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Etiquette for the Small Set

Terra Mia Decorative Art Studio is hosting a new program for children ages 5 to 12. Entitled "Elbows Off the Table," it promises to teach young people etiquette through fun interactive role-playing and other activities.

Focusing on courtesy and respect rather than arcane rules of behavior, the class will be taught by Simla Akyol, the owner of a creative event and party business called It's a Piece of Cake. In addition to brushing up their manners, children will paint their own teacups, saucers, and tea service and use them in the class.

The fee is $225 for six Wednesday afternoon sessions, 4 to 5 p.m., from Oct. 6 through Nov. 10. Terra Mia also has an after-school program for kids ages 7 to 12. It runs Monday through Friday from 3:30 to 5 p.m. and costs $160 per week. Young artists will work with watercolors, acrylics, ink, ceramics, and collage.

For more information call Terra Mia at 642-9911, or drop by the studio, 1314 Castro Street, at 24th Street.

Before Mission Dolores

Old Mission Dolores and Heyday Books had great success co-producing "A Day at Chutchui" in August, so they are doing a followup, "A Day at Chutchui II." The event will be Saturday, Oct. 9, at Mission Dolores, 3321 16th Street at Dolores Street.

Chutchui was the name of the native Ohlone village that was once on the shore of Dolores Lagoon. The lagoon was part of Mission Bay, a vast marsh that stretched out over what is now the Mission District.

The day's presentations will explore the lives of San Francisco's native peoples, Spanish missionaries, and military, as well as the conflicts that wracked their relationships in the 18th and 19th centuries. Ohlone descendants will demonstrate native crafts, including making soap-root brushes and cooking with acorns. Docents will explain the Ohlone influences on the mission's architecture. There will also be a digital projection of the Indian murals recently revealed from behind the baroque 1797 altar. In the graveyard behind the church, historians will discuss the famous and infamous San Franciscans buried there.

The programs run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is adults $7, students $5, seniors and children under 12 $3. Proceeds will benefit educational programs at Old Mission Dolores. For tickets and group discounts, call 621-8203, ext. 21, or e-mail chochenyo@aol.com.

A Sculpture of Harvey Milk

The Harvey Milk City Hall Memorial Committee is hosting its inaugural fundraising event on Thursday, Oct. 14, from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Community (GLBT) Center, 1800 Market Street at Octavia.

The committee's aim is to raise $90,000 over two years in order to place a sculpture of former San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk in City Hall. In 1977, Milk, who devoted his life to politics and to freedom of sexual expression, was the first openly gay person to be elected to the Board of Supervisors. Sadly, in 1978, he was gunned down, along with then Mayor George Moscone, by Dan White. His life, however, inspired countless others to work for civil rights.

Entertainers lined up for Oct. 14 are the Whoa Nellies, Arturo Galster, Trisa Klipp, James Patrick Kennedy, Betsy Salkind, and the Restoration Sanctuary Choir. Speakers include Supervisors Tom Ammiano and Matt Gonzalez, Harry Britt, Dan Nicoletta, and Wayne Friday. Emcees are Heklina, Donna Sachet, Gary Virginia, and Tita Aida.

The suggested donation is $10 to $1,000. For further information, visit www.milkmemorial.org.

Classical Series Turns 12

The Noe Valley Chamber Music series (NVCM) begins its 12th season on Sunday, Oct. 24, with a gala opening concert and silent auction at the Noe Valley Ministry, 1021 Sanchez Street, at 23rd Street.

Mezzo-soprano Elza Van Den Heever and tenor Thomas Glenn, accompanied by acclaimed pianist Peter Grunberg, will headline the event. "We're thrilled to have them. The vocalists are two young and exciting stars of tomorrow who are definitely making names for themselves here in the Bay Area," says NVCM's director, Eric Valliere. "The auction's always a lot of fun, too. You're listening to a concert, but you're surrounded by all sorts of things from all over town, especially from neighborhood merchants who donate gift certificates for dinner, wine, overnight stays in guesthouses, and weekend trips."

