Arts and culture were once again in abundance around Claremont this year.
In January, acclaimed local singer/songwriter Rick Shea returned to the Folk Music Center for an intimate acoustic showcase of his distinct California influences of norteños, country, blues and Irish tunes.
FESTIVE SOUNDS IN THE VILLAGE Saturday is the final day of Claremont’s free afternoon holiday music in the Village. Nick Cassillas and Friends will perform from noon to 2 p.m. and Mark Dzula from 2 to 4 p.m. in Laemmle Plaza; Cool Yule from 11 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. and Jackson Family Small Town Magic from 2 to 4 p.m. at the chamber of commerce; and the Inland Valley Repertory Theater carolers strolling throughout the Village.
MINGLE, MUNCH: Claremont senior social group Mingle and Munch holds its December 14 event from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Hughes Center, 1700 Danbury Rd. “An Olde Fashioned Christmas” will feature the Sweet Adelines and includes a white elephant gift exchange. Admission is $15 (payable at the time of reservation) and includes beverages, food and entertainment. The event is open to persons ages 50 and over. Reservations can be made by calling (909) 399-5488 or visiting claremontrec.com.
GARDEN ALIGHT WITH LUMINARIAS, MUSIC From 6 to 8:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday December 7, 8, 14 and 15, Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden will glow with more than 1,000 luminarias in a cherished holiday event, Luminaria Nights. Special for this year, the Garden will transform venues with Japanese lantern installations and traditional Japanese music to celebrate the ongoing Origami in the Garden 2 exhibition, which features large-scale metal origami sculptures.
SIP AND SHOP FOR CHS’ CLASS OF 2019: In a benefit for Claremont High School’s class of 2019, boosters are hosting Sip and Shop, a local vendor holiday marketplace with complimentary mimosas, wine and hors d’oeuvres from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Claremont Women’s Club, 345 W. 12th St. The event will be 21 and over from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and open to all ages from 2 to 4 p.m. For more information call (909) 908-4059 or email uplandcoldstone@yahoo.com.
BLACK FRIDAY Shoppers across the nation will fan out to big box stores today and jockey for position, sometimes with a little extra hip check or forearm shiv, in the contact sport that is Black Friday. For a chance at a discount flat screen TV or video game console, folks wake in the pre-dawn hours and schlep across town to go to retail war. It’s a new tradition, and one that isn’t without its critics.
BURGERS, BURNOUTS AT POMONA RACEWAY starts Saturday, November 17. Gates open at 8 a.m. at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, 2780 Fairplex Dr., as In-N-Out Burger and Hot Rod magazine throw a party to celebrate 70 years of burgers and burnouts. Both Southern California businesses opened within 25 miles of each other in 1948. The event includes a rare opportunity to see historic vehicles drag race, on-site In-N-Out cookout trucks, an outdoor car show featuring historic racecars, special historical exhibits, and the chance to view the history of Hot Rod and meet its staff.
POLITICAL POLARIZATION AND THE CONSTITUTION: The Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum at Claremont McKenna College, 385 E. Eighth St., hosts a free and open to the public 6:45 p.m. panel discussion, “Political Polarization’s Challenge to the Constitution,” with panelists Amanda Hollis-Brusky, Kenneth Miller and George Thomas, and moderator Zachary Courser. Since the American founding, broad agreement on the republican principles embodied in the Constitution has been a necessary condition for constructive policy debate.
DRONE RACING AND MORE: The 20th annual Academy of Model Aeronautics Expo West takes place from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Fairplex Exposition Center, 1101 W. McKinley Ave., Pomona. The event repeats Saturday, November 3, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, November 4, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Presale tickets range from $5 for kids 13 to 17 on up to $13, with additional discounts for multi-day passes. Tickets at the door are a few dollars more. For more information go to: http://bit.ly/2P32boM
FREE ZOMBIE BAND SHOW (BRAIN DONATION REQUIRED) The 18th annual appearance of the ghoulish collective known as The Zombie Band hits the stage at 10 p.m. for a free show at the Press, 129 Harvard Ave., Claremont. The annual Zombie Band shows are always super fun, as the Press fills up with costumed revelers and the band rips into the guts of the gory hits of yesteryear. More information is at thepressrestaurant.com.
Innumerable musicians are in “cover bands,” wherein they reproduce other artists’ usually well-known songs, but singer and guitarist Jim Kweskin turns this common precept on its ear.
Mr. Kweskin, who plays Claremont’s Folk Music Center at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, November 3, has made a name for going on 60 years by finding old songs—in most cases very old songs—and adding his own imprint.
THE HILLS ARE ALIVE With just one week left, the city’s free music series Friday Nights Live is about to call it a year. The seasonal series hosts live music from 6 to 9 p.m. at four locations in the Village. Final performances take place next Friday. Tonight’s lineup includes Dynamite Dawson at Laemmle plaza; Ana Maria de la Cruz at the chamber; Grateful Dead cover band Pride of Cucamonga at Shelton Park; and Honeybuckets at city hall. More info is at claremontchamber.org.
Live music fans will soon have another nearby option when the Canyon Club opens its doors at the Montclair Place mall.
“I’m trying like a crazy man to open up on the 30th of November,” said owner Lance Sterling. The Canyon Club Montclair, located at the west end of the mall in the former food court area, will boast a $1 million audio/video system and have a capacity of 1,300.
THINGS THAT GO BUMP Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, 1500 N. College Ave., Claremont, invites visitors to unravel the myths and mysteries of nature’s nightlife at Things That Go Bump in the Night today and tomorrow from 5:30 to 9 p.m. The event offers activity stations along Garden trails, live animal encounters and family-friendly comedy shows that showcase the natural world’s nocturnal side.
