NICE, Calif. — Vision of Hope Village invites the community to an evening of entertainment, creativity and connection at the monthly Open Mic Night, hosted at the Nice Event Center, located at 2817 East Highway 20.

This free event, open to all ages, takes place on the fourth Tuesday of every month from 5 to 9 p.m.

Whether you're a seasoned performer or a first-timer, everyone is welcome to share their talents in comedy and drama, poetry, dance and music.

Dinner will be available between 6 to 8 p.m., providing a perfect opportunity to enjoy a meal while taking in the performances.

Please note: No drugs or alcohol are allowed at the event, ensuring a safe and family-friendly environment.

All donations made during the evening benefit Vision of Hope Village, supporting its mission of empowering young adults with autism and other neurodiversity to use their own voices to create the life and future that they envision for themselves.

For more information, visit the Vision of Hope Village website.

Chase the Entertainer at a past Baconfest. Courtesy photo.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. — This Father’s Day, Lake County’s own Chase the Entertainer returns to the Beer, Wine & Swine Baconfest, continuing a yearly tradition of comedy, magic, and homegrown talent.

Chase is a professional magician whose hands shake — a result of essential tremors, a neurological condition he’s turned into part of his signature performance.

His act blends sleight of hand, fast-paced humor, and personal storytelling that’s won over audiences from street corners to festival stages.

A Kelseyville native, Chase has performed at Baconfest every year since the event began.

“This one’s personal,” he says. “Baconfest was the first place I ever spent Father’s Day as a dad, and now it’s our family tradition.”

He’ll be performing at the corner of Second and Main streets in downtown Kelseyville at 11 a.m., noon, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.

After the festival, Chase heads cross-country to perform at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, one of the largest performing arts showcases in the country.

Catch Chase the Entertainer live at Baconfest in downtown Kelseyville on Sunday, June 15.

For more information, visit www.beerwineswine.com. 

 ‘MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING’: RATED PG-13

Not many film franchises result in a run of nearly three decades, but the “Mission: Impossible” action spy series has achieved that feat with the main agent, Ethan Hunt, portrayed by the same actor.

Granted, the James Bond installments, running for sixty years with six actors performing as Agent 007, have greater longevity, but there’s been only one Ethan Hunt, namely Tom Cruise, which is remarkable for the actor’s endurance.

A hallmark of the “Mission: Impossible” films is Tom Cruise’s commitment to death-defying stunts that are the essential component to the success of the series. Some of the harrowing stunts are just too mind-boggling to behold.

In “Ghost Protocol,” Tom Cruise scaled the outside of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa skyscraper, the world’s tallest building at 163 stories. The opening scenes of “Rogue Nation” had Cruise dangling from the side of a plane while it takes off.

In a chase to catch a train in “Dead Reckoning,” Cruise drives his motorcycle off a cliff before opening a parachute and gliding to safety. Supposedly this may have been the most dangerous stunt Cruise ever performed.

Given the history of daring stunts, what then is in store for “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning?” The last film ended on a literal cliffhanger, with Ethan Hunt and his fellow IMF team members surviving a locomotive plunging off a bridge.

At the conclusion of 2023’s “Dead Reckoning,” Ethan, along with Ving Rhames’ Luther, Simon Pegg’s Benji, and Hayley Atwell’s Grace, were torn asunder and facing their most formidable adversary yet, The Entity, a malevolent AI capable of achieving the extinction of mankind.

The premise for “Final Reckoning” is fairly simple, and it would appear the story could have been wrapped up in a lot less than the nearly three-hour running time, and you’d still have the benefit of underwater thrills and in-flight danger anchoring the best stunts.

Within the intelligence world, Ethan and his IMF team will always be outsiders. Yet, the threat of The Entity taking over the nuclear arsenals of eight countries is so grave that President Sloane (Angela Bassett) welcomes the help of the IMF outcasts.

The mission is straightforward — find the invisible AI villain and destroy its capability to unleash a nuclear winter upon the universe. The stakes are so high that others join Ethan’s group.