Tickets for the season gala are $40 and include concert admission, silent auction, champagne, and dessert. The auction begins at 5:30 p.m.; showtime is 6 p.m.

NVCM presents Sunday concerts at 4 p.m. monthly from October through May. Artists include accomplished chamber ensembles, as well as outstanding solo vocalists and instrumentalists from the San Francisco Symphony and Opera. This year, the series will also include the world premiere of David Carlson's True Divided Light, NVCM's first commissioned work. NVCM is also inaugurating Noe Valley (h)Ears, a project that will add unique instruments and more contemporary music to the mix.

For tickets and further details, including descriptions of all of this year's artists, visit www.nvcm.org or call 648-5236.

National Velvet at the Castro

The Children's Classic Film Festival, which debuted at the Castro Theater on Sept. 26, will continue through Nov. 21. This festival is a fundraiser for San Francisco School Volunteers and is geared especially for family audiences.

"We have two small children ourselves, and my husband and I wanted more choices in what movies our children can see," says Karen Nasser, the festival's producer. "I decided to bring back some old classic films to the big single screen and give families a chance to see movies that the parents saw in theaters when they were kids." All shows are on Sundays at noon. In addition to the featured films, there will be live entertainment and a raffle, "so it really is a Sunday afternoon of fun," says Nasser.

Next up will be National Velvet on Sunday, Oct. 10. This 1945 film features Elizabeth Taylor in her first starring role. Live entertainment will include a storyteller from Young Performers Theater and a children's fashion show. The original Cheaper by the Dozen (1950) is set for Sunday, Oct. 17. It stars Clifton Webb as the efficiency expert who runs his family as if it were a factory. ODC Dance Jam will perform as well. The festival's final screening will be Born Free on Sunday, Nov. 21. It is the story of a Kenyan game warden and his wife who raise an orphaned lion club. The Peninsula Girls Chorus will also take the stage.

Tickets are $12.50 for adults; $10 for children 12 and under, students with ID, and seniors over 62. Pick them up at the theater, 429 Castro Street, or purchase online at ticketweb.com, or by phone at 1-866-468-3399. For info, go to www.the castrotheatre.com.

Meet Famous Women Authors

Litquake, the popular eight-day literary celebration established in 2002, is returning the week of Oct. 9 through 17, with an expanded schedule featuring over 150 authors. One of the events, "Writing Women's Lives," is taking place at the Noe Valley Ministry on Sunday, Oct. 10.

It will feature readings and a panel discussion on women's literature, by such acclaimed authors as Ann Packer, author of The Dive from Clausen's Pier and Mendocino and Other Stories; Maxine Hong Kingston, author of the classic Woman Warrior; ZZ Packer, whose short stories have appeared in The New Yorker and many anthologies; Liz Maverick, author of The Shadow Runners; and Julie Orringer, author of the short-story collection How to Breathe Underwater.

The evening will be moderated by David Kipen, book critic for the San Francisco Chronicle. The Ministry is at 1021 Sanchez Street, at 23rd Street. Doors open at 4 p.m.; admission is $10. Visit www.litquake.org for more information about this and other Litquake 2004 events.

Bands Boost the Bird

Glen Park's independent bookstore, Bird & Beckett Books, is holding a benefit on Sunday, Oct. 17, from 3 to 8 p.m. at the Miraloma Club House, 350 O'Shaughnessy Blvd., at Del Vale.

The $10 admission will include entertainment. "We'll have a lot of music for the duration, different bands like Tango No. 9, a belly dancer, a jazz jam session. There'll also be food from Glen Park food vendors and restaurants," says Eric Whittington, the store's owner. "We're hoping to underwrite our cultural program, like the poetry readings and the jazz sessions we have every Friday night with the Chuck Peterson Sextet. We're also starting a speakers series in January that will focus on politics and current issues."

