February 2010

One of the best kept secrets in all of college basketball is the St. Mary’s Gaels Men’s Basketball program as run by head coach Randy Bennett. Since his arrival before the 2001-2002 season, Coach Bennett has taken a program that was 2-27 in 2000-2001 and turned it into a consistent contender in the West Coast Conference (WCC) and a regular in post season play. One of his players, Pat Mills, now performs in the NBA for the Portland Trail Blazers. “I believe that if you do certain things on the basketball court you are going to be successful,” Bennett said. “Those things include work hard, defend, rebound, take care of the ball and be a good teammate.”

“We also get guys on the terms we want,” he continued. “We look for good people and good students who are also have a commitment to being good basketball players. We look for the same guys UCLA wants, that Gonzaga wants, guys who can play with those players and win games.” Bennett is able to do all that despite a lack of resources, disadvantages in scheduling, playing in a conference that is lacks the local notoriety of the Pac 10, and sub-par facilities compared too many of the schools against which he competes for talent. “Kids dream of playing in the Pac 10. We’re not going to change that,” Bennett noted. “We need to find kids good enough to play in the Pac 10 but not being recruited by them, whether they’re transfer students, under the radar, or Australian.”

The Australian connection has been a major success story for Bennett. Since Adam Caphorn and Daniel Kickert joined the program in 2001 and 2002 respectively, Bennett has recruited 10 Australian players, including the Trail Blazer’s Mills. “We’ve gone 10 for 10 with our Australian players, and that’s unheard of,” he said. “Five good recruits in a row from anywhere is remarkable.” Kickert is still the Gaels career scoring leader.

Bennett now has an Australian assistant coach, David Patrick, which helps keep the pipeline filled. The current roster has five Australians, and most of them play a major role in the team’s success. “The basketball community there is small, and good news travels fast,” Bennett says about his program’s success with Australian players. “We’re near the top of the food chain among U.S. College programs. Ever since Mills played for us we’ve been on TV as much over there as their pro leagues.” Bennett himself still makes annual visits down under to help St. Mary’s keep its high profile with top Australian high school players.

Just as remarkable as the Australian connection is the fact that St. Mary’s lost six of its ten top players from last season’s 25-7 squad, including Mills, and has maintained its winning ways this year. Bennett credits the leadership of last year’s upperclassmen for setting the tone for this season’s success. “Guys like Mills, Diamon Simpson, and Ian O’Leary not only played heavy minutes for us last year, they were great leaders who built the program and showed the younger players how it should get done. Now, four of our top eight players are freshmen, so we have a chance to be pretty good for the next few years.”
Bennett says his goals for the program include becoming a perennial NCAA Tournament team and winning games once it gets to the tournament. As the head coach of what is known as a mid-major program, Bennett points to the success of Xavier, Butler and Gonzaga and calls them role models for what he is trying to accomplish at St. Mary’s.

With all the notoriety the program gets for its Australian connection, it’s sometimes easy to forget that the featured player on this year’s team is San Ramon Valley High School graduate Omar Samhan. The 6-11, 265 pound senior moves well under the basket and controls a lot of games when opponents can’t match his size and strength. “Omar was under the radar in high school,” Bennett says. “He’s been a great leader for this team.”

“We have a beautiful campus and a small school where great relationships are built,” Bennett said. “It’s a unique place. We have a lot that bigger schools can’t offer.” Lately, that has included entertaining and winning basketball for local fans.”

As the song title says, South of the Border (down Mexico way…) is where a style of music originated called Mariachi. It is generally a joyous, happy, very rhythmic music immediately recognized as the sound of the Mariachi Band.

Origins
Early Mexican musicians were somewhat like the wondering minstrels of Western Europe in the 12th and 13th centuries. They traveled from town to town looking for work playing their music. If they were lucky enough to find work they sometimes made more than the average day laborer. Because they played for money they needed to change and add new styles to their repertoire. Consequently, they were always adding new material to their backlog of traditional music. Mariachi music encompassed the aspects of regional songs.

Music
“The Mariachi is the sum of a cultural evolution that has taken place over the last century or so in Mexico,” says Camille Collins in her article, What is the Mariachi? The music often speaks of such cultural aspects as love, heroes, betrayal, death and machismo. As far as we know, the vast repertoire of Mariachi music is original Mexican, not of Spanish heritage. The criollos (Mexicans of Spanish decent) literally did away with all vestiges of Spanish occupation in Mexico. The average citizen strongly supported the Mariachi musicians and this unique style of Mexican music.

