season. The concert will be followed by a celebratory reception on the Sunset Center Terrace, toasting to two weeks of world-class music. [RM] 7:30pm Saturday, July 29. Sunset Center, San Carlos Street at 9th Avenue, Carmel. $63- $137. 624-1521, bachfestival.org. Sunday, June 30 HONORING TRADITION Obon is a 500-plus-year-old Buddhist custom of honoring the spirits of one’s ancestors. While there is a look back— families traditionally visit gravesites—it is an occasion marked by a spirit of gratitude for those who came before, and also celebration. Similarly, the local Obon Festival in Salinas features reflection and visits to ancestral graves by members of the Buddhist community. It also includes a day of festivities that are open to all. Enjoy a dance performance by San Jose Taiko (3pm), Obon dance (4pm) and ongoing displays throughout the day—bonsai, ikebana, a tea ceremony, Japanese food available for purchase, games and raffles. [SR] Noon-5pm Sunday, July 30. Buddhist Temple of Salinas, 14 California St., Salinas. Parking at Salinas Adult School, 20 Sherwood Place; shuttle provided. Free. 4244105, btsalinas.org. Tuesday, Aug. 1 WAITING ON THE FLYER While we are waiting for the renovated Western Flyer to return to Monterey, Sherry Flumerfelt of the Western Flyer Foundation is touring the county giving a presentation titled “Western Flyer: Literary History Heads Back to Sea.” In 1940, John Steinbeck, Ed Ricketts and a small crew chartered the fishing vessel Western Flyer for a sixweek exploration of Mexico’s Gulf of California, resulting in the groundbreaking text The Log from the Sea of Cortez (1951). The boat returned to fishing for decades, disappeared, sank, and was in disrepair when marine geologist John Gregg purchased it in 2015. Gregg founded the nonprofit Western Flyer Foundation, and embarked on restoring the boat and bringing it back into service for research and education. Flumerfelt will share the story of this iconic boat, its restoration, and the organization’s plans for the future. The lecture will happen again on Aug. 10 at Monterey Pacific Rotary Club and Aug. 31 at Rotary Club of Monterey. [AP] Noon Tuesday, Aug. 1. Rotary Club of Carmel Valley, Highway 1 and Rio Road, Carmel. Free. 204-0770, westernflyer.org/events. PLAYING DEAD Each year, the Dave Holodiloff Band celebrates one of the greatest jam guitarists of all time with the Jerry Garcia Bluegrass Birthday Bash Tribute Concert. But here’s the deal: There is no way Jerry Garcia was born. He just appeared with a scruffy mane, a pocket full of sugar cubes and a band. And we’re sticking to that—a guitar god conjured from the music ether. So who are these mortals destined to honor the Grateful Dead frontman? Well, the Dave Holodiloff Band is a favorite, versed in the improvisational arts that make for a great jam. So you can don the tie-dyed shirt, drop some…sorry, some professional-looking sorts told us not to go there. Instead, just kick back and enjoy what is likely to be a true party. [DF] 7pm Tuesday, Aug. 1. Henry Miller Memorial Library, 48603 Highway 1, Big Sur. $20/in advance; $25/at the door. 667-2574, henrymiller.org. Hot Picks by Tajha Chappellet-Lanier, Dave Faries, Kyarra Harris, Celia Jiménez, Pam Marino, Rey Mashayekhi, Agata Pop˛eda, Sara Rubin and David Schmalz. 30 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY JULY 27-AUGUST 2, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com Send ideas to calendar@mcweekly.com HOT PICKS game; entertainment, noon-9pm, free; light show, 9pm, free. Saturday, July 29 SHOW AND TELL Have you ever wanted to test your mettle trying to build and pilot an underwater robot? At the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute open house this Saturday, you’ll have your chance. It’s that time of year when one of the planet’s most innovative marine science research facilities opens its doors to the public, and visitors can meet the scientists doing the research and talk to them about their work, which is fascinating. It’s a great event not just for curious adults, but kids too—there will be children’s craft activities, and a chance to see MBARI’s fleet of underwater robots and check its research vessels on the dock. (One note: There will be no food and drink available, but there are tables to picnic at if you bring lunch.) It’s often said that the deep sea is Earth’s final frontier—it is incredibly vast, and largely unexplored—and scientists at MBARI are leaders in exploring it. This Saturday, they’ll be there to talk about their discoveries. [DS] Noon-5pm Saturday, July 29. MBARI, 7700 Sandholdt Road, Moss Landing. Free. mbari. org/event/mbari-open-house-2023. WRITER’S WORK Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jane Smiley moved to Carmel Valley because of a beloved German horse called Mr. T., with whom she relocated from her previous home in Iowa. Smiley was born in Los Angeles and grew up in the Midwest, so when she moved here in 1996 with her husband and her horse, she “instantly fell in love” with the landscape and the weather, as she writes in the opening chapter of The Questions that Matter Most: Reading, Writing and the Exercise of Freedom, her newest book published in June. Smiley will be signing the book, and talking to Henry Miller Memorial Library Executive Director Magnus Torén about her work. Feel free to pack a lunch. [AP] 3-5pm Saturday, July 29. Henry MIller Memorial Library, 48603 Highway 1, Big Sur. Free. 667-2574, henrymiller.org. BACH NEXT YEAR The 86th season of the Carmel Bach Festival wraps up this weekend, but there’s still a chance to enjoy some wonderful classical music and send off the festival in style at the “Best of the Fest” closing night concert at Carmel’s Sunset Center. Grete Pedersen, the festival’s artistic director and principal conductor, will lead the Festival Chorale and Orchestra through a selection of favorites from this year’s Sherry Flumerfelt of the Western Flyer Foundation is touring the county giving a presentation titled “Western Flyer: Literary History Heads Back to Sea.” You can hear it next on Tuesday, Aug. 1. DANIEL DREIFUSS A new summertime celebration debuts in Pacific Grove this year under the banner of Youth Ambassadors of Pacific Grove—and yes, it includes a pet parade.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjAzNjQ1NQ==