Ashkenaz Music & Dance Community Center

Ashkenaz Music & Dance Community Center presents a wide variety of world music, roots music and jam bands. They also have several dance classes such as bhangra, flamenco and Afro-Cuban. The building is woodsy and earthy and the walls are adorned with progressive signs. It's probably the hippiest of the Bay Area hippie venues. In the bathroom there's a separate receptacle to recycle paper towels.

Before many of the performances they have dance lessons for whatever type of music is being played. They have shows every night except Mondays and sometimes have special kids' matinees on Sundays. The have mostly organic vegetarian cafe which serves things like "People's veggie stew" before the concerts. During shows they serve beer, wine and veg snacks.

This is definitely an all ages venue with the typical crowd ranging from babies to octogenarians. There's an emphasis on the community aspect and it has a very local feel to it. The atmosphere is positive and forward-thinking. People at Ashkenaz are mostly unselfconsious and have no qualms about taking off their shoes and dancing to the beat of their own drums (not necessarily the ones being played ;)