C O M M U N I T Y
PENINSULA N C A L E N DA R Go to AlmanacNews.com/calendar to see more calendar listings
Special Events Menlo Park Community Services hosts showcase of its program and classes. Dec. 12, 6:45-8:45 p.m. $5 for adults (13 years and older); Free for children (12 years and younger). M-A Performing Arts Center, 555 Middlefield Road, Atherton. Call 650330-2220. www.menlopark.eventbrite.com Toy Story Toy Drive City of Menlo Park hosts Toy Story-themed toy drive. Watch the movie, come in costumeand donate toys to the Belle Haven Child Development Center. Dec. 16, 6:30-8:30 p.m. $5 per person or free with unwrapped toy. M-A Performing Arts Center (PAC), 555 Middlefield Road, Atherton. Call 650-330-2223. www.menlopark. eventbrite.com
On Stage ‘November’: Play by David Mamet Dragon Theatre Productions is performing “November,” a comedic commentary on the state of the union and national politics, through Dec. 15. Thursdays-Saturdays: 8 p.m.; Sunday: 2 p.m. $10-35. Dragon Theatre, 2120 Broadway St., Redwood City. Call 650493-2006 ext. 2. www.dragonproductions. net/activities/2013season/november.html Carlos Carvajal’s Nutcracker The Peninsula Ballet Theatre presents a version of the Nutcracker, set in Victorian England. Dec. 21, 7 p.m. $30-$60. Fox Theatre, 2215 Broadway St., Redwood City. www.foxrwc.com
Clubs/Meetings Astronomy talk The monthly meeting of the Peninsula Astronomical Society includes a talk, “20th Century Amateur Science,” by Sheldon Greaves, Ph.D. Foothill Observatory will be open after the meeting from 9 to 11 p.m., weather permitting. Dec. 13, 7:30-9 p.m. Free ($3 parking fee). Foothill College, Room 50125, 12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills. www.pastro.org/dnn/ Portola Valley Library Book Club will discuss “The Price of Inequality” by Joseph Stiglitz. Drop-ins welcome. Dec. 19, 1-2:30 p.m. Free. Portola Valley Library, 765 Portola Road, Portola Valley. Call 650-851-0560. www.smcl.org Portola Valley Library Winter Reading Club Students in grades K-12 can join the Winter Reading Club. Rules: finish a book, come into library and fill out raffle card, which will be entered into a drawing for prizes. Dec. 16-Jan. 11, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. Portola Valley Library, 765 Portola Road, Portola Valley. Call 650-851-0560. www.smcl.org
Concerts Kitka performs ‘Wintersongs’ Kitka, a local women’s ensemble group, performs its winter holiday program, showcasing seasonal music from a variety of Eastern European ethnic and spiritual traditions. Dec. 15, 4-6 p.m. $10-35 St. Bede’s Episcopal Church, 2650 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park. www.kitka.org Music: ‘Illuminate This Night’ Peninsula Women’s Chorus sings holiday music from around the world. Ticket info at www. pwchorus.org. Concerts: Dec. 14 at 2:30 p.m.