October's highlights at the store include Diane di Prima reading "goofy surrealist poems" on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2 to 4 p.m. She'll also hang some of her collages, which will be on view until the end of the year. On Sunday, Oct. 24, the Edinburgh Street Woodwind Quintet will play works by Hindemith and other modern classical composers. And on Halloween, Sunday, Oct. 31, at 4:30 p.m., Walker Brents will discuss the plays of William Shakespeare. "Come in Elizabethan costume, if you're so inclined," Whittington encourages.

Bird & Beckett Books is at 2788 Diamond Street, at Chenery. For a schedule of events, call Whittington at 586-3733, or e-mail birdbeckett@sbcglobal.net.

Made in Noe Valley

San Francisco Open Studios, now in its 29th year, will showcase artists from all over the city on weekends in October. Noe Valley's weekend in the sun is Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 9 and 10.

Sponsored by the nonprofit group ArtSpan, Open Studios gives people a chance to meet artists in their home studios and to view their artwork in a less formal setting than a traditional art gallery.

"It's great exposure, and I get to meet all kinds of wonderful people, and collectors, and neighbors that normally I wouldn't even see--unless I was taking out the trash," quips painter Muffin Hyche, an Alabama native now living and working on Valley Street. She describes her abstract expressionist work as very bold and colorful, and heavily textured.

This is the second year that mixed-media artist Mark Madsen is opening his 30th Street studio Woodpile Artworks to the public. "About 150 people came through last year and showed a lot of interest in my work, taking cards and saying they must tell their friends," he recalls. "One person even said he had just paid $3,000 for a similar art piece at Gumps. Mine was $495."

Madsen's work is made primarily with wood he recovers from tree-trimming companies, parks, and golf courses. Some pieces have stone and metal flakes inlaid to enhance the grain. "I produce many functional pieces like translucent salad bowls, lamps, and platters," he notes.

All of the neighborhood artists participating this year (see Noe Valley list above) will be open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days. A map will be printed each week in the San Francisco Bay Guardian, and ArtSpan is publishing a free magazine guide, which will feature samples of artwork by the artists. For more information, check the Open Studios web site at www.sfopenstudios.com.

NOE VALLEY ARTISTS

participating in Open Studios
Oct. 9­10, as of press time

Jim Myrick, 1303 Castro Street, painting, drawing, and mixed media

SF Christo, 513 Liberty Street, painting, watercolor, drawing

Kevin Grady, 516 Douglass Street, glass

Renato Martinez, 4244 23rd Street, painting

Susan Bistline, 1357 Church Street,
mixed-media

Josephine Lea Iselin, 601 Diamond Street, photography, printmaking, technology/ new media

Michael Markowitz, 3747 23rd Street, drawing, sculpture, painting

Muffin Hyche, 468 Valley Street, painting

Jenny Badger Sultan, 1696 Sanchez Street, painting, drawing, mixed-media

Henry David Sultan, 1698 Sanchez Street, painting, drawing

Mark Madsen, 462 30th Street, mixed-media, sculpture, fiber

Mik-Mik, 1760H Diamond Street, painting, drawing

Terry Connor, 814 Duncan Street, painting

Donna Blow, 10 28th Street, wearable art/ jewelry

Seth Matarese, 1 Fair Oaks Street, #6, painting, watercolor, drawing

Calling Young Artists

Attention, all artists ages 11 to 18! The San Francisco Public Library needs you. October is Teen Read Month, and to celebrate, the library is holding a design contest for a mascot to represent the library's Teen Services Department.

The character/mascot should be reading books or using a computer. All entries are to be hand-drawn or colored, not in digital format. Paper size should be 8-1/2 by 11 or 9 by 12 inches. Drop off your entry at any public library. It should be in an envelope addressed to Office of Children and Youth Services, Attention: Jennifer Collins, Teen Specialist Librarian.

Deadline is Oct. 30, 5 p.m. Winning design award: $100. Limit: one entry per person. Click the Teens link at www. sfpl.org for more details, or call Jennifer Collins at 557-4268.

This month's Short Takes were written by Laura McHale Holland.