Julia Adam returns with the witty and sophisticated Once Upon a Time, where a young man accidentally finds himself as the male lead in everyone’s favorite classic fairytales such as Cinderella, Snow White, Alice in Wonderland and Little Red Riding Hood.

Featuring music from Gershwin's "An American in Paris", this charming ballet will leave audiences of all ages believing in happily ever after. The performance will be streamed virtually to the comfort of your home on May 7 through May 9 or May 14 through May 16. The link will be available for viewing as many times as you like, whenever you like on the weekend of your choice. Tickets are on sale now through the Lesher Center for the Arts. Visit www.diabloballet.org for more information.

The Diablo Regional Arts Association (DRAA) is grateful for the community’s support of the Pave the Way campaign to support the Lesher Center for the Arts. Through the generosity of arts lovers across the region, 400 engraved pavers will be installed on the Rudney Plaza and over $1,000,000 has been raised to assist the Lesher Center in reopening.

Save the Date to Celebrate! With Co-Chairs Dino Riggio (Lafayette) and Todd Heintz (Martinez), DRAA is proud to announce the return of the On Broadway Gala on Saturday, October 2, 2021. Email us to receive event communications: info@draa.org.

The Diablo Symphony Orchestra, the oldest aggregation of professionally trained volunteer musicians in Contra Costa County, has been bringing high quality, affordable concerts to area audiences since1962 (children ages 12 and under are admitted to concerts at no charge). Under the direction of Matilda Hofman, the orchestra has joined forces with soloists and area performing groups in concerts featuring great symphonic classics, as well as popular music from Broadway and the movies. These guest artists have included pianists Randall Benway and Mungunchimeg Buriad, the Diablo Ballet, Blackhawk Chorus, WomenSing and award-winning choruses from San Ramon Valley and Campolindo high schools. Although its 2020-21 regular season of 5 concerts, including the always popular Family Concert, was interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, the orchestra has enjoyed presenting a virtual season of “First Thursday Digital Premiere” concerts featuring a variety of works recorded during prior orchestra performances at Walnut Creek’s Lesher Center for the Arts. The full Digital Premiere series – now a YouTube playlist – can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/playlist. Additionally, you can enjoy past DSO performances on the orchestra’s YouTube channel here, as well as more recent solo and ensemble performances by members of the orchestra on the DSO’s website at https://www.diablosymphony.org/watch-the-orchestra-online.

Matilda Hofman, a faculty member in the UC Davis music department, joined the DSO as Music Director and Conductor in 2012. She studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London and the Eastman School of Music, and holds awards from the Conductors’ Guild of America and the League of American Orchestras. Under her direction, the orchestra has broadened its reach in the community through educational programs in local schools and an annual Young Artists competition. Featured in the February 2020 issue of Diablo Magazine, Matilda issued an invitation to “come try a concert, and say hi to us afterward. We’re a friendly orchestra, and we perform great music.” With plans in the works for resumed live performances in its 2021-22 season, including special Diamond Jubilee events in 2022, the orchestra eagerly looks forward to playing for and greeting audiences in person! In the meantime, watch for details about current and future concerts and activities on the DSO website at www.diablosymphony.org.

Gold Coast Chamber Players conclude their virtual concerts on Saturday, May 1, 2021 at 7pm (Pacific Time) with Dvorak’s America. Virtual links remain available for one week following the concert date. Q&A with the musicians follows the premiere at 8:30pm.

Dvorak’s America explores the impact of Spirituals and Native American music on Dvorak during his time in America, highlighting the interconnectedness of cultures. The program will feature Dvorak’s String Quintet, op. 97 and the Lento from his String Quartet op. 96, both nicknamed “the American”. Original music by Mary Youngblood for Native American flute, Within My Heart and Beneath the Raven Moon and her arrangement Amazing Grace offer music akin to what Dvorak heard during his stay in America. Read more here >>

Single ticket: $30. Concerts are streamed via YouTube. Purchase online at www.GCCPmusic.com or by calling (925) 283-3728. Please visit our website at gccpmusic.com to find regular updates about concert offerings, to make donations, and to purchase tickets.

The Jennifer Perlmutter Gallery in downtown Lafayette is OPEN Wednesday - Friday 1pm-5pm and Saturday 11am-5pm. Stop by to see the current exhibit - look around! Kids can do the treasure hunt, view outdoor sculptures, indoor sculptures and kinetic sculptures. Enjoy the 2D art in a variety of media including fiber art, collage, oil and large scale abstracts. The Gallery is also featuring a youth exhibit by our gallery intern and other local artists.

Plus stay tuned for more information on our Outdoor Art Fair May 8, 11am-4pm!

New artist Bill Gian recently installed these beauties (pictured) outside our gallery. Bill Gian is also one of the artists that is joining us on our Outdoor Art Fair on May 8. Questions? Call (925) 284-1485.

LPIE reimagined its annual art fair and is going virtual to celebrate our talented young artists.

The May event includes a Virtual Art Museum for student art, an Outdoor Art Scavenger Hunt in Lafayette, highlights of the LPIE Art Instructors, and an online Resource Center.  Please click here to learn more.

May 7th at 7:45pm. The movie will start by 8pm with a 100 minute run time.

Please consider supporting a local business downtown by ordering takeout to bring to the movie. Limited spots! Register HERE!

Lamorinda Arts Alliance announces the exhibit Slice of Life 

aRt Cottage in Concord, May 4 through June 25, 2021

This exhibit is about reflecting a moment, an era, a part of everyday life or an exceptional memory. The concept of everyday life and adapting to the new normal has taken on an especially poignant meaning during the COVID-19 crisis.

The aRt Cottage is an art gallery and studio located at 2238 Mt. Diablo Street in downtown Concord, California. The gallery is open Tuesday – Friday 11am-5pm; Saturday 1pm-5pm.