The Mariachi music we know today was developed in the 19th century in the southern part of the state of Jalisco in Mexico. Originally, the Mexican ensemble of folk musicians consisted of two violins, acoustic guitar, vihuela (a five-string high-pitched guitar), guitarron (a large bass guitar) and a Mexican folk harp. Later trumpets were added and became a very important element of contemporary Mariachi Bands, sometimes eclipsing the violins. The size of the ensemble varies.

When radio and television came on the scene a brand new audience was born for this popular style of music. This led to recording contracts that proved to be a financial boom for some. Motion pictures were another vehicle to expose this music to an accepting audience. They were a very popular element in the first Mexicans films.

Dress
The very festive contemporary dress is usually silver-studded charro (cowboy/horseman) embroidered costumes with large wide-brimmed sombreros (hats) and fancy boots.

Contemporary Mariachi
Mariachi bands appear in almost every aspect of modern society. They play at festive holidays and parties; weddings; political campaigns; private serenades; commercial events; conventions and conferences, to name a few.

For many years Mariachi bands and their music have been part of the mainstream entertainment industry. If you are not familiar with this music, give it a try! I can almost guarantee you will like it. To quote Camille Collins, “The only thing more Mexican than tequila is the Mariachi and it seems a shame to have one without the other.”

Please submit your questions and comments to banddirector01@comcast.net. Visit our website at www.danvilleband.org for up-to-date information about the Danville Community Band.

It’s that time of year fellas. You get Christmas, then New Years, then the big one—Valentine’s Day. So it’s time to suck it up and slip the Chick Flick in the DVD player.

One of my more recent favorites is No Reservations. Now, I’ll tell you right now, there were no Oscars; not even a nomination. We’re dealing with lowered expectations. If you go into this with that in mind, I think you will be pleasantly surprised. I guarantee your girly-girl will love ya for it. She just might cuddle up on the sofa with you while you’re watching.

The second best pay-off of the evening will be that you get to watch Catherine Zeta-Jones. Now how painful can that be? Catherine plays Kate, a control-freak chef so tightly wound it’s a wonder she doesn’t pop in the steam of her own kitchen. Despite her position as reigning queen of the Manhattan foodie set, Kate has no joy; she does not really exist outside of her job and her employer-ordered therapy. She throws temper tantrums when anyone, customers included, questions the perfection of her meal creations.

There’s a big turnaround for Kate, however, when her sister dies suddenly, leaving Kate to care for her wide-eyed, mini-bohemian 10 year old niece, Zoe (Abigail Breslin) at the same time that a larger-than-life sous chef, who impossibly seems to be able to cook well, endear the staff and customers and enjoy life, gets a job in Kate’s kitchen. Nick (Aaron Eckhart) pushes all of Kate’s buttons and instantly hits it off with Zoe, and thus begins Kate’s transition from uptight head case to romantic comedy lead. Making room for Zoe and just maybe Nick in her self-focused life creates an incredible challenge.

There is nothing here to strain your brain and the cast could do a wonderful job with this one in their sleep. Zeta-Jones goes from cranky to cuddly right before our eyes. Eckhart plays the sweetly endearing Mr. Perfect with visible ease and Abigail Breslin is a mini-master of the silver screen and she just keeps getting better and better. The talents of this cast are pretty much unnecessary but they make this funny movie incredibly easy to watch.

For all the times that No Reservations is utterly conventional and predictable, it is kind enough to sidestep the contrived complications that often litter the genre—Zoe is a little girl in mourning, but she isn’t acting like a devil child out to destroy Aunt Kate. The family plight is not a downer to this movie that it could be, and even the cookie cutter romance isn’t plagued by wacky, trite misunderstandings to veer it off course.

It’s not sappy, the acting is tight and the story line…well, at least it has a story line, so pick No Reservations up, order some Chinese take-out with a single set of chopsticks and enjoy. Once again, I welcome your comments at chastings@rockcliff.com and don’t forget to go to my website for my archived movie reviews.

