On October 1, indoor Health and Fitness became available to members with access to training and conditioning equipment, the techno-gym, the treadmills, ellipticals, and weights—all routinely cleaned and safely distanced. (Sorry, no indoor pool and sauna yet).

See how we've modified our facilities and procedures to ensure all members have a safe and healthy workout. We produced a four-minute video tour, guided by General Manager Heather Skoda. Take a look.

Richard Louv is best known for his seventh book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder (2005).

This year, our JCC Preschoolers have been thriving in our outdoor spaces as they create new meaning for a typical day in preschool. They are creating volcanoes and ditches in the sand boxes, working together to negotiate each child’s role in the made-up games, studying leaves and other vegetation on the playgrounds and even studying bees and yellow jackets because those persistent and sometimes scary creatures bother us too much when we’re trying to eat our lunches! As a result, the play and the learning that occurs takes on a feeling of authenticity and relevance. When learning and play are meaningful, children gain confidence, competence and a sense of pride for playing a meaningful role in the community.

DSESTINATION: 

Nicasio Valley (CA) & Amsterdam (The Netherlands) 

Our Terrific Tastings have been such a fun, popular hit that I’m adding more to the schedule.  Don’t miss the next one.  Plus, our Traveling Still series has received raves; it’s so exciting! Register now for the upcoming “trips” to Amsterdam. 

For details & registration, click below.

For details & registration, click below.

Take a front row seat at your computer and join me for pianist Ian Scarfe’s live recital with interesting introductions of the Romantic 19th Century, featuring popular works by Chopin, Brahms, Liszt, and more. Q&A follows. Free 

Advance registration required. Zoom classes require a minimum of five registrants by 10:00am on the morning of the program.

The Cyclical-Linear Time Paradox of the Torah—and

Challah Cardamom-Cinnamon Rolls

Thursday, October 8 — 7:30pm

Jason Harris, TCJP Acting Director and creator of the popular podcast Jew Oughta Know, will raise (and maybe answer!) the question of Christopher Columbus' Jewish origins. On this Columbus/Indigenous Peoples Day, we'll consider why Jews were so interested in the famed explorer's origins.

Monday, October 12 — 7:00- 8:00pm

It doesn’t get better than 1955’s Night of the Hunter.

Cape Fear (1962) brings us Robert Mitchum again, this time as a man obsessed with hunting down the small town lawyer who put him in prison. Gregory Peck is perfectly cast as the lawyer who has to save his family from the deranged man bent on revenge. This is one of those thrillers with a superb climax, keeping us tense and afraid for the good guys. The 1991 remake was good, but I’ll take the original every time.

It's time for laughs mixed with classic horror with Young Frankenstein (1974). Gene Wilder, who stars and wrote the screenplay, told me it was the favorite of his films. All of us can see why, a truly brilliant spoof and satire of every horror film made by Universal Pictures in the 1930s and on. Wilder portrays a descendant of Dr. Frankenstein, journeying to Transylvania and eventually reanimating a dead body. Director Mel Brooks insisted on making this movie in black and white, much to the studio’s dismay. It was a good call. Cloris Leachman, Teri Garr, Gene Hackman, Marty Feldman, Madeline Kahn play it straight, with actual props from the original classic films adding to the reality of the sets.

Alfred Hitchcock is front and center this time of year. Though we have a long list of perfect films from the Sultan of Suspense and the Master of the Macabre (Rear Window, The Birds, Psycho, Vertigo), my own favorite is Strangers on a Train (1951.) Based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith, a gentleman villain tries to entice a tennis star to participate in a double murder. The carousel climax combined with a riveting tennis game brings out the worst in Bruno Antony, beautifully played by Robert Walker. Bruno is one of the weirdest characters in a Hitchcock film, and that’s saying something!

1988’s Beetlejuice is imaginative and also strange. A couple tries to chase an obnoxious family of post-modern art lovers who move into their home. They meet the demonic Michael Keaton who promises to rid the house of the intruders. Big mistake. This is a surreal farce, directed by Tim Burton. Not surprisingly, the film won the Oscar for Achievement in Makeup!