At The Movies

‘What to Expect When You’re Expecting’ Delivers Laughs, Could’ve Milked More

The Kirk Jones movie should have implanted the hilarious Dudes’ Group more frequently.

Have you seen the commercials? The one where Chris Rock leads a few guys through a park along with their children? The one that makes you want to watch What to Expect When You’re Expecting so you can laugh at the popular comedian? If yes—know that you won’t be getting much of Rock in the movie that debuts this weekend. The movie, based on the 1984 book of the same name by Heidi Murkoff, is endearing, heartfelt and will bring tears to your eyes at times—but doesn’t tell much about what a man goes through as he is expecting. Instead, the movie focuses heavily on the women and the different obstacles and emotions they face as they expect to bring another life into the world. And, I’m not complaining—I’m just saying. The film features an all-…

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Art Beat

Community Band Festival Features Military Band Performances

The festival features 14 bands, two of which are military bands that will perform in celebration of Armed Forces Day on Saturday.

Concert bands from around San Diego and from as far as Arizona have traveled to the living historic village of Old Poway Park to perform jazzy, up-tempo music this weekend.  The 18th Annual Southern California Community Band Festival and Art & Crafts Market will take place on Saturday and Sunday. “It’s a joy every year when the bands come every year and perform for each other,” event founder and Pomerado Community Band Director Dean Hickman said. “The city of Poway and the people of Poway have been very receptive to the festival. We’ve had a lot of people come out.” In celebration of Armed Forces Day on Saturday, Old Poway Park Action Committee Members, Pomerado Community Band, Poway Arts and Crafts Guild, and the city of Poway are hosting…

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Get Out

Community Band Festival Jazzes Up The Weekend

Visit Old Poway Park on May 19 and 20 for an all-day concert from local and patriotic bands.

Feeling patriotic? Then Old Poway Park is the place to be this weekend. Poway’s Community Band Festival is this Saturday and Sunday and is featuring lots of local talent from all over the county and even as far away from Arizona, like: You can click here for the two-day line-up schedule. The music fest will include the free concerts throughout each day, as well as meet and greets with music vendors, train rides on the park’s historic locomotive, food and drink vendors and the craft market, where guests can browse and buy through an assortment of handmade jewelry and more. The Community Band Festival is May 19-20 from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. at Old Poway Park and is free. The Arts and Craft Market is 8 a.m.-2 p.m. at the boardwalk and 11 a.m.-5 p.m…

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Art Beat

Award-Winning Folk Songwriter to Perform at Poway Library

Local musician and songwriter Jeff Berkley is playing for San Diego County Library’s Acoustic Showcase Series.

Enjoy free, live music by local folk musician and songwriter Jeff Berkley, who will perform at the Poway Library from 2 to 3 p.m. on Saturday. He is playing as part of the San Diego County Library’s Acoustic Showcase Series. “He’s a really great songwriter, guitarist and singer. Jeff just really knows how to entertain an audience,” Poway Branch Librarian and event coordinator Ross Moore said. “We have a lot of really great performers, but Jeff is one of those that just goes to the next level. He just grabs the audience from the beginning and never lets go.” Berkley participated in the acoustic showcase series before.  “With all the library shows that I’ve done, I’ve done two or three, they’ve all been really nice because it seems to be …

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Get Out

Got Your Eye on Some Art?

Poway High School is having an open art gallery on May 10.

Have a deep appreciation for all-things art? Then Poway High School is where you need to be on May 10. The school is having their fifth annual Eye on Art event this Thursday and it’s a one-of-a-kind experience for students and guests alike. Adjacent classrooms are set up as interactive galleries, with displayed art and demonstrations of various mediums of art. Each room will contain its own medium. “Some of the students will be demonstrating how they make the artwork,” said Poway High photography teacher and chair of the art department Daniel Harris. “In the photography room, there will be a dark room set up and students in there making prints and explaining how the process works; there will be students in the studio doing a studio shoot; …

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Photos: 2012 Sidewalk Chalk Event Winners

Local artists showed off their stuff during Saturday's competition at RB Community Park.

More than 100 artists competed in the Second Annual Sidewalk Chalk Event hosted by the Rancho Bernardo Community Council at RB Community Park on Saturday. First, second and third place prizes were given to the top sketches in elementary, middle school, high school and adult categories. About 300 people attended, according to a news release. See the photo gallery for images of the winning designs. Check out last year's winners here.

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‘Avengers’ Satisfies Fanatics and Novice Viewers Alike

The summer blockbuster with a $220 million budget opens this weekend.

I have to admit it: I was never a fan of comic books growing up. In grade school, I was more interested in collecting baseball cards and Garbage Pail Kids, and catching snakes. In high school, I moved on to catching girls and raining jumpers on the basketball court. So I didn’t come into the long-awaited and much-anticipated summer blockbuster The Avengers with the same fervor as many others in the audience did. But that said, it is finally here. Fan boys and comic book savants have been clamoring for its release ever since it was announced that self-professed geek God Joss Whedon was taking over as director. So what should we make of the ridiculously expensive (estimated $220 million budget) and overhyped collaboration of some Marvel’s …

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Art Beat

Harmonica Workshop Tunes Into Poway

The Poway Folk Circle skills workshop is designed for beginning to intermediate harmonica players.

Make some licks, riffs and melodies at a Playing the Diatonic Harmonica - with Dane Terry workshop from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday in the Porter House Great Room at Old Poway Park. “Harmonicas are fun,” musician Dane Terry said. “They’re portable, they’re inexpensive and they make really pretty sounds very easily because they make chords automatically. Even children can learn how to play harmonicas. In fact, a lot of teachers use harmonicas to teach music to school kids.” Diatonic harmonicas, or single-key harmonicas, are typically used for folk, traditional and blues songs. “(Harmonicas are) very special instruments because you breath through it—in and out,” Terry said. “It feels so much more like one’s own voice because of that. It’s a …

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At The Movies

The Five-Year Engagement Isn’t Worth the 124-Minute Commitment

The film produced by Judd Apatow is anything but a typical romantic comedy—it’s a drag.

The Five-Year Engagement brings to life five full years of all the complexities that may come from any romantic relationship—and I mean five full years. And I mean all the complexities. The movie, which has a running time of 124 minutes, felt much, much longer. Produced by Judd Apatow, the movie brings back the duo Nicholas Stoller and Jason Segal in this romantic comedy. Segal co-stars in the film as Tom, alongside Emily Blunt as Violet. Tom, a sous chef on the rise in San Francisco, meets girlfriend Violet on New Year’s Eve. A year later the couple becomes engaged, and soon after Violet scores an opportunity to study for her doctorate in psychology at the University of Michigan. So the lingering—at times, quite depressing—engagement …

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Poway High School Jazz Festival Returns Friday

The competition showcases performances by 12 local middle school and high school jazz ensembles.

The second year of the Poway High School Jazz Festival will be in full swing from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday at the Poway Center for the Performing Arts. The event, which occurs during Jazz Appreciation Month, includes 12 local middle school and high school jazz ensembles competing with three to four songs each. There will also be two guest bands that will perform before the awards ceremony: Local jazz band Danny Green Trio will play during a dinner break and the Palomar Jazz Orchestra will perform at 8 p.m. The festival, in its second year after a five-year break, was revived by PHS alumnus Justin Yee, who organized the event for a senior project. Last year, the event featured nine competitors.  There are three divisions—middle school, …

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Chris Jennewein

5:18 pm on Wednesday, April 25, 2012

I love jazz. This should be a great event!   more ›