As you may have heard, there has been quite a bit of hoopla surrounding the change in the Roth IRA conversion rules for 2010. Could it be right for you? Let’s examine the basics and then discuss when it might be appropriate. Starting this year and for all subsequent tax years all taxpayers, regardless of income, will be permitted to convert their retirement assets to a Roth IRA. Prior to this year, conversion was limited to those taxpayers with an adjusted gross income of less than $100,000. The amount converted will be included as ordinary income for the year in which the account was converted. However, for 2010 only, taxpayers can elect to defer half the tax liability to 2011 and half to 2012. Partial conversions are allowed so you can dial in how much you want to convert in any one year.

Whether a Roth conversion makes since will depend on a number of factors including; your investment timeline (the younger you are the better), your current income tax bracket, and your anticipated income tax bracket in retirement. Also key, do you have assets outside the converted account to pay the resulting tax? If not, conversion is probably not a good idea. Of course, each individual’s specific financial goals and estate planning objectives will also factor in. Having looked at conversion possibilities for a number of clients, I believe that it is well worth the time to explore conversion. There are many potential benefits to converting:

• The current market may still provide a low-cost conversion opportunity – Despite the recent market rally, most investors’ account values are still below the peak of a couple years ago.
• Hedge against increasing tax rates – many believe tax rates are going up in the years to come, a Roth removes the uncertainty of what future tax rates might be like.
• No required minimum distributions (RMDs) – Roth IRAs are not subject to RMDs that begin at age 70 ½ for traditional IRAs.
• Estate planning benefits – beneficiaries can stretch tax free distributions over their lifetimes.
• Free “do over” – Roth conversions can be undone with no tax consequences. Re-characterization back to a traditional IRA can be done up to your tax filing deadline plus extensions.
• Tax loss harvesting – Taxpayers with Net Operating Loss carry-forwards, business and other ordinary losses, charitable contributions carry-forwards, deductions and exemptions in excess of income and nonrefundable tax credits may be able to convert and pay little or no income taxes on the conversion.

Of course there are many situations where conversion may not be a good idea. A conversion may put you in a higher tax bracket, negating potential benefits. If you expect to be in a lower tax bracket in the future then conversion probably does not make sense. Distributions are tax exempt as long as you have waited five years and are at least 59 ½ so you must be able to wait that long. The decision to convert to a Roth IRA can be very complex and should not be taken lightly. After all, we are talking about pre-paying your tax to Uncle Sam. Please call or email me if you would like to talk about the specifics of your situation.

Damien helps individuals invest and manage risk. He is a Certified Financial Planner™ professional and an Investment Adviser Representative of, and offers securities and investment advisory services through, Financial Network Investment Corporation, Member SIPC 1850 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Suite 170 Walnut Creek, CA 94596. These are the views of Damien Couture, CFP® and should not be construed as investment advice. All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however we make no representation as to its completeness or accuracy. Not all recommendations are suitable for all investors. Each investor must consider their own goals, time horizon and risk tolerance. Your comments are welcome. Damien can be reached at 925-280-1800 x101 or dcouture@jbcfg.com.

Most of us have been trudging through a self-imposed period of penance since January one, trying to make amends for the excesses of the holiday season. For weeks now it has been a steady diet of Spartan meals, limited sugar, miniscule portions of fat, more sleep, more exercise, and only the occasional tipple of alcohol. Then along comes the 14th of February, like a call from the governor, and suddenly we’re given a reprieve. On Valentine’s Day, life takes a familiar leap backwards into that world we know and love: Viva la champagne! Bring me brunch! Wine and dine me by candlelight! Dip me in chocolate and roll me in rose petals!

Okay, maybe this holiday doesn’t incite quite the same revelry associated with several others on the calendar—but it’s all we’ve got right now, so let’s make the most of it. If Valentine’s Day doesn’t resonate with you, this year it happens to coincide with the beginning of the weeklong Chinese New Year celebration—a traditional time for feasting with friends and family. Between the two of these momentous occasions, you’ve simply got to let loose. So whether your plans include a Chinese banquet; spending a romantic day with one special someone; or it’s just going to be you in your Snuggie, watching a stack of DVD’s, a trip to the farmers’ market is in order.

