A&E

A Wednesday night “reveal” party was held at the Raven Theater last week, but the answer didn’t come in pink or blue. Rather, it was the lineup for the next season of productions planned for the venerable community Performing Arts Theater on North Street. “Many...

Josiah Henson overcame incredible odds to escape from slavery, and improved the lives of hundreds of freedmen throughout his long life. He found international fame as the real "Uncle Tom" in the novel that fueled the abolitionist movement and ignited the Civil War. Join us on Josiah Henson’s birthday in celebrating his powerful story with author Jared Brock. Brock’s sweeping biography immortalizes Henson in an epic tale of courage and bravery in the face of unimaginable trials. Author Jared Brock has also made a short documentary called JOSIAH (Narrated by actor and activist Danny Glover), which will be screened at this event, followed by Q&A and a book signing with Jared.

Spring flowers get a lot of attention, but fall blooms can be just as beautiful. As we near the end of the growing season for many local farms, florists love to take advantage of the late summer/early fall bounty. Here are seven flower varieties to help you welcome the season! As a bonus, we source all of these flower types from local farms in Northern California, so be sure to look out for them in your local flower shop or farmers market. Read on to learn more about our favorite local fall florals and how to use them in your home.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle opens in 1996, with the  discovery of the old board game on a sandy beach. When the box is opened, a video game cartridge is inside which just happens to fit the Sony Play Station the teen-aged son has in his bedroom. We then flash forward 20 years, where (echoing the plot points of the The Breakfast Club), four teens end up in detention for various reasons: Spencer, the Wimp (Alex Wolf) is called into the principal’s office for writing a history paper for  Fridge, the Jock (Ser’Darius Blain); Bethany, the Babe (Madison Iseman) is busted for using her cell phone during a test;  and Martha, the Brain (Morgan Turner), talks back to her PE teacher. The foursome discover the Jumanji video game in the school basement, and are magically transformed into the game avatars they select. The wimp becomes  Dr. Smolder Bravestone (Dwayne Johnson), a muscular, self-effacing “expert” with a “smoldering look.”  The brain develops sex appeal, long, shapely legs, and deadly martial arts skills as Ruby Roundhouse (Karen Gillan) who is clad in a ridiculous,  midriff-baring jungle outfit.  The Jock becomes the wise-cracking, short-statured zoologist named Franklin “Mouse” Finbar (Kevin Hart), and when the babe selected “the curvy genius cartographer” named Dr. Shelly Oberon, she did not envision Jack Black’s body. It takes awhile for the teens to learn to utilize their avatar’s skill sets, but fortunately, the game gives them two extra lives.

Todd Snider is pretty much who, and what, he says he is: an alright guy. He’s a bit shaggy, his wardrobe does not appear well thought out, and for years he performed barefoot on stage, with his dog, Cowboy Jim, napping a few feet...