GINGERBREAD HOUSE WORKSHOP continued from previous page
‘Mike’s House’ dedication Service League staff, supporters and clients gathered Dec. 3 to celebrate the dedication of “Mike’s House,” a newly acquired transitional house for men, in remembrance of the late county supervisor and former Service League executive director, Mike Nevin. “Mike’s House,” located in Redwood City, is the seventh house in the Service League’s Hope House
at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 600 Colorado Ave., Palo Alto, and on Dec. 15 at 4 p.m. at St. Patrick’s Seminary, 320 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park. $35 premium; $30 general; $10 student (18 and under). Two venues, See addresses above, Palo Alto and Menlo Park. www.pwchorus.org ‘Peter and the Wolf’: A Family Concert & Carnival The Oshman Family JCC’s presents a multilingual production of the classic children’s symphony. Dec. 15, 1-5 p.m. $15 members, students and children ages 14 and under; $18 nonmembers. Albert and Janet Schultz Cultural Arts Hall, 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto. www.paloaltojcc.org/ peter
Dance Peninsula Ballet Theatre Presents: The Nutcracker PBT will perform the Nutcracker at the Fox Theatre. Audience members will be invited on stage after and can meet the dancers. Dec. 21-22, 2-4:30 p.m. $20-$60. Fox Theatre Redwood City, 2215 Broadway St., Redwood City. Call 650-3423228. www.peninsulaballet.org/nutcrackertickets-on-sale-now/
Kids & Families Annual LEGO Holiday Extravaganza See a variety of LEGO creations made by members of Bay Area LEGO User Group and Bay Area LEGO Train Club, including train layouts, Bay Area landmarks, castles, miniature cities, and more. Children must be accompanied by an adult at all times in the exhibit. Open Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays from Dec. 13 to Jan. 19. 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m. $2 per person; BayLUG and MOAH members are free. Museum of American Heritage, 351 Homer Ave., Palo Alto. www.moah.org
Outdoors Birds of Bedwell Bayfront Park Friends of Bedwell Bayfront Park volunteers will lead bird watching sessions. Bring binoculars or look through the organization’s closeup scope. Dec. 14, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Free. Bedwell Bayfront Park, Marsh Road at Bayfront Expressway, Menlo Park. Call 650839-1523. www.friendsofbayfrontpark.org/
Discover the best places to eat this week! AMERICAN
CHINESE
Armadillo Willy’s
New Tung Kee Noodle House
941-2922 1031 N. San Antonio Road, Los Altos www.armadillowillys.com
947-8888 520 Showers Drive, Mountain View www.shopmountainview.com/luunoodlemv
The Old Pro
INDIAN
326-1446 541 Ramona Street, Palo Alto www.oldpropa.com
Janta Indian Restaurant
ITALIAN
462-5903 369 Lytton Ave. www.jantaindianrestaurant.com
Cucina Venti 254-1120 1390 Pear Ave, Mountain View www.cucinaventi.com CHINESE
Read and post reviews, explore restaurant menus, get hours and directions and more at
Ming’s 856-7700 1700 Embarcadero East, Palo Alto www.mings.com
ShopPaloAlto, ShopMenloPark and ShopMountainView
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Et Alia John P. Holdren , director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, will talk with moderator John Markoff, senior writer of the New York Times science section. Dec. 11, 7-8:30 p.m. Free - please register at computerhistory.org/events. Computer History Museum, 1401 N. Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View. www.computerhistory. org/events Rosener House Music and Rhythm Workshop designed to bring families and caregivers closer to loved ones who have dementia. Call to reserve a spot. All ages welcome and instruments provided. Dec. 17, 4:15-5:15 p.m. $10/person; $25 for three or more people. Rosener House, 500 Arbor Road, Menlo Park. Call 408-459-9215. www. vibrantlifemusic.com Singles Holiday Dance Menlo Hub hosts this singles holiday dance. Festive holiday attire requested; adults of all ages welcome. Dec. 14, 8 p.m.-midnight. $15 in advance (by Dec. 13) or $20 at the door. Menlo Hub, 1029 El Camino Real, Menlo Park. Call 415-5079962. www.thepartyhotline.com
program, which provides recently released county jail inmates with transitional housing, as well as intensive residential substanceabuse treatment. As executive director, Mr. Nevin, who died last year, led the expansion of the Hope House program, which now has seven facilities with capacity to treat 50 clients. Karen Francone, current executive director of the Service League, and Mike Scanlon, president of the Service League board of directors, spoke at the dedication. Cathy Nevin, Mr. Nevin’s widow, attended the ceremonies.
People with passion and dreams can change the world. By seeing the importance of preserving our open spaces, improving our schools and strengthening our global giving, we can make this world a better place.
Silicon Valley Community Foundation donors gave $130 million to Bay Area causes in 2012, making us the largest single grantmaker to local nonprofits. They also awarded $15 million to charitable organizations around the world. No matter how big your philanthropic dreams, we at SVCF can turn them into reality. Possibilities start here.
siliconvalleycf.org
December 11, 2013 N TheAlmanacOnline.com N The Almanac N 25