East County Events: April 17 and Beyond

Join the fun and make a difference in your community on Saturday, April 18th; volunteer for 5th Annual Antioch’s Keep Antioch Beautiful event, from 8:30 – 11 AM. Following the cleanup, there will be a free volunteer lunch at East Bay Regional Contra Loma Park from 11:30AM – 1 PM.

The effort continues on Saturday, April 18^th, with 12 check-in locations. Schools and students will be competing for participation prize money for their schools. There are 3 prizes, $500 for 1^st Place, $300 for 2^nd Place and $200 for 3^rd Place, with prizes awarded to each level of high, middle and elementary schools – that’s $3,000 in participation prizes!Participation is not limited to students to count towards prizes; parents, grandparents, friends, etc. can register their efforts for an individual school. We count everyone who is working if they state a school to credit – not just students! Volunteers who check in at a school site will be cleaning up the neighborhoods surrounding their campuses as well as their campuses.

To register for the event or find out more information, visit http://www.art4antioch.org/Keep-Antioch-Beautiful.asp, email [email protected] or call Diane Gibson-Gray at (925) 325-9897.

April 11: Brentwood Farmers Market
the Brentwood Farmers’ Market on is open on Saturday from 8am to 12pm, Oak St. and First St.  New this year – they have expanded around the corner onto Oak St. The season will run from March 7, 2015 to November 21, 2015.

April 18: Annual Mike “Bear Cub” Truitt Memorial Ride

On Saturday April 18, a local law enforcement motorcycle club will host the annual Mike “Bear Cub” Truitt Memorial Ride. The proceeds from the event will benefit the Mike Truitt Memorial Scholarship Fund at Los Medanos College. This is a scholarship for students who wish to go into law enforcement to attend the academy at Los Medanos College.

The ride is open to all types of motorcycles and cars and this is a not-for-profit event with all proceeds going to the scholarship.

The Sacred Sons Motorcycle Club will be meeting at 8:30 am in front of the Antioch Police Department at 300 L Street when registration begins and at 10:00 am they will head to Ironstone Winery in Murphy’s. The event is $25.00 per person which includes lunch at Ironstone.

Truitt was an Antioch Police Officer for 25-years and died of cancer in December 2005. For more information on the event contact Mike Schneider (925) 972-6461.

The event is being sponsored by the Sacred Sons Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club, Inc. PO Box 2004 Antioch CA 94509 www.sacredsonsmc.com. You may also visit them on Facebook

April 18: You Me We = Oakley Monument Unveiling
The Council and public are invited to the unveiling of the YMWO bronze monument! A short program will take place on Saturday, April 18th at 5:00 p.m. at the Downtown Plaza. Join Project Committee Members ( Board‐ representatives from the partner institutions‐ IIBA, OUSD, Freedom High/LUHSD, St. Anthonys, Oakley P.D. ) and
volunteer Ambassadors as we unveil the sculpture and student artwork ( now converted to ceramic tiles). The children whose are will adorn the plaza, complimenting the monument will be recognized.

At 6:00 p.m. folks are invited to walk across the street to the “Roads of Oakley” Art Exhibit opening reception. The reception will commence with a brief program recognizing the top pieces.

April 19: El Campanil Presents Leading Ladies
Show Begins at 2:00 pm

In this hilarious comedy by the author of Lend Me A Tenor and Moon Over Buffalo, two English Shakespearean actors, Jack and Leo, find themselves so down on their luck that they are performing “Scenes from Shakespeare” on the Moose Lodge circuit in the Amish country of Pennsylvania. When they hear that an old lady in York, Pennsylvania, is about to die and leave her fortune to her two long-lost English nephews, they resolve to pass themselves off as her beloved relatives and get the cash. The trouble is, when they get to York, they find out that the relatives aren’t nephews, but nieces! Romantic entanglements abound, especially when Leo falls in love with the old lady’s vivacious niece, Meg, who’s engaged to the local minister. Slapstick goofiness, scrambled Shakespeare, and good-natured laughs make Leading Ladies an irresistible treat. Buy Tickets

