Celebrate A's History With Tony La Russa In Corte Madera

Here are some of the highlights happening around the Larkspur and Corte Madera Twin Cities area Oct. 4-5:

The A's and Giants are both in the MLB Playoffs and championship fever is gripping the Bay Area. What better time to celebrate our local teams' past and present glory? And what better way to celebrate than with a visit from former A's manager Tony La Russa?

La Russa will be at Book Passage in Corte Madera at 1 p.m. Friday to share tales from his book One Last Strike: Fifty Years in Baseball, Ten and a Half Games Back, and One Final Championship Season.

The third-winningest manager in baseball history talks about his World Championship season with the St. Louis Cardinals, a lifetime devoted to the game and his decision to retire. La Russa also shares stories from his first days managing the Chicago White Sox and his championship years with the A's.

He and his wife, Elaine, founded the Tony La Russa Animal Rescue Foundation in Walnut Creek.

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• The Play's The Thing: College of Marin's Drama Department unveils an electrifying and chilling production of Shakespeare's Macbeth on Thursday at 8 p.m. on the Kentfield Campus in the Performing Arts Theatre.

The play itself has a haunted history. The legend says Shakespeare included real spells and black magic rituals in the script and in so doing angered witches who placed a curse on the play. Superstitious thespians are loathe to speak the name of the play lest it bring the curse down upon them. Last-minute illnesses, strange prop malfunctions and other bad karma have haunted "the Scottish play" for more than five centuries.

Admission to tonight's preview is "pay-what-you-will." Regular admission is $20 general, $15 seniors, $10 students, COM employees, and alumni. Call the College of Marin Box Office at 415.485.9687 for tickets.

When:
October 4, pay-what-you-will-preview at 8 p.m.
October 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, and 20 at 8 p.m.
October 14 and 21 at 2 p.m. 

• Poetry Night: What goes better with spaghetti than some garlic bread and a nice chianti? How about bingo? The Corte Madera Community Center will host a spaghetti dinner and bingo night Friday, from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The cost is $11 per person, which includes a buffet dinner, dessert and five bingo cards. For information and tickets, call 927-5072.

• Children's Storytime: Let's not forget how reading is FUNdamental for children, too. There are a variety of reading groups for young children and their parents around town. Mother Goose is on the loose at the Corte Madera Library every Tuesday at 10 a.m. for storytime for babies 0-24 months old, with a parent or caregiver. The Larkspur Library offers fun for babies and toddlers, with songs, fingerplays, nursery rhymes and very short stories just right for this age group. Pottery Barn Kids and Barnes & Noble Booksellers also offer children's storytimes.

• Organic Pumpkin Patch: Organic heirloom pumpkins from Marin’s Fresh Run Farm in Bolinas, are now available at the Marin Country Mart! There are two pumpkin patch locations, one in front of Three Twins Ice Cream, and the second every Saturday at the farmers market. Buy traditional Howden Jack-o-lanterns for carving, or Cinderella Pumpkins, which are great for carving, but also delicious for eating. This is an honor system pumpkin patch (open all day, every day), there is a payment box at the patch, and prices are set as a flat rate by size, small ($5), medium ($10), large ($15).

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