Around Town Around Town (February 23, 2005)

M-A's Big Band dance

Menlo-Atherton High School's Jazz Bands will belt out their unique sound to raise funds at their 21st annual Big Band dance on Friday, March 4.

Jazz lovers, alumni, friends and community members are invited to the benefit dance from 8 to 11:30 p.m. in the high school's J Building at 555 Middlefield Road, Atherton.

Gourmet desserts and drinks will be available for purchase at the Jazz Cafe.

Senior Cara Arcuni, and sophomores Hale Baskin and Liz Bird will be featured vocalists. The singers will be accompanied by the Advanced Jazz Band under the direction of Frank Moura, who has taught jazz music at the high school for more than 30 years.

The annual fundraiser helps pay entry fees for competitions and scholarships.

USGS public lecture: all about landslides

From Portola Valley and Pacifica to Yosemite, landslides, debris flows and rock falls can do enormous damage to property and kill people.

"When Rocks Fall and the Land Slides: Understanding and Coping with Slope Failures" is the title of a free public lecture at 7 p.m. Thursday, February 24, in Building 3 of the U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, in Menlo Park.

Geological engineer Gerald F. Wieczorek and landslide geologist Raymond C. Wilson will explain the ways that land fails, and focus on Yosemite National Park, where there have been more than 500 documented rock falls and slope failures.

For more information, call 329-5000.

Djerassi sculpture tours

The Djerassi Resident Artists Program, located on 580 acres outside of Woodside, offers a number of hikes to show visitors the more than 40 sculptures on the property. The hikes range from 2 to 3 miles. Most are free, although a few led by the executive director have a $40 fee. For more information, call Geri Doran, development and communications director, at 747-1250 or visit www.djerassi.org.
Tour of Green Gables

A tour of Green Gables, a private estate in Woodside, will highlight a seminar, "Hadrian's Villa and the California Garden," to be presented March 5-6 at the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University.

The seminar is presented by the Garden Conservancy, whose mission is to preserve exceptional American gardens. Co-sponsors are Pacific Horticulture and Cantor Arts Center.

The program will trace the roots that connect California gardens to the second-century garden by the Roman Emperor Hadrian. Two California estates, Green Gables and Hearst Castle at San Simeon, will serve as points of focus for the seminar.

Green Gables includes a reflecting pool and grotto that are reminiscent of Hadrian's time. Its owners, the Fleishhaker family, have recently protected the landscape against future change with a conservation easement held by the Garden Conservancy.

Speakers at the seminar include David C. Streatfield of the University of Washington, whose book, "California Gardens: Creating a New Eden" (1994), was designated by the American Horticultural Society as one of the 75 most important books on American horticulture written in the 20th century.

Pre-registration is required for the seminar, to which the public is welcome. Cost is $195. For more information, call 415-561-3990 or visit www.gardenconservancy.org.
Yacht club open

The Coyote Point Yacht Club is having an open house on Sunday, February 27, from 1 to 4 p.m. For more information, call the club at 347-6730. For driving directions to the club, check www.cpyc.com.
Rotary Crab Carnivale

More than 900 pounds of crab is expected to be served at this year's Palo Alto Rotary Club crab feed on Sunday, February 27, at Hyatt Rickey's Palo Alto. Doors open at 5 p.m.

"We're expecting more than 400 people to attend," said Rotary president Pam Brandin. Price for the dinner is $65. There will also be a silent auction, including such items as dinner with Stanford University President John Hennessy, and weekends at Sea Ranch and Cambria Pines.

Last year's dinner raised $50,000 for Rotary programs. For advance tickets, contact Leland Levy at leland.levy@wachoviasec.com.

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