Around the bay in February

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The Flyway Festival, the three-day birding festival celebrates over a million birds who live and migrate to the Bay Area’s shores.

Aquatic Life
Published: February, 2007 

Martin Hosts Flyway Festival
Photographer James Martin (see cover of Bay Crossings’ Dec. 2006 issue) will be the Honorary Host for the 2007 San Francisco Bay Flyway Festival, Feb. 2-4, on Mare Island in Vallejo. Martin will present his stunning images and sign copies of The Islands of San Francisco Bay throughout the Festival weekend. The three-day birding festival celebrates the return of over one million shorebirds and hundreds-of-thousands of migratory bird who inhabit the shores of the Bay Area. Mare Island Naval Shipyard hosts free hikes, riverboat trips, birding outings and wetland walks. For information, call (707) 649-WING (9464) or visit www.sfbayflywayfestival.com

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Presidential Yacht, USS Potomac, is looking for volunteers: Cruise docents, dockside tours, special events, administrative and maintenance. The ship is berthed at Jack London Square in Oakland. Classes for volunteer and docent training will be held on Feb. 24, 9AM-Noon. For more information, please call (510) 627-1667

African Americans’ Seafaring Heritage

Learn about the major roles that African Americans have played throughout maritime history as crew and captains on ships, war veterans, shipboard tools and developers of maritime music. During African American History Month, San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park celebrates. For programs, dates, reservations, more information, please call (415) 447-5000. www.nps.gov

Find out the water quality at shorelines anywhere in the US. Know whether it’s ok to swim or better to sit on the shore. Interactive maps and color-coded definitions make information easy to read and understand. Also find weather, beach safety and water conservation tips. www.earth911.org.

Natural Talent

Rock & Water Music

Three musicians will play amplified water and a spectrum of rocks in a performance of compositions inspired by the natural world. The works, by composer Cheryl Leonard, are based on phenomena such as the mysterious racing rocks of Death Valley, ocean waves and eddies, rockfall on mountains, wobbling boulders, patterns of wind on grass, the sculpting of landscapes by glaciers, water flow through falls and rapids and shifting tectonic plates. Feb. 18, 1PM. This performance is presented in conjunction with Listen: Making Sense of Sound. www.exploratorium.edu

Young ladies between 9-18 years of age who love to sing can audition for the SingersMarin chamber choruses through the second week of Feb. Hit the right notes and possibly travel to Vancouver, BC in June 2007, or to the Choral Olympics in Gratz, Austria in summer 2008. To schedule an audition, call (415) 383-3712. www.singersmarin.org

Works of Art

Struggles & Triumphs, Art on Tour

The story of labor – which comprises passionate struggles and triumphs as well as dehumanizing forces – has figured largely in the art of our time. At Work: The Art of California Labor, a traveling exhibition on display at the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum is the first exhibition to explore this important topic through the eyes of artists who witnessed or were inspired by some of the most significant trends and events in the history of the 20th Century. At Work is a combination contemporary and historical artworks by artists such as Yolanda Lopez, Diego Rivera, Dorothea Lange, and provides a dialog between political motives and aesthetic aspirations. (707) 643-0077. See preview:www.art-for-a-change.com/exhibits/atwork.htm

In celebration of the spirit of Valentine’s Day, the Exploratorium presents Love of Labor, a program of short, expressive films about people who love what they do. Movies include: Afloat; Salmon Chanted Market, Martin; Butterfly Man. Sat., Feb. 10, 2PM, McBean Theater, Exploratorium, 3601 Lyon St., SF’s Marina District. For admission, prices, showtimes, call (415) EXP-LORE, or go to www.exploratorium.edu