09/30/08
With the economy still at a low and gas prices still high, everyone welcomes a bargain, especially with the holidays just around the corner. Well here’s a good one. Think of it as a reward for being eco-conscious.
Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, a San Francisco-based company that has always prided itself in promoting eco-friendly travel, is offering the Ride the Rails promotion from now until the end of the year.
Guests who travel via BART, Amtrak, or Caltrain to their choice of Kimpton Hotels in San Francisco will receive a 20 percent discount off their room
reservation.
The promotion is good at the Argonaut Hotel, Harbor Court Hotel, Hotel Monaco San Francisco, Hotel Triton, Hotel Palomar San Francisco, Prescott...
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09/29/08
The narrow, winding road to Hana is legendary—as is the pristine paradise itself. This fall, take advantage of a special deal on a romantic stay in Hana at the luxurious Hotel Hana-Maui. The oceanfront one-bedroom Sea Ranch Cottage, with hot tub, can be had for $844 a night, down from $1,125. Then receive a free fourth night on any three-day reservation, as well as a $150 daily hotel credit that can be used in the restaurants, spa, chi chi gift shop, or on horseback riding tours. Or try the Bay Cottage Jr. Suite at $395, down from $495, plus a $100 credit. The flower-filled resort offers two pools, whirlpools, yoga, an elaborate spa, tennis, hiking, boogie boards, and access to some crazy-big surf at Hamoa Beach. The special offer runs from October 19 to December 23....
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09/26/08
Chocolaholics, there’s a new place for you to get your chocolate groove on. Bittersweet: The Chocolate Café opened Sept. 5 in Danville’s Rose Garden Center (Sycamore Valley Road and Camino Ramon). Bittersweet touts a mission everyone can embrace: “to bring you the best the world of chocolate has to offer.”
To that end, the café presents a menu of hot, cold, and frozen chocolate drinks, teas and coffees, truffles, plus pastries and soups. For the aficionado, an impressive array of dark and milk chocolates from around the world are available for purchase. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by all the choices displayed but customers are invited to sample any confection in the Bittersweet cupboard. One subtle yet satisfying...
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09/23/08
As a little girl growing up in the ‘80s and ‘90s, American Girl dolls and books were some of my favorite things to play with. For those not familiar with American Girl, the company features a couple different series of books for each of their eight to nine-year old character – young girls living in different eras and locations of the United States. Characters range from Kaya, a Nez Perce girl from the 1760s, to Kirsten, a Swedish immigrant settling on the frontier prairie in the 1850s, to Julie, a San Franciscan in the 1970s. From what began over 20 years ago as The Pleasant Company and starting with characters Kirsten, Samantha and Molly, American Girl was acquired by Mattel, Inc. 10 years ago and since has added six more characters to their book...
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09/22/08
U.S. News Media Corporation’s published its 2nd Annual Best Places to Retire issue today and guess which city is mentioned? Diabloland’s own Walnut Creek is named one of ten healthiest communities in the country for retirees. Based on factors such as cost of living, climate, access to health care, and cultural and recreational amenities in a given area, Walnut Creek proved itself worthy for active retirees.
Although Walnut Creek’s cost of living is quite high, with a median home price of almost $600,000 and a median household income of just a little over $60,000, U.S. News gives kudos to the city’s plethora of musical, arts and cultural activities for retirees such as the Lesher Center. Recreational activities such as sports and gardening at...
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09/22/08
Summer may have just finished and school may be back in session, but if you’re still dreaming of the long, sunny days of leisure and play, consider the Alameda County Fair’s 2009 logo design contest. The theme for the upcoming 2009 fair is “Summer Starts Here,” so include the idea of how summer starts for you at the County Fair in your logo design. This is your chance to creatively showcase all the different aspects of the Alameda County Fair. Not only is this a fun way for you to implement your artistic talent, but it is also a great opportunity to participate in the biggest public event in Alameda County.
