The Castro Valley Forum

There were dressed up greeters at the door, stars with celebrated names on the walls, flower arrangements, and plenty of shine and sparkle in the guests’ outfits at Castro Valley Women’s Club’s (CVWC) 60th Anniversary celebration last Wednesday. The luncheon was themed as the Academy Awards Gala, with all the trimmings of the namesake event. …. Read more

Castro Valley Parent Co-op Nursery School is a unique local institution which has been teaching “respect, responsibility, resilience and resourcefulness through play” since 1949. Parents, who participate in the school life on a daily basis, and staff teachers instruct children on how to use words, share toys, and behave in a civil manner while playing. …. Read more

Light the Lights’ Fifth An nual benefit concert for the Castro Valley Center for the Arts is opening on the last day of this month at its usual location in Redwood Chapel. This year, the Castro Valley Arts Foundation brings in Alice Lynn—New York star of theater, film, television and cabaret who will perform excerpts from Broadway musicals. …. Read more

“My Way: A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra,” the clever, tuneful musical revue featuring songs Sinatra made famous, opened last weekend at Hayward’s Douglas Morrisson Theatre to an enthusiastic audience. If Old Blue Eye’s ghost was lingering in the wings, it must have been happy at the applause greeting his signature numbers and the standing ovation at the program’s end. …. Read more

Agatha Christie’s thriller, “The Mousetrap,” still scares audiences with its menace and murder as it has been doing in London’s West End theatrical district since 1952. The longest running play in theatrical history, “The Mousetrap” has been running in London since November 1952, nearing 23,000 performances. The local community theater, Chanticleers, opened its version of the murder mystery this past weekend and, yes, it was greeted with startled gasps just like the London production. …. Read more

Winter holiday cuisine, with all those meat-andpotato dishes and sugarloaded desserts, makes much more sense to Russia’s Northerners, used to freezing temperatures, cold winds, and lots and lots of snow. Russian families and friends consume plenty of those dishes, while gathering around a Christmas tree on a New Year’s night, or on Russian Orthodox Christmas day, which is January 7, or to celebrate “the Old New Year” on January 12 (more winter holidays— less winter depression). …. Read more

The Dec. 14 reception date was all set at Hayward’s City Hall for a catered champagne reception featuring paintings by Patrick Lester with additional paintings by Bill Sala and ceramics by Leona Nichandros and Alexis Moyer. Many invitations had gone out, the caterer and music arranged for. Word received from Lester’s specially invited guests in New York, Hawaii, Japan and points in between was “We’re coming.”  Then—oops! City Hall had been double booked—the Dec. 14 date was also scheduled for the City of Hayward’s big holiday reception. …. Read more

This November can be as unseasonably warm as it gets in Castro Valley, but nobody is fooled by this relaxing Summer extension. The holiday season, with all its joys and trials—including house guests from colder states, Energizer-bunny children, and their endless demands for food and spectacle—is upon us right here and now. …. Read more

Becoming a kid again rarely comes without consequences for a responsible adult, but watching the newest Berkeley Rep production of “Argonautika” turns any audience into a crowd of fascinated children, eagerly anticipating the next turn of the plot. A gem of ancient Greek mythology— the legend of Jason and the Argonauts and their search for the golden fleece comes alive and anew written and directed by Tony Awardwinning Mary Zimmerman. …. Read more