The free 10th annual Berkeley World Music Festival will offer a variety of music by Bay Area’s finest artists, ranging from Cajun, Zydeco, blues, Arabic, rock, urban "rai" and "chaabi" folk music and more. The event is from noon to 9 p.m. on Sat. June 22 in various Telegraph Avenue cafes and shops, near the UC Berkeley campus. There will also be a People’s Park concert between 1 and 6 p.m.

The festival’s starting point is the event information booth on Telegraph Avenue at Haste Street. Some of the featured artists will be: Tri Tip Trio, Tunisian MC RAI, Baraka Moon, with Stephen Kent and Sukhawat Ali Khan.

“Ashling” with trailblazing chanteuse Melanie O’Reilly opens the festival at noon with Gaelic - Irish music, followed by renowned multi-instrumentalists Tim Rayborn and Shira Kammen's program of  medieval and world folk traditions. The legendary Vukani Mawethu Chior will fill the Berkelry Art Museum’s scupture garden with South African harmonies.

Telegraph Avenue’s iconic music stores host the exhilarating sounds of Afro-Cuban Jazz Cartel (Latin jazz & salsa) and Dogon Lights (Psychedelic Afro-Fusion and pictured at left) while Moe’s Books will provide a backdrop for Jeff Whittier’s classical North Indian flute. Cafes offer the sublime LES GWAN JUPONS (Vintage Caribbean folk-jazz) and the stunning Georges Lamman Ensemble (Arabic violin).

Along the street will be Sadza Marimba and Mbira (Zimbabwean dance music), Michael Masley (World Kalimbalom) and Belinda Salvidge (Celtic & American fiddle). For the festival finale Agapi Mou plays traditional Greek music. With extraordinary performances, plus a craft fair in People’s Park, there will be something for everyone. For exact times and locations of the performers, go to www.berkeleyworldmusic.org or the booth at Telegraph and Haste on June. 22. --GR

This story was originally published in Spring 2011, but we are posting again due to popular demand. Enjoy!

The California Master Gardener’s Annual Conference was held in Santa Rosa this year.  One of our fellow Master Gardeners gave an extremely informational and interesting presentation documenting the benefits children and adults receive by just being in a garden setting.  Did you know that students who participated in school gardens scored higher on math and science achievement tests than students who did not garden?  Other benefits of gardening include improved concentration, enhanced cognitive functioning, reduced stress and anxiety, increased feelings of calm and relaxation, improved mood,  personal satisfaction and sense of pride.

Interest in backyard, community, and school gardens have heightened in the past five years as people have become more aware of sustainability and the importance of eating organic pesticide- free fruits and vegetables.  The Smithsonian has recreated a Victory Garden based on a 1940 pamphlet on vegetable gardening and the White House has created the “Let’s Move” theme incorporating education for eating healthy.

It’s time for all us to consider the importance of teaching our children about our food chain and how they can participate in a home, school or community garden.  It is important for young children to know that food does not originate in the grocery store.  It’s amazing to note that after World War II, victory gardens accounted for 40 percent of total US produce while larger farms provided produce to the troops.

Gardening is also fun!  The first thing my grandson, Tyler, (above) does when he comes to my house is run out to the strawberry patch.  He derives a great deal of pleasure from picking and eating the berries right from the vine.  He was a little upset, however when he ran out in December and to his surprise, there were no berries.  This turned into a learning experience and I was able to teach him about growing seasons, frost, etc.  He is also intrigued with my project of growing potatoes in a garbage can.  He is looking forward to the harvest when we will dump the entire can onto a tarp and harvest organic Russet potatoes that can be stored an eaten during the winter months.

Tyler enjoys investigating everything in the yard.  In addition to the vegetable garden, he likes to water the herb garden (it’s more his size).   We were watering the herb garden last week when he squealed with delight as he discovered a blue damselfly near the fountain.

By the time I set my camera up, the damselfly had hidden himself underneath the oregano, his little head was peeking out, looking like some type of alien.  His blue color was beautiful and vibrant.  This was an opportunity for me to talk to Tyler about beneficial insects and how they help our echo system.

Tyler also loves to help me in the flower cutting garden. He always asks me to tell him the name of each and every flower. He enjoys searching for little critters in this area too.  In addition to our blue damselfly, we discovered a beautiful dragonfly perched on a stake supporting dinner plate dahlias.

The dragonfly stayed perched on the stake for quite some time. Tyler was glued to the cutting garden watching the dragonfly until I was able to coax him over to the birdhouse box where a family of wrens had made a nest and the baby birds were preparing to fledge.  Mom and Dad were busy feeding their babies, so there was much activity and yet another opportunity to talk to Tyler about birds and how they nest, find food, bathe and fit into our echo system.

If you would enjoy more information on gardening with children, a free booklet is available to help you get started.  Visit this website and click on “Gardens for Learning.”  www.csgn.org

The National Gardening Association collects data to track the benefits of school gardens and this website may be of interest as well www.kidsgardening.org. There is also a junior Master Gardener Program website at www.jmkids.us
As always, UC Davis website has an abundance of information on Home Gardening.  www.ipm.ucdavis.edu Click on Home Gardening.--JM

Jody McPheeters is a retired executive who lives in San Ramon. She is a published author, freelance writer, and Certified Master Gardener. To learn more about her landscapes and garden designs, please visit her website at www.yourgardeningcoach.com.