The winter market is filled with all sorts of goodies to please your senses. Diamonds may last forever, but farm-fresh fruits are better for you. 14-karat gold is real nice, but real carrots taste better. Spend a fortune at the florist if you must, but direct-from-the-grower flowers are cheaper and last longer.

You’ll first want to buy a big sack of juicy tangerines or oranges, as these are commonly exchanged as gifts during the Lunar New Year (since their Chinese names are homophones for “gold” and “wealth”). You may also want to pick up some California-grown grapes, in case your Valentine demands you peel a few. For a more conventional celebration, check out the glistening jars of home-style jams and jellies to slather on artisan bread for a lazy breakfast-in-bed; crisp apples; creamy pears; and assorted salad greens and veggies—including, with Mother Nature’s cooperation, early artichokes and asparagus.

To get the party rolling, here is an easy recipe for snacking or giving. Chocolate seemed too predictable for this day, so I made something chewy, nutty, and slightly spicy. Best of all, these taste rich and indulgent without being laden with fat. I’m also going to go out on a limb and say the dates, walnuts, spices, and orange lend a vaguely Asian quality to these bar cookies—along with symbolic sweetness, of course; hence their name. (Cut me some slack, here. Do you really think it was easy to connect these dots?)

Package up these little squares with a lucky red ribbon as a gift for a friend or neighbor, or just eat them all by yourself. February 14 is that kind of a day.

Chewy Year-of-the-Tiger Squares
1 cup coarsely chopped California walnuts
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup dark or light brown sugar
2 large eggs, lighty beaten
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
1 cup coarsely chopped pitted California dates
Confectioners’ (powdered) sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spread the walnuts in a shallow pan and bake, stirring once or twice, until lightly browned and fragrant, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool. Leave the oven set at 325.

Line an 8-inch square baking pan with a 16-inch sheet of aluminum foil; press the foil firmly into the corners to make a snug fit, and let the excess foil drape over the sides of the pan. Coat the foil generously with no-stick cooking spray.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, ginger, and cinnamon. Whisk gently to blend.

In a large bowl, beat together the brown sugar, eggs, and orange zest. Gradually stir in the flour mixture until well blended; then stir in the walnuts and dates. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, spreading evenly. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the top appears dry and the edges are beginning to pull away from the edge of the pan. (The center may appear soft and underbaked, but will firm as it cools.) Place the pan on a wire rack to cool completely.

Grasp the overhanging foil to lift the “cookie slab” from the pan in one piece; then place it on a work surface. Using a long, sharp knife, cut into 2-inch squares. Dust lightly with confectioners’ sugar. If made in advance, store in an airtight container. Makes 16 squares.

The Danville Certified Farmers’ Market, located at Railroad and Prospect, is open every Saturday, rain or shine, from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. For specific crop information call the Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market Association at 1-800-949-FARM or visit their web site at www.pcfma.com.

Q. I received a Christmas Cactus plant as a gift but I do not know how to care for it. Could you help me out with some information about watering, fertilizing, etc.? 
 
A. Christmas Cactus, are very easy to grow. Both Thanksgiving and Christmas Cactus are the same variety, Schlumbergia truncata. Over the years, they have taken on different common names based on the holiday period they’re available. Also, there is a spring blooming variety commonly called Easter Cactus that is a different variety. They all do best indoors in an area that gets lots of indirect light or outdoors in a protected location. I’d feed them monthly with a mild houseplant fertilizer from February thru August. Christmas Cactus is easily rooted from cuttings by snapping off a section(s) at the joint and placing them in a small container of moist potting soil. The potting soil should drain quickly to prevent rotting from being over watered. They set their buds in the late fall as the days get shorter and cooler. Many times they will set buds without any additional help. If they don’t, you would then need to move them to the coolest room you have and give them thirty days of twelve to fourteen hours of darkness. The easiest way to do this is to cover the plants at dinnertime with a sealed box and uncover them at breakfast. This is called the short day treatment. Also, you should reduce the watering frequency. The water stress aids in the setting of buds. Once the buds are visible you return to the normal schedule. For a Thanksgiving bloom, cover them in October and in November for flowers at Christmas. 

Q. I have a fairly new Meyer Lemon bush that is fruiting but some of the lemons are resting on the ground. Is this a bad thing? Should it be pruned now with my other fruit trees? Also, what should I be doing about the yellow leaves? 
 
