Ongoing: Sunday Bible Study with Michelle Klein, 10 a.m., Worship Service with Pastor John Klein, 11 a.m. Come to church this Sunday and be renewed. Topanga Christian Fellowship, 269 Old Topanga Canyon Road, Topanga, CA 90290, (310)455-1048, topangachristianfellowship.org.
Ongoing: Mondays 10-11 a.m., New Balance for Seniors with Kat High. Topanga Community Center. Exercise class to improve balance and strength led by physical and occupational therapist Kat High. $10 per class. katcalls@aol.com.
Ongoing: Sundays, 3 p.m. Learn Argentine Tango with Barbara Webb. Free classes. For more information: (Cell: (213) 448-8330; Home: (310) 455-2760. In private home.
Ongoing: Fourth Thursday, 12-3 p.m., Song Circle with Linnea Richards. Rise up Singing and Rise Again. In conjunction with SongMakers. All ages welcome. Topanga Community Center, 1440
Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga, CA 90290.
Sunday, July 9, 2 p.m., Crazy J Ranch. Phil Salazar and the Kin Folk led by legendary fiddle player Phil Salazar. These talented musicians mix traditional music with rock, blues, country, jazz, Irish, pop, and bluegrass. They have been together for so long they think they’re related. When you hear their music you may think so, too! Dress for outdoor event. $25 Suggested Donation. For info: (310) 752-6069; crazyjtopanga@gmail.com.
Saturday, July 15, 7:30 p.m., A Perfect Ganesh. Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum presents the last play in its summer repertory, five-time Tony Award-winning playwright Terrence McNally’s A Perfect Ganesh that turns the pilgrimage tradition on its head in his magical, poetic, Pulitzer Prize-nominated play. Theatricum’s wooded stage takes us from teeming Mumbai to the Chittaurgahr Pass, Jodhpur, the Ganges, the burning ghats of Varanasi and the Taj Mahal, as two upper middle-class friends from Connecticut travel to India with heavy baggage in tow, reeling from loss and personal demons. Manifest in their fellow travelers, the benevolent, elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha is everyone and everywhere. Fluid in his power to assume any guise, at peace with all things, Ganesha—god of wisdom, prudence, acceptance, love and “remover of obstacles”—is the spiritual center around which the play spins, drawing upon the tragic and the comic, the beautiful and the deplorable, until a breathtaking release arrives for both women at his hands. Starring Ellen Geer, Mueen Jahan, Melora Marshall, Rajiv Shah with dancers Simi Fulton, Emily-Mae Kamp and Liza Rash. Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum,1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga CA 90290, theatricum.com, (310) 455-2322.
Santa Monica College John Drescher Planetarium
Fridays in July, “The Night Sky Shows” at 7 p.m., Main presentations at 8 p.m. —Continues the latest news in astronomy and space exploration with Free Zoom and information at smc.edu/planetarium or (310) 434-3005. This month’s presentations will cover the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, a survey of Mars Exploration, and the Perseid Meteors of 2023. All shows subject to change or cancellation without notice. Public Information Office | pio@smc.edu | 310.434.4454 | Santa Monica College | 1900 Pico Blvd | Santa Monica, CA 90405
• Friday, July 7, at 8 p.m. (following “The Night Sky Show” at 7 p.m.): “The Vera C. Rubin Observatory” — Senior Lecturer Jim Mahon introduces the Vera Rubin Observatory, an 8-meter-class survey telescope, will perform daily all-sky surveys at extremely high resolution, producing over 20 terabytes of data each night and making data management as challenging as optical design and execution. Tonight’s show investigates the intricacies of this ingenious machine for capturing a motion picture of our universe. Free Zoom
• Friday, July 14, at 8 p.m. (following “The Night Sky Show” at 7 p.m.): “Solar System Exploration Survey: Part 4: Mars, Chapter 1” — Senior Lecturer Jim Mahon. The Solar System Exploration Survey continues with a look at Mars, the Red Planet, which has long intrigued humanity, and naturally attracted a large number of space probes and robotic emissaries. Tonight’s show will cover the first era of Martian exploration, culminating with the Viking orbiters and landers in the 1970s. [Note: July 21 show will cover the second era of Mars exploration.] Free Zoom
• Friday, July 21, at 8 p.m. (following “The Night Sky Show” at 7 p.m.): “Solar System Exploration Survey: Part 4: Mars, Chapter 2” — Lecturer Sarah Vincent. Tonight’s show looks at the second era of Mars exploration, starting with the arrival of the Mars Pathfinder Mission in 1997. This heady era saw the MER rovers, their descendants and an international fleet of orbiters, still going strong. Free Zoom
• Friday, July 28, at 8 p.m. (following “The Night Sky Show” at 7 p.m.): “Fire in the Sky – The Perseid Meteors of 2023” — Senior Lecturer Jim Mahon. This year’s Perseids will be ideal for observing from a dark-sky site on their peak night of August 12-13. Tonight’s show will discuss the origins of this annual celestial spectacle, provide tips for observing the shower, and even point viewers to a group (not associated with SMC) they can join at a dark camping site to enjoy the meteor shower. Free Zoom
[Note: The site offers only very basic, primitive camping. Food, beverages, and all camping and other equipment must be carried in.] More information is available online at smc.edu/planetarium Santa Monica College is a California Community College accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).