The agent Degas (Greg Tarzan Davis) that had previously been chasing the team has joined their ranks. A nice addition is assassin Paris (Pom Klementieff), who was with the villain Gabriel in “Dead Reckoning,” and is now out for revenge.

Like any twisted megalomaniac, Gabriel (Esai Morales) has reappeared with his evil ambition to take control of The Entity to threaten the entire world with nuclear annihilation.

Similar to the ultimatums that were so frequent from the power-mad bad guys in James Bond films, the grave threat posed by The Entity finds military brass (Nick Offerman and Holt McCallany) and others fretting over whether Ethan and his team can pull off a miracle.

Of course, we know better than to question Ethan’s abilities. All we have to do is await how tricky the resolution is going to be, which is thrilling enough because Ethan may have plans but he seems to be letting them fly without a safety net.

Speaking of flying, which you get a sense of from the trailers, the stunt where Ethan is in a biplane chase of Gabriel that requires our hero to climb around the plane in flight, even hanging upside during evasive maneuvers, is stunning.

Action also takes place on the frozen tundra of the Arctic Circle where Ethan discovers exiled CIA analyst William Donloe (Rolf Saxon), last seen in the first film, who helps in locating the Russian submarine that was blown up in “Dead Reckoning” and now holds a key to The Entity’s source code.

Hooking up with an American submarine under the command of Captain Bledsoe (Tramell Tillman), Ethan embarks on a perilous deep-sea dive below the polar ice cap in the Bering Sea to navigate through the sunken Russian submarine in search of a source code gadget called the Podkova.

The narrative in the early going feels like unnecessary padding of the story, especially when the audience expects something forceful, bold and aggressive to quickly appear and deliver a spectacle. But patience is a virtue that is rewarded with epic action that has always defined the franchise.

At a running time that exceeds that of previous installments, “Final Reckoning” would have benefited from tighter editing, but in the end the action payoff is just so good that if this eighth film is indeed the last, then it is absolutely worth seeing.

As the capstone to Ethan Hunt’s and the IMF team’s exploits, “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” is fittingly true to form with its mind-blowing action scenes that will also be forever enshrined in the annals of a great spy thriller series.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

April M. Wright stars as Belle in Harlem Voices. Courtesy photo.

LAKEPORT, Calif. — The public is invited to experience Harlem Voices at the Soper Reese Theater in Lakeport this weekend.

The show continues on Saturday, May 31, at 7 p.m., and Sunday, June 1, for a matinee at 2 p.m.

This original musical work is a powerful and deeply moving blend of historical storytelling and musical performance celebrating African American resilience and the enduring power of art to inspire change.

Harlem Voices spans 1923 to 1976 and begins in a segregated Prohibition-era speakeasy. Audiences are invited to immerse themselves in the experience and dress in Prohibition-era or fancy attire. Period-inspired food and beverages will be available for purchase.

It was written and composed by Clovice A. Lewis, Jr., cellist, composer, and Unitarian Universalist Minister, Harlem Voices reflects Lewis’ lifelong dedication to social justice, racial equality, and inclusive spirituality.

Performances feature four lead vocalists, a chorus, and a twelve-piece chamber orchestra. The production brings together a diverse cast of professionals from the tri-county and Bay Areas.

April M. Wright stars as Janet "Belle" Carter, a character who, along with her brother Evan, escaped the Rosewood, Florida massacre in 1923 and finds refuge in Harlem. A brilliant vocalist and native of Richmond, California, Wright has performed and taught extensively and currently hosts The Gospel Experience on KPFA 94.1 FM.

She also produced and is the star of “Chicken, Chitlins, and Caviar,” a musical journey through African American culture that opens this July at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek.

Joining Ms. Wright are Reginald V. Finley as Evan Carter, Belle’s brother. A pastor, gospel singer and composer, Finley’s live album, Live and Churchin’, captures his dynamic style and lifelong commitment to both music and ministry; Ben Meyers, Unitarian Universalist minister and vocalist, plays Belle’s romantic interest, Andrés Fontenot; and Blue Ryon, Lake County-based singer-songwriter and activist, appears as Belle’s best friend, Susan Wright.

