ANTIOCH

The Antioch Recreation Department will host a series of summer concerts at Prewett Park and downtown’s Waldie Plaza. The series starts Thursday with Baycoin Beats in Prewett Park and will continue from 6 to 8 p.m. July 22 with Helios performing at Waldie Plaza.

From 6 to 8 p.m. July 27, Mercy and The Heartbeats will perform at Prewett Park, while Groove Ride will play from 6 to 8 p.m. Aug. 5 at Waldie Plaza. For more information, visit antiochca.gov/summer-concert-series.

— Antioch Recreation Department

MARTINEZ

Historical society to auction rare book collection July 15

A special silent auction will be held July 15 in the booth of the Contra Costa County Historical Society (CCCHS) at the downtown Martinez Makers Market. This auction will focus on a small collection of rare/unusual books with topics such as Bay Area bridges and historic planning documents, engineering and public works.

The small collection of 20 to 25 specialty books are gently used and come from the historical society’s archives. The books are unrelated to Contra Costa County, so the historical society is divesting itself of them.

Bidding will start at 11 a.m. and close at 2 p.m. at the Makers Market in downtown Martinez. For more specifics about the collection, call or text American Public Works Association NorCal chapter historian John Mercurio at 925-876-0327.

— CCCHS

BRENTWOOD

Artists invited to submit their work for wine-themed show

The Delta Gallery Community Art Center will present its fourth annual judged multimedia show “UnCorked” from Aug. 4 through Sept. 9. This show will include themes of wine, vineyards, grapes and any aspect of wine, winemaking and wine drinking. All interested artists are invited to submit entries within the gallery’s guidelines.

All work must be original to the artist, and the Delta Gallery reserves the right to reject any work that does not meet its guidelines or that has unacceptable subject matter. The gallery is at 2485 Sand Creek Road in the Streets of Brentwood shopping center. For more information, go to deltagallery.com.

Delta Gallery to host the ‘Geared Up’ summer show

The Delta Gallery is gearing up to host “Geared Up,” a summer show featuring work from the Art Guild of the Delta collective.

An artists’ reception will also be held from 6 to 8 p.m. July 15 at the gallery, which is at 2485 Sand Creek Road, Suite 128, in the Streets of Brentwood shopping center. The show will run through Sept. 29. Visit deltagallery.com online for information.

— Delta Gallery

Hear diverse lineup at Friday Concerts in the Park series

The city of Brentwood has put together a diverse lineup of entertainment for its Friday night Concerts in the Park series.

Since 2000, the series has connected families and friends and provided a free, fun-filled event that has become a Friday night summer tradition. Over the years, some 100,000 community members have danced, picnicked and played while experiencing a variety of performing arts entertainment in downtown City Park.

The series will continue Friday with: In Living Cover (’80s/’90s dance); The Floorshakers (funk and soul) on July 21; Apple Z (Top 40 dance) on July 28; Fleetwood Mask (Fleetwood Mac cover band) on Aug. 4; Smooth Sounds of Santana (Santana tribute band) on Aug. 11; and Thunder Cover (Top 40 dance) on Aug. 18.

— city of Brentwood

WALNUT CREEK

Gallery featuring work of Irish artist Ryan through Aug. 5

In the exhibit “Arrivals and Departures: Recent Work by Connie Ryan,” the Valley Art Gallery is featuring Ryan’s art through Aug. 5. Ryan, born in Ireland, lives and works in the Bay Area. Her paintings are rooted in remembered landscapes that she carries with her and explore ideas about land, memory and belonging.

While often starting with a more traditional landscape, she lets the paintings move into abstraction in response to memories and feelings. At times very few traces of the physical landscape remain as the paintings evolve and become a rhythm of color, shape and line.

Her recent work has focused on aerial views of arriving and departing to and from Ireland, recalling the excitement of arriving and the loss at leaving. Using paint, ink, collage and maps, she creates works that enhance our awareness of the beauty of the natural world and explore what it means to belong in a place.

