This week (5/15 to 6/8) Tons of great giveaways this week. We have tickets to the Harmony Festival in Sonoma County to see George Clinton and Damian Marley (pictured), tickets to see a unique staging of The Wizard of Oz in an amphitheater on top of Mt. Tam in Marin, several stand-up comedy events, tickets to see an urban circus that made the cover of the Chronicle’s 96 Hours section and more. Deadline for contest entry is Thursday 5/15 at Noon (PST) (more…)

West Bay Opera closes its 2008-09 season with a new, fully staged production of Richard Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman). Der fliegende Holländer is the last of Wagner’s Italianate operas and his first major success. For centuries, the Flying Dutchman sailed the seas, condemned to live until he could find salvation in the love of a truly faithful woman. Senta, a young girl in a Norwegian fishing village, proved herself faithful to the death. This event is a free preview. The full production opens May 23rd (more…)

This 2004 film is still largely relevant. It discusses a dangerous hypocrisy, aided by the American government, in which Colombia, as the world’s biggest cocaine exporter, gives rise to an illegal drug trade. The funding of the trade by radical factions, a corrupt government at the time, and the fact that most farmers harvest coca because they can’t survive on the profits of legitimate food crops all combine for a disastrous plan depicted in the film. “Plan Colombia” also deals with the connection to the School of the Americas, as well as the destruction of legal natural resources by aerial fumigation in the name of eradicating drug crops. The latter situation of crop fumigation has been somewhat improved since the film was made, but the U.S. military-industrial complex continues to cash in on the violence they themselves perpetrate, while still doing little to actually stem cocaine production in Colombia.

The film is 57 minutes. It was directed by Gerald Ungerman and narrated by Ed Asner.

About Peace Action of San Mateo County:
Peace Action of San Mateo County is a local affiliate of Peace Action and Peace Action West. We are a product of the merging of the Nuclear Weapons Freeze and SANE–Committee for a sane nuclear policy. We advocate for nuclear disarmament and weapons abolition, an end to war and arms trafficking, and bringing corporations to obey the rule of law.

Celebration of the Peninsula’s Diversity: Immigrants Day Festival - Discover the traditions immigrant groups have brought to the area during a Celebration of the Peninsula’s Diversity: Immigrant Day Festival. The festival features food, craft activities for families and music and dance performances by Chinese, Filipino, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Mexican and Portuguese groups. The event highlights the History Museum’s exhibit, Land of Opportunity: The Immigrant Experience in San Mateo County. (more…)

Once a year the Palo Alto Jewish Community Center puts on a huge and colorful cultural extravaganza – Russian-American Fair. Come enjoy delicious ethnic food, amazing entertainment, wonderful variety of street vendors selling beautiful crafts and gift items, unforgettable art exhibits, inflatable sliders and a rock wall for children, vodka and wine testing for adults. Entertainment includes multiple Dance Ensembles, Spectrum Ballroom Dance Studio, Bayer Ballet Academy and Barvinok Folk Group. Sunday, May 18, 10am to 5pm - $5 general, $3 for seniors and students under 12.Children under the age of 6 - free For info call (650) 852-3509

Lindy Hop and Swing Dance Classes and open social dancing on Tuesday evenings.
We welcome people to come and try out this wonderful dance for FREE on Tuesday, May 27th. We are having a FREE night of classes and dancing including performances and FREE SNACKS. It is Swing Central’s Open House on Tuesday, May 27th.
8:15 - 9:15 - FREE Beginner Swing Dance Lesson (*all ages welcome, no experience necessary, no partner needed)
9:15 - 11:30 Open Dancing and special swing dance performances.

The first Thursday of every month is free admission to the Pez Museum in Burlingame, where you can find over 500 pez dispensers from the past 80 years. The small shop front leads into an overwhelming grotto of Pez merchandise… Pez watches, money boxes, dispensers, T-shirts, cards and Frisbees are all for sale, but the jewel of this museum is the display room with the entire history of pez. The original Pez product, a tin of mints, was produced by the Austrian company in 1927. The first small, rectangular dispensers are uninspiring, and look a bit like lighters. The first character heads were introduced in 1952 — they include Mickey, Casper and Popeye. The rarest Pez in this collection, worth about $5,000 is a Mr Potato Head character, which was taken off the market in 1973 because the small pieces were a choking hazard. The museum also includes World’s Largest Pez Dispenser and in 2004, the museum was expanded to include the Classic Toy Museum which features exhibits of the other great toys from our childhood.