The Shell Beach Library is back in business! The newly remodeled neighborhood branch is now open Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesdays from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be a grand opening ribbon-cutting ceremony at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 7, featuring special guests Pismo Mayor ProTem Ed Waage, City Manager Jim Lewis, County Supervisor Adam Hill, and SLO County Library Director Chris Barnickel. Light refreshments will be served. The library is located at Leeward.
The Pewter Plough Playhouse is holding a special New Year’s Eve party with a performance of the musical play, “Duke’s Place,” featuring Duke Ellington’s music and starring some of SLO County’s best vocalists. Tickets are $130, all Inclusive and available form the Playhouse Box Office, call 927-3877 or online at: www.pewterploughplayhouse.org. The night includes a buffet dinner, the show, and an after-show party in the PPP lounge.
Voice Recognition, Gary Garrett and Anjalisa Aitken, will bring their passion for music to St. Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church, 545 Shasta Ave., Morro Bay at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 2. Cost is a donation of $15 and doors open at 6:30 for mimosas and finger-foods. Donations benefit the Monday Night Meals at the Vet’s Hall Project. Call the church at 772-2368. St. Peter’s is the first stop in SLO County as they complete a 10-gig West Coast holiday tour. Schedule and samples of their music are online at: www.vrec.us. The concert is produced by Art Goes Places, a spin-off of AGP Video, under the direction of Nancy Castle. On view in the parish hall will be Castle’s installation of a collage of her collages, made over the past two years.
A group of master musicians will team up for a fun show at the Red Barn Music Series in Los Osos set for 6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 3. Cost is $15 at the door. There’s a potluck supper at 5, so bring a dish to share and place settings. Calling themselves “The Guttersnipes,” the all star line up is Kenny Blackwell (mandolin), Doran Michael (guitar), Louie Ortega (guitar) and Ken Hustad (bass). The Red Barn is located at 2180 Palisades Ave, Los Osos. This show is made possible through the support and assistance of the entire Red Barn Community (“Children of the Barn”) and support from KCBX Public Radio and Live Oak Music Festival.
The Zongo All-Stars are again hosting the 2014 Time Traveler’s Ball, a costume ball set for 8 p.m. to whenever, New Year’s Eve at the South Bay Community Center in Los Osos. Tickets available online at: zongoallstars.com. Dress from any time period — past or future — and enjoy a great night of music and dancing. Bands include The Monroe, Solstice, and then the Zongo’s. At midnight, there’ll be an all-star jam to ring in the New Year.
SLO Skiers, a local non-profit sport and social club, is having its next monthly meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 7, at the Elks’ Club Lodge, 222 Elks Ln., SLO. Membership is $40 per year and open to all adults. Sports activities and social events are held all year long. See the website at: www.sloskiers.org or call 528-3194 for more information.
Morro Bay Art Association will host the Third Annual “For the Birds” exhibit of paintings, photographs, drawings, and 3-D works, all depicting birds, in the Main Gallery at the Art Center Morro Bay, 835 Main St. The exhibition/sale will hang from Jan. 15-Feb. 23 and there’s an opening reception set for 2-4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 18. Gallery hours are noon-4 p.m. daily. Call 772-2504 during business hours for more information.
The Otter Rock Café in Morro Bay will host its annual New Year’s Eve Party starting at 9 p.m. Dec. 31 and featuring the music of Lulu & The Cowtippers. No cover charge, free champagne toast at midnight.
The Morro Bay Fire Department is hosting a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training seminar in January. The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff and the Fire Chiefs of San Luis Obispo County are sponsoring the program designed to teach basic level of expertise in such areas of disaster preparedness, search, and rescue procedures. Classes start the week of Jan. 6 and will be held at the Morro Bay Fire Department, 715 Harbor St. Space is limited and sign-ups are first-come, first-served. There is also a class fee to cover materials. Email to: or call MBFD at 772-6242, Cal Fire in Los Osos at 528-1053, Cayucos Fire at: 995-3372 or Cambria Fire at 927-6240, or see the Estero Bay CERT website at: www.esterobaycert.com.
The SWAP Weed Warriors will host another workday at 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Jan. 3 to battle weeds and erosion in the Elfin Forest in Los Osos. Home-baked cookies follow and new volunteers will receive a Weed Warrior badge. Dress for wind, fog, or sun. Layers work well. Wear sturdy shoes, long pants and sleeves. Bring work gloves and a shovel. Meet at the Elfin Forest entrance north at the end of 15th Street off of Santa Ysabel Avenue in Los Osos. Don’t block driveways or mailboxes when you park and leave pets at home. For more information call 528-0392.
The Fifth Annual San Luis Obispo Film Festival comes to the Palm Theater Jan. 10 and 11. The Film Festival is an intimate event dedicated to screening short and feature films that celebrate the diversity of the Jewish experience from around the world. The filmmakers and local experts who share their insights with the audience in lively Q&A sessions after each screening accompany the carefully selected films. This year’s theme is tolerance and acceptance. The Festival kicks off Saturday at a Food and Filmmakers’ reception at Luna Red on Chorro Street. The opening event is an opportunity for patrons, guests and filmmakers to meet and mingle. Just before 7 p.m., the crowd will make its way over to the Palm Theater for the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award and screening of City Slickers II, a film Mr. Stone proudly worked on and brings a light-hearted start to the festival. The movie also highlights Jewish culture in the West. Sunday the Festival doors reopen at 10:30 a.m. with two simultaneous screenings, in theater one will be the short film Machsom, about a pacifist Israeli soldier stationed at the one of the most dangerous checkpoints in the West Bank, followed by the heartwarming documentary Touchdown Israel that celebrates the broad cultural and religious diversity that is Israel through the metaphor of American football. On screen two, will be Machsom and the feature narrative Bethlehem, an tense drama about a Israeli secret service officer who finds himself in a complex relationship with a Palestinian informant whom he considers a son. In the afternoon, filmgoers with be served the a delicious little film titled Gefilte Fish about an independent Russian widow who reluctantly aligns with a young black man to make her holiday dish and hoping to prove her independence. This is the world premier of this short that was recently awarded the Director’s Guild Award for outstanding student film. Following it is Above and Beyond, a fascinating feature documentary chronicling the Jewish American pilots who smuggled planes out of the US, trained in Czechoslovakia and against great personal risk, flew for Israel in its War of Independence. Taking a break there around 4 p.m., there will be a Kibitz Hour at Luna Red. Festival attendees can share a glass of wine and review the films so far. A Sponsors’ Dinner, custom designed by chef Shaun Behrens will follow. The festival continues back at the Palm, with a preview of Lives Well Lived a film by local filmmaker Sky Bergman that shares the secrets, wisdom, and wit of our elders. For more information and a schedule of events, www.jccslo.com.
