Weekend Alive: Manage Your Child's Education, Tehiyah's Got Talent, Fur People Benefit and Much More

This is my last Daily 5, as Patch is discontinuing this feature. Patch is a startup, which in publishing parlance equates to change. As startups sift and sort to determine how to do best by their readers, they try many different approaches to delivering the news. They keep some and drop others. I will miss writing this column; I’ve enjoyed talking with many of you as I chased down Daily 5 details, and I thank you all for your help. I also have learned how much El Cerrito offers for all kinds of interests. Remember what English novelist Aldous Huxley said, “Happiness is not achieved by the conscious pursuit of happiness; it is generally the byproduct of other activities.”

Weekend Activities and Much to Do Before You Sleep

What’s Happening Friday, Feb. 4

• Do you want control your child’s education? Marsha R. Dodson and Dr. Darlene V. Willis, co-authors of Empowering Parents: A Guide to Taking Control of Your Child's Educational Journey will speak tonight from 6 to 8 at the  Besides being able to tune in to some knowledgeable experts, there will be a free dinner for all and free childcare, too. RSVP to Sharon at 510-525-7059 or e-mail sejohnson@cal.berkeley.edu. Cosponsors of this talk are the Portola Middle School School Site Council and PTSA, the City of El Cerrito, and Portola, Harding and Fairmont After School programs.
• Tonight is the first annual Tehiyah's Got Talent show, featuring recording artists, former nightclub singers, professional actors, multi-instrumentalists, published authors, a gospel singer and other performance artists and a funny short film. Two bartenders will create a cocktail for the event; wine and beer will be served at a cash bar, and food, catered by Eli's Gourmet Cooking, will be sold. Also for sale will be an “amazing collection of used CDs at bargain prices,” according to . The show will be performed at Congregation Netivot Shalom in Berkeley. Tickets are available from any Grade 8 Tehiyah parent (one for $18, two for $35); by sending an email to tickets@aniela.net  and paying by check via mail or at the school (paperless ticket via email); through brown paper tickets ($18 with service charge of $1.62 ) https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/142969; or at the door, $20. This is an adult only (21 years or older) event. Childcare will be provided; $7 per child, ages 4 to 13, paid in advance. Contact tickets@aniela.net as slots are limited. 

What’s Happening, Saturday, Feb. 5, and Sunday, Feb. 6

• The Singles Club Association is hosting a dance Feb. 5 from 8 to 11 p.m. at the , more commonly known as the Eagles Hall or Eagles Lodge, at 3223 Carlson Blvd. In anticipation of Valentine’s, the association asks that you wear red. Music will be played by Jun Sumundo and Band. Refreshments will be served. Admission is $6.

• Come to Playland-Not-at-the-Beach Feb. 5 and 6 and visit a miniature Land of Oz complete in every detail. You will see the Emerald City, and Dorothy's house, the dark castle of the Wicked Witch of the West, and so much more. There also will be a Wizard of Oz Quiz and a Yellow Brick Road Treasure Hunt. And, anyone who shows up in a Wizard of Oz character costume will win a prize at the entrance! But there’s more than Oz to tickle your fancy. Laff in the Dark was the earliest ghost ride at Whitney's Playland. People have fond memories of the gorilla, the wall full of breaking dishes and the other denizens of the dark, says Playland. In tribute to this bygone attraction, Playland has created a special darkroom full of modern denizens that leap out at you when you wear special safety goggles. Watch where you are standing as the floor starts to move. Also, be sure to spend some time playing in the 3-D Pinball Arcade featuring Monster Bash, Elvira's Scared Stiff, Creature from the Black Lagoon and Haunted House (the first three-level pinball machine), according to Playland. Playland is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• Stop by a garage sale Feb. 5 sponsored by RabbitEARS Pet Supply & Services. The money earned from whatever treasures you buy will benefit local greyhound and rabbit rescue operations.  The sale will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at, 377 Colusa Ave, Kensington. On Feb. 6, RabbitEARS will host a reception at its shop from 1 to 4 p.m., so you can meet pet artist Irene Dogmatic and view her artwork, as you nosh on wine and cheese. Dogmatic has created a number of theme booklets and collaborated with other artists as well. She was very active in the Correspondence Art Movement from the late 1970s to early 1980s. Some of her art has been featured in Elle Decor Magazine, California Magazine and New York Woman. is a green-certified pet supply store, which also supports and participates in the rescue and adoption of small animals, primarily rabbits and other small creatures.

Retail Therapy in Aid of Fairmont.

The information highway has become the shopper’s and fundraiser’s highway, too. If you shop on the Internet, consider using the eScrip shopping mall, because merchants who are part of this mall will donate to Fairmont Elementary School for every purchase you make. Such a purchase will not cost you extra. Go to www.escrip.com. Register with the site to support Fairmont Elementary School, Group ID 139421715. Once you have registered, click on the link at the top of the page for shopping at the online mall. Hundreds of merchants participate in the eScrip program, including Amazon, the Gap and Macy's, to name a few. However, to ensure that the school receives a donation, you must visit the merchant's web site through the eScrip shopping mall. Retail therapy becomes a mitzvah. Life doesn’t get much better than that!