If you haven't yet caught Images of Resilience, the exhibit of Hispanic and Chicano art that closes this Sunday at the Steinbeck Center's art gallery, don't miss it. Not only is it a fabulous, well-curated show focusing on art that is shown too infrequently, not only are they offering two-for-one admission for county residents through the rest of January, but when this exhibition comes down, it marks the imminent demise of the Center's art gallery, at least for the forseeable future.

As was reported several months ago, the gallery is being swept away to make room for "Valley of the World," the Center's new agricultural history wing slated to open in November. Public Relations Director Amanda Holder insists, however, that the Center will continue to bring in art exhibits "up until the last possible minute, until construction starts knocking down the walls." It's a real shame--in its brief lifespan, the Steinbeck Center gallery wowed us with excellent shows, beginning with its opening exhibit of early California regional art, up to and including the current show. Rumors that staffers are looking for an alternate gallery site in Salinas are still just that. Holder says there's "no news yet" about any such search.

Pumping Up the Volume

Public radio KKUP 91.5-FM, arguably the grooviest station heard in the Monterey Bay area, is coming off of a successful fund drive, meaning that listeners can continue to enjoy programming ranging from mind-blowing trance music to Alan Watts lectures, and from swing boogie to African beats. The station came up slightly short of its $4,000 goal during its "Visionary New Age Music Marathon," which ran from New Year's Eve through Jan. 2, but a little money goes a long way. The 200-watt, Cupertino-based station has no paid staff, depending entirely on volunteers for creative and technical support. It's one of the few public radio stations in the country that operates seven days a week, 24 hours a day with no assistance from a university or foundations. For more info on the station, visit www.kkup.com, call 408-260-2999, or tune in to 91.5-FM.

Funding Youth Art in Seaside

The Seaside Art Commission and Jazz Art Committee are putting their heads together to raise money for a student scholarship fund for the city's young artists and musicians. Their idea? An art auction set for July 15. They're depending on the kindness of strangers (and local residents) to donate the art and collectibles that will be auctioned off, but mainly they need some old-fashioned elbow grease--that means folks willing to put in the time and effort to get the ball rolling. A preliminary meeting will be held Friday at 7pm at the Oldemeyer Center. If you're interested, just show up, or call 899-6336 for more information.

Bea and Me

Local stage performer and author Layne Littlepage continues her portrayal of early 20th-century Broadway and London actress Beatrice Lillie with a new one-woman show, Bea and Me: Not Just Another Evening with Beatrice Lillie," opening Friday at Carmel's Carl Cherry Center for the Arts. Littlepage mounted an earlier version of her "tales of Lillie" two years ago, with a one-woman show that drew full houses at MPC's SRO and Morgan Stock theaters. This new show picks up where the first one ended, with a backstage view of Lillie's transformation into what Noel Coward called the "funniest woman in the world." Littlepage, who grew up on the Monterey Peninsula, spent years in New York as an actress, classical singer and novelist. Six years ago she returned to Carmel and took up performing full-time, recreating historic characters for corporate groups around the country. Both Beatrice Lillie one-woman musicals are written and produced by Littlepage herself. Tickets for Bea and Me, which closes Feb. 7, are $14 and $12, and may be reserved by calling 625-7559.

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