Larkspur
Opera Glasses in Fashion
Marin’s own Lark Theater just released a stellar lineup of entertainment for the coming year, including performances live from the stages of New York and London. Upcoming theatrical highlights include the Live from the MET HD experience, offering theater guests the opportunity to stream eight operatic performances throughout the season. Each opera will screen twice—the first screening of each show will take place at 10am on Saturdays, which allows guests to experience the performance live from the Metropolitan Opera. The second, recorded showing of each operatic performance will take place at 6:30pm on Wednesdays. The lineup begins with the Oct. 5 and 9 showing Les Contes de Hoffman (The Tales of Hoffman), followed Oct. 19 and 23 with Grounded, Nov. 23 and 27 with an encore performance of Tosca, and Dec. 7 and 11 showings of The Magic Flute encore performance. The Lark is one of a few select theaters in the nation to offer these viewing experiences. Tickets to the Met series and others, like the National Theatre Live from London series, are selling out fast. Buy tickets by visiting the website at larktheater.net. The Lark is located at 549 Magnolia Ave. in Larkspur.
Guerneville
Play Time
The much-anticipated Tapas Short Play Festival is perfect for those who enjoy typical human pleasures like entertainment, laughter and commiserating/celebrating together in the true human condition. This year marks the 16th (almost) annual rendition of the festival, which is put on by the Pegasus Theater Company. Guests who attend this nearly month-long event can watch any/all of the seven short plays as written by seven different Bay Area playwrights. Opening night will begin with The Last Drop, a short play opening the entire series themed around marriage, family and finding one’s heart’s desire in a world with dwindling resources. Time is finite and may be spent on entertainment and pleasure, starting with the Tapas Short Play Festival. The Pegasus Theater Company’s short play festival will run from Sept. 27 through Oct. 20. Showtimes are 7pm on Fridays and Saturdays and 2pm on Sundays. Tickets may be bought for $25 online or at the door for cash only and with limited seating. To learn more or purchase tickets online, visit pegasustheater.com. The festival is located at the Russian River Masonic Lodge at 14040 Church St. in Guerneville.
San Rafael
Jazz It Up
Marin Jazz is the new nonprofit putting some soul back into the community…one jazz show at a time. This week opens the season with Latin Jazz virtuoso Tito Puente Jr. A second-generation musician, he, and the seven-piece band that plays alongside him, are promising to bring a taste of Cuba right into California. A portion of the show’s box office proceeds will, in accordance with the Marin Jazz mission, go toward supporting local children in afterschool performance arts programs. So, it’s time to come out and support children’s access to the arts by enjoying performances showcasing and preserving food for the soul (i.e., jazz, soul, blues, cabaret, R&B and more). Tito Puente Jr. will play from 8 to 10pm on Friday, Oct. 4 at the Marin Center Showcase Theatre at 20 Ave. of the Flags in San Rafael. To purchase a ticket for $65 or to learn more about Marin Jazz, visit marinjazz.com.
Santa Rosa
Wine About It
Kendall-Jackson Wine Estate & Gardens is hosting a special farm-to-table dinner. This fall al-fresco foodie event will be complete with free-flowing wine and not one, not two but three celebrity guests cooking gourmet dishes. The special culinary stars include chef Casey Thompson of Folktable Restaurant, executive chef Tracey Shepos Cenami and master culinary gardener Tucker Taylor. To make this evening even more tempting, the dishes cooked by the celebrity guest chefs will be prepared from ingredients harvested directly from the estate’s four-acre culinary gardens. Guests are invited to dress up for the occasion and enjoy an evening of seasonal food and wine and an ambiance of autumnal abundance and celebratory spirit. The Kendall-Jackson Wine Estate & Gardens is set to host this special harvest dinner starting with a garden reception at 5:30pm and ending around 9pm on the evening of Saturday, Oct. 5. Tickets are available for online purchase at $300 per person or $3000 per six-person table. Visit kj.com/events to purchase a ticket or learn more about the winery and its events.