Meet-the-artist events will be from 2 to 5 p.m. July 15 and Aug. 5. The gallery is at 1661 Botelho Drive. For more information, visit valleyartgallery.org/events/arrivals-and-departures online or call 925-935-4311.

— Valley Art Gallery

Bedford Gallery to feature works by blind photographers

Imagine how the world looks to blind people who may hear a parade, a bird, the flow of water and picturing these in their minds. What happens when they take a photograph and share that image?

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From now through Sept. 17, the Bedford Gallery at the Lesher Center for the Arts is exploring the nature of seeing and presenting works by some of the world’s most accomplished blind photographers in the exhibition “Sight Unseen: International Photography by Blind Artists.”

With photography as their medium, the 13 featured artists navigate with other senses to visualize and represent the space around them. Blind photographers are said to operate at the heart of the medium, sometimes called the zero point of photography, occupying image as idea and idea as image.

This new exhibition offers a compelling look at art that would seem impossible and leaves visitors wondering at the vision that created them. Some of the featured artists are legally blind, most are completely blind and all perceive an attenuated image of the physical world.

The Bedford Gallery is in the Lesher Center for the Arts at 1601 Civic Drive in Walnut Creek. For more details, call 925-295-1417 or visit bit.ly/bedford2023sightunseen online.

— Bedford Gallery

ANTIOCH

Tribute band The Kings of Queen to play July 16 at theater

If you like to sing along to all your favorite hits like “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “We Will Rock You,” you’ll likely enjoy the electrifying energy that only The Kings of Queen can bring to the stage.

The Queen tribute band concert will kick off at 3 p.m. July 16 in El Campanil Theatre at 602 W. Second St. in Antioch. Tickets are $32 for general admission, $29 for seniors and $15 for youths and can be purchased online. For more details, visit elcampaniltheatre.com.

— El Campanil Theatre

Drama Factory auditions for ‘Ghost Story’ set for Aug. 7-8

The Drama Factory has several shows planned for this fall and next spring, with auditions starting in August. Up first are auditions from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Aug. 7-8 for the original play “Ghost Story” to be performed Oct. 13-15 and Oct. 20-21.

Rehearsals will be Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. For more details, visit dramafactory.org online.

— The Drama Factory

PITTSBURG

Auditions to be held for holiday ‘Nutcracker’ performances

Black Diamond Ballet will host auditions for dancers ages 8 and older to perform over the holidays in their 11th annual “Nutcracker!” ballet Dec. 8-10 and 16-18, with a sensory-friendly performance on Dec. 17. Auditions will be on the Sundays of July 16 and Aug. 6 at the Pittsburg Performing Arts Academy.

On both dates, those ages 8 to 11 will audition from 10 to 11:30 a.m. and those 12 and older will audition from noon to 2 p.m. The cost to audition is $30, and professional dancers are each asked to email a resume, reel and headshots for consideration to [email protected]. For more information, visit blackdiamondballet.org online.

— Black Diamond Ballet

LIVERMORE

Comedian Bamford to perform at Bankhead Theater

Quirky, ingenious and hilarious — those are words to describe comedian Maria Bamford, who will perform at Aug. 5 at Livermore’s Bankhead Theater.

Stephen Colbert called Bamford his “favorite comedian on Earth,” and Judd Apatow said she is “the funniest woman in the world.” Bamford is the first female comic to have two half-hour “Comedy Central Presents” specials, in addition to her acclaimed Netflix series, “Lady Dynamite.”

The show starts at 8 p.m. in the theater at 2400 First St. in Livermore. To purchase tickets ($45 to $75), contact the box office at 925-373-6800 or visit livermorearts.org/events/maria-bamford online.

— Bankhead Theater

Submit area arts-and-entertainment On Tap items to Judith Prieve at [email protected].