraries now get free or reduced cost access to many of the Bay Area’s best museums and cultural attractions, thereby proving that libraries are portals to the world. The online convenience of Discover & Go distinguishes it from similar programs nationwide.”

Libraries and museums make great partners as they both seek to spark interest and to propel people to explore, challenge, ask, and engage in new concepts. Audrey Yamamoto, Executive Director at Zeum: San Francisco’s Children’s Museum, says “Contra Costa County Library provides accessible programming and educational resources that are aligned with our mission to nurture the 3C’s of 21st century literacy – Creativity, Collaboration, and Communication – in all youth and families.” Exhibit-related recommended reading lists hand-selected by library staff will be available from the Discover & Go website at discover.ccclib.org.

The Contra Costa County Library serves residents countywide with 26 locations, 3 Library-a-Go-Go book dispensers, and online library services available 24/7 at ccclib.org. The Library circulates almost 7 million items annually with over 3 million virtual visits to the Library website each year. The Library is considered a leader in technology and access to information. To learn more about Contra Costa County Library, visit our website at ccclib.org or call 800-984-4636.

Jungle Love
After Hours at the Conservatory of Flowers for Valentine’s Day

Want to really treat your Valentine this year? Well, skip the measly dozen roses and come to the Conservatory of Flowers for an after hours Valentine’s event featuring 12,000 square feet of exotic, fragrant and rare flowers, a cash bar, live music, poems on demand, and the ONLY after hours chance to come see the incredibly crafty and creative Garden Railway.

It’s a magical, miniature tour of San Francisco’s famed Golden Gate Park with model trains and trolleys, replicas of ten of the Park’s famous landmarks made from recycled materials by local SF Dump artist James Sellier, mini living versions of the Park¹s specialty gardens, sparkling water features, and even a wee bison paddock.

Enjoy live music by local romancers Jazz Quartet, taste the specialty brews of craft beer makers Pacific Brew Lab and learn about their brewing process, steal a kiss in the Magnolia Photo Booth, and buy an instant poem created on the spot on a vintage typewriter by The Poetry Store.

Bring your sweetheart or find a new one in San Francisco’s own tropical paradise under glass.

21 and over only.

DATE:
Wednesday, February 9, 2011

TIME:
6-9 PM

LOCATION:
Conservatory of Flowers, 100 John F. Kennedy Dr. (Golden Gate Park), San Francisco, CA 94118

FEE:
$5 entry at door; beverages available for cash-only purchase

INFO:
(415) 831-2090 or www.conservatoryofflowers.org

CREAM is located at 2399 Telegraph Ave (between Durant Ave and Channing Way) in Berkeley. For a menu and more information, see their website: www.creamberkeley.com

There are several alternatives to spending erroneous amounts of money on an engagement ring that will have the exact same effect and serve the same purpose as the most expensive ring at Kay Jewelers. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Buy a ring with a moissanite stone. Moissanite is a naturally occurring substance that can be made in a lab and does not need to be mined. It looks and sparkles just like a diamond and makes a cheaper, worthy substitute.

2. Buy a ring at an antique shop. Not only is it cheaper than buying a brand new ring, but you’ll be able to find a unique ring with some history.

3. Buy a non-traditional ring. There are endless possibilities, but some suggestions are rings with a different gemstone, engagement bands, and wooden rings.

4. Don’t overlook the possibility of finding a ring at a pawnshop. There’s not really a good reason to view a “used ring” with disgust. You’ll be able to find perfectly nice engagement rings at a fraction of the price you’d spend to buy it new. Jewelry at pawn shops are refinished and repaired by a professional jeweler before they are sold, so you can expect a high-quality, like-new ring even at a pawn shop.

5. And now for the cheapest option, which is the option my fiancé went with when he proposed to me, are heirloom rings. Except for maybe needing to resize it (usually between $20 and $50), this option is completely free with the added advantage of carrying sentimental value.

(organized alphabetically by city)

ALAMEDA – Angela’s Bistro
2301 Central Ave, Alameda
11 AM – 4 PM
kathy@islandbakingco.com

ANTIOCH – Antioch Church of the Nazarenes
Antioch Fairgrounds, 1201 West 10th St, Antioch
(925) 754-2727

ANTIOCH – Antioch Church on the Rock
50 Walton Ln, Antioch
12 PM – 3 PM
(925) 757-4359
www.antiochcotr.org

ANTIOCH – Antioch United Methodist Church
Harding Noia Post, 403 West 6th St, Antioch
12:00 PM
(925) 759-0613

OAKLAND – People’s Missionary Baptist Church
8825 MacArthur Blvd, Oakland
12 PM – 3 PM
(510) 430-1496

OAKLAND – Salvation Army Center
1601 6th Ave, Oakland
(510) 645-9710

SAN FRANCISCO – Glide Church
330 Ellis St, San Francisco
9 AM – 11 AM: Celebrations
7 AM – 8:30 AM: Breakfast
10 AM – 2 PM: Dinner
(415) 674-6000
info@glide.org
www.glide.org

SAN FRANCISCO – Tenderloin Tessie
First Unitarian Church, 1187 Franklin St, San Francisco
(crossroads: Geary & Farrell)
1 PM – 4 PM
(415) 584-3252
tenderlointessiedinners@yahoo.com

SAN FRANCISCO - St. Anthony’s Foundation
150 Golden Gate Ave, San Francisco
(415) 241-2600
info@stanthonysf.org
www.stanthonysf.org

SAN LEANDRO – Badarikashama (vegetarian)
15602 Maubert Ave, San Leandro
3:00 PM
(510) 278-2444
www.badarikashrama.com

SAN LEANDRO – International Christian Center
562 Lewelling Blvd, San Leandro
Thursday, December 23rd from 12 PM – 4 PM
www.icceastbay.org

SEBASTOPOL – Sebastopol Community Holiday Dinner
Masonic Hall, 373 N. Main St, Sebastopol
2 PM – 5 PM

If there’s any inaccurate information on this list, please feel free to email us at bayareaonabudget@gmail.com and we’ll make the changes right away! Also, if you have any information that isn’t listed or if you know of any places that will be offering free meals that aren’t on this list, please email us about it–we’d greatly appreciate the help!

Ingredients:
1 can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans
3 tbsp of cooking oil
1 onion, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
20g of chana masala powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 cups of water
fresh coriander/cilantro (optional)

Directions:
In a large pan, heat the oil. Fry the onions until golden brown. Add the chopped tomatoes and stir. Add the chana masala powder, salt, and chickpeas. Stir for 5 minutes. Add the water and baking soda and mix. Bring to a boil and cover. Lower the heat and simmer for 40 minutes. Drain. If desired, top with fresh coriander leaves.