Meet two such groups. But that’s the point. She’s one of dozens of kids attending a “dance party” put on by the Alphabet Rockers. The Oakland-based duo of Kaitlin McGaw and Tommy Shepherd uses interactive hip-hop songs, pumped with positive, educational, kid-friendly messages, to “promote change and empower young people.”. Mission statement or not, the Rockers’ music is definitely having an impact on Ziora. The thigh-high girl shimmies and jumps around with other kids at the front of the stage. When the exuberant McGaw and Shepherd break into “Gimme Some Skin,” a song celebrating diversity that can be found on their new album, “The Playground Zone,” Ziora partners with another little girl she’s just met and gives her high-fives.
When you become such a public figure, do you live your own life or the life others want for you? It’s an existential question, no less pertinent today than it was in the 1920s, but these women’s struggles to find an answer would, in many ways, tear them apart, The first six chapters of Flappers tell the intoxicating tales of each woman’s rise, but the next six chapters track their declines, as predictable as a rerun of “E! True Hollywood Story,” replete with depression, heartbreak, drug abuse and loneliness, Particularly striking is the disgust with which several of the women greeted news of pregnancy — as a threat not only to their bodies, which would no longer fit the svelte, boy-like fashions of the time, but to their social relevance, Sex could be liberating, but it was also destructive: l.k. bennett ballet flats Several women endured painful, dangerous abortions; others suffered from chronic STDs; nearly all tried to negotiate the balance between an “open” mind toward sexual adventure and partners who manipulated and betrayed them..
Martin Luther King Jr Day of Service: The East Bay Regional Park District is hosting its 10th Annual Day of Service from 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon on Jan. 15, inviting volunteers to come out to help with the restoration of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Grove and Damon Marsh, www.ebparks.org. There are also Day of Service projects going in at the Richmond Greenday (http://www.richmondgreenway.org/index.php/mlk-national-day-of-service/), among other places. Creating Sanctuaries of Love — A Musical Extravangaza: The MLK-themed concert features the City of Refuge mass and youth choirs, First Church Berkeley Sanctuary Choir, the Radcliffe Choral Society and poet Marvin K. White, among others; 7 p.m. Jan. 15 at First Church Berkeley. Suggested donation is $20; firstchurchberkeley.org.
Photos with Santa: Santa Claus will be on hand for photos and to hear holiday wishes, Bring your own camera, Nov, 25, 10 a.m.- 1 p.m, Admission $10, Ainsley House, l.k. bennett ballet flats 300 Grant St., Campbell, 408.866.2119, Campbell Holiday Arts and Craft Faire: Crafters and art vendors of major products will be featured, Shop for ornaments, lawn decorations, snowmen, doilies, jellies and crafts of all kinds, Children can visit with Santa Claus, Dec, 3, 10 a.m, Campbell Community Center, 1 W, Campbell Ave., Campbell, 408.866.2138..
Nick Estes & Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz: 7:30-9:30 p.m. March 28, St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Berkeley. This event explores the Standing Rock vs. Dakota Access Pipeline resistance. $12-$15. http://bit.ly/2U740PX. Shrek the Musical: 7 p.m. March 26-28, 3 p.m. March 29, San Ramon Valley High School Theater, 501 Danville Blvd., Danville. Shrek brings all the beloved characters you know from the film to life on stage and proves there is more to the story than meets the ears. $15. https://bit.ly/2tgWyWQ.