THERE ARE SO MANY GOOD THINGS TO DO THIS WEEKEND, GUYS. Let’s get to it:
2013 Montclair Village Beer & Wine Festival
What better way to support a lovely and historic Oakland neighborhood than by drinking your way through its charming main street? Admission to the Montclair Village Beer & Wine Celebration (Medau Pl. and Mountain Blvd., Oakland) is free for sightseers; for those who want to sip, the price of a commemorative glass permits unlimited tasting of artisanal wines and craft beers at booths representing local brewers, vintners, and retailers. The family-friendly all-day celebration also features live music, art on display, and kids’ activities. Proceeds benefit community-enhancement projects through the Montclair Business Improvement District. Sat., June 29, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. beer/wine tasting is $30 per person, $50 per couple — Anneli Rufus
Yes, please
“Friends, Family, Neighbors”
As distressing as the National Security Administration’s recentlyexposed dragnet system is, the proliferation of unmanned drones forsurveillance and military strike is a perhaps more chilling aspect ofwhat today counts for normal. In a small exhibition at Royal NonesuchGallery, David Gregory Wallace presents several works that reflect onprevailing drone narratives, each wedding a sense of childhoodinnocence (or vulnerability) to one of looming dread. In a windowpiece that clicks on nightly, a projector casts a series ofphotographic portraits of the artist’s friends, colleagues, and lovedones upon the gallery window, while a rotating mobile positioned inbetween casts moving shadows of birds and one large predator drone upon theimages. The main piece in the show is a short film that follows ayoung boy as he guides a toy drone around the East Bay. The interspersed footage of actual drone strikes — which the Department of Defense posts as propaganda material on its website — is jarring, but it is the child’s eerie contentedness that leaves the strongest impression.Friends, Family, Neighbors runs through June 30 at Royal NonesuchGallery. 415-652-1623 or RoyalNonesuchGallery.com — Alex Bigman