In addition to having their logo sported on posters, programs, t-shirts, billboards, advertising, fair website and any other promotional...
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09/18/08
Carve some time out of your weekend for the KRV Grand Opening Blow Out September 20-21 at Danville’s Rose Garden. KRV is kicking it up big-time, bringing in pro skaters, snowboarders and surfers for demonstrations and signings. Nothing is standing in KRV’s way for making this an awesome event: they’re even bringing in the snow and holding a Snowboard Rail Jam on Sunday.
Better get to KRV at 10am on Saturday if you want to sign up for the Game of Skate and Snowboard Rail Jam. The first fifty guests will receive a KRV
Skate Deck for $1. At noon Pro Billabong Surfers Mike “Snips” Parsons, Alistair Craft and Adam Repogle will be signing autographs and giving away posters. Then watch demos by the Volcom Skate Team or show...
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09/18/08
Hippies won’t have to use the side door to get into the Lafayette Art and Wine Festival this weekend, as the sounds of Neil Young, The Grateful Dead and The Beatles, among others, will be heard from local tribute bands. The talent, which includes Workingman’s Ed, Evolution, The Sun Kings, Aja Vu and more, will be heard on both days of the festival on three different stages. If you’re not going, you’ll most likely hear crickets at home, as over 50,000 people have been known to attend this annual event in its past years.
Good grub and wine: check. 200+ Arts and Crafts booths: check. Free parking: check…yes! (Park at BART in Lafayette and get shuttled for free to the festival). Various microbreweries...
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09/18/08
Judging by the full-house crowd on Wednesday’s first night, Danville folks have been eagerly awaiting the opening of this eatery. With Lafayette and two San Francisco locations, Chow has developed a loyal following of regular customers, and obviously many of them live in Danville. Owners have transformed the former Blockbuster at the corner of San Ramon Valley Boulevard and Railroad Avenue into a bright, loft-like space complete with fireplace, open kitchen, expansive bar area and red leather booths that look out on downtown Danville. Trademark touches like cans of flatware and napkins maintain the casual, kid-friendly ambience. Service is easy and accommodating, omitting the shallot on your wild mushroom pizzette if you like, for instance, and offering salads, pastas, soups,...
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09/18/08
Looking for an evening of fun, foodies? Join 1300 other guests on September 27, 6-10 pm, at the 17th Annual Women of Taste benefit. Graze your way through the lush gardens of the Oakland Museum, enjoying fine food, wine and beer provided by Bay Area chefs, restaurants, wineries and breweries. To balance your culinary passions, dance under the stars to live salsa, R&B, rock, and soul music by local bands. Tickets are $125 Sept. 2-27; $75 for guests 35 and younger. Consider it the price of an upscale multi-course meal, complete with beverages of your choice.
Participating restaurants this year include Brown Sugar Kitchen and Citron of Oakland, Paradiso of San Leandro, Lalimes of Berkeley, and Rose Pistola of San...
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09/17/08
There’s a new play at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre that is actually set just a couple blocks away from the Rep's stages. Yellowjackets, written by Itamar Moses and directed by Tony Taccone, is currently playing until October 12th at the Thrust Stage.
Berkeley High graduate (as well as Yale and NYU alumni) Moses has written the script to take place at his former high school, with the plot focusing on students reacting to an insensitive story brought forth in the school’s newspaper involving issues of race and class. As controversy unravels on the campus, the play sharply illustrates how both students and teachers handle the perplexities in unprepared ways and ultimately decide how to treat the situation. A fresh and clever...
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09/16/08
Jazz musicians can soon further validate their musical talent through a new Bachelor of Music degree program at the Jazzschool of Music Study and Performance in Berkeley, as confirmed by Founder and Executive Director Susan Muscarella. The four-year B.M. program places an emphasis in Jazz and World Music Studies and kicks off next Fall 2009. Applications for the program are now being accepted at the Jazzschool Institute.
