NOTEBOOK

Arts, crafts festival

Artist Gloria Leonian of Woodside is among 100 artists and craftsmen expected to take part in the fifth annual Menlo Park sidewalk arts and crafts fall festival from Friday, October 19, through Sunday, October 21, on downtown Santa Cruz Avenue. The art will be on exhibit from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day.

Ms. Leonian's paintings range from floral watercolors to abstract serigraphs. Beth Karpas of Mountain View plans to display cloth dolls and puppets, while Hungarian-born artist Peter Garbera, also of Mountain View, will show paintings and drawings inspired by the landscapes of Hungary and Transylvania.

Toys, jewelry, ceramics, clothing, as well as paintings and water colors will be included in the street fair, sponsored by the Menlo Park Chamber of Commerce. For more information, call the chamber at 325-2818.

American musicals

W.C. Fields, Eddie Cantor and the Gershwins will all play Friday, October 19, in San Carlos as Joseph Marchi, director of the Center of the American Musical at Canada College, kicks off a new luncheon-lecture series sponsored by the Peninsula Library System.

With tapes, slides and videos, Mr. Marchi will recreate the golden age of musical comedy in his presentation of "The American Musical 1920-29," from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at the San Carlos library, 610 Elm St.

The luncheon series, "Food for Thought," will continue for five Fridays: November 16, December 14, January 18, February 15 and March 15.

Tickets are $10 for each program, $50 for all six. For information, call 349-5538.

World Affairs Council

The transformation of the three tiny Baltic nations from part of the Soviet Union to candidates for the European Union will be the topic of a program for the World Affairs Council of Northern California on Thursday, October 18, at 8 p.m., at Stanford Law School, Room 180, Alvarado and Nathan Abbott Way.

Jenik Radon, a former adviser to the government of Estonia and current lecturer at Stanford, will explore their journey from captivity to freedom, and from a communist to free-market economy.

The program will be preceded by a reception at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $55 for members, $7 for non-members, and free to students with I.D. For information or reservations, call 415-293-4600.

Green building

David Gottfried of WorldBuild Technologies will talk about the "Green Building Revolution" at a free brown bag luncheon put on by San Mateo County's RecycleWorks on Monday, October 22, at noon at 455 County Center, at the corner of Hamilton Avenue and Bradford Street in Redwood City. Room 101 will open at 11:30 a.m. For more information, call 599-1433 or log onto www.RecycleWorks.org..

Burrowing owl

"Calicopia: the Food, Fun, and Feathers of California" will be held Saturday, October 20, to raise funds for the preservation of the burrowing owl, and to repair the aviaries at Coyote Point Museum. The event will start at 6 p.m. at the Museum in Coyote Point Park in San Mateo. For information, call the Audubon Society at 408-252-3748, or log onto www.scvas.org/index.shtml.

Hospice benefit

Midpeninsula Pathways Hospice and its fundraising store, Treasures in Menlo Park, will benefit from sales of jewelry by a local artist on Friday and Saturday, October 19 and 20, at the Nature Gallery, 87 Town & Country Village in Palo Alto.

Carol Garsten, owner of Nature Gallery, said 10 percent of all sales of items during Los Altos artist Carole Brown's jewelry trunk show will be donated to the hospice and Treasures. Ms. Brown also will donate items to be auctioned off at an artist reception on Friday from 5 to 8 p.m.

Ms. Garsten chose the nonprofit group as beneficiary for personal reasons: The hospice provided services for her mother, Norma Tager, who founded the gallery in 1987. Ms. Tager died of breast cancer about five years ago. For more information, call the gallery at 327-8700.

Valparaiso Singers

The Valparaiso Singers will present its annual fall concert, "Sing Me to Heaven," on Sunday, October 21, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1105 Valparaiso Ave., Menlo Park.

The group will sing sacred choral works and spirituals, under the direction of Judith Stewart with James Welch at the organ.

The program includes the music of John Rutter, Healey Willan, Felix Mendelssohn and Moses Hogan. Admission is free. For information, call 854-3079.