A. While deciduous fruit trees are pruned during the winter months, citrus, that is oranges, lemons, limes etc., are not. The suggested time is after the danger of frost has past which is around St. Patrick’s Day in most areas. 

Pruning Myer Lemon’s can present a quandary as there never seems to be a rest period with flowers and fruit present year-round. By doing nothing, the plant then gets very large and over grown. Although Meyer Lemon is listed as a dwarf plant, it can get to be ten feet high and six feet wide. The spring pruning removes all the vegetation damaged by the cold along with any dead wood. You then trim for shape and containment the balance of the year. The lower branches are removed to lift the canopy, as you don’t want fruit resting on the ground. Yellow leaves are common at this time of the year because of the cold temperatures. They will green up when you resume you monthly feeding of Citrus Food in March. 
  
Buzz Bertolero is Executive Vice President of Navlet’s Garden Centers and a California Certified Nursery Professional. His web address is www.dirtgardener.com and you can send questions by email at dirtgarden@aol.com or to 360 Civic Drive Ste. ‘D’, Pleasant Hill, Calif. 94523.

During this past holiday season I had the great privilege, on behalf of the Town of Danville, of welcoming home two active duty servicemen at an Operation Welcome Home ceremony hosted by the Town of Danville on December 27 at the Veterans Memorial Building. Operation Welcome Home was started in March 2004 as a way to thank and recognize those in the armed forces for their service to our Country. I was honored, along with Mayor Abram Wilson from the City of San Ramon, District 3 Supervisor Mary Piepho, and Vice-Mayor Doug Horner from Livermore, to present proclamations expressing appreciation for the sacrifices these young men are making on our behalf.

Honorees included United States Army First Lieutenant Eliot Proctor, a 2003 graduate of San Ramon Valley High School, and a 2007 graduate of the Military Academy at West Point. Eliot returned home this past November, after having served one year in Iraq with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division. United States Air Force Senior Airman Brian Fuchs was also recognized. Brian returned home this past October after completing an assignment at Anderson Air Force Base in Guam to support the 525th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron training mission. I want to also thank our Blue Star Moms who hosted the reception following this ceremony, and express the Town’s appreciation for all they do for our young men and women serving in the military.

In December, I was delighted to attend the Courts of Honor of seven Boy Scouts. Kyle Murray, Jonathan Stewart, Alexander Giampaoli, Ashley Betts, Tanner Kirk, Tanner Newsom, and Mark Talley all obtained their Eagle Scout Awards after completing community projects, which also involved hundreds of service hours.

At our regular Council meeting on December 15, the Council held a public hearing on our update of the 2007-2014 General Plan Housing Element. Since this discussion included 25 potential “opportunity sites” to study, we had a room full of interested people. After a great deal of discussion and public comment, we made changes to the sites, but did approve the Housing Element. In 2010, we will be moving forward with a complete General Plan update, with more public meetings and citizen input.

It was a joyful occasion for the Town last month, when Congressman McNerney delivered $200,000 of federal funding to be used toward the renovation of the Veterans Memorial Building on Hartz Avenue. Site preparation for the building began last month, with construction planned for this coming June. When completed, the building will better meet the needs of our veterans and seniors as well as community organizations and private user groups.

One of my goals as Mayor is to hear from more of the citizens of Danville. Please e-mail me with comments, questions, or concerns at mdoyle@ci.danville.ca.us. or join me at “Mornings with the Mayor,” the First Friday of each month at 7:30 am at Father Nature’s, 172 E. Prospect Avenue. This is an opportunity for Danville residents to get an update on what is happening in the Town and to meet with me informally to discuss any concerns or issues. I hope to see you there.

Exchange Club San Ramon Valley Luncheon every 2nd Wednesday, 12:00 – 1.00 pm, $16 Faz, 600 Hartz, Danville. Info: 925-275-2412/ coachstepper@yahoo.com

Danville Farmers’ Market: Saturdays 9am – 1pm; Year-Round, Thursdays, 4pm – 8pm May10 – Aug 16. Corner of Railroad & Prospect St.

Soroptimist International of San Ramon Valley meets 1st and 3rd Wednesdays each month at Crow Canyon Country Club, Danville, 12.15-1.30pm. Soroptimist’s mission is to improve the lives of women and girls locally and globally.

