Saturday, Oct. 26, the Bay Area Discovery Museum’s Fall Family Music Fest. Caribbean Dance Party with Asheba. 11 a.m. at the Discovery Theater, on the grounds of Ft. Baker in the Golden Gate National Recreational Area in Marin County. General admission: $15. For children above the age of 1.
The Discovery Museum has always been a ‘must-visit’ in the Bay Area. Located on seven-and-a-half acres in the shadows of the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin, it offers a kind of kid spa for the imagination, and a respite for parents as well. Much of the attraction is simply the view of the bridge and Horseshoe Bay, and the feeling of having gone to the country even as San Francisco reclines across the strait.
But equally important is the philosophy of the place, itself, which is not merely child-centric but inspired by the desire to encourage the arts and have fun. “For me,” says Rose Kelly who develops many of the kid programs you find at the center, “early exposure to the arts is critical. But what inspires us also with these performances is to have music that kids and families and myself want to dance to.”
And so Asheba brings his show to the museum.
Asheba, 54, is a Trinidadian and well known in the Bay Area for his Calypso concerts. He lives in Oakland. “I’ve been doing this since I was 16,” he told us the other day. “I have a natural connection with kids. It’s beyond singing a song, I really embody their personalities.”
Asheba’s performances are marked by high-energy, interactive, and improvisational encounters in which he invites kids to take the mic. He’s also an inveterate storyteller; many of his songs are about food as well as insects and small creatures.
“Since I was small I always liked insects, cockroaches, and crickets. When I went to school we would walk down the road and if I saw ants I would stop. ‘Why do you stop?’ the other kids are saying. I told them I want to watch the ants. They say, ‘you’re crazy.’”
“I have a natural connection with kids. It’s beyond singing a song, I really embody their personalities.” - singer/ storyteller Asheba
This is Asheba’s last concert of the year. (See more on his website asheba.net.)
Beyond the music, the Discovery Museum takes great pride in providing a place where children can let their imaginations run. There’s a fishing boat that children can play on; costumes that children can wear, as well as puppets. There is also a story time hour at 3 p.m. on most weekends and on many weekdays (11 a.m.). Check the Museum calendar.
As part of the fall music series there will be a Harvest Festival on Nov. 16 featuring Culann’s Hounds, which offer a mix of modern and traditional Irish music, for fiddles, guitar, and mandolin.
As an historical note, the museum is at Ft. Baker, named after Edward Dickinson Baker a U.S. senator and Army colonel who was a close friend of Abraham Lincoln. He died in an early battle during the Civil War. Baker may be best known as a politician but among his exploits he tracked down members of the mob that in September 1844, murdered Joseph Smith, founder of The Latter Day Saint Movement.