April 19-25: Oakley Science Week

Sunday, April 19th: Delta Science in Action
The Delta Science Center and the East Bay Regional Park District are hosting this exciting workshop that will include a variety of hands-on activities for children to learn about the waters and the wildlife that make the Delta their home. The program will run from 10:00a.m. – 1:00p.m. at the Big Break Visitor Center patio, 69 Big Break Road, Oakley

Monday, April 20th: Mad Science
The fun staff from Mad Science of Mt. Diablo will be on hand to assist children in a variety of science experiments. Children will learn how magnets work and learn about sonic sounds. The “Science of Toys” will teach children how to relate to science through toys. This workshop will start at 3:30p.m. at Laurel Elementary School, 1141 Laurel Road, Oakley. The program runs 45 – 50 minutes so participants who arrive late may not have a chance to stop by each activity.

Tuesday, April 21st: Lego Engineering
Lego Engineering is one of the most popular activities during Science Week. The skilled staff at Bricks 4 Kids will have a variety of items for children to build while learning about the fundamentals of engineering. The program begins at 3:30p.m. in the multi-purpose room at Iron House Elementary School, 4801 Frank Hengel Way, Oakley. This program runs 45 – 50 minutes so participants who arrive late will not have a chance to build every item.

Wednesday, April 22nd: Do You Sense It?
The Oakley Youth Advisory Council is hosting this new workshop to teach children about the 5 senses of sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell. This will be a fun workshop with a variety of activities. The program will begin at 4:00p.m. at the Oakley Recreation Buildings, 1250 O’Hara Avenue, Oakley.

Thursday, April 23rd: Poopology
East Bay Regional Park District staff will lead this program to teach children how to identify the scat (poop) from a wide variety of wildlife that make Northern California their home. This program will begin at 3:30p.m. at the Big Break Visitor Center, 69 Big Break Road, Oakley. This program runs 45 – 55 minutes so participants who arrive late may not have an opportunity to experience all the activities.

Friday, April 24th: Reptile Kingdom
Python Ron is back for another fascinating seminar about a wide variety of reptiles. He’ll have about 20 different species of snakes, lizards, turtles and even some insects on hand. The program will begin at 3:30p.m. at Civic Center Plaza, 3231 Main Street.

Saturday, April 25: Extreme Delta, Celebrating the Earth and Clean Water
Join us on the last day of Science Week for this enlightening program. The Delta Science Center, Ironhouse Sanitary District and the Diablo Water District will host this workshop with several hands-on activities and giveaways for the children. Free hayrides will be offered. This program will take place at Ironhouse Sanitary District, 450 Walnut Meadows Drive in Oakley from 10:00a.m. – 2:00p

April 24: Heritage High School 2nd Annual Guest Jazz Artist Concert
Join the Heritage High School for a special concert on Friday April 24 where proceeds will be donated to the Villalpando Family in support of Peter Villalpando and his courageous fight against cancer.

The guest artist will be Richard Conway, PhD – Trumpet Player—and the concert will begin at 7:00 pm at the HHS Theater. General admission is just $10 and $5 for students. Tickets are sold at the door.

April 25: Mt. Diablo Recycling Hosts 3rd Annual Funtastic Family Earth Day Celebration
Earth Day is not just a once a year holiday for Mt. Diablo Recycling (MDR), a division of recycling and resource recovery company Garaventa Enterprises, though it does highlight a reason to celebrate with the Contra Costa County community. MDR’s 3^rd Annual Funtastic Family Earth Day Celebration on April 25 offers free family fun!

The Funtastic Family Earth Day Celebration includes a choice between two separate two-hour sessions (10 a.m. to 12 noon and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.) taking place, for free, at the MDR facility located at 1300 Loveridge Road in Pittsburg, Calif. Each session includes a tour of MDR’s 90,000-square-foot recycling facility where participants will learn about the “Big Blue” and “Big Wall-e” recycling machines, an interactive education lesson about the 5 R’s (Reduce-Reuse-Recycle-Respect-Recover), recycling games, and a take home pile of compost. Families can also take pictures with the Recycling Guy and with recycling trucks.

To reserve a space today, in either session, contact Adriana Medina at 925-771-2721 or at [email protected]. Space is limited to 50 people per session.

“There is no better time than Earth Day to share our passion for recycling and recovery with the entire community,” said Joseph Garaventa, MDR’s Chief Executive Officer.