Walnut Creek Magazine Events

		Pacific Fine Arts Festival Over 200 professional artists celebrate American craft on the sidewalks and streets of downtown Walnut Creek during the Pacific Fine Arts Festival. DETAILS: September 24 & 25, 10 am-6 pm; September 26, 10 am-5 pm, North Main and Locust Streets, between Mt. Diablo Blvd. and Civic Dr. For more information: (925) 933-6778 or www.walnutcreekdowntown.com.	BY SALLY HOGARTY Center Repertory Company in Walnut Creek begins its season with the charming musical She Loves Me. Set in the 1930s, two feuding sales clerks in a European parfumerie find solace in their anonymous romantic pen pals, only to discover that their respective correspondents are none other than each other! DETAILS: September 2 – October 10, Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Dr., Walnut Creek. Tickets: (925) 943-SHOW or go to www.lesherartscenter.org. Music, laughter and desire permeate the opulent tent on San Francisco’s Embarcadero as the fabled Teatro Zinzanni presents Hail Caesar! Featuring the wisecracking Frank Ferrante as Caesar, aerialist Dreya Webber as Cleopatra, and a stunning international cast of performers, the show is a whirlwind of jugglers, acrobats, aerialists and singers, plus a sumptuous five-course dinner! DETAILS: Through October 31, Teatro Zinzanni, Pier 29, Embarcadero at Battery Street, San Francisco. Tickets: (415) 438-2668 or go to www.lovezinzanni.org. American Conservatory Theatre opens the fall season with a tour de force performance by the incomparable Bill Irwin. This two-time Tony Award winner returns to San Francisco to perform in Scapin. In this lively baggy-pants comedy, the mischievous Scapin balances his penchant for mayhem with a promise to help two pairs of lovers. A wonderfully entertaining wild ride as only Bill Irwin can provide! DETAILS: September 16 – October 17, ACT, 405 Geary St., San Francisco. Tickets: (415) 749-2228 or go to www.act-sf.org. California Shakespeare Theater ends its summer season with Bard’s Much Ado About Nothing. This fun comedy plays like a soap opera made for the stage – lots of love and betrayal set in the romantic Italian countryside. Special Inside Scoops, Grove Talks and wine tastings are held before Cal Shakes performances on select dates. DETAILS: September 22 – October 17, Bruns Amphitheater, 100 Gateway Blvd., Orinda. Tickets: (510) 548-9666 or go online to www.calshakes.org. Contra Costa Musical Theatre presents A Chorus Line. One singular sensation! DETAILS: October 22 – November 20 Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Dr., Walnut Creek. Tickets: (925) 943-SHOW or go to www.lesherartscenter.org.
Fall Wine Walk Sip and sample wines at Walnut Creek businesses throughout the downtown and Broadway Plaza during the Fall Wine Walk. DETAILS: September 15, 6 pm-9 pm. www.walnutcreekdowntown.com
	Lafayette Art & Wine Festival A two-day community celebration of art, wine, music and food. DETAILS: September 18 & 19, Downtown Lafayette www.lafayettechamber.org.
The Walnut Festival Marks the last 'hoorah' of summer with a carnival, music, games and rides. DETAILS: September 23-26, Heather Farm Park, 301 N. San Carlos Drive, Walnut Creek www.thewalnutfestival.org.

	Soiree Season Lindsay Wildlife Museum’s First Annual Gala, Fall for Our Wildlife, benefits Walnut Creek’s regional wildlife museum and hospital with an evening of dinner, live auction and dancing. DETAILS: October 15, 6 pm, Roundhill Country Club, Alamo. For more information, call (925) 627-2951 or go to www.wildlife-museum.org. Diablo Regional Arts Association hosts its' gala, On Broadway, October 9th to celebrate the Lesher Center for the Arts 20 year anniversary. DETAILS: October 9. For more information, go to www.draa.org. The Gardens at Heather Farm is the venue for A Taste for Education, a benefit for the Walnut Creek Education Foundation (WCEF). DETAILS: October 22 from 7 pm-9 pm. Look for wine tastings, food samplings and auction items. For tickets to the event, go to www.wcefk12.org. The Friends of the Civic Arts Education Foundation holds its 5th Annual Gala–¡Viva Arts! to support art scholarships for low income Contra Costa County residents. Retiring City Manager, Gary Pokorny, emcees the evening of wine, appetizers, desserts and entertainment. DETAILS: October 30, 6:30 pm, Shadelands Auditorium, 111 N. Wiget, Walnut Creek. For tickets, visit www.friendsartsed.org or call (925) 939-2787.
Get Dirty on Diablo Thirty nine years ago Save Mt. Diablo was founded with the mission of increasing open space in and on the mountain. Since then open space on Mt. Diablo has increased from 6,788 acres to more than 100,000 acres. Explore some of this incredible wilderness during the Save Mount Diablo Trail Adventure. The event benefits Save Mt. Diablo and includes a family hike, runs, live entertainment and lunch. DETAILS: November 7, 9 am, Castle Rock Regional Recreation Area, Walnut Creek. To register go to www.SaveMountDiablo.org or call (925) 947-3535.

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