San Ramon Valley Republican Women Federated meets on the Fourth Tuesday of every month except June-August at Crow Canyon Country Club, Danville at 11:30am – 1:30p.m. Lunches are $23. Please join us to hear informative speakers on important issues! Info: Sonali @ (925) 314-9194.

Vietnam Vets of Diablo Valley Meetings will be held on the first Thursday of each month at the Crow Canyon Country Club, 711 Silver Lake Dr, Danville, Ca 94526, Social 5.30 pm , Dinner 6:00 pm, $ 25.00. Website: www.vnvdv.com

Danville Tennis Club (DTC): Tue/Wed/Thurs Nights. Sat/Sun AM. 3.5 – 5.0 level players. Adults. Coed http://groups.yahoo.com/group/danvilletennisclub

02/20, Saturday, 11am – 2pm: Recreation Expo 2010 at the Danville Community Center 420 Front Street. Get a jump-start on planning your summer. Day Camps o Facility Rentals o Picnics o Special Events o Swim Lessons & Aquatics o Visual & Performing Arts. Info: 925-314-3400

03/04 -03/28: 33rd Annual ADAS Spring Art Show featuring works by exceptional artists in the East Bay. Judge’s and People’ Choice awards will be announced at the Opening Reception on Saturday March 28 from 5 pm to 7 pm.

Blackhawk Gallery, 3461 Blackhawk Plaza Circle. Gallery hours are Monday -Saturday 10 to 8 PM, Sunday 11 to 6 PM. The art show is free and open to the public.

03/13, Saturday, 10:00am: The Always Provocative Martin Swig presents a Talk: The State of the Automobile Industry – After the Crunch of Last Year, Who Came Out Ahead? Who Lost? And What Does the Future Hold? Martin Swig is a San Francisco Bay Area-based car collector, vintage racer, founder and chief organizer of the California Mille, La Carrera Nevada, and other notable U.S. vintage car rallies and events.
Info: 925.736.2277; www.blackhawkmuseum.org

In the fall of this New Year we will celebrate the 20th birthday of the Lesher Center for the Arts. I am reminded of a thought by James Hillman that was batted around in the early stages of the planning of the Center, “Inside the acorn, one finds the image of the oak tree that it is destined to become.” It takes time, imagination, faith and a lot of hard work by many people for dreams to come true and all of these many years later it is evident that the LCA has certainly grown into a magnificent oak tree to harbor the arts.

With close to 900 events already booked in all three venues for 2010, we will start the New Year off with a bang! The months ahead will bring you great entertainment that will be thought provoking, moving and absolutely delightful. To begin with, Center REP has opened the second half of their current season to rave reviews with both Pamela Gien’s The Syringa Tree (thru Feb. 27) and Caryl Churchill’s A Number (thru Feb. 7). Hailed by the New York Times as “instantly engaging” and “a thoroughly persuasive transport to an exotic place and time, The Syringa Tree is a one woman tour de force for award winning actress Shannon Koob. This evocative story, directed by Michael Evan Haney, was the winner of the 2001 Obie Award for Best Play of the Year. Center REP is thrilled to bring this unforgettable night in the theatre to our Lesher Theatre audiences.

In the Knight Stage 3, James Carpenter and Gabriel Marin, two of the bay area’s favorite actors, are acting up a storm in A Number, the first true play of the 21st century. Directed by Center REP Artistic Director, Michael Butler, Churchill’s play asks the audience, “What would you do if you had cloned a child 35 years earlier and now the past is posing some very tough questions.”

This Valentine month is also ready to engage you in a great whodunit musical comedy in the Hofmann Theatre. DTC is proud to present Kander and Ebb’s Tony Award winning Curtains through February 28th. Starring Tom Reardon and featuring a talented ensemble, this DTC musical is directed by Daren A.C.Carollo and will tell the tale of the misadventures of wise-cracking producers, leggy chorus girls, star-struck gangsters and one lovable detective.

For more information about these great shows and upcoming productions in the months that follow call Center Tickets at (925) 943-SHOW or visit our website at www.lesherartscenter.org. Take time out to enjoy a terrific dinner at one of our many remarkable downtown Walnut Creek restaurants, and start your year off by joining us at the LCA. We look forward to ringing in the New Year with you. See you at the Center!