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TheatreWorks holds ‘Anything Goes’ benefit on Saturday in Menlo Park TheatreWorks will hold its 10th annual “Anything Goes” benefit Saturday, Oct. 20, from 5:30 p.m. to midnight, at its scene shop, 1100 Hamilton Court in Menlo Park. Guests are invited to choose an outfit from one of TheatreWork’s past productions to wear to the party. Past guests have been attired as everything from go-go dancers to the Pope, Egyptian priestesses to Samurai warriors. The evening will include cocktails, dinner by Grace Street Catering, dancing and a live auction. Among the co-chairs is Judy Heyboer of Menlo Park. Among the committee members are Julie Kaufman of Atherton, Cynthia Keely of Portola Valley, and Barbara Shapiro of Menlo Park. Visit events@theatreworks.org or call 463-7159 for tickets. Tickets are $275 to $500 per person. Photo by Michelle Le/The Almanac
Mmm, apples. Five kinds were available from GHJ Tree Farm, based in Los Gatos, and one of about eight vendorgrowers who brought their goods to the Mountain Goat Farmers’ Market in Skylonda on Wednesday, Oct. 10. Organizers plan to put on a market every Wednesday between 3 and 7 p.m. or dusk, whichever is sooner. The goods at this one included two kinds of cake, cut rosemary and amaranth, and grass-fed beef.
Farmers’ market debuts (again) in Skylonda By Dave Boyce Almanac staff writer
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kylonda residents had an opportunity on Wednesday, Oct. 10, to sample Indonesian coffee embodying “notes of black cherry and black plum” and cake frosting made from Earl Grey tea and bergamot. Items for sale included five varieties of apples, many varieties of peppers and herbs, and coastal wildflower honey. The first officially sanctioned Mountain Goat Farmers’ Market opened in a parking lot near the corner of Highway 84 and Skyline Boulevard at around 3 p.m. with a ribbon cutting by Woodside Mayor Dave Tanner, Also present were Town Council members Anna Kasten and Peter Mason and Planning Director Jackie Young, said market manager Maggie Foard. The market’s debut on Aug. 1 had met with enthusiasm all around, but town officials nixed a repeat in keeping with the municipal code and a stipulation that prohibited outdoor sales at that site. With the council and the Planning Commission having resolved those issues, a weekly Wednesday afternoon market is now likely. How did last week’s market go? “Great. We had a wonderful opening,” Ms. Foard said. At about 5:30, a scattering of customers and vendors wandered about, some perhaps coming close to shivering in the mountain air. Oscar Nunez, a Menlo Park resident and a cof-
fee importer, exporter, and roaster at Honducafe, talked up the hidden popularity of Honduran coffee and the coffees he was selling that day: decaf Peruvian, “nutty” Brazilian, and an Indonesian with its reported hints of cherry and plum. This reporter had no comment as it was too late in the day to be drinking coffee. From George Johnson, owner of GHJ Tree Farm on Skyline Boulevard in Los Gatos, were apples: pippins, Granny Smiths, red delicious, Fuji and Jonathons. He has more varieties from his 40-tree orchard, but it’s late in the season, he said. He’s been selling apples to health food stores for 40 years; this was his first foray at a farmers’ market. “I’ve done OK,” he said. “I don’t have a whole lot to compare with.” Many sampled free cake of two kinds — mocha, and blood orange with Earl Grey frosting — from Carren Dixon of Santa Cruz-based Buttercup Cake and Farm House Frosting. “Today, I’m giving away cake. Business has been amazing,” she said when asked how the day had gone. Dessert bakers would seem to have a dilemma: weight control in the constant presence of sugar and fat. “I love cake,” Ms. Dixon replied when asked to comment. “It’s my favorite food. I have to say I climb a lot of stairs. If I have to park on the third floor, I get a cupcake that day.” “You can’t make cupcakes,” she added, “without tasting them.”
Breakfast benefits Peninsula Bridge “Be the Torch” is the theme of a benefit breakfast for the Peninsula Bridge program, to be held from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 25, at the Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club, 2900 Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park. Doors open at 7 a.m. Peninsula Bridge has a summer program that brings motivated middle-school students from lower-income families onto such campuses as Menlo School, Sacred Heart Prep and Menlo-Atherton High School for academic courses and enrichment activities. Since the program began in 1989, more than 5,000 students have been involved. Most of the students come from the Ravenswood school district in Menlo Park and East Palo Alto, and the Redwood City and San Mateo-Foster City districts. The breakfast is free. A donation may be made at the end of the event. Visit peninsulabridge.org for more information.
‘Dine Out’ benefit Forty restaurants will donate 10 percent of each diner’s check to the Peninsula Volunteers’ “Dine Out for Meals on Wheels” on Tuesday, Oct. 16. The Meals on Wheels program serves residents in San Mateo County, delivering more than 150,000 hot meals each year to those in need. In addition, homebound seniors receive safety-wellness checks. Local restaurants taking part in “Dine Out” include, by city: Menlo Park: Amici’s East Coast Pizzeria, Bona Restaurant, Carpaccio, Celia’s Mexican Restaurant, El Cerrito Mexican Restaurant, Gambardella’s, Lutticken’s After 5, Menlo Grille, Menlo Hub, Round Table Pizza, and Trellis. Portola Valley: Parkside Grill. Woodside: Alice’s Restaurant, Woodside Bakery.
Portola Valley: Film, program on bullying Filmmaker Sunnie McFadden-Burtis, who produced the Canadian documentary, “Bullying: A Culture of Silence,” will show the film and give a presentation on the topic at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 20, at the Portola Valley Library, 765 Portola Road in Portola Valley. She will discuss the profound consequences
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October 17, 2012 N TheAlmanacOnline.com N The Almanac N 21