This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

🌱Palatial Estate With Mt. Diablo Views + Orinda Storytelling Festival

The quickest way to get caught up on the most important things happening today in Concord.

Jeri Karges's profile picture
Jeri Karges, Neighbor
|
(Patch Media)

Morning, Concord! Let's get this Saturday started. Here's everything you need to know about what's happening around town today.

First, today's weather:

Partly sunny and very warm. High: 80 Low: 47.

🏡 Are you a local real estate agent? Let us help you generate leads, build your brand in Concord and stand apart from the competition. Click here to learn more.

Here are the top five stories in Concord today:

  1. Betty Reid Soskin, the oldest active National Park Service ranger, retired Thursday following more than 15 years sharing stories of her life and those of other working women during World War II at Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historic Park in Richmond. Betty turned 100 in September. A free ceremony to recognize Soskin has been scheduled for Saturday, April 16 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. at Craneway Pavilion at 1414 Harbour Way South in Richmond. All ages are invited, and reservations are not required. The public can get more information by calling (510) 232-5050 ext. 0 or at www.nps.gov/RORI. (Claycord.com)
  2. Although you can't see much of it from public roads, construction has begun on a planned estate in rural Contra Costa County. Located on 24 acres with a spectacular view of Mt. Diablo, the identity of the owner remains unknown. Plans show the main house, with around 13,000 square feet, will have 24 bedrooms, seven full baths, two half baths, and a two-story library. Additional amenities will include a solarium, a wine cellar, and a three-story-high wood-paneled foyer. Besides the Italian revival-style mansion, the estate will have 2 guest houses with a combined 9 bedrooms. For recreation, the occupants will have 3 swimming pools, a sunken tennis court, its own IMAX movie theater and a 2-mile tri-oval race track. Plans also show a private airstrip and rooftop helipad, as well as space for 20 cars in each of 2 massive garages. Holy moly! Whoever it is never needs to leave, so we may never know the identity the owner of this palatial estate. I think Elon Musk has returned! (Maybe not...) (Pioneer Publishers)
  3. The East Bay Regional Park District and the East Contra Costa County Habitat Conservancy, in partnership with Restoration Design Group, have developed a preferred design concept for the former Roddy Ranch Golf Course. Notable features of the preferred design concept include approximately 4 miles of new trails - including a 1.6-mile accessible loop, dedicated equestrian and bus parking, an interpretive pavilion and shade structure, an upper and lower picnic area, two acres of enhanced seasonal wetlands and vernal pools and 7 miles of channel restoration/creation/enhancement. OK, but does it have a 2-mile tri-oval race track? I thought not. (Contra Costa Herald)
  4. The multicultural and internationally renowned Bay Area Storytelling Festival brings storytelling back to the Bay Area at the Orinda Community Center, Saturday, April 16, starting at 9:30 a.m. It's the West Coast's oldest storytelling festival, with a history of over 30 years. The 2022 celebration features five award-winning, internationally celebrated professional storytellers. The full-day festival offers three storytelling concerts, an interactive panel with the featured storytellers, a workshop led by Sheila Arnold and Corey Rosen and an open mic story swap. For more information, visit https://www.bayareastorytelling.org/. To purchase tickets, visit https://tinyurl.com/BASFReturns. (The Orinda News)
  5. Officials at City Center Bishop Ranch in San Ramon have announced details of the return next week of their Holi Festival. City Center's Holi Festival is the Bay Area's largest celebration of the longstanding Hindu tradition that marks the arrival of spring with music, dancing and the throwing of vibrant, brightly colored powders. The event is set to start at 5:30 p.m. Friday, April 8, with the throwing of colors kicking off at 6 p.m.. Each guest will receive complimentary colored powders. More information is available here. (danvillesanramon.com/ subscription may be required)

Today in Concord:

  • Come see over 200 beautiful quilt and fabric creations made by the members of the Guild of Quilters of Contra Costa County at the GQCCC 2022 Quilt Show - Rainbow Reflections (10:00 AM)
  • Inaugural FREE Bay Area SpringFest celebrates the start of spring with music, food, plants, art and kids' activities at Todos Santos Plaza in downtown Concord. (11:00 AM)
  • After a couple of years underground, Undead Roller Derby is back from the dead and ready to get back on track at the Paradise Skate Roller Rink in Antioch (4:00 PM)

From my notebook:

  • Check out this this old advertisement from the Claycord Online Museum, which shows business in the City of Clayton & the Clayton Valley area of Concord. The ad was designed and distributed some time in the late 80s or early 90s. I lived in a little apartment on the border of Walnut Creek and Pleasant Hill with my best friend at the time. I remember some of these places well.
  • The Concord Police Association has announced their annual Scholarship Award Program. The competitive, merit-based scholarships will help tomorrow's leaders defray the costs for a higher education. The Concord Police Association encourages all graduating seniors, full-time community college transfer students, and full-time continuing college students from high schools in the Concord community bound for a four-year college or university to apply. You can find application information on the "Scholarship" page at www.concordpoa.org. You can also call the office at (925) 676-8298 or send e-mail to concordpoa54@yahoo.com. The deadline for application submission is Friday, May 27, 2022. (Pioneer Publishers)
  • The City of Clayton has released the band schedule for this summer's Concerts in The Grove series. The first band will take the stage at the park's gazebo on May 7. Musicians will play Saturdays from 6 to 8:30 p.m. through Sept. 10. You can see the schedule here: (Pioneer Publishers)

More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Events:

Loving the Concord Daily? Here are all the ways you can get more involved:

You're officially in the loop for today! I'll catch up with you bright and early tomorrow with a new update.

— Jeri Karges

About me: Jeri Karges has been living in and loving the Sacramento region for over 30 years. Her passion is finding new and unique ways to enjoy the city and surrounding areas. On weekends, you can find her pestering her friends to sample the restaurant that doesn't have silverware, or try their hand at throwing an axe. Jeri also enjoys writing about retirement planning at https://rockinretirement.subst...

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Concord