The 53rd annual Sand Castle & Sculpture Contest will be held along Alameda’s shoreline this Saturday, June 8, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thousands look on as architects and sculptors compete for best in show. Judging starts at noon; awards ceremony at 1 p.m. Admission is free. Meet at the bathhouse, Robert Crown Memorial State Beach, Otis and Westline drives. Above, the Millennium Falcon of Star Wars fame made an appearance on the beach last year. Competitors may only use materials found on the beach.
A newly created community group called Alameda Bands Together formed in April upon learning about a sudden two-thirds cut to the music program at Encinal High School for the next school year as well as the subsequent reassignment of its long-time music director to Alameda High School (AHS), which, in turn, would displace the AHS music director.
Parents and students from both high schools, as well as from all middle schools with current music programs, rallied immediately to save Encinal’s music program and protect AHS’ Mitchell White from being terminated.
Local pop musician Lorenzo Wood announced his new single, Jacket (I’m Sensitive.) It is available now. The single won Best Song in January at the West Coast Songwriter’s Redwood City Chapter.
“It’s a song about letting your friends know that you need their support, even if they don’t understand what you’re going through,” Wood said. The single was recorded in Alameda at Wood’s studio.
The Alameda Island Poets reading, Wednesday, June 5, at 7 p.m. at Frank Bette Center for the Arts (FBCA) will feature a book launch for The Art of Awe III and the Power of Your Artists Journey, by Natica Angilly. The event will also include “Poets Who Dance” and Alameda award winners from the 25th annual Dancing Poetry Festival.
