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Around Town: 'The Music of Irving Berlin' benefit at Menlo School

"The Music of Irving Berlin" with vocalists Steve Gill and his daughter, Anne, will be performed Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 4 and 5, at Menlo School in Atherton as a benefit for the Lighthouse for the Blind.

The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. in Spieker Ballroom, 50 Valparaiso Ave. The suggested donation is $10.

Current and former members of the Menlo School community will also perform. Mr. Gill, a veteran singer with local theater groups, is a retired member of the Menlo School faculty.

In 1997, Anne Gill was in a near-fatal car accident that left her blind and brain-injured. After a long rehabilitation period, she came home in the spring of 1998.

While many programs serve those with brain injuries and others help the blind, few resources are designed to help adults with multiple disabilities. The Gills discovered that the Lighthouse for the Blind offers a session at its Enchanted Hills Camp in Napa Valley for the visually impaired, such as Anne, who have other disabilities as well.

In gratitude, in 1999 Mr. Gill organized the first concert to support the Lighthouse for the Blind and Enchanted Hills.

For more information, call Steve or Nancy Gill at 948-4648. Those who cannot attend the concert but wish to make a donation may send a check made out to Lighthouse for the Blind to the Gill family, 640 Orange Ave., Los Altos 94022.

Creative writing workshops

Author and editor Phyllis Butler of Menlo Park will conduct four creative writing workshops at 1:30 p.m. Thursdays, starting Sept. 9, at Little House, 800 Middle Ave. in Menlo Park. Each session lasts one hour.

Ms. Butler will instruct students in creative writing of short stories, memoirs, and family histories. She said she also can offer professional evaluation and final editing of manuscripts.

Cost of the four-week workshop is $25 for Little House members; $30 for non-members. For more information, call Ms. Butler at 326-0723.