May 01 Thursday
This event is for someone with a high interest in single-origin dark chocolate, where it comes from, how it's processed and the technicalities behind making shiny, lusciously smooth chocolate from what starts as a small, bitter bean. You’ll get to taste chocolate at every stage, from bean to bar (including sampling through all our single origin dark chocolate bars), as well as other products we make, like caramel and chocolate-covered espresso beans. We’ll describe the stages of roasting, sorting, refining and tempering. You’ll come away having tasted a lot of chocolate and having learned more about our specialty!
Join us on a beautifully paired wine and chocolate experience. This guided tour walks you through the chocolate making process, from bean to bar! Taste the cacao every step of the way and finish with a chocolate and beverage tasting that excitingly pairs three truffles with three sustainably-made, small production wines, selected and poured by our local wine partner, WINECULT.
May 02 Friday
Attendees will enjoy a welcome drink while we give a brief introduction to our bean-to-bar, dark chocolate making process. Ingredients for decorating will abound and inspire, and you'll learn a few tidbits about how we invent flavor combinations for new delicious, sweet products at our chocolate factory. We will fill chocolate bar molds with luscious 75% dark chocolate, and you will get to decorate chocolate bars with local ingredients, like flowers, salt and fruit. While bars are setting up, we will lead a 20-30 minute chocolate tasting experience while you sip on perfectly paired wines to enhance the flavors. We are happy to provide a non-alcoholic tasting experience for anyone in the group who might require that. Your custom chocolate bars will go home with you in beautiful, resealable Twenty-Four Blackbirds pouches. Don't miss out on this delicious experience!
May 03 Saturday
Let your imagination take the lead at Crafternoons, every Wednesday from 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm and Saturday from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm, in the EE Makerspace above Art From Scrap.Join us for our May Crafternoons: Tinker Lab, where creativity meets sustainability! This month, we're working on creative machines that jump, fly, and walk with reclaimed materials. Perfect for all ages and skill levels, these eco-friendly projects encourage kids to craft purposefully while having a blast.Craft for the Earth Projects include:Jack & Jill Jumpers – Craft classic pull-string jumping jack toys using reclaimed paper and brads—watch their arms and legs spring to life with a tug!Marionettes – Create your own characterful puppets using upcycled materials, string, and imagination—then bring them to life with a tug of a string!Upcycled Aviators – Build playful airplanes from repurposed bits and bobs, and let your creativity take flight!Come craft and create with us! Sign up now!Cost: $8.00 per person. Crafternoons are for kids ages 5 and up. Please note that our workshop is upstairs and utilizes hot glue guns. Adults must remain in the EE Makerspace with their child.We have something for everyone at the EE Makerspace, so bring the kiddos—Crafternoons are just for them!
Led by songwriter Michael Fink, Eaton Young explores the spaces between silence and sound — between the thing you felt and the thing you said too late. With Fink’s rich voice front and center, the band brings you slow burns and sharp turns, tender ghosts and post-punk pulses. Think 80s edge meets handwritten vulnerability. Joined by Erin Kim (cello, keys), Henry Stewart (bass), Michelle Bird (guitar), and Launie Martin (drums), Eaton Young is a shape-shifting, soul-searching opener you don’t want to miss.
From haunting ballads about broken hearts and promises, to groove-driven meditations on distance and longing, Midtown Modern weaves poetic lyrics with dynamic instrumentation. Stewart’s songwriting—sometimes solo, sometimes in partnership with Bird—is the heart of the band’s emotional palette, with each member adding texture and mood in their own way.
This special show is part of a community fundraiser to support the continued magic of Namba Performing Arts Space. Come out, hear something beautiful, and be part of keeping the arts alive downtown.
May 05 Monday
Neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and ALS affect millions, with limited treatment options. But what if we could repair or even replace damaged brain cells? In this lecture, we’ll explore the science of stem cells and their potential to revolutionize the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders. Learn how stem cells work, the latest breakthroughs in research, and the challenges of translating discoveries into real-world therapies. We’ll also discuss ethical concerns, clinical trials, and the future of regenerative medicine. This lecture will provide a clear understanding of how stem cell technology is shaping the future of brain health and aging.
Wesley Tierney is currently a PhD candidate in Neuroscience at Arizona State University. He studies the mechanisms of Herpes Simplex Virus infection of neurons. He has worked in various research labs for seven years ranging from social psychology, entomology, regenerative medicine, virology, and neuroscience.
The Fifty and Better (FAB) program was designed for people ages 50 and older, seeking intellectual stimulation through university-level courses — without the pressure of grades — for the sake of learning and social engagement.
May 07 Wednesday
On February 24, 2022, Russian troops launched a massive full-scale invasion of the Ukraine setting in motion the largest military conflict in Europe since the Second World War. Thousands have been killed and the fighting has displaced more than a quarter of Ukraine’s pre-war population. Although the West rallied to defend the Ukraine, the protracted conflict has strained the Western Alliance and threatens to undermine the world order The United States and its Allies fostered during what Time publisher Henry Luce called “The American Century.” This lecture will explore the core diplomatic, military, and political events that shaped over a century of United States foreign policy and offers insights on how to think about and understand the current crisis in U.S.-European relations.
David Livingstone received BA and MA degrees in History from California State University, Northridge and a PhD in Modern European History from the University of California, San Diego. He has taught at California Lutheran University, Moorpark College, and the United States Naval War College. He specializes in European political, diplomatic and military history with an emphasis on modern Germany.
May 08 Thursday
The Classic Blues style was recorded, defined and spread during the 1920-30s by its two foremost proponents, singers and songwriters Bessie Smith, “The Empress of the Blues” and Ma Rainey, “The Mother of the Blues.” They shaped an expressive, lusty, sobbing, growling ‘opera of the vernacular,’ inscribing their distinctive voices onto America’s musical culture.
This two-part lecture explores the life and times of several extraordinary blues divas including the first woman to sell a million blues records, Mamie Smith, the bawdy Creole chanteuse, Lizzie Miles and cross-dressing singer/pianist, Gladys Bentley. Each lecture features a dozen or more video and film clips including Bessie’s 1929 collaboration with composer W.C. Handy in the landmark movie-with-sound, “The Saint Louis Blues.”
During the last four decades Dave Radlauer has been telling tales of early Jazz, Blues and Swing on the radio, garnering six broadcast awards and authoring 200 articles for online and print publications. For Stanford Libraries, he’s written interpretive online text and donated a large collection of unique music and photos. He teaches lifelong learning courses at UCLA, UC Berkeley, San Francisco State and Dominican University.