The program is being supported by Wells Fargo and Yoshi’s. If you’d like to support the Jazzschool and its new Bachelor of Music degree program, the school is holding a fundraiser on Monday, November 17th at Yoshi’s in Oakland. Performers include The Taylor Eigsti Trio, Madeline Eastman, Marcos Silva and Intersection, Wayne Wallace and...
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09/15/08
Brian Copeland returns to Walnut Creek’s Lesher Center for the Arts with his hit one-person show, Not a Genuine Black Man. As with Copeland’s prior Lesher Center stints, the opening night performance, September 18, benefits Fresh Start, the Walnut Creek-based program that provides meals, clothing, social services, and a safe place to hang for the area’s homeless.
Fresh Start, housed at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, suffered a major blow this summer. Susan Prather, the organization’s founder, executive director, and a crusading East Bay advocate for the homeless, died July 29 after a short battle with cancer. Copeland and other KGO-810 Radio hosts were good friends with Prather, and she was a frequent guest on their broadcasts....
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09/12/08
Catch a cool concert—for a good cause—this Sunday in Martinez at the John Muir Amphitheater in Martinez. The 2nd annual rock for relief show benefits UNICEF and the Diablo Valley Boys and Girls Club. Proceeds to Benefit UNICEF and the Diablo Valley Boys and Girls Club
Sunday September 14th
2pm-7pm
John Muir Amphitheater, Martinez, CA 94553
Tickets $15.00 in advance or $20.00 day of show
Rock for Relief II is the second annual benefit concert showcasing, in true rock n’ roll form, two tribute bands as well as one original band:
Evolution [A Journey Tribute Band]
The Ralph Woodson Experience [A tribute to Jimi Hendrix]
Melting Point
All proceeds from this event will be donated to UNICEF and the...
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09/11/08
Opah! Spend an evening like a Greek god this Friday and attend the 30th Contra Costa Greek Food Festival. There will be plenty of games and
entertainment for the young ones, along with arts and crafts activities. Expect to move your feet to live Greek music, too. Taste exquisite Greek
bliss in one of the East Bay’s largest events devoted to honoring Greek culture and food.
When: Fri. 9/12, 5:00 -11:00 p.m., Sat. 9/13 noon - 11:00 p.m., and Sun. noon - 8:00 p.m.
Where: Church grounds, 1955 Kirker Pass Road, Concord
Admission: $5
For more information, call 925. 676-6967
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09/11/08
If you love the variety of colors, shapes and tastes of heirloom tomatoes, check out the NatureSweet Carmel Tomato Fest, Quail Lodge Resort, September 14, 12:30 pm. It’s the longest running, most popular tomato festival around. Started by the now infamous Gary Ebsen 17 years ago, net proceeds from the event benefit local, regional and national youth charities. This year’s fest features 60 of America’s top chefs, 50 wineries, over 350 varieties of heirloom tomatoes plus live music, salsa, olive oil and BBQ tastings. The $95 ticket price includes all foods, wines and activities; children under 12 are admitted free. Can’t make it to Carmel? Then, consider joining the Heirloom Tomatoes Club,
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09/10/08
On September 14, join the Brentwood Agricultural Land Trust for a feast of local food and wine prepared by premier Bay Area chefs from the seasonal bounty of
Brentwood Farms. The 4th Annual Harvest Celebration will take place at the Historic Taylor Ranch in Byron, CA, where hundreds of people will gather to sip wine under the stars and enjoy the incredible diversity of agricultural products created by Contra Costa farmers. Chefs from acclaimed Bay Area restaurants such as Venus, Sunrise Bistro and Sunnyside Café, among others, will exhibit their talent featuring foods grown within miles of the celebration. All proceeds benefit the Brentwood Agricultural Land Trust, which works to ensure future generations continue to enjoy a local source of food.
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09/10/08
Ready to unwind from a stressful week? The perfect opportunity to enjoy a blues concert is coming up this Friday, September 12th at Downtown
Point Richmond on Park Place (off the 580 Richmond Parkway exit).
