By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY. NEW YORK (AP) — Joni Sledge, who with her sisters recorded the enduring dance anthem “We Are Family,” has died, the band’s representative said Saturday. She was 60. Sledge was found dead in her home by a friend in Phoenix, Arizona, on Friday, the band’s publicist, Biff Warren, said. A cause of death has not been determined. He said she had not been ill. “On yesterday, numbness fell upon our family. We welcome your prayers as we weep the loss of our sister, mother, aunt, niece and cousin,” read a family statement.
A Very She & Him Christmas party: 8 ballet dancer in pink shoes painting on canvas girl nursery wall art ballerina art ballet dancer kids bedding decor can change c p.m, Dec, 8, The Masonic, 1111 California St, Country-folk artist M, Ward and actress/singer/songwriter Zooey Deschanel will perform holidays songs from Sinatra, Crosby and Garland to The Beach Boys, $40.50-$157, sfmasonic.com, Once Upon a December: 7:30 p.m, Dec, 19-20, Gateway Theatre, 215 Jackson St, This holiday cabaret will star some of the Bay Area’s best musical performers performing holiday and show tunes, Food and cocktails will be available to purchase, $25-$45, www.bamsf.org/once-upon-a-december..
All of the above, sans the expensive airfare across the Atlantic, is available by merely driving a few miles to the beautiful Napa Valley for its eighth annual Festival del Sole. Scheduled from July 12 through July 22, the event beckons great musicians, superstars and a lot of A-list patrons as well as us ordinary folk to bask in the joys of high culture close to home. The musical magic begins with an opening night concert at 5:30 p.m. on July 12 featuring the glamorous, golden-voiced Audra McDonald, one of America’s premier musical theater stars and winner of five Tony Awards. The venue, Napa Valley’s romantic Tuscan-inspired, Renaissance-style Castello di Amorosa, 4045 St. Helena Highway, in Calistoga, has its own special cachet. While individual tickets are sold out, seating may be available for holders of VIP or Allegro Passes. Call the festival concierge at 707-944-9410 or email concierge@festivaldelsole.org for more information.
Afternoon Book Discussion: 1-2:30 p.m, Dec, 6, Adults can read ballet dancer in pink shoes painting on canvas girl nursery wall art ballerina art ballet dancer kids bedding decor can change c with others at the library, Discussion this month is on “The Sense of an Ending,” by Julian Barnes, One-On-One Computer Tutor: 4-5 and 5-6 p.m, Nov, 26; 11 a.m.-noon and noon-1 p.m, Nov, 27; Adults can schedule an appointment for a one-hour, one-on-one computer training session to learn the basics and set up an email account, print and save on the library computer, use Microsoft Word and search the Internet, Select tutors may also offer assistance on digital gadgets like laptops, smart phones, e-readers and cameras..
She even wrote the book for a ballet, “The Sun Also Rises: A Ballet.”. “Writing for comedy is harder than drama,” Zacarias said a couple of weeks ago by phone, as she was driving her family back home to Washington, D.C., from Maine, where their summer vacation had just wrapped up. “Very few people laugh at the same time. It demands so much work from the actors and directors. Timing is everything. A wrong timing or look can destroy everything.”. As the old theater adage says, “Dying is easy; comedy is hard.”.
