Two theaters back at it

ARIEL Theatrical's Karen Wilson Children's Theatre in Oldtown Salinas sustained water and electrical damage
from the Dick Bruhn fire in February. It has reopened after four months of repairs. (Courtesy of ARIEL)

Four months after the Dick Bruhn fire in Oldtown Salinas forced ARIEL Theatrical out of its home, the youth theater company is back where it belongs.

The Karen Wilson Children's Theatre, where ARIEL has been housed for the past 15 years, sustained water and electrical damage as firefighters worked to control the blaze at the former men’s clothing store next door on Feb. 13. In addition to structural work to repair the theater, thousands of costume pieces had to be professionally cleaned.

The first show back on the home stage is "Disney's 101 Dalmatians KIDS," with four showtimes this Friday and Saturday. See www.arieltheatrical.org for details.

The theater is not the only one back in commission. The Outdoor Forest Theater in Carmel has reopened after closing in April 2014 for renovations. The Forest Theater Guild's Films in the Forest series returned June 1, Pacific Repertory's School of Dramatic Arts program moves in for the summer on Monday, and the first play to return to the stage, "The Borrowers," opens June 23. More information at www.foresttheaterguild.org.

Monterey's birthday, by the pound

John Lotz and Sal Ferrante volunteer in the barbecue area during La Merienda in 2013.
(Vern Fisher/Monterey Herald)

Monterey's annual birthday party, La Merienda, has as its centerpiece a barbecue lunch served by local luminaries. The head of the barbecue committee, restaurateur Chris Shake, and Old Fisherman’s Grotto executive chef Juan Ponce are tasked with serving an estimated 400 people this year. Just how much food is that? Shake provided a breakdown:

* 275 steaks
* 125 pounds of chicken breast
* 60 pounds of mild Italian sausage
* 100 pounds of salmon (that's 400 4 oz. pieces)
* 110 pounds of shrimp
* 6 hotel pans each of fresh fruit, pasta salad and roasted sweet corn
* 8 hotel pans of mixed salad (the ingredients, because it sounds tasty: mango, papaya, candied walnuts and Gorgonzola cheese in a balsamic vinaigrette)
* 75 loaves of garlic bread
* 7 gallons of salsa
* 10 gallons of chili beans

La Merienda takes place at 11:15 a.m. Saturday at the Memory Garden at Custom House Plaza. Tickets are $55-$65 and can be purchased at museumofmonterey.org/lamerienda.

Two Monterey High School jazz musicians take center stage

Akili Bradley, left, and Marina Panzetta.

Two Monterey High School juniors who have been sitting in with jazz pros at the Hyatt Regency Monterey will be the center of attention Friday night as the Fireplace Lounge's featured performers.

Saxophonist Marina Panzetta and trumpeter Akili Bradley have made quite the impression on Hyatt jazz director and drummer in residence David Morwood.

They've studied with Monterey Jazz Festival clinicians and jammed with professional musicians during the hotel's weekly jazz program.

And their confidence is unshakable.

“I remember the weekend of the jazz festival, the room was packed with professional musicians and sophisticated fans," Morwood said. "They walked right up to me and said, ‘We want to play a Herbie Hancock tune, "Cantaloupe Island."' ... ‘They were so confident and clear and they knew what they wanted to do. They sat in with the professional band behind them and they held their own and really made the tune swing.”

They continued to practice and improve, he said, so “at a certain point I realized I wasn’t doing them any favors by having them sit in.”

He challenged them to come up with a list of 15 jazz tunes to play while backed up by a professional rhythm section. They came up with a mix of bebop, swing, jazz and bossa nova.

The program is from 7-10 p.m. It's what Morwood calls a Las Vegas-style set, with the house band -- Morwood, Gary Meek on keyboards and Billy Bosch on bass -- playing a few tunes, followed by Marina and Akili playing seven or eight songs. That format will repeat after an intermission.

Seaside students show support for multicultural arts center

Art students at Seaside High School participate in their ninth annual chalk art competition
on campus in 2015. (Vern Fisher -- Monterey Herald)

In deciding whether to pursue a multicultural arts center in Seaside, Juan L. Sanchez of the new organization Palenke Arts surveyed 144 Seaside High School music and art students last June to gauge their interest in the idea.

The five-question survey -- part multiple choice, part free response -- found that nearly all of them were in favor of it. Forty-two percent said they would use it often, 36 percent said on occasion and 16 percent said they would use the center every day.

"Based on our survey, a center for the arts in Seaside is something which is not only needed in order to further develop our youth's artistic talents, but is also something which many students would openly embrace," according to a survey analysis. "Opening a multicultural arts center in a town full of young individuals seeking outlets to express their creativity would be extremely beneficial to the community."

In their free responses, students wrote about why they would welcome such a center.

"This is an amazing idea," wrote one. "Not only does it bring Seaside's performing arts community together, it also provides a place for people to go who lack the resources."

"It's a great idea because it will motivate kids, young and older, to express themselves with art and to give them something else to value in life," wrote another.

In an interview with The Herald, Sanchez said his takeaway was that students "know what they have and what they don't," emphasizing that the center would reflect Seaside's cultural as well as socioeconomic diversity.

One of the students said the center would be good because they wouldn't have to give concerts in the gym anymore, where acoustics are terrible. Sanchez said he'd like to see a center that's something akin to Carmel High School's Performing Arts Center, if not as grand -- "nice enough that it's an upgrade from what kids are performing in these days."

The project is in its very beginning stages. A festival introducing the community to the idea and Palenke Arts is this Saturday from 2 to 5 p.m. at Laguna Grande Park.

You can read the full survey analysis here.

Ex-NAACP head, Peninsula native Ben Jealous to endorse Bernie Sanders

Ben Jealous speaks at the Panetta Institute in Monterey on April 20, 2015. (Vern Fisher - Monterey Herald)

Ben Jealous, the former head of the NAACP who grew up on the Monterey Peninsula, is poised to endorse Bernie Sanders as the Democratic nominee for president, CNN reported Thursday.

Jealous, 43, is set to appear with Sanders in New Hampshire to announce his support before the Feb. 9 primary.

Said CNN:

"The endorsement is a potential boost to Sanders who has struggled to gain traction among African-American voters, though he has made small gains on Democratic presidential rival Hillary Clinton, according to recent polls."

Jealous, who comes from a family of civil rights crusaders, was educated locally at Ord Terrace Elementary School in Seaside, Pacific Grove Middle School and York School in Monterey. He was elected head of the NAACP in 2008 -- the youngest leader in its history -- and served for four years.

He is currently a partner at the Oakland-based Kapor Center for Social Impact, a venture capital firm whose stated focus is creating opportunities and leveling the playing field for young minorities who are interested in entering the field of information technology.