Point Richmond Music 2008’s Summer Concert Series is hosting “Mo Betta Blues”, featuring Gumbo West from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and Ed Earley from 6:45 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. Admission is free, and it’s a great chance to see the local band and accomplished trombonist bring their unique sounds together at one event to create cool, crisp vibrations – and make it look so easy.
Love what you’re hearing at the concert? You can buy CDs of the festival music for a cheap $10, which supports the event for...
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09/10/08
Congratulations to everyone who particiapted in the recent Susan G. Komen breast cancer walk. This three day event had some 1,800 participants, including Rockridge realtor Elisa Uribe (far left, in photo), whose four person team raised more than $10,000.For more information, go to www.the3day.org.
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09/08/08
I scream, you scream, we all scream for… gelato? That's what sweet toothed residents are screaming now that Gelato Classico has arrived at Lunardi’s.
Chocolate lovers will be floating on cloud nine after tasting flavors such as peanut butter chocolate and dark chocolate, which is said to be comparable to cold fudge. There is even one called guilt-free chocolate because it has no added sugar. Nontraditional flavors such as honey lavender, limoncello poppyseed, and orange marmalade round out the selection of 48 flavors.
For those who don’t do dairy or would rather go for fruit flavors, try Classico Gelato’s line of sorbets. Flavors include lemon, passion fruit, pomegranate and strawberry.
Here’s a...
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09/08/08
This month's issue of Diablo has a great story about Valley Christian High School's new football team, which has a coaching staff with several former NFL players. The Dublin-based high school's junior varsity team played its first-ever game last Saturday, and defeated the Harker High School, 41-22. Congrats to the Valley Christian Vikings—great start to the football program! Just FYI: The 49ers and Patriots are looking for quarterbacks.
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09/05/08
With summer quickly winding down and school quickly winding up, it won’t be long before families are once again running in and out of the house with their busy schedules. So, why don’t you head on down, with children and pets tow, to the grand opening event of The Rose Garden shopping center in Danville tomorrow and enjoy the last bit of summer.
The event, which kicks off with the ribbon cutting ceremony at 9 a.m., is also a fundraiser for Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation. Festivities will include live music, a silent auction, face painting for children, Cat Grass seed plantings, and a balloon artist. Restaurants Amaranta Cocina Mexicana, Bittersweet Chocolate Café, Amici’s East Coast Pizzeria, and Esin Restaurant will...
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09/04/08
Sending the kids back to school? Why not add a little pizzazz to their schedule with a Polish class?
The John Paul II School of Polish Language is holding its open registration this Saturday, Sept. 6 at 9:30 a.m. at United Methodist Church in Walnut Creek.
The school holds class from 9:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. every other Saturday each month, and aims to enrich the lives of children and adults within the Polish American community. There are currently more than 530,000 Polish Americans residing in California.
Polish language and culture is taught to students of age levels ranging from preschool to adult. Traditional Polish folk dances, singing lessons, recreational trips and camps are just a few of many fun activities...
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09/03/08
Tune into NBC11's 11 p.m. news this evening and you'll see Jessica Aguirre reporting on homework overload and the negative effects it can have on students. Aguirre's story is a partnership with Diablo's September cover story, "Homework: How Much is Too Much?" which has received a terrific response since it hit mailboxes and newsstands last week. We're delighted to be partnering with Aguirre and NBC11 on this important issue—watch for further collaborations between Diablo and NBC11 in the near future!
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09/02/08
Lafayette resident and Olympic champion Natalie Coughlin was a guest on the Tonight Show last week, and brought her six medals (most by a female swimmer in Olympic history) to show Jay. Coughlin, a big foodie, got to sit next to celeb chef Gordon Ramsey, which was probably a big thrill. Jay teased Coughlin about her recent photos for Maxim magazine. Anyway, Coughlin comes off really well...you can find the clip here. (Click on Thursday's show, then select the Coughlin chapter)
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