With about a month to go before Dana Hills High School’s winter formal, Riley McCoy not-so-subtly let it be known among her friends that it sure would be nice if Kenny Maddox were available for a certain Saturday night in January. This has been a memorable year for Riley, who has a rare disease (xeroderma pigmentosum or “xp”) that prevents her from going outside in the sun, and a brain disorder that is slowly sapping her cognition and coordination. She was voted homecoming queen, and she sang in the school play.

“A lot of people think of it as a souvenir, but it really has huge potential,” she adds, “I’m glad it’s getting out there with quote-unquote ‘serious’ instruments.’ ”, As a native Hawaiian, Taimane woven oxfords size 7 // vintage black woven lace up flats womens leather beach sandals almond toe ladies shoes ballet flats has always taken the ukulele seriously, “You play the ukulele in grade school, kind of like the recorder,” she says, “Everyone in Hawaii has an ukulele in the house, You get together and jam.”, As a child, Taimane jammed with some of Hawaii’s better-known personalities..

But she had just wrapped up work on the animated feature “The Polar Express,” so she had the luxury of not needing to leave the house until after 7 a.m. Meanwhile, Hans usually got his caffeine fix at Starbucks, but that morning the Dutch immigrant and professional polymath — whose previous careers included Hollywood extra and an Alaska pipeline worker — happened to have a carpentry job at a dance studio near Joni’s. Hans was ahead of Nancy in line but suddenly turned around and said, “You look like you’re in a hurry. Would you like to go ahead of me?”.

“An Enchanting Afternoon of Classical Chinese Arts.” 2 p.m, Dec, 4, San Mateo County History Museum, 2200 Broadway, Redwood City, $25 (RSVP by Nov, 29), 650-299-0104 or www.historysmc.org, Journey Unauthorized, 8 p.m, Nov, 18, Club Fox, 2209 Broadway, Redwood City, $15, 650-369-7770 woven oxfords size 7 // vintage black woven lace up flats womens leather beach sandals almond toe ladies shoes ballet flats or tickets.foxrwc.com, The Ring Without Words, Redwood Symphony, Eric Kujawsky, music director; Daniel Glover, pianist, 8 p.m, Nov, 19, Canada College Main Theatre, 4200 Farm Hill Blvd., Redwood City, $0-25, www.redwoodsymphony.org or 650-366-6872..

Mathuraman S. Iyer is planning to build a $700,000 Hindu Community and Cultural Center on Vineyard Avenue near Shadow Cliffs Regional Recreation Area, about 2,000 feet from Pleasanton city limits. The proposed 30,000-square-foot center would have a temple, community hall and auditorium, and priest dwellings with great rooms. Parking for 170 cars would be provided on the 3.75-acre site. Iyer said the cultural center would serve about 4,000 Bay Area families who practice the centuries-old Hindu religion. Pleasanton was chosen because it is the geographic center for Bay Area Hindu families, with many residing in Danville, San Ramon and Livermore, he said.