Lamorinda Arts Alliance is an organization of local artists and friends who reside or work in the area. For more than two decades, the Lamorinda Arts Alliance has promoted the visual arts through exhibits in libraries and businesses, at open studio events, street fairs, and lectures, and in the community's art galleries. www.laa4art.org

Have you ever wished you could make a movie? Need a creative outlet? Become a filmmaker and enter Lamorinda Arts Council’s Lamorinda SuperShorts! Produce a 3-minute, G-rated movie set in your own home or outdoor locations. Use your cell phone, tablet, or camera to record your submission. Be sure to follow all national, state and county COVID-19 protocols. All genres are encouraged: drama, comedy, documentary, day-in-the-life, musical and animation. Participants must live, work or attend school in the Lamorinda area including Orinda, Lafayette and Moraga. Winners selected from three (3) submission categories, including under 18, Adults 18+ and Family (collaborators must live in the same household). Prizes include gift cards.

Deadline for submissions Friday, May 14th at midnight. Submit your (up to) three-minute movies via FilmFreeway HERE. Winners will be announced on a live Virtual Film Festival Awards Show on Wednesday, May 19th at 7pm.

Art Embraces Words: Call for Writers & Artists "Courage & Heroism" - Deadline May 9

Writers and artists are invited to apply as presenters at our live Zoom program on Sunday May 30. For more information, to register an audience member and access links to previously recorded programs visit lamorindaarts.org, email literary@lamorindaarts.org or call 925.359.9940. 

Young singers in grades K–12 are invited to register to participate in Lamorinda Idol’s 2021 program. There are seven categories to consider based on grade levels. Visit www.lamorindaarts.org/idol-2 for details or email idol@lomorindaarts.org with questions. 

Get ready for some ‘deep calm’ by viewing the solo show of Lamorinda Arts Council President Denise Nomura. Enjoy a dozen of her artworks including oil paintings and nihonga watercolors through April 30. For details visit www.lamorindaarts.org/online-galleries. Click here for flyer.

Art Gallery at Wilder, April 1 – April 30. Heather Metcalf’s Abstracts: In Memorium

View a virtual exhibit of paintings by the late Heather Metcalf, who was an active member of Moraga Art Gallery where a companion exhibit is on display through April 25. For details visit www.lamorindaarts.org/online-galleries. Click here for flyer.

MORAGA ART GALLERY REVIVES A POPULAR TRADITON: Early in 2020 Covid-19 put an end to the popular receptions held in conjunction with the opening of each new show at the Moraga Art Gallery. To express their gratitude for community support since then, the gallery's members cordially invite the public to a special reception on Saturday, April 24^th from 5:00 to 7:00 pm to be held in the plaza in front of the gallery at 432 Center Street in Moraga’s Rheem Shopping Center. 

The gallery is now open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 12:00 noon to 4:00 pm, and also by appointment. For more information, please call (925) 376-5407, or visit moragaartgallery.com or email moragaartgallery@gmail.com. 

With the Academy Awards set for Sunday, April 25^th this year, Mountain Shadow Film Society is presenting all of the nominated Oscar Shorts earlier in the month; with three separate Saturday virtual screenings. The animated short films were already presented online on April 10^th. But there’s still your chance to see the nominated documentary shorts on April 17^th, and live-action shorts on April 24^th.

General admission tickets are available for $12.50 for each show. Viewers will receive the private link and password to view each show for one full day. They’ll also receive a descriptive Playbill to download; along with a Ballot to cast their votes for the best short in each category! For more information and to order your ticket, click on the website HERE.

All 10 episodes now available at TownHallTheatre.com/fantasticland

After a major hurricane destroyed the popular Florida theme park FantasticLand, employees and park-goers fought for their lives to survive the wreckage and each other. Now, after a social media frenzy spreads the harrowing images across the world, a fact-finding investigation interviews those who experienced the horrors first-hand. FantasticLand presents their tales of competing tribes fighting for food, water, medicine, and dominance.

Featuring over twenty actors from California to New York, director Alysia Homminga has crafted a compelling and innovative online experience that fans of Town Hall Theatre and of the original novel will find enthralling and electrifying. townhalltheatre.com

Quick Links to Chamber Resources

⇒ Lafayette Chamber’s Instagram page

⇒ “We are Lafayette, California Strong” Facebook page!

Become a lifetime Friend of the Chamber

A Friend of the Chamber membership provides a way for community members to support the efforts of the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce. We are 74 years strong and our mission continues “To promote and maintain a healthy business climate and to preserve and enhance the quality of life in Lafayette.” 

All aspects that make up a community are important to us: schools, residents, churches and synagogues, community organizations, activities, and the city government. Chamber members work with representatives of all these groups for the betterment of our community. A lifetime Friend of the Chamber membership is $150 per family. Learn more here>>

The City of Lafayette is urging everyone to sign-up for the latest information for Lafayette residents and businesses.

You can subscribe to City of Lafayette notifications at https://bit.ly/LafayetteNotifications.

You can also find the latest Information on Covid-19 on the City's website

here.

For wildfire resources, go to http://bit.ly/LafAreYouReady.

During the Covid-19 emergency, here is how to contact City of Lafayette

offices: https://bit.ly/LafayetteCovid-19Contact.

The physical office of the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce will remain closed until further notice. Our staff is still here to help you, just virtually. You can reach us by calling (925) 284-7404 or by sending an email to info@lafayettechamber.org. We'll get back to you as quickly as possible. See our calendar for virtual events and soon our in-person events!

The Chamber will be posting applicable updates for our businesses and the community to our COVID-19 news page and posting on social media. Check out our posts on Facebook and on Instagram.