Lake County’s a cappella chorus My Divas — Barbara Clark, Brenda Vickers Gravesen, Jo Fay, and Laura McAndrews Sammel — adds lush vocal harmony. The chamber orchestra features musicians, many of whom play with the Mendocino and Lake County Symphonies: Victor Hall, Sophia Becket, Sienna S'Zall, Lea Fainer, Joe Dupre, Joel Cohen, Jenness Hartley, James Anthony Leonardis, Leo Cavanagh, David B. Scollin, Carolina Calvache, and Beth Aiken.
Clovice Lewis plays Maurice, musical director of the Black Jay, and later the Pantheon Club, in Harlem. He is also our narrator and orchestra conductor.

"These are musical love letters to the resilience, brilliance, and cultural legacy of Black America. They are a call to remembrance, resistance, and hope — lifting up stories that must never be forgotten,” said Lewis.

Tickets range from $15 to $50 and seating is limited. Advance purchase is highly recommended. Purchase tickets at bit.ly/harlemvoicessoperreese.

The Harlem Voices production is a collaboration between Clovice Lewis and the Middletown Art Center presented by the partners and the Soper Reese Theatre.

The production is funded in part by a prestigious Humanities for All grant from California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities, or NEH.

The federal government repurposed NEH funding in April resulting in the freezing of funds for state agencies and contracted grants nationwide, including Harlem Voices. Learn more about California Humanities at calhum.org.

The MAC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to elevating the quality of and access to contemporary arts in Lake County.

To learn more, donate, or support this and other MAC programs, visit www.middletownartcenter.org or contact MAC at 707-355-4465 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The stars of “Four Old Broads.” Courtesy photo.

LAKEPORT, Calif. — Get ready to laugh until your sides hurt as “Four Old Broads,” a delightfully outrageous comedy by Leslie Kimbell, takes center stage at the Soper Reese Community Theatre this June.

Proceeds from the production will benefit the Kelseyville Senior Center, which continues to serve a growing senior population with decreasing resources.

Show dates:

• June 6, 7, 8, 13, 14 and 15.
  • Fridays at 7 p.m.
  • Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
  • Sundays at 2 p.m.

Tickets are available online at www.SoperReese.com or at the theatre’s box office.

Senior discounts apply to every performance, and opening night (June 6) tickets are specially discounted with $5 off all seats.

Set in a Southern retirement home, “Four Old Broads” follows four sassy, spirited women determined to liven up their golden years.

When strange things start happening around the facility, the ladies turn into amateur sleuths, uncovering secrets, chasing thrills, and proving that growing older doesn’t mean growing dull.

“This production is not only incredibly funny, it’s also incredibly important,” said Becky Vreeland, director. “The Senior Center is serving more seniors than ever, but with fewer resources. This show is a fun way to support a vital part of our community.”

Whether you’re coming for the laughs, the cause, or both, “Four Old Broads” is a can’t-miss event that promises an unforgettable night (or afternoon) of theatre.

For reserved seating visit www.SoperReese.com. 

LAKEPORT, Calif. — Mendocino College/Lake Center is proud to announce that Dual Enrollment Student Ambassador Yaelin Lim has been awarded the Grand Jury Prize for the “Spirit of Lake County” Photography Contest, in this year’s Grand Jury Report.

Her winning photograph, selected from a highly competitive pool of submissions across Lake County, will be featured on the official cover of the 2025 Lake County Grand Jury Report. 

The judges praised Lim’s work for its emotional depth, artistic composition, and ability to capture a quiet yet powerful moment that resonates beyond the frame.

Lim, a dual enrollment ambassador for Mendocino College, has consistently demonstrated leadership, service and creativity throughout her time with the program. This award reflects not only her artistic talent, but the heart and thoughtfulness she brings to everything she does.

“Yaelin’s eye for beauty is what stood out for us, besides the obvious technical quality” said a member of the selection committee. “This recognition is deeply deserved, and we’re so proud to have her work honored in such a meaningful way.”