Perhaps you have considered your assorted collection of notes, jotted down in a journal, on scraps of paper or in other various notebook forms, to be all you would ever do to preserve your most significant life memories.  You might think “What, me? actually gathering my thoughts and facts together into a written form chronicling my personal life experiences or family stories?  It is a plausible endeavor worth your confidence and, yes, worthy of publishing as a lasting document for posterity, generations to come.

There are, in fact, resources through Soleil Lifestory Network for the coaching services necessary to afford interested individuals aid in creating a memoir of which to be proud.  Details of editing and book production are all included in a free e-book by Denis Ledoux, with 25 years of memoir-writing skills, at www.turningmemories.com.

This accessible-on-line FAQ guidebook outlines the Ghostwriting Services available and elaborates on how a co-author or ghostwriter provides the technical skills and sensibility to help you realize your dream of preserving and sharing your life story in manuscript form.  The finished product will be your story, autobiography, and yours alone!

There are myriad obstacles which might detain a person from being a self-starter in composing the draft, initiating their written work.  Indeed, a first step complimentary half hour consultation helps sketch and craft your life story, as an architect employs your vision to create your dream house.  Loose bits of recall, scenes, dialogues and vignettes can be woven into a tapestry of vivid themes and meanings, creating a “text that fully expresses and embodies the life you wish to memorialize in your book”, reports Ledoux.

From its inception in 1988, Soleil Lifestory Network has been an advocate to thousands with a desire to document personal and family stories.  Not uncommon is concern that someone’s story is not worth preserving.  Overcoming this initial doubt and taking the preliminary steps offered as a motivational jump start, gives writers the confidence to get going!  A live interview and providing you with digital photos can be arranged with Denis Ledoux at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The added benefits of putting your purpose to print might be the healing or developmental process for the writer.  Much can be learned, experienced or shared with others in the process of relating your life story or excerpts from family history.  Or the writing can be significant just for itself. The process of “letting go, opening up to share well-kept treasures of family history or little-known events of a by-gone era, can serve as a catharsis or cleansing for repressed emotions, evoking a sense of relief for both the writer and the reader.

Thinking the unspoken words and consigning a lasting text for family to read has intrinsic value.  Ledoux expresses “The worth of a memoir is [best] measured by the inherent value to the writer and to its selected audience.”  There is a unique quality about each and everyone’s life.  It could be that you were the first person to accomplish a certain success  in your community, organize a group or discover a simple remedy for removing impossible stains.

Giving it some thought, it is highly likely that we all can find a reason to write our own story that would be unique and different from anyone else’s.  As you embark upon the trip down memory lane, new avenues of exploration can be guided by the expert coaching at Soleil Lifestory Network at www.turningmemories.com or at 207-353-5454, 9-5 EST. --KRB

Karen Balch is a retired nurse, avid traveler and freelance writer. She is currently working on her memoir. Reach her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

It is inspiring to know I can offer support where and when needed, even being able to provide a critically life-saving gift for up to three lives saved in a donation of a single pint of my blood.  That is why I want to give.  The reward for me is that there is virtually no cost, a short reclining pause in my day, amid a comfortable room filled with other like donors, ordinary people of a generous spirit, making a difference for someone in need.

Every 2 seconds someone in the U.S. needs a blood transfusion of some blood product.  This equals a requirement for 44,000 blood donations every day or 5 million donations a year.  To extend a life for a child with leukemia, someone with hemophilia or an accident victim, a voluntary donation can make a huge difference in a life or death situation.

The American Red Cross, established in 1940, serves as the agency to accept only volunteer donors who are not paid for their benevolent gifts of donating blood.  The safe, sterile and confidential procedure includes a check of vital signs, temperature, pulse, blood pressure and finger-stick hemoglobin value.  All blood is tested for HIV, Hepatitis B and C, Syphilis and other infectious diseases before being used. 

Only 38 percent of the U.S. population is eligible to give blood, and of those 50% are loyal, repeat donors.  The gender of donors is almost equally divided at 50/50 for men and women.
Not all donations needed after natural disasters and crisis events involve a monetary gift, but even more precious in some situations is the gift of life-saving blood, given voluntarily. 

The plus side is that healthy bone marrow in a blood donor makes a constant supply of red blood cells, plasma and platelets, thus the body replenishes the elements given during the donation procedure within a short time.  The safe interval between donations is generally 56 days and future appointments may be scheduled at the time of your donation.
The requirements for donating include:  being healthy, no sickness or fever;  age: 16-76 years old;  weight minimum:  110 pounds.  A donor must be well-hydrated with a healthy iron level, a hemoglobin of at least 12 grams and carry an appropriate ID card.

Why do I want to donate blood?  Knowing it is the right thing to do, I want to help others who might be in need.  The feeling of accomplishment is shared with other donors as we join at tables in the hospitality area after our donations to enjoy complimentary snacks and beverages before saying good-bye to the friendly and helpful Red Cross staff.

Helen Keller inspired others in remarking “When we do the best we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another.”    
Walk-ins are welcome and appointments may be made by calling:  1 800 733-2767.  Locations are listed at 1 800 RED-CROSS and at www.redcross.org-- KRB

Karen Balch is a retired nurse, avid traveler, community volunteer and freelance writer. Reach her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it