Happy Tuesday, Walnut Creek!

💡 Did you know: Heather Farm Park is named after a racehorse. Breeder John Marchbank bought the land in 1921 and named it Heather Farm after his favorite horse, King Heather. The city bought part of the farm after voters approved a parks bond in 1965, Phil and Ruth Bancroft donated five more acres, and the park opened in 1970.

This week: cocktails and a curator-led tour at the Bedford on Thursday, Beauty, Bubbles & Giving Back at Walnut Creek Aesthetics, the California Symphony at the Lesher this weekend, Yacht Rockers at Retro Junkie Saturday night, free Latin jazz at Broadway Plaza on Sunday, and Dracula on stage all week.

Last week’s Halloween poll split right down the middle between trick-or-treating around the neighborhood and lights off, movie on. This week’s question is at the bottom.

Let’s get to it.

Sean Casey

The California Symphony returns to the Lesher this weekend with From Tchaikovsky to Copland, an evening of sweeping strings, familiar melodies, and a little jazz influence. The program moves from Tchaikovsky's heartfelt Serenade for Strings to Barber's moving Adagio for Strings, with a tribute to Tchaikovsky by his student Arensky along the way.

The soloist is one of the orchestra’s own. Principal clarinet Cory Tiffin plays Copland’s Clarinet Concerto, the piece Copland wrote for jazz legend Benny Goodman. Arrive an hour early for the free 30-minute pre-concert talk, and yes, you can bring your drink to your seat.

📍 Where: Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Dr.
📅 When: Saturday, November 7 | 7:30 PM • Sunday, November 8 | 4:00 PM
Free pre-concert talk one hour before each performance.
💲 Price: $50–$110 adults • $25 students

Concert Details and Tickets

Center REP's Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors is bringing a much sillier side of the famous vampire to the Lesher through November 15. Five actors juggle nearly 20 characters in this fast-paced comedy filled with mistaken identities, outrageous characters, and plenty of laughs.

Going Wednesday? Stick around after the November 4 performance for a Cast Chat with the actors and Center REP's artistic team. The show runs about an hour and 40 minutes without intermission and is recommended for ages 13 and up.

📍 Where: Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Dr.
📅 When: Now through Sunday, November 15 • Cast Chat after the Wednesday, November 4 performance
💲 Price: $87–$91 adults • $31 teens (ages 13–18)

Dracula Details and Tickets

If your ideal Saturday night includes a little Steely Dan, some Michael McDonald, and a dance floor, Retro Junkie has you covered. The Yacht Rockers are bringing their mix of '70s and '80s soft rock and pop classics to downtown Walnut Creek this Saturday.

Expect favorites from Kenny Loggins, Christopher Cross, Toto, Hall & Oates, Chicago, and more. Doors open at 6 PM, the band takes the stage at 7:30, and DJ J Espinosa keeps the party going from 10 with throwback hits. Tacos El Patron will be on-site, too.

This one is 21 and over, with limited tickets and tables available.

📍 Where: Retro Junkie, 2112 N. Main St., Walnut Creek
📅 When: Saturday, November 7 | Doors 6:00 PM • Band 7:30 PM • DJ 10:00 PM
💲 Price: $17.85 • Ages 21+

Event Details & Tickets

The Bedford’s tufting show, High Pile: Concepts in Tufting, gets a guided evening on Thursday. Curators Emilee Enders and Erica Schulz walk you through the exhibition and the stories and ideas that shaped it, with drinks and bites from Montesacro along the way. The show brings together 20 artists who use tufting for wall pieces and sculpture instead of rugs.

Space is limited, and it is 21 and up. If Thursday doesn’t work, the show is open Wednesday through Sunday, noon to five, through December 13.

📍 Where: Bedford Gallery, Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Dr.
📅 When: Thursday, November 5 | 5:30–7:00 PM
💲 Price: $30 general • $20 donors

Cocktails & Conversation Tickets

Walnut Creek Aesthetics is hosting an evening of beauty, bubbles, and community giving this Thursday. Stop by for champagne, light bites, live treatment demonstrations, and complimentary consultations, plus special offers available during the event.

There's a local cause behind the celebration, too. Throughout November, Walnut Creek Aesthetics is donating 15% of its skincare proceeds to the Walnut Creek Education Foundation (WCEF), supporting local schools.

The event welcomes existing patients, newcomers, and friends. Interested in attending? RSVP as soon as possible by emailing [email protected].

📍 Where: Walnut Creek Aesthetics, 1355 N. Main St., Walnut Creek
📅 When: Thursday, November 5 | 5:00–7:00 PM
💲 Price: Not listed • RSVP requested

RSVP Now — [email protected]

Broadway Plaza’s Sounds of the Street series brings a Latin Jazz Trio to Broadway Plaza Street this Sunday for two hours of free live music. Stop by to enjoy the music, browse the shops, and get a little early holiday shopping done.

📍 Where: Broadway Plaza Street, 1275 Broadway Plaza
📅 When: Sunday, November 8 | 12:00–2:00 PM
💲 Price: Free

Sounds of the Street

🗳️ Today is Election Day. Polling places are open until 8 p.m., and drop boxes, including the one at City Hall, close at 8 p.m. sharp. Contra Costa Elections

💎 Rowan is now open at Broadway Plaza. The studio does ear piercing by licensed nurses with hypoallergenic earrings. Broadway Plaza

🐶 Pet Night with Santa starts November 16. Broadway Plaza is holding pet photo nights with Santa on Mondays, November 16, 23 and 30 and December 7 and 14, from 4 to 7 p.m. Pet Night with Santa

Walnut Creek's free Veterans Day ceremony is Wednesday, November 11 at 11 AM at the Lesher Center. Diablo Ballet brings The Nutcracker Suite to the Lesher November 13–14, followed by Shadelands FallFest on Sunday, November 15, from 11 AM to 2 PM. The free Holiday Tree Lighting returns to Civic Park on Friday, November 20 at 5:30 PM.

Veterans Day Ceremony | The Nutcracker Suite | Shadelands FallFest | Tree Lighting

🥗 Weekly Walnut recipe: Cranberry and Walnut Butter Tartlets. One-bite tarts from Canadian chef Deborah Reid, with chopped walnuts and dried cranberries in a maple and brown sugar filling inside a cream cheese crust. A mini-muffin tin makes 12 to 14 in under two hours, and they keep in the fridge for a week.

🎵 Who we are listening to: Vienna Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel, Barber’s Adagio for Strings. Hear it live from the California Symphony at the Lesher this weekend.

🙏 Positive news around the globe: Students at Howell High School in New Jersey collected more than a quarter million pounds of groceries, enough to cover their football field from end zone to end zone. The football team helped load the trucks, and the food is now at 30 food banks across the state. Read Article

✨ “What I do every day matters more than what I do once in a while.” Gretchen Rubin

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