The action on the Street has picked up considerably as the weather warms up and people relish the return to former routines. Saturday was a big day. The Benicia Plein Air Gallery outdoor show in the courtyard at Sweetness and Light was a visual feast. A cart load of gorgeous blooms served as inspiration for artists who demonstrated their craft in front of panels of plein air paintings by each of the 12 gallery members. Mary Lou Correia and Beth Winfield stood at their easels capturing some of the blooms in still life. Roses, agapanthus, larkspur, stock, carnations, calla Lillies, snapdragons, Spanish lavender, and baby blue Canterbury bells posed for their closeups. Beth’s canvas looked good enough to eat with some juicy looking roses taking shape. Inside the Gallery members JoAnn McMahon and Maria SantoStefano greeted collectors.
Voena children’s choir — “Uniting the world with children’s voices” — performed at the Library amphitheater Saturday eve. The grass was packed with families on blankets and in portable chairs settling in for the one-hour performance. Some 25 kids of all ages from 3-18 dressed in black Voena teeshirts sang their hearts out under the direction of conductor, musician, and singer Annabelle Marie who founded the group in 1994. Not a formal choir in the conventional sense, there was choreography, drumming, and a keyboard accompanying the choir who sang songs from around the world in a variety of languages. The audience was almost as entertaining as the concert. Tiny little girls in their sundresses twirled like dervishes to the rhythm of the music until they fell dizzy and exhausted on the grass. One toddler got away from her mother who dashed in front of the stage to retrieve her. Another, stylishly dressed in leopard tights and black leotard, tried to climb on the stage and touch one of the singers — an older sister perhaps — who managed to ignore her. Voena has performed several times at the White House, the Vatican, and at the Olympics, and will be back in Benicia this summer.
Can’t believe I missed the Carquinez Strait Quilters Show at the Clock Tower. Was dressed and ready to go when I checked their website. Luckily, the exhibition was captured in a beautiful video produced by Benicia Sky that shows each quilt masterpiece to best advantage, filling the vast space with color and pattern. http://www.cssquilter.org. I recognized traditional designs going back hundreds of years to more modern interpretations, some even incorporating photographs and paintings. We are fortunate to have craftspeople who continue this American tradition with patience and skill. The next show isn’t until 2024, but in the meantime, CSQ will continue to hold workshops at the Benicia Senior Center.
A friend regularly does Lifeline Screening and says it may have saved her life. Lifeline provides non-invasive medical screening for stroke, cardiovascular disease, and other ailments at a reasonable fee. Lifeline will be in Benicia at Veterans Hall on May 26, 2022, and offer five tests that are recommended for people over 50. Sign up at http://www.lifelinescreening.com … One House Bakery will open their doors this summer for inside dining and the chance to once again ogle the baked goods in their glass cases …Smelled smoke as I approached the library. Dozens of bocce lovers were exuberantly gathered at the courts with their picnics, wine, and BBQ. Benicia Bocce League season is back until September with teams like the Benicia Ball Breakers and Irritable Ball Syndrome competing against the likes of Mission Imbocceball and Boccelism.
Ducks are pairing up again. You see feathered couples all over town emerging from shrubbery and from under parked cars. Or maybe it’s the same couple who just like a change of scenery. Check behind your tires for these lovebirds before starting your engine …About 20 sailors from the Belvedere Yacht Club in Tiburon navigated over to Benicia recently and made a day of it. There was a bar set up on the Marina lawn and couples seated around a linen-covered table having a late lunch. Others were enjoying flying kites, taking advantage of the mighty wind blowing over the B St. wetlands. They were cheering each other on, one elderly fellow bragging that his wife who had never flown a kite, had the highest flying one.
This Saturday is another big day — Opening Day on the Strait — sponsored by the Benicia Yacht Club who will provide music, food, and drink, stage a blessing of the fleet, and a decorated boat parade at 1:30 pm. At noon there will be a gathering “Bans Off Our Bodies”on the First St. Green supporting a woman’s right to choose in conjunction with the inaugural National Women’s Reproductive Rights Day. The message — “Politicians and judges — stick to your knitting.”
Sarah Beserra is an artist, collector, Dharma practitioner and former lobbyist.
Letters From Benicia 